WOW! I thought we’d easily handle “SLICK RICK” Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals last night but, beating them 68 to 51 and with this one in control before half time was a bit more than even I expected. Digger Phelps said all that needs to be said about this one when interviewed after the game. His response to the question, “What happened in this one” was simple but, right to the point. “The #1 Team in the country played like the #1 Team in the country”. GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!

The things that worked for the Huskies last evening have been working for a while now. Jeff Adrien and Hasheem Thabeet totally dominated inside play and to the extent one has to wonder if any teams big men are going to challenge them the rest of the year. Moreover, the Huskies three guard offense, destroyed the Louisville press and that led to many easy buckets. Even more impressive was the teams shooting from the foul line (20 of 24) as well as the lack of opportunities they continue to give the opposition. UCONN committed only 9 fouls and that limited Louisville to only 2 foul shots for the entire game.

Only things missing in this mauling of the red birds was our small forward play and a lack of 3 point scoring. Sticks Robinson, with two quick fouls, played like the Sticks of old and that quickly led to him sitting on the bench after just 2 minutes of play. Gavin Edwards, also looked out of place and so Coach “Jimbo” Calhoun limited his play to just 5 minutes. As for 3 point shooting, UCONN went 0 for 8 but, with the way they played defense and once again controlled the boards, Louisville and the Freedom Hall crowd were essentially non factors in the Huskies latest Big East road win. Our Huskies are a veteran team and that’s why they continue to play unbelievable ball on the road. Pitt and Marquette loom as the big upcoming games yet, if the Husky Men  continue to improve and even play like they did last night, both of those squads are going to be playing for second place. Jeff  Adrien led all UCONN scorers with 18, Dyson and Thabeet had 14, Price had 11 and Walker, 4 of 6 from the field, had 8 very important points.

I knew Sticks wouldn’t duplicate his previous  performance, against Providence, just the way I knew Jerome “Dice and Slice” Dyson would quickly return to form.
On another note, when was the last time you saw a team called for traveling as much as Louisville was in the first half?  That only goes to show you how hard it was for them to get in any kind of flow against the tenacious and relentless defensive play of the Huskies. Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was that Rick Pitino definitely screwed up and when he didn’t get off the bench to call a  time out before the half and when the Huskies went on a 15 to 2 run. Way to go Rick. That muff and your packing it in early in this one (Starters were yanked with 2:32 left) makes me wonder what kind of message you were trying to deliver to your team.

The Big Ten and Michigan Wolverines come to Gampel this Saturday (6PM Tip -off) and you can bet that Grandma and the entire “Little Red Riding Hood” Husky fans, as well as #1 Husky players, will be more than eager to greet them.

I’m out of here! Sic-Ric