The leading bracketologists out there said after the UConn Huskies men’s basketball team lost to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish that the Huskies were still in the field of 65. But after Saturday’s performance at the Sun Dome in Tampa, FL, it’s looking more like the NIT for the Huskies unless they win the Big East Tournament.
The South Florida Bulls held off a late rally by the Huskies as they went on to a 75-68 win in front of a sold-out crowd in USF’s Senior Day game.
It’s the third straight loss for the Huskies who fall to 17-14 and finish at 7-11 in the Big East. The win for the Bulls (19-11, 9-9 Big East) gives them an outside chance for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies will have to run the table and win five games in five days at the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Kemba Walker once again led the Huskies in scoring as he had 18 points and added four assists and three steals. There was no other Husky in double figures. The next closest was Donnell Beverly who came off the bench to score eight points.
Dominique Jones paced the Bulls with 20 points while Mike Mercer had 12 points and eight rebounds. Chris Howard chipped in with 11 points and added a game-high five assists.
The first half was a see-saw affair as neither team played particularly well. The Huskies biggest lead came at 29-27 while the Bulls biggest lead was at four points (23-19). The Bulls took a 34-31 lead at the half as they scored the final five points of the half.
Those final five points were part of a 17-1 run that went into the second half as the Bulls opened up a 46-32 lead. And that was enough for Jim Calhoun as he subbed out all five players, Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok and Gavin Edwards.
It worked for Calhoun as the Huskies reserves gradually worked the Bulls lead down to points at 70-68 on an Alex Oriakhi dunk. But that’s as close as the Huskies would get as the Bulls would hit their free throws down the stretch to ice the game and the Huskies NCAA Tournament hopes.
Calhoun said after the game that he’ll start the team that finished the game will start on Tuesday against the St. John’s Red Storm in the Big East Tournament.
And I can’t blame him at all.
Those reserves came to play as did Majok and Walker when they were reinserted into the game. It’s a shame to see him bench the seniors, Dyson, Robinson and Edwards, but something had to be done. And Calhoun did it.
Now the Huskies move forward and hope for a good showing in the Big East Tournament.
Notes and musings:
UConn Huskies @ South Florida Bulls 3.6.10 box score
The starters were Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, Ater Majok and Alex Oriakhi.
This was the first loss to the Bulls for the Huskies since USF joined the Big East.
The Huskies shot 47.6% (30-of-63) from the floor while the Bulls shot 50.9% (27-of-53).
UConn had just 11 assists on their 30 made baskets.
The Huskies were 2-of-17 (11.8%) from three-point land.
The disparity in scoring came from the free throw line as the Huskies were 6-of-8 (75%) while the Bulls were 17-of-21 (81%).
UConn was outrebounded 31-30 although they did outscore the Bulls 42-40 in the paint.
The Huskies had 14 points off of 15 USF turnovers. The Bulls had 18 points off of 13 UConn turnovers.
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