Spring Break
All aboard the blowout train
UConn notches third-biggest victory in tournament history
Kevin Duffy
Issue date: 3/20/09 Section: Sports
PHILADELPHIA - Prior to the West regional match up between top-seeded UConn and No. 16 seed Chattanooga, it was announced that Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun would not be on the bench because he was feeling ill.
After the game, however, it's hard to imagine that anyone was more sick to their stomach than the Chattanooga players.
With assistant coach George Blaney filling in for Calhoun, UConn (28-4) put the hammer down early and buried the Mocs (18-17) 103-47, which marks the third-largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history. The biggest blowout in tournament history belongs to Loyola (Ill.), which defeated Tennessee Tech, 111-42, in 1963. Kansas' 110-52 win over Prairie View in 1998 places the Jayhawks second on that list.
According to senior point guard A.J. Price, the Huskies may have threatened Loyola and Kansas if Calhoun had been on the bench.
"I think we would have been more fired up if coach were here," Price said. "So Chattanooga actually got off easy."
Price, who opened the game 0-for-4, finished with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field. He opened up a relatively close game around the halfway point of the first half, rapidly extending a 19-15 advantage to a 28-15 lead by nailing 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions.
After hitting two in a row, Price caught the outlet pass and literally laughed as he dribbled up the court and drained another one right in the face of a Chattanooga guard.
After that, the floodgates opened. The Huskies took a 48-20 lead into halftime led by no less than 36 points in the second period before finishing off the Mocs by 56.
Junior forward Stanley Robinson proved that his 28-point, 14-rebound outburst against Syracuse in the Big East quarterfinal was no fluke. He followed it up with a team-high 24 points and 7 rebounds against Chattanooga.
"A lot of people said [Robinson] had a great game last game and we couldn't count on him to do it again,'" Price said. "I think he silenced critics tonight by coming out and playing as well as he did."
After the game, however, it's hard to imagine that anyone was more sick to their stomach than the Chattanooga players.
With assistant coach George Blaney filling in for Calhoun, UConn (28-4) put the hammer down early and buried the Mocs (18-17) 103-47, which marks the third-largest margin of victory in NCAA Tournament history. The biggest blowout in tournament history belongs to Loyola (Ill.), which defeated Tennessee Tech, 111-42, in 1963. Kansas' 110-52 win over Prairie View in 1998 places the Jayhawks second on that list.
According to senior point guard A.J. Price, the Huskies may have threatened Loyola and Kansas if Calhoun had been on the bench.
"I think we would have been more fired up if coach were here," Price said. "So Chattanooga actually got off easy."
Price, who opened the game 0-for-4, finished with 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting from the field. He opened up a relatively close game around the halfway point of the first half, rapidly extending a 19-15 advantage to a 28-15 lead by nailing 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions.
After hitting two in a row, Price caught the outlet pass and literally laughed as he dribbled up the court and drained another one right in the face of a Chattanooga guard.
After that, the floodgates opened. The Huskies took a 48-20 lead into halftime led by no less than 36 points in the second period before finishing off the Mocs by 56.
Junior forward Stanley Robinson proved that his 28-point, 14-rebound outburst against Syracuse in the Big East quarterfinal was no fluke. He followed it up with a team-high 24 points and 7 rebounds against Chattanooga.
"A lot of people said [Robinson] had a great game last game and we couldn't count on him to do it again,'" Price said. "I think he silenced critics tonight by coming out and playing as well as he did."
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