UCONN may have beaten Seton Hall 62 to 54 but, Bobby “Speedy” Gonzalez and his Seton Hall Pirates showed us why they are one of the fastest improving teams in the Big East. Now, before I say anything regarding the game, let me first say that I was very disappointed that the Huskies failed to cover the spread. (They won by eight and the spread was 9 1/2) What didn’t surprise me was that Stanley Robinson was once again useless. Wow! Did he look bad during one stretch of the first half and when UCONN could have easily widened the margin. Gavin Edwards wasn’t much better and I’m afraid the recent loss of Jerome Dyson was more than evident. All of the UCONN guards had a horrible shooting night and so, Hasheem, “THE MONSTER” totally carried the team to victory with career highs in scoring (25 points) and rebounds (20). Those big numbers, along with his 9 blocked shots were the reasons the #1 ranked Huskies go into their “Big Monday” Big East match-up against the #4 Pittsburgh Panthers, with a 13 game winning streak.

Now, here are my thoughts regarding tonight’s big game. I must sadly suggest that, if you must bet this one, you should take Pitt and the  2 1/2 or 3 points they’re favored by. UCONN may be at home but, without Dyson, I think they’re a little undermanned. Pitt is playing their best ball right now and we have some serious match up problems against this team. The Panthers have too many weapons and it’s going to take more than Thabeet and even Price to offset their ability to score points. Calhoun has been begging for contributions from Edwards and Robinson and because he knows the team needs all the help it can muster against a talented and balanced team like Pitt. I also like their coach, Jamie Dixon. He has his team motivated and they usually come prepared to play. Personally, I’m very excited and eager to get this one started.

I’m out of here! Sic Rick