The Daily Campus

Issue date: 1/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Matt Lin Stanley Robinson returned to the Huskies Dec. 15 against Stony Brook.

ollege basketball analysts had one common question: which conference would be the most difficult to play in?

Some said it was the Atlantic Coast Conference, which boasts perennial powerhouses such as North Carolina and Duke. Others said it was the Big East with teams like Pittsburgh, Syracuse and UConn.

In either conference, teams would end up playing several ranked opponents. Today, the Big East has six teams in the top-25 while the ACC has four.

But in UConn's first Big East game against Georgetown on Dec. 29, the Huskies found out just how difficult their in-conference schedule was going to be.

In the matchup, the Hoyas seemed to dominate every aspect of the game. And after their 74-63 loss to the then-No. 12 Hoyas, all coach Jim Calhoun did was simply apologize for his team.

"It was just a very, very poor performance for us," Calhoun said after the game. "Opening Big East game, sold-out crowd, electricity in the gym, and for us to perform like that, I apologize.  I just don't know how we could play that poorly."

The Huskies' loss against Georgetown came after an 11-0 start to the season, which included wins over Miami, Wisconsin and an overtime victory against then-No. 8 Gonzaga.

Since that Georgetown loss, the Huskies have won five straight games, all of them against Big East opponents. During that five-game winning streak, UConn managed to do something they've never done under Calhoun, win three straight in-conference games on the road.

But despite the 16-1 start, there are several areas the Huskies still need to work on. Perhaps the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed is their free-throw shooting.

Through the first 17 games, the Huskies are shooting a dismal 68 percent from the line. The team's best shooter is Donnell Beverly, who is shooting 83 percent on only six attempts from the charity stripe. Other than Beverly, there are no Huskies shooting over 80 percent.

Last season, Memphis was heavily criticized for being a poor foul-shooting team and many thought they had no chance of winning a National Championship. They entered the NCAA Tournament shooting 59.6 percent and eventually loss in overtime to Kansas in the National Championship.

Continued...

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