Spring Break
Huskies Put Forth Sloppy Effort In Win
Men's Basketball
Justin Verrier
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Sports
With the men's basketball team struggling to pull away from a scrappy Northeastern club midway through the second half, a disgruntled crowd turned its attention away from the court and onto the student section as they bounced a huge, brightly-colored beach ball around the stands.
Most of the crowd at Gampel Pavilion smiled and cheered as they watched the students play keep-away with the security staff - but the Huskies certainly weren't laughing on the court.
With the game tight almost the entire way, it took the ejection of head coach Jim Calhoun to infuse energy back into a generally lifeless UConn offense that pulled out a 69-60 win over Northeastern Thursday before a crowd of 9,915 in Storrs.
"As far as I'm concerned, I would give us an F on offense and probably a C+ [on defense]," said head coach Jim Calhoun. "I was at that same institution - when you're down six or eight, you're happy as hell. And the other coach, like me in this case, is scared. They were within grasps [of claiming the lead]."
With 6:25 left in the second half, Calhoun swore at his players from across the court, the referees to toss the coach from the floor. But while Northeastern's (2-5) Matt Janning drained the ensuing free throws to narrow the lead to four, the crowd's roar grew to a new level and the team began to rally.
UConn appeared looser on the court and with Craig Austire nailing a 3-pointer on the far side of the court just three minutes after the ejection, they were able to stave off any thoughts the other Huskies had of an upset.
"I kind of got the feeling from the team that we were more relaxed out there," said Jerome Dyson, who finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. "Craig made that baseline 3 - that really helped us out. I don't think he would have taken that shot with coach screaming in his ear."
UConn (6-2) opened the game in a three-guard set, looking to overcome some of the defensive problems that have plagued them early on in the season. But the experiment only lasted about two minutes, as sloppy play and an early seven-point deficit forced Calhoun to go to his bench early an often.
Most of the crowd at Gampel Pavilion smiled and cheered as they watched the students play keep-away with the security staff - but the Huskies certainly weren't laughing on the court.
With the game tight almost the entire way, it took the ejection of head coach Jim Calhoun to infuse energy back into a generally lifeless UConn offense that pulled out a 69-60 win over Northeastern Thursday before a crowd of 9,915 in Storrs.
"As far as I'm concerned, I would give us an F on offense and probably a C+ [on defense]," said head coach Jim Calhoun. "I was at that same institution - when you're down six or eight, you're happy as hell. And the other coach, like me in this case, is scared. They were within grasps [of claiming the lead]."
With 6:25 left in the second half, Calhoun swore at his players from across the court, the referees to toss the coach from the floor. But while Northeastern's (2-5) Matt Janning drained the ensuing free throws to narrow the lead to four, the crowd's roar grew to a new level and the team began to rally.
UConn appeared looser on the court and with Craig Austire nailing a 3-pointer on the far side of the court just three minutes after the ejection, they were able to stave off any thoughts the other Huskies had of an upset.
"I kind of got the feeling from the team that we were more relaxed out there," said Jerome Dyson, who finished with a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds. "Craig made that baseline 3 - that really helped us out. I don't think he would have taken that shot with coach screaming in his ear."
UConn (6-2) opened the game in a three-guard set, looking to overcome some of the defensive problems that have plagued them early on in the season. But the experiment only lasted about two minutes, as sloppy play and an early seven-point deficit forced Calhoun to go to his bench early an often.
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