UConn Looks to Keep Defensive
Effort Strong at Villanova

Philadelphia, Pa. (February 27) -- The Connecticut men’s basketball team will take to the road when the Huskies visit Villanova on Saturday afternoon at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pa. Game time is set for 2:30 pm and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

The eighth-ranked Huskies own a record of 22-5 overall and are 10-3 in the BIG EAST. Villanova stands at 14-12 overall and holds a 6-7 record in league play.

The UConn and Villanova game will mark the 52nd meeting between the two schools dating back to the 1940-41 season. Villanova owns the 29-22 series advantage but Connecticut has won four of the last five meetings. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun owns a 19-14 record against the Wildcats in his 18 years of coaching. In 2002-03, Villanova defeated the Huskies 79-70 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. Ben Gordon scored 25 points and Emeka Okafor had a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Gary Buchanan led the Wildcats with 28 points behind 6-for-12 shooting from three-point range.

Out of the 13 other competing schools in the BIG EAST, Connecticut falls behind in the series advantage against only four schools. Along with Villanova’s 29-22 record over UConn, Georgetown (29-23), Syracuse (43-28) and St. John’s (32-21) have a winning record against the Huskies.

“UConn coming up Saturday is a big game for anyone in our conference. They have been the class of our league for a long time now and are the No. 8 team in the country,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “We have a great challenge and we have to stop them from controlling the boards and getting out on the break and you have to deal with (Emeka) Okafor and (Ben) Gordon. If you spend too much time on those two, then everybody else can hurt you. We are preparing for that this week.”

UConn continues to be a national powerhouse in the statistical categories. During Connecticut’s current three-game win streak, the Huskies defense has been a major factor in the team’s success. The Huskies have held their opponents to 55.3 points per game and an average of 33.5 from the field and 24.4 from three-point range. UConn also leads the country in several categories including field goal percentage defense, rebound margin and blocked shots.

“It (the defense) seems to be very good to me. It seems to have been pretty consistent all year, the physicalness and toughness,” said Wright. “I heard the comments after the Pittsburgh game that they lacked some toughness. I didn’t see it. I saw a team that played an outstanding team on the road and never backed down, never gave up and kept coming and coming right until the end. That’s what I saw.”

Over the last three games, Okafor has been dominating the boards unlike any Husky in the last 36 years, totaling 55 boards in the last three games and 40 rebounds in the last two contests. Okafor continues to lead the nation in blocked shots with 4.69 per game and with double-doubles racking up 18 in UConn’s 27 games played this season. He has a team-best 19.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

“I think you don’t have to give him any challenges. He (Okafor) really does everything a coach should ask, I clearly think he is the finest player in America. I think he is the most valuable player in America and I don’t think there is a team that wouldn’t change with the emergence of Emeka Okafor,” said Calhoun. “He had 40 rebounds in two games. I would say he is scoring pretty well and he is on a tear. He is averaging 20 points a game and 12.5 rebounds a game, five blocked shots over the last five games and he leads the country in shot blocking, second in the country in rebounding and he has moved into the top 40 scorers in America. There is no more a valuable player in America, and he responded just like a coach would hope a great player would respond.”

Junior Rashad Anderson stepped in and got the start in place of sophomore Denham Brown in UConn’s win over St. John’s on Tuesday night. Anderson is averaging 16 points over the last three games and just below the double-figure mark at 9.8 on the season. Senior Taliek Brown leads the team and the BIG EAST in assists averaging 6.93 per game. In the win over St. John’s, Brown finished the game with 12 assists. In the final three minutes of the first half and the first 12 minutes of the second half, Brown assisted on each of ten consecutive UConn field goals.

The Wildcats have lost four of the last five games, most recently a 64-59 defeat at Syracuse on Monday night. Forward Curtis Sumpter notched his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Wildcats shot 37.3 percent from the floor and are currently 0-7 when shooting less than 50 percent from the floor.

“We have a young group that I like. I like their heart, I like their toughness,” said Wright. “I think as soon as we can get to play in a solid manner offensively and take care of the ball and make good decisions, I think we have the chance to be a good team. If that doesn’t happen, we have the chance to be a poor team.”

Villanova is hosting its third and final game at the Wachovia Center this season when UConn comes to town. The Wildcats are 0-2 in the building, dropping decisions to Memphis and Notre Dame in January. Villanova has not defeated a ranked team since their win over UConn on February 15 of last season. The Huskies were ranked No. 23 at the time.

Turnovers have been a constant problem for the Wildcats as the team has turned the ball over 440 times this season. Villanova had a season-high 24 in its win over Virginia Tech on February 28.

“Anything that has to do with turnovers could be a problem for us. It is definitely something we are concerned about and it is our decision making, not as much as bad passing, but rushing ourselves at times,” said Wright. “I do think we are getting better and I think you just have to play. These young guys have to play in game situations because it is tough to simulate it in practice, the speed and the pressure of the game. I think it is going to click soon, I hope it clicks Saturday.”

Sophomore Allen Ray leads the Wildcats in scoring averaging with 17.2 points per game. Also scoring in double-figure points is Sumpter. He is scoring 15.3 points per game and has a team-best 7.4 boards per game.

Wright is currently in his third season at the helm of the Villanova men’s basketball team. His three-year record stands at 48-41 overall. Before heading to Villanova, Wright spent seven seasons at Hofstra and holds an overall coaching record of 170-126.