Huskies Take on Sooners

Game #10-- Tuesday, January 7, 2003, 8:00 p.m. ET

Lloyd Noble Center (12,000), Norman, OK

No. 3 AP, No. 3 ESPN/USA

Connecticut HUSKIES (9-0)

vs.

No. 9 AP, No. 9 ESPN/USA

Oklahoma SOONERS (8-2)

TELEVISION COVERAGE: espn2

Ron Franklin (play-by-play), Jon Sundvold (analyst)

RADIO COVERAGE: UCONN RADIO NETWORK

Joe D’Ambrosio (play-by-play), Wayne Norman (analyst);

WTIC (1080-AM); WILI (1400-AM);

WLIS (1420-AM); WMRD (1150-AM); WICC (600-AM)

THE MATCH-UP-- Tonight's game features the Huskies of the University of Connecticut against the Sooners of the University of Oklahoma. The Huskies are 9-0 on the season and come off a 95-78 win over St. Bonaventure on January 2 at the Hartford Civic Center. UConn has won 21 of its last 22 games dating back to last season, the only loss coming to national champion Maryland in the 2002 Elite Eight. Oklahoma is 8-2 and comes off a 60-58 win over Michigan State in Oklahoma City on January 4.

THE COACHES-- The head coach of Connecticut, in his 17th season with the Huskies, is Jim Calhoun. Coach Calhoun has a career record of 633-286 in his 31st season of collegiate coaching. He has a record of 385-149 in 17 seasons at UConn and was 248-137 in 14 seasons at Northeastern. Kelvin Sampson is in his ninth year at Oklahoma, compiling a 195-76 record with the Sooners. He has an overall head coaching record of 371-224 over 20 seasons.

LAST TIME OUT FOR UCONN-- Sophomore Ben Gordon scored 25 points to lead four Huskies in double figures as fifth-ranked Connecticut used a decisive 15-0 second half run to defeat St. Bonaventure January 2 at the Hartford Civic Center before a crowd of 15,889. St. Bonaventure jumped out quickly, bolting to a 16-6 lead just 5:01 into the game, behind five points by Marques Green. The Huskies responded, taking the lead for good at 33-30 with 5:52 to play in the first half. UConn had balanced scoring in the opening 20 minutes as Gordon had 12, Rashad Anderson had 11 off the bench and Emeka Okafor and Denham Brown had 10 apiece. The Huskies settled for a 52-42 halftime lead. The Bonnies inched to within five, 56-51, with 15:14 to play before the Huskies blew the game open with their 15-0 spurt. Okafor started the run with back-to-back jumpers and Gordon followed with five straight points of his own and later drilled a long three-pointer. The run over 2:30 left the Huskies with an insurmountable 71-51 lead with 12:44 to play. Gordon hit on eight of 15 shots from the field, and hit four of seven three pointers and also dished out seven assists. Okafor finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, his eighth double-double of the season. Anderson finished with 13 and Brown had 12. Junior point guard Taliek Brown had nine assists and eight points. The Huskies continued their hot shooting, following up back-to-back 60% shooting efforts by connecting on 51% (35 of 69). Green led St. Bonaventure with 18 points and a game-high 12 assists.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES-- Leading the way for the Huskies is the sophomore duo of Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor. Gordon is averaging 22.1 points per game, 4.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds. Okafor has eight double-double's and is averaging 17.1 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per contest. Senior Tony Robertson is thriving in the sixth man role, averaging 11.0 points, while grabbing 2.9 rebounds. Junior Taliek Brown is averaging 8.4 points and 7.4 assists in his third season as the starting Husky point guard. Freshman Denham Brown has started all nine games at the small forward spot. He is averaging 9.1 points. Senior Mike Hayes has started the past six games at the power forward spot and is averaging 3.4 points and 4.9 rebounds on the season.

NOTING AN UNBEATEN START-- UConn has started 9-0 for the fourth time under Jim Calhoun and sixth time in school history. Only five teams at UConn have bettered a 9-0 start, but each went on to win at least their first 11 games. UConn started 19-0 in 1998-99, 15-0 in 1994-95, 14-0 in 1953-54, and 11-0 in 1991-92 and 1980-81. Husky squads in 1993-94, 1985-86, 1964-65, 1954-55 and 1952-53 each started the year 8-0, but each lost in game nine... This also marks the ninth time UConn has entered the month of January undefeated, four times under Calhoun.

UCONN IN THE NATIONAL POLLS-- UConn is ranked No. 3 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 and No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 (through games of January 5). The No. 5 ranking is the highest during the regular season since the Huskies were ranked No. 2 during the week of January 4, 2000. The Huskies were ranked for the final three polls in 2001-02 and five weeks total last season. UConn has been ranked at least one week in the national polls during 14 of the past 15 seasons under Jim Calhoun... UConn has spent a total of 105 weeks in the top ten of the Associated Press poll since the 1989-90 season and is back in the top ten of the AP poll during the regular season for the first time since January 2, 2001. The Huskies finished last season No. 10 in the final AP poll and was No. 6 in the final ESPN/USA Today ranking.

HUSKIES ON ESPN-- The game vs. Oklahoma will be UConn’s 109th game to be televised nationally by ESPN/espn2 during the past 13 seasons (since the start of the 1989-90 season). UConn is 76-32 overall (70.4%) on ESPN/espn2 during that span. This is the first of eight regular season games in 2002-03 scheduled to carried by the worldwide leader. The other games are: at North Carolina (ESPN, 1/18), at Miami (ESPN, 1/20), at St. John’s (ESPN, 1/27), at Providence (ESPN, 2/8), Syracuse (ESPN, 2/10), at Notre Dame (ESPN, 2/24), at Boston College (ESPN, 3/8). UConn was 9-2 on ESPN/espn2 last season.

NATIONAL RANKING NOTES-- UConn has won 13 of its last 25 road games against ranked teams and has won 20 of its last 31 overall against top ten teams... UConn is 6-10 on the road against top tean teams under Jim Calhoun... UConn is 61-69 vs. nationally-ranked teams under Jim Calhoun.

VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES-- UConn is 181-36 against non-conference opponents under Jim Calhoun... UConn is 20-8 on the road against non-conference foes under Jim Calhoun... The Huskies are 22-8 in non-conference games in January and February under Jim Calhoun... The Huskies are 9-0 in non-conference games this season and went 10-4 last season in non-conference contests.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN-- The Huskies will play only their second road game of the season at Oklahoma. The first was a 76-70 win at Vanderbilt on December 1. UConn compiled a 14-5 mark in 2001-02 away from the friendly confines of Gampel Pavilion or the Hartford Civic Center. The Huskies were 7-3 in road games and were 7-2 in neutral site contests.

SERIES HISTORY & NOTES-- UConn and Oklahoma will meet for the second time in the sport of men’s basketball, with the Sooners taking a 69-67 decision on January 7, 2002, exactly one year ago tonight, at the Hartford Civic Center... Head Coach Jim Calhoun is 0-3 lifetime vs. Oklahoma, two games coming while he was the coach at Northeastern. Northeastern dropped an 80-74 decision to Oklahoma in the 1986 NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, NC and the following is the recap that appears on the Northeastern website: Jim Calhoun takes league Coach of the Year honors as Northeastern rolls to a 26-5 record. All-America East first-teamers Reggie Lewis and Andre LaFleur (now UConn Director of Basketball Operations) combine for 30 points as the Huskies beat Boston University and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year. Lewis then scores 35 points (the most ever by a Husky in the tourney) and pulls 15 boards, but foul-plagued NU falls to Oklahoma... UConn has only played five games against teams in the Big 12 Conference, which started play in the 1996-97 season. The Huskies have a 2-3 mark in those contests, spliting a pair of games with Texas in 1999-00 and 2000-01, beating Nebraska in the NIT in 1997 and losing to then No. 1 Kansas during the 1996-97 regular season.

GORDON LEADS THE WAY-- Sophomore Ben Gordon leads the Huskies in scoring at 22.1 points per game. He has topped the 20-point mark on six occasions and had 31 vs. Sacred Heart and 29 vs. Wagner and UNC Asheville. For the season, he is averaging 22.1 ppg, shooting 49.6 from field, 50.9 from three and 91.3 from the line... He also averages 4.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds... After scoring only four points at Vandy, he has exploded in the last six games, averaging 26.0 ppg (156 pts.) and 5.0 assists (30 assists)... He is shooting 58.3% (49-84) from field, 61.5% (24-39) from three and 94.4% (34-36) from line in that six-game span... He has increased his scoring average from 12.6 as a freshman, a jump of 9.5 points per game. Gordon’s career numbers to date are strikingly similiar to Ray Allen. Both averaged 12.6 points as a frosh coming off the bench as the sixth man. Ray averaged 21.1 as a sophomore in 1994-95.

NEXT STOP: 1,000-- Senior Tony Robertson will continue his pursuit of 1,000 career points entering the Oklahoma game. Robertson has 936 career points entering the game and is averaging 11.0 points per game in 2002-03 off the Husky bench in his sixth man role. He has reached double figures in five games this season.

TALIEK CONTINUES TO DISH-- Junior Taliek Brown leads the Huskies in assists with 67 (7.44 per game) and has committed only 19 turnovers in nine games. Taliek is second in the BIG EAST Conference and is ranked No. 10 nationally, through games of January 4. Taliek has 396 career assists, 5.3 per game. His 396 assists are No. 9 all-time at UConn. He has had a pair of 10-assist games on the season and seven in his career. That total ties him with Tate George for second place in double-figure assist games. Kevin Ollie holds the school record with nine double figure assist efforts in his career. Ollie also shares the single game record of 14 with Earl Kelley. Ollie reached 14 assists on two occasions.

OKAFOR ON THE BOARDS-- Sophomore Emeka Okafor leads the nation (through games of January 4) in rebounding at 12.9 boards per game. He has recorded double figure boards in every game this season and has eight double-doubles. He grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the win over Wagner, which tied the Gampel Pavilion record for rebounds in a game with Rod Sellers. Okafor has a ways to go to catch John Thomas, who grabbed double figure rebounds in 18 straight games to end the 1975-76 season. He has eight double-doubles on the year and has double figure rebounds in all nine games. He also has 15 career double-doubles. Okafor had back-to-back double-doubles on three occasions as a freshman, but never reeled off three in a row.

BLOCK PARTY CONTINUES-- Emeka Okafor also leads the nation (through games of January 4) in blocked shots, averaging 5.7 per contest. Okafor set a UConn single season record in 2001-02 with 138 blocked shots and has 189 (4.4/game) in his 43-game career as a Husky, currently third on the UConn career list. Jake Voskuhl, currently with the Phoenix Suns, (1997-00) is second on the blocked shot list with 193 blocks in his 138 career contests, while Donyell Marshall, currently with the Chicago Bulls, (1992-94) holds the career mark of 245 in his 91 career contests.

CALHOUN HOLDS UCONN WIN % MARK-- Head Coach Jim Calhoun enters the game with Oklahoma with a record at UConn of 385-149, a winning percentage of 72.1%. With the win over Wagner on December 7, Calhoun surpassed former Husky coach Hugh Greer, who was 286-112 (71.859%) from 1946-63.

INSTANT OFFENSE FROM ANDERSON-- Freshman forward/guard Rashad Anderson has shaken off a slow start to his Husky career and become instant offense off the UConn bench. Over the past four games, Anderson is averaging 11.8 points (47 pts.) and has hit on 11-of-20 three’s (55.0%)... In the win over St. Bonaventure, it took Anderson only six seconds after checking into the game to fire and hit his first three-pointer, keying a Husky comeback from an early 10-point deficit. In the back-to-back wins over UMass (16 points) and UNC Asheville (13 points), Anderson scored 20 points in 35 total minutes off the bench, hitting on 9-of-17 shots from the field and 7-of-13 from three-point range. He keyed the comeback in the UMass game, hitting three three-pointers in the crushing 29-2 second half run and knocked down 4-of-6 three’s in the win over Asheville... For the season, he is averaging 6.3 points and 10.3 minutes per game. In the first five games, Anderson played a total of only 25 minutes and scored 10 points.

DENHAM IN DOUBLES AGAIN-- Freshman forward Denham Brown has started all nine games for the Huskies at the small forward spot and is fourth on the squad in scoring at 9.1 per game and also grabs 3.4 boards per game. He is shooting 44.4% from three-point range, hitting on 12-of-27 attempts. He has scored in double figures in three of the last four games and has reached double figures on five occasions on the year. That includes 13 points in the road win at Vanderbilt, all of which came in the first half, and a career-best 15 in the win over UNC Asheville.

ALSO OF NOTE-- Freshman Marcus White made his first career appearance in the win over UNC Asheville, scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds in nine minutes of play... Senior Mike Hayes made his first career start against Sacred Heart and made the most of it. He totaled a career-best nine points and tied his career-high of nine rebounds, set a game earlier vs. Vanderbilt... Junior Taliek Brown and sophomore Ben Gordon each had 10 assists in the win over Sacred Heart, marking the first time in UConn history that teammates registered double-digit assist totals in the same game... Senior Tony Robertson poured in 21 points off the bench against GW, extending his membership in a select group to accomplish the feat under Jim Calhoun. Robertson also scored 22 off the bench vs. Fairfield as a freshman. He is joined in the club by Brian Fair (9 times in his career), Ben Gordon (5 times), Ray Allen (4 times), Johnnie Selvie (4 times), Phil Gamble (3 times), John Gwynn (2 times) and Rashamel Jones (1 time)... Junior Shamon Tooles made the most of his first career start, in the opener vs. Quinnipiac, recording career-highs in nearly every category, including his eight points and eight rebounds.

A NEW CAPACITY AT GAMPEL-- The Harry A. Gampel Pavilion has a new seating capacity after a six-month renovation project. The new capacity is 10,167, an addition of 140 seats to the arena. The project consisted of the construction of new complexes for both basketball programs, including locker rooms, lounges and staff offices. A new training room, weight room, study hall and office complex for the Athletic Communications staff were also a part of the project. The additional seats are in the two end zones.

NEW TO THE STAFF-- UConn has two new additions to the basketball staff for the 2002-03 season. Assistant Coach Clyde Vaughan joined the staff in May, replacing Dave Leitao, who became the Head Coach at DePaul University. Vaughan is no stranger to fans of BIG EAST basketball, enjoying a standout career at the University of Pittsburgh from 1980-84. Vaughan led the BIG EAST in scoring in 1982-83 and was a two-time All-BIG EAST selection. He is the No. 2 all-time scorer at Pitt. Also joining the basketball support staff is Athletic Trainer Jason Miller. Miller replaces Joe Sharpe, who took a position with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Miller spent the past four seasons as the basketball trainer at Auburn University. Miller is a graduate of Iowa.

HAZELTON LEAVES SQUAD-- Sophomore forward Scott Hazelton (Somerville, MA) has left the basketball program, it was announced by Head Coach Jim Calhoun Tuesday, December 17. Hazelton appeared in 42 games in his Husky career, averaging 2.5 points and 1.7 rebounds. He had seen action in five games in 2002-03, averaging 12.0 minutes per game, 4.6 points and 2.0 rebounds.

HUSKIES ON TELEVISION-- UConn will have 24 of its 27 regular season games televised this season, including 10 appearances on national television. The only three games not being televised this year were the contests against George Washington, Sacred Heart and St. Bonaventure. UConn will appear two times on CBS (St. John’s at Gampel Pavilion, at Pittsburgh), seven times on ESPN (at UNC, at Miami, at St. John’s, at Providence, Syracuse at the HCC, at Notre Dame and at Boston College) and once on espn2 (at Oklahoma). The other 14 TV appearances in the regular season will be appear locally on WTXX-TV, Channel 20.

HUSKIES ON RADIO-- For the 11th consecutive season, WTIC-AM 1080 will serve as the flagship station of the UConn Radio Network and broadcast the Huskies across the state and the region. Calling the action will be Joe D’Ambrosio and Wayne Norman. In addition to WTIC (1080-AM), other stations carrying the games will be WILI (1400-AM), WLIS (1420-AM), WMRD (1150-AM) and WICC (600-AM).

LIVE ON THE NET-- Every game all season can be heard live on the internet via www.UConnHuskies.com. Fans can also track all home games and selected road games statistically in real time at the same address.

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT HCC-- Tickets for UConn games at the Hartford Civic Center are on sale now. Tickets are available via TicketMaster by calling 860-525-4500 (Hartford) or 203-624-0033 (New Haven), visiting any TicketMaster outlet or ordering online at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available at UConn Athletic Ticket Office in the Greer Field House in Storrs, CT, which is open M-F, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., cash or check only please.

NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE-- UConn returns to action on Saturday, January 11 with a noon contest against the Hurricanes of the University of Miami, the BIG EAST opener for the Huskies. The game will be televised live on WTXX-TV 20 in Connecticut and calling the action will be Bob Picozzi and Ron Perry. The game can also be heard on the UConn Radio Network, with WTIC-AM 1080 serving as the flagship station. Live stats and audio are also available via the official website of UConn Athletics, www.UConnHuskies.com.