true road games, 9-7 in non-conference games and 46-40 in conference competition. CALLED FOR TRAVELING: UConn is in the midst of a 17-day whirlwind of travel and games. On Dec. 19, the Huskies began with a bus trip to Boston’s Logan Airport for a plane trip acrosss the country to Seattle, Wash., for a Dec. 22 game against the Washington Huskies. The team flew back to Boston on the red-eye, arriving back in Boston on the morning of Dec. 23, then busing back to Storrs. The Huskies took a bus to Bridgeport on Dec. 27 to practice for their Dec. 28th home game at Webster Bank Arena against Eastern Washington, returning to Storrs after the game. On Monday, Dec. 30, UConn boarded a flight to Houston to play Tuesday night’s AAC game against the Cougars. On Jan. 1, the Huskies will take another flight, this time to Dallas for the Jan. 4th game against SMU. Following the game on Saturday, Jan. 4, UConn will fly back to Connecticut. In 17 days, the Huskies will have played four games, but traveled roughly 8,600 miles.
UCONN BASKETBALL ALL-TIME TRIPLE-DOUBLES Player
Date, Opponent
Shabazz Napier Shabazz Napier Kemba Walker Hasheem Thabeet Marcus Williams Ben Gordon Emeka Okafor Caron Butler Doron Sheffer Donyell Marshall
11/11/13 vs. Yale 14p, 11/20/11 vs. Coppin State 22p, 12/3/10 vs. UMBC 24p, 1/31/09 vs. Providence 15p, 2/21/06 vs. Notre Dame 18p, 12/20/03 vs. Iona 17p, 12/6/03 vs. Army 18p, 12/26/00 vs. URI 14p, 12/30/95 vs. Hartford 10p, 1/17/94 vs. Hartford 23p,
1997-Jan., 2001. Consecutive Weeks in the Polls Streak Dates 1. 77 weeks Nov. 1997-Jan. 2001 2. 67 weeks Mar. 2003-Jan. 2007 3. 51 weeks Dec. 1993-Mar. 1996 4. 36 weeks Feb. 2008-Jan. 2010 VS. THE PAC-12: UConn played its second 5. 28 weeks Nov. 2010-Jan. 2012 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, which broke a streak of 13 consecutive wins over teams from the Pac-12 (formerly Pac-10), since the Huskies bowed to UCLA, 102-96, in the 1995 NCAA West Regional Championship (Oakland). The Huskies are 18-3 overall against teams from the conference. Since the UCLA loss, UConn is 5-0 vs. Arizona, 1-0 vs. Arizona State, 5-0 vs. Washington, and 3-1 vs. Stanford. Besides the losses to UCLA and Stanford, UConn’s other loss to a Pac-12 team was at Arizona State, 74-69, on Dec. 3, 1982. Overall, the Huskies are 5-0 vs. Arizona, 2-1 vs. Arizona State, 2-0 vs. Cal, 0-1 vs. UCLA, 4-1 vs. Stanford, and 5-0 vs. Washington. HIGH RPI: In the Rating Percentage Index as of Dec. 30, UConn is ranked No. 25 in the country. UConn is 1-0 against teams ranked in the top 50, 2-1 against teams in the top 50-100, and 5-0 against teams ranked 100-200. The Huskies are the highest-ranked team in the American Athletic Conference, just ahead of No. 27 Memphis. Other teams in the AAC, with their RPI as of Dec. 30: Louisville (40), Cincinnati (58), SMU (61), Temple (144), USF (186), Rutgers (235), Houston (254), and UCF (277).
TOP 25: UConn is ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25 and No. 15 in the USA Today Top 25 in the polls of Dec. 23. It is the eighth consecutive week that Huskies have been ranked in the polls. The first week was UConn’s first appearance in the Top 25 since the Huskies were ranked No. 21 on the poll of Nov. 19, 2012. Five of UConn’s 2013-14 opponents also appear in the AP Top 25 or ‘Others receiving votes.’ The longest
consecutive streak for UConn to be ranked in the Top 25 is 77 weeks, a span from Nov.,
HOT START: UConn is used to successful starts to a season. The Huskies’ 11-1 start is the 16th time in the last 24 years that the team has won at least 11 of its first 12 games. The best start in UConn history was by the 1998-99 Huskies, who began the season 19-0. POWER TRIP: UConn owns a 5-1 record against teams from the so-called power conferences. The Huskies are 2-0 against teams from the ACC (Maryland, BC), 1-0 against the Big Ten (Indiana), 1-0 against the SEC (Florida), and 1-1 against the Pac-12. Under Coach Kevin Ollie, UConn is 8-2 overall against teams from the power conferences. LAST TIME OUT: The Huskies played their first home game in a venue other than in Storrs or Hartford in 27 years when they hosted Eastern Washington before a sellout (9,274) crowd in Bridgeport’s Webster Bank Arena and recorded an 82-65 victory. UConn had difficulty pulling away from the stubborn Eagles, but used a balanced scoring attack to finally take control with about 6:00 left. Senior Shabazz Napier led five Huskies in double figures with 15 points and 9 assists. Junior Ryan Boatright (14), senior Niels Giffey (13), sophomore Omar Calhoun (12) and sophomore Phillip Nolan (a career-high 11) were the other Huskies in double digits. BOUNCING BACK: UConn rebounded from its first loss of the season with a victory in its first true road game, an 82-70 decision over Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle on Dec. 22. The Huskies trailed by as many as 14, 31-17, in the first half, but
Stats
11r, 12r, 13r, 11r, 10r, 16r, 15r, 12r, 10r, 11r,
10a 13a 10a 10b 13a 11a 10b 11a 11a 10b
went on a 26-8 run to end the half with a 43-39 lead, then scored the first 6 points of the second half to go up 49-39. Minutes later, a 9-0 run gave the Huskies a 13-point lead. UConn never led by less than 8 the rest of the way. Senior Shabazz Napier led the way with 20 points, 15 in the second half, and 6 rebounds. Junior Ryan Boatright (16 points, 5 rebounds), grad student Lasan Kromah (14 points, 4 steals), and junior DeAndre Daniels (10 points) also scored in double figures. FIRST LOSS: UConn suffered its first loss of the 2013-14 season on Dec. 18, bowing to Stanford, 53-51, at the XL Center in Hartford. The Huskies held a 43-30 lead with 16:48 remaining, but two quick three-pointers started Stanford on a 14-0 run that gave the Cardinal the lead. The teams see-sawed back and forth with the lead until two consecutive buckets gave Stanford some breathing room, 52-49, with 3:33 to go. The game game down to the wire and was not decided until a three-point attempt at the buzzer by UConn sophomore Omar Calhoun was just short. It was UConn’s lowest-scoring effort of the season and its 31.7 percent was its lowest shooting percentage of the season. Junior DeAndre Daniels led the Huskies in scoring with 15 points, while senior Shabazz Napier was the only other double-figure scorer for the Huskies with 12. TWO MEMORABLE MONTHS: Since the start of the Jim Calhoun Era at UConn and continuing under Coach Kevin Ollie, the Huskies have a tradition of early-season success. Under Calhoun and Ollie, UConn has compiled a 240-27 overall record against non-conference teams during the months of November-December. Broken down further, the Huskies are 183-5 at home against non-league opponents during that span, including 109-4 at the XL Center (formerly Hartford Civic Center), and 59-0 at Gampel Pavilion. UConn has won 172 of its last 174 home games in those two months against non-conference foes, 105-2 at the XL Center. Besides the loss to Stanford, the only other
2013-2014 University of Connecticut Basketball Media Notes December 31, 2013 vs. Houston UConnHuskies.com