NATIONAL POLLS ASSOCIATED PRESS Dec. 23
Team
TOURNAMENT TITLE: UConn captured its 19th in-season tournament championship on Nov. 22 at Madison Square Garden when it topped Indiana, 58-57, to win the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project. Senior guard Shabazz Napier, who scored 27 points against Indiana, was named the tourney MVP. The game featured 13 lead changes and eight ties. The Nov. 22 win followed a narrow 72-70 UConn win over Boston College in the Nov. 21 semifinals as junior DeAndre Daniels scored 23 points. It marked UConn’s 19th in-season tournament title overall, and its fifth in the past NEW HOME VENUE, NEW OPPONENT: UConn is playing its first game in the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, against a first-time opponent in Eastern Washington. It is the first time the Huskies have played a home game in a venue other than in Storrs or Hartford since Jan. 3, 1987, an 88-71 loss to Syracuse at the New Haven Coliseum. UConn has never before
nine seasons --- the 2005 and 2010 Maui Classic, the 2006 Hispanic College Fund Classic, the 2008 Paradise Jam, and the 2013 2K Sports Classic. The other tournament wins include the 1956 Orange Bowl Tournament, and UConn Classic/Conn. Mutual Classic wins in 1966, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992. It was also UConn’s ninth tournament championship won at Madison Square Garden. UConn captured the 1988 NIT at MSG, as well as Big East Conference Championships in 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, and 2011. played Eastern Washington, nor any other team out of the Big Sky Conference. VS. THE PAC-12: UConn played its second consecutive opponent from the Pac-12 Conference when it traveled to Seattle and defeated Washington, 82-70, on Dec. 22. That followed UConn loss to Stanford on Dec. 18,
UCONN HUSKIES IN THE NBA At the start of the 2013-14 NBA season, UConn ranked among the top seven college programs in the country in current number of NBA players. Kentucky tops the list with 21 players in the NBA, followed by North Carolina (16), Duke (15), Kansas (14), UCLA (13), and UConn and Florida with 12 each. The Huskies will tie UCLA should 14-year NBA veteran Richard Hamilton, a free agent, signs with a team as is expected. The 12 former Huskies are with eight different NBA franchises, and total a combined 88 seasons of NBA experience. The UConn dozen are led by Ray Allen (Heat), in his 18th NBA season, and Caron Butler (Bucks), in his 12th NBA season. The 10 other former Huskies on NBA rosters include Emeka Okafor (Suns) and Ben Gordon (Bobcats), each in the midst of his 10th year, Charlie Villanueva (Pistons), in his 9th year, Rudy Gay (Raptors), in his 8th season, Hasheem Thabeet (Thunder) and A.J. Price (Timberwolves), each in his 5th year, Jeff Adrien (Bobcats), in his 4th year, Kemba Walker (Bobcats), in his 3rd NBA season, and Jeremy Lamb (Thunder) and Andre Drummond (Pistons), each in his 2nd year. If Hamilton signs, the Huskies’ combined NBA experience would jump to 103 years.
1 Arizona (63) 2 Syracuse (2) 3 Ohio State 4 Wisconsin 5 Michigan State 6 Louisville 7 Oklahoma State 8 Villanova 9 Duke 10 Wichita State 11 Baylor 12 Oregon 13 Florida 14 Iowa State 15 Connecticut 16 Kansas 17 Memphis 18 Kentucky 19 North Carolina 20 San Diego State 21 Colorado 22 Iowa 23 Massachusetts 24 Gonzaga 25 Missouri
Record
12-0 11-0 12-0 12-0 10-1 11-1 11-1 11-0 9-2 12-0 10-1 11-0 9-2 9-0 10-1 8-3 8-2 9-3 8-3 9-1 10-2 11-2 10-1 10-2 10-1
Pts.
1,623 1,528 1,462 1,390 1,336 1,274 1,221 1,116 1,108 981 970 914 881 804 661 659 630 529 413 378 345 278 154 79 69
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma 65, Illinois 53, Texas 47, George Washington 43, Toledo 27, Florida State 23, Michigan 15, UCLA 14, Harvard 14, Saint Mary’s 8, Pittsburgh 6, Creighton 5, LSU 1, Southern Methodist 1
USA TODAY Team 1 Arizona (30) 2 Syracuse (1) 3 Ohio State (1) 4 Louisville 5 Michigan State 6 Wisconsin 7 Oklahoma State 8 Wichita State 9 Duke 10 Oregon 11 Villanova 12 Baylor 13 Iowa State 14 Florida 15 Connecticut 16 Kansas 17 Memphis 18 Kentucky 19 North Carolina 20 San Diego State 21 Gonzaga 22 Massachusetts 23 Iowa 24 Colorado 25 Missouri
Dec. 23 Record 12-0 11-0 12-0 11-1 10-1 12-0 11-1 12-0 9-2 11-0 11-0 10-1 9-0 9-2 10-1 8-3 8-2 9-3 8-3 9-1 10-2 10-1 11-2 10-2 10-1
Pts. 798 753 744 662 661 659 572 551 545 508 484 402 392 383 370 300 269 246 193 177 156 142 110 83 45
Others receiving votes: UCLA 44, Pittsburgh 26, Creighton 25, Saint Mary’s 23, George Washington 20, Toledo 13, Oklahoma 11, Texas 10, Michigan 8, Illinois 7, Florida State 6, New Mexico 1, Utah 1 UConn and its 2013-14 opponents in boldface type.
2013-2014 University of Connecticut Basketball Media Notes December 28, 2013 vs. Eastern Washington UConnHuskies.com