Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

The Huskies are playing in Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, an arena they've played in already this season (though they've never won here); they're also be playing in front of a hostile crowd, as they often seem to do in the NCAAs regardless of seed (though tonight won't be quite as blatant as the 2011 Sweet 16, 2009 Final Four, 2006 Elite Eight, 2003 Sweet 16, 1998 Elite Eight, 1995 Elite Eight...I'm sure I'm missing at least one).

On the other hand, the Huskies enter the tournament not being one of the top threats to win the championship - this is the first time since 1992 that UConn has made the tournament and not been seeded #5 or higher. Tonight will also be the first time the Cyclones and Huskies meet in men's basketball.

I don't know if anyone can quite predict what's going to happen tonight. Iowa State seems like a nightmare matchup for UConn - a small, athletic team that shoots and defends the 3 exceptionally well, in addition to not allowing offensive rebounds. Combine that with a series of mediocre performances all year long, and it's tough to feel like this is more than a 50-50 proposition.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

The game tips off at approximately 9:20 p.m. (or about 25 minutes after Kentucky finishes pummeling Western Kentucky) on TBS, with your announcing crew of Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. This will be your OpenThread for the evening.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

Continue reading this post »

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for YOUR defending national champion UConn Huskies to open 2012 NCAA Tournament play.

Tonight, in their second-round (really first round, but whatever) contest against slight favorite Iowa State, Jim Calhoun and company are in both familiar and unfamiliar territory.

The Huskies are playing in Louisville's KFC Yum! Center, an arena they've played in already this season (though they've never won here); they're also be playing in front of a hostile crowd, as they often seem to do in the NCAAs regardless of seed (though tonight won't be quite as blatant as the 2011 Sweet 16, 2009 Final Four, 2006 Elite Eight, 2003 Sweet 16, 1998 Elite Eight, 1995 Elite Eight...I'm sure I'm missing at least one).

On the other hand, the Huskies enter the tournament not being one of the top threats to win the championship - this is the first time since 1992 that UConn has made the tournament and not been seeded #5 or higher. Tonight will also be the first time the Cyclones and Huskies meet in men's basketball.

I don't know if anyone can quite predict what's going to happen tonight. Iowa State seems like a nightmare matchup for UConn - a small, athletic team that shoots and defends the 3 exceptionally well, in addition to not allowing offensive rebounds. Combine that with a series of mediocre performances all year long, and it's tough to feel like this is more than a 50-50 proposition.

Still, I'm happy to go to war with at least two future pros and a Hall of Fame coach, no matter what the Huskies' weaknesses are.

The game tips off at approximately 9:20 p.m. (or about 25 minutes after Kentucky finishes pummeling Western Kentucky) on TBS, with your announcing crew of Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery. This will be your OpenThread for the evening.

Let's go Huskies.

Below the jump, some numbers to sink your teeth into:

Continue reading this post »

What's that you say? UConn and Syracuse playing in a Big East Tournament game? No, I couldn't imagine it.

You know the stories, or at least you will by the time ESPN gets to the under-16 today. These teams have met in the Big East tournament four times since 2006. The first meeting was part of Gerry McNamara's miracle run. The 2009 tussle went to six overtimes. Last year, UConn got their revenge in the Big East semis. In total the four games have had eight overtimes and created countless memories. No one knows what today's game has in store, but the promise of a classic is always there.

This will be the third time UConn and Syracuse have squared off this season. The first was a close game at the Carrier Dome that turned into a late route. The second featured a furious Husky comeback and some suspect referring as Syracuse escaped a rollicking Gampel Pavilion with a two-point win. The Orange took the first two, but UConn didn't have Jim Calhoun on the sidelines in either. He'll be there today, and that will make a difference for the Huskies -- the question is how big of a difference it'll make.

There are other factors in play as well. UConn will be worn down, playing their third game in three days, with yesterday's affair being an emotional comeback that ended in overtime. Syracuse, for their part, has not played since Saturday and teams with a double-bye in this tournament have been known to start slow. And oh yeah, there's the matter of Yahoo! investigating a drug scandal at the school. Sure, it does not involve any current players, but the potential for distraction is there.

The game tips off at noon from Madison Square Garden. ESPN has your television coverage. This is your OpenThread. As you read this I'm stuck in the middle of a classroom taking an exam, but I'll join you when I can. In the meantime leave your comments below, and, as always, Go Huskies.

I'm not exactly breaking news by pointing out that the Huskies have failed to win three straight Big East games this year. I talked about it yesterday, I am sure it will be mentioned on TV today, and should the Huskies lose to West Virginia you can bet it will be one of the first things out of the mouth of anyone arguing that UConn does not deserve to be in the NCAA tournament. A stat like that is meaningful, because when you want to prove you belong consistency matters. Thankfully for UConn it has been pretty well acknowledged that a win today will once and for all prove that the Huskies do belong in the NCAA field. Yes, they're probably there already, but if Shabazz Napier and company send the Mountaineers packing the debate changes from one about getting a bid to one about seeding.

Beating West Virginia is certainly possible. UConn did it back on January 9, rallying from behind in Hartford to snap a two-game losing streak. It won't be easy though. Mountaineer forward Kevin Jones made be the Big East first team, but might be feeling some extra motivation today since he, like Kemba Walker last year, was not named a unanimous selection when it was clearly deserved. Like last time, he'll probably match up on Andre Drummond, which is a bit of a double-edged sword. His smaller size (he's 6'8") and shooting ability mean Drummond might struggle when Jones leaves the paint, however UConn should have an advantage on offense, where Drummond will be able to bully the Mountaineers inside (last time he scored 20 points on 9-11 shooting). It's worth nothing that Roscoe Smith only played three minutes in that first game and his particular skill-set could be useful in shutting down Jones on the perimeter. However, Smith would probably get beat up inside by the 260 lb. Jones.

There is also the little matter of West Virginia departing for the Big XII. The Mountaineers are probably going to play at least one game in the NCAA tournament as a Big East school, but for all intents and purposes a loss today would mean the end of their time in the Big East, and as a fan I would not mind being the one to shut the door on them.

The game tips at noon in Madison Square Garden. ESPN and ESPN3 have your TV coverage. This is your OpenThread. Join the discussion below. Go Huskies.

Oh, hello again DePaul. Hello Madison Square Garden. Hello noon game on Tuesday. This all seems so... so.... familiar. And so it is, because the similarities to last year are there if you want to look for them. Of course, the differences are there too, you know, little things like the lack of Kemba Walker, the fact that this team has never quite clicked and these Huskies, if they were to somehow win five games in five days, would have to do something they haven't done all season: win three Big East games in a row.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves, because first and foremost the Huskies are faced with a DePaul Blue Demons squad that is coming off the best game it has played in years. Tiebreaker implications meant that I actually watched DePaul thrash Seton Hall 86-58 on Saturday and if the DePaul plays like that UConn will be in a lot of trouble. Of course, DePaul is DePaul because they've never played like that two games in a row, but there's a first time for everything.

Today would be a uniquely bad time for DePaul to finally piece everything together because UConn's NCAA tournament hopes are resting on a very fragile bubble. It's not that the Huskies haven't done enough to get in -- they almost certainly have -- it's that a loss to DePaul is so bad (it dropped Seton Hall's RPI by more than 10 spots) that it could singlehandedly destroy UConn's postseason hopes.

This UConn team still isn't great, but seemingly for the first time this year it knows that it will have both its coach and its full roster going forward, and that might just count for something. At least I hope it does, because we call it March Madness for a reason. Anything can happen and as long as the Huskies keep winning they'll stay alive.

Last year they said winning five games in five days was impossible. This year we know that's not true, but it doesn't make the task any easier. Here's hoping lightning can strike twice.

The game tips at noon on ESPN. This is your OpenThread. Join us in the comments below. Go Huskies.

Well, here we are, the last day of the regular season. I won't pretend it's been a fun one, or that it's turning out exactly like we all expected, but it's not over yet. Remarkably there is still a decent chance UConn will find itself in the NCAA tournament in two weeks, and as we all know, as long as you make the tournament, anything can happen.

I've thought a lot about how this season could have been different. It's hard not to think that having Jim Calhoun on the bench could have impacted the way the team played, especially in the last two UConn games, both two-point losses that could have easily been flipped into the "W" column. Or you can picture a scenario where the NCAA didn't jerk Ryan Boatright around and he was available for games against UCF, Cincinnati and Tennessee (three games lost by a total of 11 points). Those differences certainly would not have lifted UConn up to its lofty preseason expectations, but a little stability could have made a big difference for this young squad.

That's in the past though, and we'd be better served by focusing on the future, which, I admit, I'm not entirely pessimistic about. Jim Calhoun, the one and only, isn't sure if he's going to coach today (UPDATE: he's coaching) , but c'mon, I think we all know Jim Calhoun is going to coach today. He showed up at practice yesterday, in theory because he was going to "observe it," but all reports indicate that he did what we'd expect and coach it. Here's how he described staying away:

"I just couldn't stay home any longer," Calhoun, appearing a bit weary, his voice hoarse, said. "I didn't know what I was going to do. I was going to come in (Thursday), but physically I just couldn't do it. More fatigue than anything else."

So yeah, I think he'll be there today, which is great, because a win against Pitt is essential.

UConn's seemingly unkillable chance to make the NCAA tournament could finally expire with a loss today. Even with a win the Huskies are in some trouble, especially with regard to the Big East tournament. As it stands right now, UConn would be the 10th seed in Madison Square Garden.

If they win, they also need USF to win (at home) against West Virginia, to move into the 9th seed. There may not sound like much of a difference between the 10th and 9th seed, but consider this: the 8th seed is probably going to be Seton Hall. The 7th seed is definitely Louisville. Between the two, I'd much rather play Seton Hall on Wednesday. And yes, the Huskies can still earn a single-bye for next week, but that would require DePaul beating Seton Hall tonight, so don't hold your breath.

It's also senior day today. There are no scholarship seniors on the roster, but walk-ons Kyle Bailey and P.J. Cochrane will both have their last game at Gampel Pavilion. There is also a good chance that this is the last time we'll see Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb and Alex Oriakhi in Storrs, especially if UConn is kept out of next year's tournament.

The game tips at noon from Gampel Pavilion. ESPN has your TV coverage. This is your OpenThread, join us in the comments below (and enjoy what's after the jump). Go Huskies.

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So much of our perception in sports is based on timing. Take for instance the Elite 8. Meacham, who became a UConn fan around 2005, sees Elite 8 games as fun exciting adventure that usually ends up with UConn going to the Final Four. Me? I think about the Elite 8 as a nausea inducing dread machine because the early years of UConn's success scarred me so badly.

We have a similar difference when it comes to Providence. In Meacham's eyes the Friars are an annoyingly troublesome team that UConn is only able to beat when they're going to the Final Four. Whereas I see them as a bottom-feeder that resides in the Big East sub-basement with Seton Hall. Meacham's view, as usual, is probably more accurate. The Friars have been a pain in UConn's ass over the last several years and though UConn should destroy them tonight (Ken Pom has them 117th in the country and they've won only two games in the past six weeks) they always cause more trouble then they are worth.

Hopefully that won't be the case this evening, because if UConn loses it'll once again send their NCAA tournament hopes back to a very unsteady bubble. But, should the Huskies survive and advance things will be looking good -- Jim Calhoun might be back for a senior-less senior day on Saturday, UConn will be hosting a down Pitt team at Gampel and we'll be back to the glorious month of March.

The game tonight tips at 7 on SNY and ESPN3. This is your OpenThread, leave your comments below. Go Huskies.

There are a lot of ways to approach a game like tonight's. You can talk about matchups and ask questions like how will UConn deal with Fab Melo? Or Can Syracuse slow down a resurgent Jeremy Lamb? You can look to the recent past and examine the game from two weeks ago, if only to once again marvel at Syracuse's insane outside shooting. Or you could take a historical tact, talk about the history of the rivalry, the dominance these two programs have shown over the Big East, six overtimes, etc. There's a future-tense angle as well. Syracuse is leaving for the ACC. Will UConn get a chance to join them? Is this the last time Syracuse will come to Storrs?

But those questions are not what I have been thinking about for the last week, or really since the schedule was released. Instead, I've been thinking about Gampel Pavilion. It's not the most famous arena in college basketball, and it doesn't always get thrown in the conversation for "toughest places to play", but for my money it's the best arena in the country. We give UConn fans a hard time for their fair-weather tendencies, but when they get excited about something they can create some real havoc and something tells me they'll be plenty excited tonight.

Gampel is a small arena for a big-time school, seating only 10,000 people (imagine if UConn knew where its program was going when the arena was commissioned in the 1980s), but it's loud as all hell when the crowd wants it to be and the Huskies have posted an eye-popping .877 winning percentage in it (129-18 heading into tonight).

Of those 129 wins, four have come at the expense of the Syracuse Orange, who have never won in Gampel. Here's hoping that UConn notches win 130 tonight so that when Syracuse heads off the to ACC they can do it knowing they never beat UConn on their real home floor.

The game tips at 9 on ESPN. Gameday will be broadcasting from Gampel starting at 8. Join us below to talk about and, of course, Go Huskies.

I'm starting to suspect our choice of OpenThread art doesn't have a huge impact on the outcomes of games, so I'll let this lovely little Lob Town number lead us off again tonight for what appears to be a must-win game for the Huskies. Villanova is not good, they're 11-15 and KenPom has them as the 87th best team in the country, but that doesn't mean the rapidly melting down Huskies won't find some horrid new spirit killing way to lose and and miss the NCAA tournament.

The faintest glimmers of hope for this season are still alive in my heart, but the darkness is so powerful I can't force myself to write about them now. Hopefully tonight will give us something to smile about.

The game tips at 7 from Philadelphia. ESPN and ESPN3 have your TV coverage. Join us in the comments below. Go Huskies.

If this season is really starting to turn around -- and I think there are signs of that after a closer-than-the-score-indicated Syracuse loss and the DePaul blowout -- then today's game is big. A win over Marquette gives the Huskies some much needed momentum (it'd be their first two-game winning streak in over a month) and loads of resumé security.

Marquette, which is ranked 12th in the country, has won nine of its past 10 games and is second in the Big East. Defeating the Golden Eagles would easily be UConn's biggest win, and barring a horrible collapse would virtually assure the Huskies of an NCAA tournament bid.

It helps that Marquette isn't a big team. It appears Davante Gardner, their 6'8", 290 lb. power forward won't be able to play, which means the Golden Eagles won't have a single player over 6'7". That bodes well for Andre Drummond, who has put together two impressive games in a row and been a lot more aggressive around the basket. Look for the Huskies to go to him early and often.

Things get trickier for the Huskies on the perimeter. Marquette is lead by senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom, who has always done well against UConn, and at 6'2" and 215 lbs. he'll be a tough for either Ryan Boatright or Shabazz Napier to effectively check.

The game tips off at noon from the XL Center in Hartford. ESPN has your tv coverage, join us in the comments below. Go Huskies.