Huskies stroll to long-awaited victory

By Greg Auman, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 8, 2011

NEW YORK — All the talk at Madison Square Garden is whether ninth-seeded Connecticut can pull off a five-day, five-game run through the Big East tournament, but Huskies coach Jim Calhoun was just happy to get his first tournament win since 2005.

"It's been a while since we had a win here," said Calhoun, whose team had lost six straight in the tournament before a 97-71 win against 16th-seeded DePaul on Tuesday.

Guard Kemba Walker had 26 points to lead UConn, and forward Alex Oriakhi had 13 points and 19 rebounds, matching the school record for a Big East tournament game.

The Huskies (22-9) stormed out to a 23-point lead in the first half, though DePaul (7-24) pulled to within seven in the second half.

No. 21 UConn could wind up playing four ranked teams in as many days, starting with No. 22 Georgetown, which is seeded eighth. Calhoun called the league a "meat grinder" this season, saying the biggest challenge is the absence of many truly easy games in conference play.

"There isn't any game that you can take a breath," he said. "We've had maybe more star power in the league. We've never had so many good, solid basketball teams. … I truly believe every, every team in this league can beat you. … I've never seen that in 25 years. Everybody has had to work for every win, every point, everything they did."

Rutgers 76, Seton Hall 70, OT: The Pirates' Jeremy Hazell forced overtime with a 3-pointer with a second left, but 13th-seeded Rutgers (15-16) beat 12th-seeded Seton Hall (13-18), with former Gators forward Jonathan Mitchell going 8-for-10 at the line in overtime.

Mitchell finished with 25 points, including a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation. Hazell finished with 27 points in his final game.

Four Seton Hall players fouled out in overtime, and Rutgers took advantage of a 37-19 edge in free-throw attempts.

Marquette 87, Providence 66: Darius Johnson-Odom scored 23 and Jimmy Butler added 19 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the 11th-seeded Golden Eagles (19-13). Vincent Council had 21 points and seven assists for the Friars (15-17).

Information from Times wires was used in this report.