It was a tale of two halves for the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon.
In the first half, it looked as though they were going to be blown out of Gampel Pavilion after trailing by eight points to the No. 1 Texas Longhorns at the half while committing 16 turnovers. The second half it was like the two teams switched uniforms as UConn was lights out on both ends of the floor while Texas was turning the ball over.
And because of that strong second half and Jerome Dyson’s career-high 32 points, the Huskies came back for an 88-75 upset of the Longhorns in front of 10,167 fans and a nationally televised audience on CBS.
The Huskies got their first win over a ranked team this year and improve to 13-6. It’s the second straight loss for the Longhorns who fall to 17-2 on the season.
More importantly, it gives the Huskies a much needed win for their tournament resume as they go forward.
Despite eight turnovers (six in the first half), Kemba Walker had a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists and also added six steals. Stanley Robinson added a double-double of his own with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Gavin Edwards came off the bench to add 11 points.
Even though he only scored five points, Ater Majok had probably his finest game in a UConn uniform as he played with energy unlike we’ve seen from him all season. He had six rebounds and led the Huskies with four blocked shots while playing a season-high 31 minutes.
Damion James paced Rick Barnes’ squad with 25 points and seven rebounds. Avery Bradley chipped in with 15 points while Gary Johnson had nine points and seven rebounds.
The first half was pretty ugly for the Huskies as they committed 16 turnovers which the Longhorns turned into 25 points. They could have been down more than 10 at the half but the Longhorns missed some easy shots.
The first four minutes of the game were pretty much evenly contested with the Longhorns holding an 14-11 advantage at the first media timeout. They increased their lead to nine at 20-11 before a 9-0 run by the Huskies tied it up.
The two teams exchanged three-pointers and then Texas went on a 7-0 run. The Huskies would score the next four points to cut to a three point lead but that’s as close as they would get in the half. They would head into the locker room trailing 42-34.
A Robinson turnover to start the second led to an Avery Bradley dunk that gave the Longhorns a 10 point lead and forced UConn acting head coach George Blaney to take a 30 second timeout. A 7-0 run by Walker and Dyson cut the Texas lead to three points at 44-41 but the Longhorns would get the lead up to seven points at 50-43.
After the teams exchanged layups, Dyson hit a three-pointer with 14:24 to go that ignited a 13-0 run that would give the Huskies a 58-52 lead with 11:29 to go. The Longhorns would get no closer than four points the rest of the way as turnovers and missed shots plagued them.
This was exactly what the Huskies needed. While the first half wasn’t pretty by no means, it was what they didn in the second half that mattered. They came out and played basketball to their abilities. And when they do that, they can show what we’ve expected from them all season long.
While the big three of Dyson, Robinson and Walker were strong, it was the contributions from the role players like Edwards, Majok and Donnell Beverly that can’t be overlooked. All three of them were strong and Beverly helped out by slowing things down a little due to Walker’s struggles in the first half.
In the end, it was the win the Huskies desperately needed and one that would make their head coach Jim Calhoun proud. One can only imagine what he was thinking during the first half but he had to have had a big smile on his face when the students stormed the court after the win.
The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday night when they head to the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI for a Big East matchup with the Providence Friars. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised locally on My-TV9 and SNY.
Notes and musings:
Texas Longhorns @ UConn Huskies 1.23.10 box score
The starters were Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok and Alex Oriakhi.
The Huskies shot 54.9% (28-of-51) from the floor while the Longhorns shot 43.9% (29-of-66).
UConn had 20 assists on their 28 made baskets.
The Huskies shot 70.3% (26-of-37) from the free throw line. While it could have been better, the Huskies did make their free throws down the stretch. It also helped that the Longhorns can’t shoot free throws either (9-of-16).
UConn won the battle of the boards 36-34 and outscored Texas 38-37 in the paint.
Texas finished with 19 turnovers (11 in the second half) that the Huskies turned into 24 points. UConn finished with 20 turnovers (just four in the second half) that the Longhorns turned into 29 points.
UConn outscored Texas 20-13 on the fast break.
The Huskies scored 54 points in the second half.
This was the first time a No. 1 men’s team came into Gampel Pavilion.
UConn is now 2-6 against No. 1 teams.
The Huskies have won 31 straight non-conference games at Gampel Pavilion.
UConn is now 19-4 in games that Jim Calhoun has missed.
His trusted lieutenant, George Blaney, is now 6-3 leading the Huskies in the 23 games that Calhoun has missed.
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