UCONN Basketball UCONN Basketball - UConn Huskies

UCONN Basketball 

FOR MORE INFORMATION , PLEASE CONTACT: 

KYLE MUNCY 

Assistant Director of Athletics/Communications 

Office-- 860-486-3531; Fax-- 860-486-5085 

Cellular-- 860-208-8624 

RADIO COVERAGE: UCONN RADIO NETWORK 

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

WTIC (1080-AM); WILI (1400-AM); WSUB (980-AM); 

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

2001-2002 CONNECTICUT BASKETBALL 

SCHEDULE & RESULTS 

Date Opponent TV Site Time 

NOVEMBER 

Tues. 6 Nike Elite (Exhib.) -- Storrs, CT W, 105-77 

Tues. 13 Grassroots Canada (Exhib.) Hartford, CT W, 107-57 

Mon. 19 VANDERBILT WTXX-20 Hartford, CT W, 84-71 

Mon. 26 NEW HAMPSHIRE WTXX-20 Hartford, CT W, 110-58 

DECEMBER 

Sun.-Mon. 2-3 BB&T Classic, MCI Center, Washington, DC 

Sun. 2 vs. George Washington WCTX-59 W, 84-76 

Mon. 3 vs. Maryland WCTX-59 L, 77-65 

Sat. 8 NORTHEASTERN WTXX-20 Storrs, CT W, 80-44 

Tues. 11 at Massachusetts ESPN Amherst, MA W, 69-59 

Fri. 21 QUINNIPIAC WTXX-20 Hartford, CT W, 95-79 

Fri. 28 ST. BONAVENTURE WTXX-20 Hartford, CT L, 88-70 

JANUARY 

Wed. 2 at Virginia Tech* WTXX-20 Blacksburg, VA W, 86-74 

Sat. 5 MIAMI* WTXX-20 Storrs, CT W, 76-75 

Mon. 7 OKLAHOMA espn2 Hartford, CT L, 69-67 

Thu. 10 VIRGINIA TECH* WTXX-20 Hartford, CT W, 95-60 

Sun. 13 at Villanova* WTXX-20 Philadelphia, PA W, 70-65 

Wed. 16 at Providence* NESN Providence, RI W, 69-62 

Sat. 19 NORTH CAROLINA CBS Storrs, CT W, 86-54 

Wed. 23 ST. JOHN’S* WTXX-20 Storrs, CT W, 75-70 

Sat. 26 at Arizona CBS Tucson, AZ W, 100-98 OT 

Wed. 30 at Rutgers* WTXX-20 Piscataway, NJ L, 61-53 

FEBRUARY 

Sat. 2 at Miami* WTXX-20 Miami FL L, 68-66 

Tue. 5 PROVIDENCE* espn2 Hartford, CT W, 67-56 

Sat. 9 at St. John’s* ESPN New York, NY L, 85-83 OT 

Mon. 11 VILLANOVA* ESPN Hartford, CT W, 46-40 

Sat. 16 BOSTON COLLEGE* WTXX-20 Hartford, CT W, 79-77 OT 

Tue. 19 at Georgetown* espn2 Washington, DC W, 75-74 

Sat. 23 WEST VIRGINIA* WTXX-20 Storrs, CT W, 95-73 

Mon. 25 at Boston College* ESPN Chestnut Hill, MA W, 75-61 

MARCH 

Sat. 2 SETON HALL* ESPN Storrs, CT W, 90-78 

Wed-Sat 

6-9 at BIG EAST Tournament, Madison Square Garden, New York, NY 

Thurs 7 vs. #5E Villanova espn2 W, 72-70 

Fri. 8 vs. #2W Notre Dame ESPN W, 82-77 

Sat. 9 vs. #1W Pittsburgh ESPN W, 74-65 2OT 

Fri.-Sun. 

15 & 17 NCAA Championship East Region, MCI Center, Washington, DC 

15 vs. #15 Hampton CBS W, 78-67 

17 vs. #7 North Carolina State CBS W, 77-74 

Fri.-Sun. 

22 & 24 NCAA Championship East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY 

22 vs. #11 Southern Illinois CBS 

24 Regional Championship CBS 

HOME GAMES IN CAPS 

*-BIG EAST Conference Game 

All Times EST & Subject To Change 

2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship 

East Regional, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, March 22 & 24 

#2 East seed University of Connecticut Huskies 

(26-6, 13-3 in the BIG EAST) 

BIG EAST Tournament Champions 

BIG EAST East Division Regular Season Champions 

ABOUT UCONN-- The University of Connecticut enters the NCAA 

East Regional Semifinal with an overall record of 26-6 and have won 11 

straight games, the second longest current win streak in the nation. UConn 

will face the Salukis of Southern Illinois University on Friday, March 22. 

The Huskies advanced to the regional with a pair of wins at the MCI 

Center in Washington, DC. UConn opened NCAA play with a 78-67 win 

over #15 seed Hampton University and followed that with a 77-74 win 

over #7 seeded North Carolina State in the second round on Sunday, 

March 17. Southern Illinois (28-7) advanced with wins over Texas Tech 

and Georgia. 

UCONN IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP-- This is Connecticut’s 

23 rd trip to the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship, dating back to 

1951. In 48 NCAA games played in their 23 trips to the NCAA tourney, 

UConn is 27-21 overall. Prior to Jim Calhoun’s tenure, UConn had posted 

a 4-14 mark in 13 trips to the NCAA Championship. In Jim Calhoun’s 16 

years as UConn head coach, the Huskies have posted a 23-7 record in the 

NCAA Championship. 

HUSKIES IN THE SWEET 16-- UConn is making its 11th trip to the 

NCAA Sweet 16 and its eighth under head coach Jim Calhoun. The Huskies 

are 5-5 in Sweet 16 games, 4-3 under Calhoun. UConn has advanced to 

the Sweet 16 or beyond in 1956, 1964, 1976, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 

1996, 1998, 1999 and 2002. 

HUSKIES 18-2 IN NCAA FIRST/SECOND ROUNDS UNDER 

JIM CALHOUN-- The Connecticut basketball program has posted an 

impressive 18-2 record in NCAA First/Second Round competition in 

UConn’s ten tourney appearances under head coach Jim Calhoun. UConn 

is a spotless 10-0 in NCAA First Round play. The Huskies are 8-2 in NCAA 

Second Round matchups. 

IN THE SECOND ROUND-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored a 

career-best 34 points and carried the Huskies into the Sweet 16 with a 77- 

74 win over NC State. Junior Tony Robertson added 18 points for the 

Huskies, 12 in the first half. UConn led by as many as 11 points in the first 

half and settled for a five-point lead at the break. The Huskies biggest 

second half lead was ten points, at 67-57 with 4:27 to play. The Wolfpack 

responded with a 14-5 run to cut the lead to one, 72-71, with 47 seconds 

left. Butler responded by making three free throws after getting fouled on 

an attempted three and iced the game with two more free throws with 

three seconds left. Julius Hodge missed a three at the buzzer for NC State. 

Butler made all 12 of his free throw attempts and added nine rebounds and 

four assists. 

SECOND ROUND NOTES-- Butler’s 34 points were the second 

highest total by a UConn player in an NCAA game, falling just short of the 

36 scored by Ray Allen in an Elite Eight loss to UCLA in 1995... Butler’s 12- 

for-12 effort from the line was the best perfect effort in school NCAA history 

and was the third highest total made from the line. Jack Rose made 18- 

of-21 vs. BU in 1959 and Mike McKay made 13-of-14 in 1979 vs. Syracuse... 

UConn was 21-of-22 from the line, 95.5%, the best percentage by a Husky 

team in NCAA play... UConn improved to 8-1 lifetime at the MCI Center, 

4-0 in NCAA Tournament games in the building. UConn played five games 

at MCI this season, going 4-1, losing only to Maryland on December 3. 

IN THE FIRST ROUND-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored 21 points, 

grabbed nine boards and handed out six assists to lead the University of 

2002 University of Connecticut Men’s Basketball NCAA Championship East Regional Media Guide, page 1

Connecticut to a 78-67 NCAA First Round win over Hampton University 

on Friday, March 15. Senior Johnnie Selvie had 13 points and 11 

boards, while freshman Emeka Okafor scored 12 points, grabbed 15 

rebounds and blocked five shots in his NCAA debut. The Huskies led 

by as many as 15 points in the first half, at 40-25, and settled for an 

11-point lead at the break. The Pirates cut the lead to four points on 

three occasions in the second half, but UConn held Hampton 

scoreless for the final three minutes and scored the final seven points 

of the contest. 

FIRST ROUND NOTES-- Freshman Emeka Okafor’s total of 15 

rebounds in the win over Hampton is the second most rebounds in 

an NCAA debut by a Husky. Toby Kimball had 19 boards on March 11, 

1963 against West Virginia... Okafor and senior Johnnie Selvie 

became the fourth and fifth Huskies to record a double-double in the 

first NCAA game. The last to turn the trick was Ray Allen (12p, 10r) 

on March 17, 1994 against Rider. 

BEST NCAA DEBUT-- Sophomore Caron Butler has placed 

himself at the top of the elite players in UConn history with his total 

of 55 points in his first two NCAA games. Butler had 21 in the opening 

round win over Hampton and followed that with 34 in the win over 

NC State. Former All-American Richard Hamilton had 53 points in his 

first two NCAA games, while Khalid El-Amin totaled 50 points in his 

first two NCAA appearances. 

THE 25-WIN PLATEAU-- For the eighth time under head 

coach Jim Calhoun, UConn has reached the 25-win plateau. The 

Husky basketball program had reached the 23-win mark only two 

times before Calhoun took over the program. UConn is 26-6 in 2002 

and finished 25-10 in 1999-00, 34-2 in 1998-99, 32-5 in 1997-98, 30- 

2 in 1995-96, 28-5 in 1994-95, 29-5 in 1993-94 and 31-6 in 1989-90. 

15 STRAIGHT POST-SEASON BIDS: The Connecticut basketball 

program is one of only five schools (among 318 NCAA Division 

I institutions) to have advanced to national post-season tournament 

competition (NCAA or NIT) in each of the past 15 seasons (dating 

back to the 1987-88 season). Under the guidance of head coach Jim 

Calhoun, UConn has earned ten NCAA bids (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 

1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002) and five NIT bids (1988, 1989, 

1993, 1997, 2001). The six institutions who have advanced to 

national tournament play for the past 15 consecutive seasons 

include: Arizona, CONNECTICUT, Indiana, Oklahoma, Temple. 

UCONN’S SEEDS UNDER JIM CALHOUN: Connecticut’s No. 

2 seed in the East Region of the 2002 NCAA Championship Tournament 

marks the tenth NCAA bid for UConn in Jim Calhoun’s 16 years 

as head coach of the Huskies. Following are UConn’s seedings in each 

of its ten NCAA berths since 1990. 

1990-No. 1 seed in East Region (advanced to Final 8) 

1991-No. 11 seed in Midwest Region (advanced to Sweet 16) 

1992-No. 9 seed in Southeast Region (advanced to 2 nd Round) 

1994-No. 2 seed in East Region (advanced to Sweet 16) 

1995-No. 2 seed in West Region (advanced to Final 8) 

1996-No. 1 seed in Southeast Region (advanced to Sweet 16) 

1998-No. 2 seed in East Region (advanced to Final 8) 

1999-No. 1 seed in West Region (won NCAA Championship) 

2000-No. 5 seed in South Region (advanced to 2 nd Round) 

2002-No. 2 seed in the East Region 

UCONN AT THE CARRIER DOME-- UConn will carry a 7-14 

record in the Carrier Dome into the contest with Southern Illinois. The 

Huskies are 7-13 in regular season play vs. Syracuse in the facility and 

0-1 in the BIG EAST Tournament in the Dome, losing to Villanova in 

1981. UConn has lost its last two games at the Dome and last played 

at the Dome on Monday, February 19, 2001, losing to Syracuse by a 

score of 65-60. The Huskies last won at the Carrier Dome on February 

28, 1999, beat Syracuse by a score of 70-58. 

HUSKIES IN NCAA PLAY IN NY STATE-- UConn carries a 3-6 

lifetime mark in NCAA TOurnament play in the state of New York into 

the East Regional at the Carrier Dome. UConn is 2-0 in NCAA games 

in New York under Jim Calhoun, winning a pair of contests at Nassau 

Coliseum in 1994. 

DEJA VU THROUGH DC-- This was UConn’s second trip to MCI 

Center for the NCAA Tournament, both times as the No. 2 seed in the 

East Region. In 1998, UConn defeated Fairleigh Dickinson and 

Indiana in the building, advancing to the regional in Greensboro. The 

Huskies then beat No. 11 seed Washington before falling to North 

Carolina in the Elite Eight. In 2002, UConn beat Hampton and NC 

State in Washington and have advanced to face No. 11 Southern 

Illinois. 

UCONN ON CBS: During the past 13 seasons (since the 1989- 

90 season), the Connecticut Basketball program has been televised 

nationally by CBS Sports a total of 73 times (36 during the regular 

season, 32 during the NCAA Championship, five in the BIG EAST 

Tournament). UConn has compiled an overall record of 46-27 in 

those 73 games on CBS (24-8 in NCAA play, 3-2 in the BIG EAST 

Tournament, 19-17 in regular season play). UConn is 4-0 on CBS this 

season.The Huskies played two regular season contests that were 

televised nationally by CBS. There was an 86-54 win over North 

Carolina on January 19 at Gampel Pavilion and a 100-98 overtime win 

at Arizona on January 26. 

VS. NON-CONFERENCE FOES-- UConn is 180-36 against 

non-conference opponents under Jim Calhoun. The Huskies are 9-3 

in non-conference games this season. 

ROAD WARRIORS-- UConn has compiled a 13-4 mark this 

season away from the friendly confines of Gampel Pavilion or the 

Hartford Civic Center. The Huskies were 7-3 in road games and are 

6-1 in neutral site contests. UConn was 13-2 at home, 6-0 at Gampel 

and 7-2 in Hartford. The only neutral site loss of the season came at 

MCI Center, to Maryland, on December 3. 

JIM CALHOUN IMPRESSIVE IN POST-SEASON: UConn 

head coach Jim Calhoun currently sports an impressive 76.1% 

winning percentage in national post-season tournament play in his 

16 years as Husky head coach (35-11 overall—23-7 in NCAA play, 12- 

4 in NIT play). 

JIM CALHOUN IN MARCH: Head coach Jim Calhoun will carry 

a 16-year record at Connecticut of 68-27 (71.6%) in the month of 

March as he takes his Huskies into the NCAA East Regional. In his 

years in charge of the UConn program, Jim Calhoun’s record in the 

month of March is as follows: 11-5 in regular season play, 22-11 in 

BIG EAST Tournament play, 23-7 in NCAA play, 12-4 in NIT play. 

BIG EAST CHAMPS-- This season, UConn captured its fifth 

all-time BIG EAST Tournament Championship. The Huskies captured 

the title with a 74-65 double overtime win over the Panthers of 

Pittsburgh on Saturday, March 9. UConn defeated Villanova, 72-70 

in the quarterfinal round and Notre Dame, 82-77, in the semifinal 

round during its tourney run to the title. Husky sophomore Caron 

Butler was the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player and freshman 

Ben Gordon was named to the all-tournament team. 

A BIG EAST DOUBLE-- For a BIG EAST record fifth time, UConn 

has captured the Tournament and Regular Season title in the same 

season. The Huskies also turned the trick in 1989-90, 1995-96, 1997- 

98 and 1998-99. Georgetown has accomplished the feat four times, 

St. John’s and Boston College twice and Seton Hall once. 

A RECORD FOR BIG EAST TITLES-- With its BIG EAST 

Tournament Championship, UConn is now alone at the top in league 

history for total championships. The Huskies have captured 12 total 

titles, seven regular season (also a league record) and five 

tournament. Georgetown has won five regular season and six 

tournament titles, a total of 11 combined. 

1999 NATIONAL CHAMPION: In 1999, UConn, the No. 1 

seed in the West Region of the NCAA Championship, beat No. 16 

Texas-San Antonio (91-66) and No. 9 New Mexico (78-56) at 


MOST WINS 

LAST FIVE SEASONS 

(1997-98 to present) 

1. Duke 164-18 

2. Cincinnati 139-30 

2. Kansas 139-34 

4. CONNECTICUT 137-35 

5. Michigan State 134-37 

6. Stanford 134-29 

6. Gonzaga 133-37 

8. Kentucky 132-42 

9. Arizona 131-36 

10. Tulsa 127-45 

AMONG THE NATION’S ELITE 

McNichols Arena in Denver to advance to the 

West Regional in Phoenix. Connecticut topped 

No. 5 seed Iowa (78-68) in the “Sweet 16” 

round of play and bested No. 10 seed Gonzaga 

(67-62) to earn its “first-ever” trip to the 

NCAA Final Four. UConn beat South Regional 

champ Ohio State (64-58) in the national 

semifinals and the Huskies topped East Regional 

champ Duke (77-74) in the national 

championship game. Connecticut concluded 

its 1998-99 national championship season 

with a 34-2 overall record. 

BUTLER, OKAFOR AND GORDON 

HONORED-- UConn has a trio of players 

on the assorted BIG EAST All-Star teams for 

the 2001-2002 regular season. Sophomore 

Caron Butler was a unanimous selection to 

the All-BIG EAST First Team. Freshman 

Emeka Okafor was an All-BIG EAST Third 

Team pick. Okafor was also a unanimous 

selection to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team. 

He was joined on the BIG EAST All-Rookie 

Team by fellow Husky freshman Ben Gordon. 

20 WINS AGAIN-- For the 17th time in 

his career and 12th time in 16 seasons at 

UConn, head coach Jim Calhoun has guided 

his troops to the 20-win plateau. This marks 

the fifth straight season that UConn has 

reached the 20-win mark, the longest such 

streak in school history. UConn had compiled 

eight 20-win seasons in 84 seasons before 

Coach Calhoun’s 1987-88 team went 20-14 

and won the NIT. 

BEASTS OF THE BIG EAST-- Over the 

past five seasons, UConn has compiled a 

league record of 62-22, outdistancing the 

rest of the league by five games. Since the 

start of the 1997-98 season, UConn is followed 

by Miami (57-27), St. John’s (55-29) and 

Syracuse (54-30). 

BUTLER PASSES 1,000-- Sophomore 

Caron Butler became the 33rd member of 

UConn’s 1,000-point club, in his second-year 

as a Husky. Entering the NCAA East Regional, 

Butler has 1,085 points in 61 career contests 

(17.8 per game), and hit the 1,000 mark in 

the BIG EAST semifinals with a three-pointer 

with 1:13 remaining in the first half. He is the 

MOST WINS 

LAST NINE SEASONS 



2. Kansas 254-55 

3. Duke 247-64 



6. Arizona 236-64 

7. Coll. Of Charleston 220-48 

8. Utah 219-70 

8. Tulsa 220-79 

8. North Carolina 219-86 

MOST WINS 

LAST 13 YEARS 


1. Kansas 367-80 

2. Duke 366-90 


4. Arizona 337-89 



6. North Carolina 326-119 

8. Utah 313-106 

8. Arkansas 313-124 

10. UCLA 306-110 

third fastest player at UConn to reach 1,000 

points. Wes Bialosuknia did it as a junior in 

his 47th game and Richard Hamilton did it as 

a sophomore in his 55th game. Ray Allen is 

currently fourth, reaching 1,000 points in 62 

games. Khalid El-Amin also reached the 1,000- 

point mark as a sophomore. Both Hamilton 

and Allen ended their sophomore seasons 

with over 1,100 points, totaling 1,163 and 

1,104, respectively. El-Amin finished his 

second season with 1,090 points. 

A RECORD FOR BLOCKS-- Freshman 

Emeka Okafor is the new holder of the Husky 

single season blocked shots record. Through 

32 games, Okafor now has 136 blocked 

shots, 4.25 per game, breaking the Husky 

record of 111 by Donyell Marshall, an average 

of 3.26 per game, in 1993-94. Okafor’s 136 

blocked shots are the same as UConn’s 

opponents have combined in 2001-02 against 

the Huskies (136). 

A NEAR BIG EAST RECORD-- Okafor 

fell one blocked shot short of a BIG EAST 

freshman record for blocked shots. He finished 

the regular season with 70 blocks in league 

games, an average of 4.38 per game. The 

league freshman record is 71 blocks in 16 

games (4.44/game) by Alonzo Mourning of 

Georgetown in 1988-89. The overall league 

record for blocks, also held by Mourning, is 

93 blocks in 18 games in 1991-92 (5.17 per 

game). Emeka is only the second player in 

league history to block nine shots in a league 

game two times. Samuel Dalembert of Seton 

Hall is the other. 

OAK ON THE BOARDS TOO-- Okafor 

is currently the second most illustrious 

freshman total rebounder in UConn history 

with his 294 boards, an average of 9.2. Corny 

Thompson totaled 289 boards, 10.0 per game, 

as a frosh in 1978-79. Okafor had 15 boards 

in the NCAA opener vs. Hampton and had ten 

rebounds in each of the three games at the 

BIG EAST Tournament, the first UConn player 

ever to reach that mark in three straight BIG 

EAST Tourney games. He has grabbed double 

figure boards on 16 occasions in 2001-02. 

NATIONAL POLLS 

HUSKIES IN THE POLLS WEEK-BY-WEEK 

AP 

USA/ESPN 

Pre-Season arv-28th arv-32th 

November 11 no poll arv-33th 

November 18 arv-29th arv-29th 

November 25 arv-31th arv-28th 

December 2 arv-28th arv-27th 





January 6 arv-30th arv-29th 

January 13 arv-31st arv-31st 

January 20 25th arv-26th 

January 27 17th 22nd 

February 3 arv-28th arv-26th 

February 10 arv-36th arv-31st 

February 17 arv-28th arv-30th 

February 24 23rd arv-28th 

March 3 19th 24th 

March 10 10th 13th 

FINAL ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 

As of March 10, 2002 

Team Record Pts. LW 

1. DUKE (58) (29-3) 1,759 3 

2. KANSAS (10) (29-3) 1,667 1 

3. OKLAHOMA (2) (27-4) 1,630 4 

4. MARYLAND (1) (26-4) 1,572 2 

5. CINCINNATI (30-3) 1,529 5 

6. GONZAGA (29-3) 1,356 6 

7. ARIZONA (22-9) 1,196 15 

8. ALABAMA (26-7) 1,192 8 

9. PITTSBURGH (27-5) 1,191 7 

10. CONNECTICUT (24-6) 1,048 19 

11. OREGON (23-8) 1,033 9 

12. MARQUETTE (25-7) 887 13 

13. ILLINOIS (24-8) 848 10 

14. OHIO ST (23-7) 830 21 

15. FLORIDA (22-8) 735 11 

16. KENTUCKY (20-9) 629 12 

17. MISSISSIPPI ST (26-7) 587 NR 

18. USC (22-9) 531 22 

19. WESTERN KY (28-3) 510 18 

20. OKLAHOMA ST (23-8) 423 14 

21. MIAMI FLA (24-7) 349 20 

22. XAVIER (25-5) 308 24 

23. GEORGIA (21-9) 296 17 

24. STANFORD (19-9) 268 16 

25. HAWAII (27-5) 130 NR 

Others Receiving Votes: INDIANA 128, NO 

CAROLINA ST 108, CALIFORNIA 92, KENT ST 

74, TEXAS TECH 49, PEPPERDINE 44, WAKE 

FOREST 24, TEXAS 12, UCLA 12, MICHIGAN ST 

7, CENTRAL CONN 5, PENNSYLVANIA 5, 

WISCONSIN 4, NOTRE DAME 3, BUTLER 1, 

CREIGHTON 1, SOUTHERN ILL 1, TULSA 1. 

USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES’ TOP 25 

As of March 10, 2002 

Team Record Pts. LW 

1. DUKE (29) (29-3) 773 3 

2. KANSAS (1) (29-3) 727 1 

3. OKLAHOMA (1) (27-4) 710 4 

4. MARYLAND (26-4) 679 2 

5. CINCINNATI (30-3) 674 5 

6. GONZAGA (29-3) 580 6 

7. PITTSBURGH (27-5) 530 7 

8. (tie) ALABAMA (26-7) 498 8 

8. (tie) ARIZONA (22-9) 498 14 

10. MARQUETTE (25-7) 446 10 

11. OREGON (23-8) 437 9 

12. OHIO ST (23-7) 411 17 

13. CONNECTICUT (24-6) 376 24 

14. FLORIDA (22-8) 317 12 

15. KENTUCKY (20-9) 267 11 

16. (tie) ILLINOIS (24-8) 260 15 

16. (tie) USC (22-9) 260 20 

18. MISSISSIPPI ST (26-7) 245 NR 

19. XAVIER (25-5) 205 23 

20. WESTERN KY (28-3) 204 21 

21. MIAMI FLA (24-7) 189 16 

22. OKLAHOMA ST (23-8) 181 13 

23. STANFORD (19-9) 105 18 

24. HAWAII (27-5) 100 NR 

25. NO CAROLINA ST(22-10) 86 NR 

Others Receiving Votes: GEORGIA 80, 

INDIANA 68, CALIFORNIA 42, KENT St. 27, 

TEXAS TECH 23, WAKE FOREST 22, SOUTHERN 

ILL 12, NOTRE DAME 10, TEXAS 9, TULSA 6, 

VALPARAISO 5, BUTLER 3, UCLA 3, CREIGHTON 

2, WISCONSIN 2, HAMPTON 1, MISSISSIPPI 1, 

SAN DIEGO St. 1. 


JIM CALHOUN NO. 10 

IN WINS 

AMONG ACTIVE 

NCAA DIVISION I COACHES 

Jim Calhoun’s 30-year overall collegiate head 

coaching record places him No. 10 in total 

wins among NCAA Division I active coaches. 

The UConn head coach is one of 26 NCAA 

Division I coaches (all-time) who have 

compiled a minimum of 

600 college coaching wins. 

NCAA Division I 

Winningest Active Coaches 

Through Games of March 17, 2001 

1. Jim Phelan, Mt. St. Mary’s 819-508 

2. Bob Knight, Texas Tech 787-298 

3. Lefty Driesell, Georgia St. 782-387 

4. Jerry Tarkanian, Fresno St. 778-202 

5. Lou Henson, New Mexico St. 742-376 

6. Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma St. 702-278 

7. John Chaney, Temple 672-252 

8. Lute Olson, Arizona 662-235 

9. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke 638-226 

10. Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 625-285 

11. Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 621-221 

12. Billy Tubbs, Texas Christian 595-297 

13. Hugh Durham, Jacksonville 591-386 

SCOUTING UCONN-- UConn enters 

the NCAA East Regional with a 26-6 record 

and are the BIG EAST Tournament Champions 

and BIG EAST East Division Champions. The 

Huskies have won 11 straight games, their 

last loss coming on February 9 at St. John’s. 

Sophomore Caron Butler leads the UConn 

attack at 20.0 points per game to go along 

with 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 3.0 assists. 

Freshman Ben Gordon is averaging 12.7 

points per game and 3.0 assists per contest. 

Senior forward Johnnie Selvie is at 11.7 

points per game and is also grabbing 6.1 

rebounds. Junior guard Tony Robertson is at 

11.2 points per game and also adds 2.3 

rebounds. Sophomore point guard Taliek 

Brown is averaging 9.1 points and 5.2 assists. 

He also grabs 3.3 rebounds per game. 

Freshman center Emeka Okafor is scoring 7.9 

points and averages a team-high 9.2 rebounds 

per contest and 4.3 blocks per game. 

HEAD COACH JIM CALHOUN-- Jim 

Calhoun (American International ’68) is in his 

16 th season in charge of the Connecticut 

basketball program. In his 30 th season as a 

collegiate head coach, Jim Calhoun has an 

overall career record of 625-285 (68.7%), 

having spent 14 seasons as the head coach 

at Northeastern University before taking over 

at Connecticut in 1986-87. Calhoun sports a 

375-148 (71.7%) record at UConn and he 

registered a 250-137 (64.6%) mark at 

Northeastern. Jim Calhoun is the winningest 

coach in both UConn and Northeastern 

basketball history. Coach Calhoun earned his 

600th career coaching win against Vanderbilt 

on November 19. He is the 26th coach in 

NCAA Division I history to reach the 600 

victory plateau and is part of an elite group 

of 11 active Division I coaches who have 

reached the 600 win mark. 

A QUICK COMPARISON-- Freshman 

Ben Gordon is currently UConn’s No. 2 scorer 

in his sixth man role, bringing to mind a 

former Husky frosh sixth man who went on to 

pretty good things in the future. In 1993-94, 

Ray Allen played in 34 games, all off the 

bench. He averaged 12.6 points and made 33 

three-pointers. The Huskies went 29-5 and 

advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Gordon 

has played in 32 games, starting two, and is 

averaging 12.7 points and has made 59 

three-pointers. 

THE BUTLER DOES IT-- BIG EAST 

Player of the Year Caron Butler has continued 

his spectacular all-around play through 32 

games of his sophomore season and comes 

off a career-best 34-point performance in the 

NCAA Second Round win over NC State. 

Butler was a unanimous selection to the All- 

BIG EAST First Team and was also the Most 

Outstanding Performer of the BIG EAST 

Tournament. Caron has led UConn in scoring 

in 22 of the 32 games and has hit the 20-point 

mark on 17 occasions. Entering the NCAA 

East Regional, Butler is averaging 20.0 points, 

7.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals in 

36.0 minutes per game. Butler was named 

BIG EAST Player of the Week on January 7, 

February 25 and March 3... Butler has scored 

in double figures in 60 of 61 career games 

and 47 games in a row since scoring five 

points vs. Texas on January 15, 2001. 

NOT SO GENTLE BEN-- Freshman Ben 

Gordon has made his mark through 32 games 

of his collegiate career. He was selected to 

the 2001-2002 BIG EAST All-Rookie Team 

and was a member of the BIG EAST All- 

Tournament Team. Gordon is second on the 

squad in scoring at 12.7 points per game and 

has hit double figures in 21 games. He scored 

19 points in the semifinal win over Notre 

Dame and had a 23-point effort in the 

quarterfinal round against Villanova, including 

the game-winning three-pointer with 11 

seconds left. He had a 21-point effort in the 

win over Georgetown, including the gamewinning 

three-pointer in the final minute. He 

has scored a career-best 23 points four 

times, the last time on February 9 at St. 

John’s, which included a stretch in the first 

half where he scored ten straight Husky 

points. He also had 23 points in the win at 

Arizona, making five-of-eight three’s and 

adding a career-best nine assists with only 

one turnover. Gordon was named the BIG 

Best Single Game Performances 

in NCAA Tournament Play 

Most Points by a UConn Player in NCAA’s 

Ray Allen, 36 pts. 

3/23/95, UCLA, Final Eight 

CARON BUTLER, 34 pts. 

3/17/02, NC State, Second Round 

Richard Hamilton, 30 pts. 

3/12/98, Fairleigh-Dickinson, First Round 


3/11/99, TX-San Antonio, First Round 

Khalid El-Amin, 28 pts. 

3/12/98, Fairleigh-Dickinson, First Round 

Jack Rose, 28 pts. 

3/10/59, Boston U., First Round 


3/29/99, Duke, National Championship 

Doron Sheffer, 27 pts. 

3/16/96, E. Michigan, Second Round 

Donny Marshall, 27 pts. 

3/23/95, Maryland, Sweet Sixteen 

Ray Allen, 25 pts. 

3/18/95, Cincinnati, Second Round 

Donny Marshall, 25 pts. 


Chris Smith, 25 pts. 

3/14/91, Louisiana St., First Round 

Most Assists by a UConn Player in NCAA’s 

Kevin Ollie, 11 assists 

3/16/95, TN-Chattanooga, First Round 

Khalid El-Amin, 10 assists 

3/11/99, TX San Antonio, First Round 



Khalid El-Amin, 8 assists 

3/14/98, Indiana, Second Round 




3/25/94, Florida, Sweet Sixteen 

Most Rebounds by a UConn Player in NCAA’s 

Toby Kimball, 29 reb. 

3/8/65, St. Joseph’s, First Round 


3/11/63, West Virginia, First Round 

John Thomas, 19 reb. 

3/18/76, Rutgers, Sweet Sixteen 


3/6/64, Temple, First Round 

Donyell Marshall, 16 reb. 

3/21/92, Ohio State, Second Round 

John Pipcyznski, 16 reb. 

3/8/60, New York U., First Round 

EMEKA OKAFOR, 15 reb. 

3/15/02, Hampton, First Round 

Kevin Freeman, 15 reb. 

3/20/99, Gonzaga, Final Eight 

Scott Burrell, 15 reb. 

3/22/90, Clemson, Sweet Sixteen 

Robert Osborn, 15 reb. 

3/16/56, Temple, Sweet Sixteen 

Ed Slomcenski, 14 reb. 

3/9/64, Temple, First Round 


3/16/64, Duke, Final Eight 

Travis Knight, 13 reb. 

3/22/96, Mississippi St., Sweet Sixteen 



Eric Hayward, 13 reb. 




Donyell Marshall, 13 reb. 

3/25/94, Florida, Sweet Sixteen 

Rod Sellers, 13 reb. 

3/21/92, Ohio State, Second Round 

Jeff Carr, 13 reb. 

3/10/79, Syracuse, First Round 


3/14/64, Princeton, Sweet Sixteen 

Gordon Ruddy, 13 reb. 

3/17/56, Dartmouth, Third Place Game 


EAST Rookie of the Week on December 3 and March 3. 

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE-- Freshman Emeka Okafor has 

started all 32 games at center, averaging 7.9 points, 9.2 rebounds 

and 4.3 blocks. His block total leads the BIG EAST and is second in 

the nation. Okafor was an All-BIG EAST Third Team pick and a 

unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team. He is a threetime 

BIG EAST Rookie of the Week (December 23, January 14 and 

January 28). He has nearly recorded a triple-double on two occasions. 

In the win over BC, Okafor had nine points, 11 rebounds and nine 

blocked shots. In the win at Arizona, totaling career-bests of 19 

points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots. He matched the nine 

blocks vs. Rutgers on January 30. Emeka has totaled eight blocked 

shots three times, vs. West Virginia, Northeastern and Oklahoma. For 

the year, Okafor has seven double-doubles, has hit double-figures in 

points nine times and double-figures in rebounds on 16 occasions. 

STEADY SELVIE-- Senior forward Johnnie Selvie has been 

remarkably consistent during the 2001-2002 season. Selvie, averaging 

11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds for the year, has scored in double 

figures in 23 of his 31 contests and has had between 10-17 points in 

21 of the 30 games. He has hit for 15 points four times, 14 points three 

times, 12 points three times, 11 points three times and 10 points four 

times. He had a season-high 21 points in the senior night win over 

Seton Hall. Selvie missed the game vs. Villanova on February 11 with 

a sprained ankle, but returned to play 26 minutes and score eight 

points in the win over BC. He played only nine minutes in the win over 

Georgetown with recurring ankle pain and foul trouble. 

OK IN THE BIG GAMES-- Emeka Okafor has been huge for the 

Huskies in the brightest lights so far this season. In the four games 

UConn played against top ten teams, Okafor averaged 12.0 points, 

11.3 rebounds and 5.5 blocks. Okafor had 8 points, 12 rebs. and two 

blocks against No. 2 Maryland on December 3. He had 11 points, 

eight rebs. and eight blocks vs. No. 5 Oklahoma on January 7 and had 

19 points, 15 rebs. and nine blocks vs. No. 10 Arizona on January 26. 

He had ten points, ten rebounds and three blocks in the BIG EAST 

Championship Game against No. 7 Pittsburgh. 

IT’S TONY’S TURN-- Junior guard Tony Robertson has been 

a part of the Husky starting line-up for the first time in his three 

seasons at Connecticut. Robertson has started all 32 games in 2001- 

02, averaging 11.2 points, and comes off an 18-point performance 

in the NCAA Second Round win over NC State. He has made 46 three’s 

and has hit double figures in 20 of 32 games. Robertson played in 65 

games and a total of 1260 minutes in his first two seasons before 

making a start in the opener this season against Vanderbilt. His 

stretch as a reserve is second on record in UConn history in both 

minutes and games. Former Husky John Gwynn played in 82 games 

and a total of 1,347 minutes at UConn before making a start. It was 

the only start of Gwynn’s career. 

COMEBACK KIDS-- The win over Villanova in the BIG EAST 

Quarterfinals was the latest example of what has become a habit this 

season. The Huskies trailed the Wildcats by four with under two 

minutes remaining, but rallied to win, 72-70. In the win over Seton 

Hall on March 2, UConn trailed the Pirates by nine points with ten 

minutes to play, but stormed back for the 12-point win. Against 

Georgetown on February 19 UConn trailed by eight with eight 

minutes to play, but a Ben Gordon three with 47 seconds to play 

capped the comeback for a 75-74 win. UConn trailed BC on February 

16, 69-59 with 2:47 left, but outscored the Eagles 14-4 to force 

overtime. Against St. John’s on February 9, UConn trailed 65-57 with 

2:53 left, but capped a 15-7 run with three Caron Butler free throws 

with five seconds left to force overtime before eventually losing. At 

Arizona on January 26, UConn twice rose from the depths. With 2:03 

left in regulation, the Wildcats led 88-83, but UConn went on an 8- 

3 run to force overtime. Trailing again, 97-91 with 3:20 left in OT, 

UConn finished the game and the Wildcats with a 9-1 run to post a 

100-98 win. On January 7 against Oklahoma, UConn trailed the 

Sooners, 66-56 with 5:35 to play. UConn stormed back to tie the score 

at 67-67 with an 11-1 run. The Sooners took the win on an Ebi Ere 

jumper with 16 seconds to play. 

BUTLER AND OKAFOR HONORED-- Sophomore forward 

Caron Butler and freshman center Emeka Okafor have both been 

named to the NABC All-District I Team, Butler to the first team and 

Okafor to the second team. Joining Butler on the first team are Troy 

Bell and Ryan Sidney of Boston College, John Linehan of Providence 

and T.J. Sorentine of Vermont. Other second teamers with Okafor are 

Earl Hunt of Brown, Corsley Edwards of Central Connecticut, Erick 

Green of Maine and Patrick Harvey of Harvard. Butler was also a first 

team pick as a freshman in 2000-01. There were 150 athletes from 

15 districts earning selection and those athletes are now eligible for 

NABC All-American honors. 

BUTLER A FINALIST-- Sophomore Caron Butler is one of 20 

players named as finalists for the Naismith Collegiate Basketball 

Player of the Year Award and the John R. Wooden Award. 

BROWN BREAKS HAND-- Junior center Justin Brown missed 

three games (Rutgers, Miami, Providence) with a broken left hand. 

Brown suffered the break in practice on January 29 and had surgery 

on Friday, February 1 at Windham Hospital in Willimantic, CT. During 

surgery, Brown had a metal plate and seven pins placed in the hand 

and will play with a padded football lineman glove the remainder of 

the season. He returned to action against St. John’s on February 9. 

CHECKING THE RANKINGS-- UConn was ranked in both 

national polls entering the NCAA Tournament, 10th in the Final AP Poll 

(March 10) and 13th in the Coaches Poll (March 10). The Huskies 

broke into the AP Top 25 on January 20, their first national ranking 

of the season, and entered the coaches poll on January 27. This is the 

fifth straight season that the Huskies have been ranked at least one 

week and 13 out of the last 14 seasons that the Huskies have spent 

at least one week in the poll. The 1996-97 season is the only season 

in the last 14 that UConn has not been ranked at any point during the 

year. The Huskies had been out of the poll for 17 weeks of rankings, 

last earning a ranking on January 28, 2001 in the ESPN/USA Today 

Top 25. 

NATIONAL EXPOSURE-- UConn finished the season with six 

of the final eight regular season games being televised nationally by 

ESPN or espn2. The only two games in the final eight that were not 

nationally televised were the February 16 game with BC at the 

Hartford Civic Center and the February 23 contest at Gampel Pavilion 

against West Virginia. 

UCONN IN BIG EAST PLAY-- The Huskies have compiled an 

overall BIG EAST record of 228-180. Under Jim Calhoun, UConn is 

190-112 in BIG EAST play and the 190 league wins place Calhoun 

third among all-time winningest coaches in league history. Calhoun 

trails only Jim Boeheim (271) and John Thompson (231). 

STARTING FAST-- UConn started 6-0 in league play for the 

fifth time in its history. The Huskies also won a BIG EAST Regular 

Season Championship the previous four times. Of the previous four 

UConn teams to start 6-0, the starts were 8-0 (93-94), 11-0 (98-99), 

13-0 (94-95) and 14-0 (95-96). 

A WEEK OF HONORS FOR OKAFOR-- Freshman center 

Emeka Okafor earned his third BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honor 

on January 28. Okafor had 11 points and ten rebounds in the win over 

St. John’s on January 23 and followed that up with a stunning 19- 

point, 15-rebound and nine-block effort in the nationally-televised 

win at Arizona, setting career-bests in all three categories. Andy Katz 

of ESPN.com listed Okafor as his national player of the week and Dick 

Vitale of ESPN had Okafor and Ben Gordon as his Diaper Dandies of 

the Week. Okafor was also the winner of ESPN’s weekly poll “Big Man 

on Campus”, which runs throughout the course of the evening during 

the Big Monday telecasts. Okafor received 44.9% of the voting in the 


five-man field to beat out Jannero Pargo of Arkansas (35.7%), John 

Linehan of Providence (9.9%), Doug Wrenn of Washington (5.8%) 

and Chad Prewitt of Arizona State (3.5%). Okafor was also the 

Sporting News National Player of the Week. 

UCONN AND THE NBA-- UConn has eight former players on 

current NBA rosters. They are: Ray Allen (Milwaukee Bucks), Richard 

Hamilton (Washington Wizards), Travis Knight (New York Knicks), 

Donny Marshall (New Jersey Nets), Donyell Marshall (Utah Jazz), 

Kevin Ollie (Chicago Bulls), Clifford Robinson (Detroit Pistons) and 

Jake Voskuhl (Phoenix Suns). That puts the Huskies in the unofficial 

top ten among colleges with alumni in the NBA. The top ten is as 

follows: North Carolina (14), Arizona (11), Duke (10), Kentucky (10), 

Georgetown (9), CONNECTICUT (8), Cincinnati (8), Georgia Tech 

(8), Michigan State (8), St. John’s (8), Clemson (7) and Michigan (7). 

EXPERIENCE FACTOR-- For the second time in five seasons, 

UConn is playing a season with no player on the roster having more 

than two years of playing experience entering that year. The 1997- 

98 Huskies had three scholarship players with two years of playing 

time (Ricky Moore, Rashamel Jones and Antric Klaiber). That team 

advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, playing its first two tourney games 

at MCI Center, before losing to North Carolina in Greensboro. The 

2001-2002 Huskies have two players with two previous years of 

playing time (Tony Robertson and Justin Brown). 

EXPERIENCE FACTOR, PART 2-- What UConn may lack in 

experience on the court, it more than makes up for on the bench. The 

Huskies may be the only team in the country to boast a coaching staff 

with all four individuals having head coaching experience on the 

collegiate level (Div. I, II or III). Head Coach Jim Calhoun is in his 30th 

season as a collegiate head coach. Associate Head Coach Dave Leitao 

(14th season at UConn) spent two seasons as the head coach at 

Northeastern University. Assistant coach Tom Moore (8th season at 

UConn) was the head coach at Division III Worcester State for five 

2001-2002 UConn Basketball Roster 

2 Robert Swain So. G 6-4 205 College Park, GA/Tri-Cities 

3 Caron Butler So. F 6-7 235 Racine, WI/Maine Central Institute 

4 Ben Gordon Fr. G 6-2 185 Mount Vernon, NY/Mount Vernon 

5 Chad Wise Fr. G 6-5 190 Lonoke, AR/Lonoke 

10 Kwasi Gyambibi Sr. G 6-0 175 Norwalk, CT/Church Farm School (PA) 

12 Taliek Brown So. G 6-1 185 Queens, NY/St. John’s Prep 

20 Justin Brown Jr. C 7-0 245 Perth, Australia/Australian Institute 

21 Scott Hazelton RFr. F 6-8 210 Reading, MA/Central Catholic 

25 Mike Hayes Jr. F 6-8 215 Hartford, CT/Arkansas City (KS) JC 

30 Shamon Tooles So. G/F 6-5 210 Coatesville, PA/Coatesville 

32 Tony Robertson Jr. G 6-2 200 Providence, RI/St. Andrew’s 

33 Daryl Woods Sr. F 6-7 220 Bridgeport, CT/Bullard-Havens 

35 Mike Woodward Jr. G 6-5 215 Rocky River, OH/Rocky River 

44 Johnnie Selvie Sr. F 6-7 235 Flint, MI/Southeastern (IA) CC 

50 Emeka Okafor Fr. F/C 6-9 240 Houston, TX/Bellaire 

Head Coach: JIM CALHOUN, 16th Season at Connecticut (American International ‘68) 

Associate Head Coach: DAVE LEITAO, 14th Season at Connecticut (Northeastern ‘83) 

Assistant Coach: TOM MOORE, 8th Season at Connecticut (Boston University ‘87) 

Assistant Coach: GEORGE BLANEY, 1st Season at Connecticut (Holy Cross ‘61) 

Director of Basketball Operations: ANDRE LaFLEUR, 1st Season at Connecticut (Northeastern ‘88) 

PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE: 

Taliek Brown-- 

TAH-leek 

Caron Butler-- 

kuh-RON 

Kwasi Gyambibi-- KWA-zee jim-bib-bee 

Emeka Okafor-- eh-mecca oh-kuh-four 

Shamon Tooles-- shuh-mon 

Dave Leitao-- 

lay-toe 

seasons. The newest member of the UConn coaching staff, George 

Blaney, brings 30 years as a collegiate head coach to the Husky 

bench. Coach Blaney spent two years at Stonehill, three seasons at 

Dartmouth, 22 seasons at Holy Cross and three seasons at Seton Hall. 

Between Coaches Calhoun, Blaney and Leitao, UConn has nearly 

1,100 Division I head coaching victories on the bench. 

AN ADDITION TO THE FAMILY-- Coach Calhoun celebrated 

before the Arizona game as well, celebrating the news of the birth of 

his third granddaughter, Avery Mary Calhoun. Avery is the daughter 

of Jeff and Amy Calhoun and was born at 1:04 a.m. on January 26 

at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. She was seven pounds, eight 

ounces and 20 inches long. Coach Calhoun’s older son Jim and wife 

Jennifer have two daughters, Emily (born 3/5/99) and Katie (born 12/ 

29/00). The Huskies beat Syracuse in the BIG EAST semifinals on the 

day Emily was born. UConn did not play the day Katie was born. 

BUTLER WITH THE USA-- Sophomore Caron Butler spent his 

summer as a key member of the United States team at the World 

Championship For Young Men Tournament in Japan. Caron started 

all eight games for the Gold Medal winning and unbeaten USA squad, 

averaging 10.6 points and adding 4.3 rebounds. He shot 51.5% from 

the field and added 19 assists and 11 steals. He led the team in 

scoring in two games and had 15 points, four rebounds, three steals 

and two assists in the 89-80 gold medal victory over Croatia. 

ANDERSON SIGNS WITH UCONN-- UConn signed Rashad 

Anderson, a 6-4, G/F, from Lakeland, FL and Kathleen HS to a 

National Letter of Intent. Anderson averaged 24 points, seven 

rebounds and four assists as a junior and led his team to the Florida 

State Championship. Head Coach Jim Calhoun says about Anderson, 

“Rashad is a versatile player who will make an immediate offensive 

impact on our team. As we viewed other kids during the recruiting 

process, it was clear that Rashad is one of the top offensive players 

in this senior class. We look forward to him bringing his skills and 

winning attitude to Connecticut and think 

that he has the potential to become the next 

outstanding wing player in the UConn 

Basketball program. Rashad comes from a 

highly successful and well-respected state 

championship high school program and has 

learned under the tutelage of a tremendous 

coach in Drew Taylor. We know he will be a 

terrific addition to our basketball family.” 

BROWN SIGNS WITH UCONN-- 

UConn signed Denham Brown, a 6-5, F from 

Toronto, Canada and West Hill Collegiate to 

a National Letter of Intent. Brown averaged 

30 points and six rebounds per game as a 

junior at Bathurst Heights HS in Toronto, 

leading the squad to the semifinals of the 

provincial championships. He transferred to 

West Hill Collegiate for his senior season 

after Bathurst Heights closed. Head Coach 

Jim Calhoun says about Brown, “Denham is 

one of the top wing/forwards in the class. He 

had an outstanding summer, establishing 

himself as the premier junior player in Canada. 

He is a great talent who will be joining the 

Canadian National Team in the near future. 

Denham has a big, strong body and is a good 

shooter. He is an intelligent player with 

strong fundamentals and will be a tremendous 

addition to our basketball program.” 


University of Connecticut Basketball NCAA Tournament History 

Year Coach Final Record Opponent--Date Site Result 

1950-51 Hugh Greer 22-4 St. John's-- 3/20/51 New York, NY (L) 52-63 

1953-54 Hugh Greer 23-3 Navy-- 3/8/54 Buffalo, NY (L) 80-85 

1955-56 Hugh Greer 17-11 Manhattan-- 3/13/56 New York, NY (W) 84-75 

(Sweet 16) Temple-- 3/16/56 Philadelphia, PA (L) 59-65 

Dartmouth-- 3/17/56 Philadelphia, PA (L) 64-85 

1956-57 Hugh Greer 17-8 Syracuse-- 3/12/57 New York, NY (L) 76-82 

1957-58 Hugh Greer 17-10 Dartmouth-- 3/11/58 New York, NY (L) 64-75 

1958-59 Hugh Greer 17-7 Boston University-- 3/10/59 New York, NY (L) 58-60 

1959-60 Hugh Greer 17-9 New York University-- 3/8/60 New York, NY (L) 59-78 

1962-63 Hugh Greer/ 18-7 West Virginia-- 3/11/63 Philadelphia, PA (L) 71-77 

George Wigton 

1963-64 Fred Shabel 16-11 Temple-- 3/9/64 Philadelphia, PA (W) 53-48 

(Final 8) Princeton-- 3/14/64 Raleigh, NC (W) 52-50 

Duke-- 3/16/64 Raleigh, NC (L) 54-101 

1964-65 Fred Shabel 23-3 St. Joseph's-- 3/8/65 Philadelphia, PA (L) 61-67 

1966-67 Fred Shabel 17-7 Boston College-- 3/11/67 Kingston, RI (L) 42-48 

1975-76 Dee Rowe 19-10 Hofstra-- 3/13/76 Providence, RI (W) 80-78 (ot) 

(Sweet 16) Rutgers-- 3/18/76 Greensboro, NC (L) 79-93 

1978-79 Dom Perno 21-8 Syracuse-- 3/10/79 Providence, RI (L) 81-89 

1989-90 Jim Calhoun 31-6 Boston University-- 3/15/90 Hartford, CT (W) 76-52 

(Final 8) California-- 3/17/90 Hartford, CT (W) 74-54 

Clemson-- 3/22/90 East Rutherford, NJ (W) 71-70 

Duke-- 3/24/90 East Rutherford, NJ (L) 78-79 (ot) 

1990-91 Jim Calhoun 20-11 Louisiana State-- 3/14/91 Minneapolis, MN (W) 79-62 

(Sweet 16) Xavier-- 3/16/91 Minneapolis, MN (W) 66-50 

Duke-- 3/22/91 Pontiac, MI (L) 81-67 

1991-92 Jim Calhoun 20-10 Nebraska-- 3/19/92 Cincinnati, OH (W) 86-65 

Ohio State-- 3/21/92 Cincinnati, OH (L) 55-78 

1993-94 Jim Calhoun 29-5 Rider-- 3/17/94 Uniondale, NY (W) 64-46 

(Sweet 16) George Washington-- 3/19/94 Uniondale, NY (W) 75-63 

Florida-- 3/25/94 Miami, FL (L) 60-69 (ot) 

1994-95 Jim Calhoun 28-5 Tenn.-Chattanooga-- 3/16/95 Salt Lake City, UT (W) 100-71 

(Final 8) Cincinnati-- 3/18/95 Salt Lake City, UT (W) 96-91 

Maryland-- 3/23/95 Oakland, CA (W) 99-89 

U.C.L.A.-- 3/25/95 Oakland, CA (L) 96-102 

1995-96 Jim Calhoun 30-2 *Colgate-- 3/14/96 Indianapolis, IN (W) 68-59 

(Sweet 16) *Eastern Michigan-- 3/16/96 Indianapolis, IN (W) 95-81 

*Mississippi State-- 3/22/96 Lexington, KY (L) 55-60 

1997-98 Jim Calhoun 32-5 Fairleigh Dickinson-- 3/12/98 Washington, DC (W) 93-85 

(Final 8) Indiana-- 3/14/98 Washington, DC (W) 78-68 

Washington-- 3/19/98 Greensboro, NC (W) 75-74 

North Carolina-- 3/21/98 Greensboro, NC (L) 64-75 

1998-99 Jim Calhoun 34-2 Texas-San Antonio-- 3/11/99 Denver, CO (W) 91-66 

(National Champions) New Mexico-- 3/13/99 Denver, CO (W) 78-56 

Iowa-- 3/18/99 Phoenix, AZ (W) 78-68 

Gonzaga-- 3/20/99 Phoenix, AZ (W) 67-62 

Ohio State-- 3/27/99 St. Petersburg, FL (W) 64-58 

Duke-- 3/29/99 St. Petersburg, FL (W) 77-74 

1999-00 Jim Calhoun 25-10 Utah State-- 3/17/00 Birmingham, AL (W) 75-67 

Tennessee-- 3/19/00 Birmingham, AL (L) 65-51 

2001-02 Jim Calhoun 26-6 Hampton--3/15/02 Washington, DC (W) 78-67 

(Sweet 16) North Carolina State-- 3/17/02 Washington, DC (W) 77-74 

*-- results declared null and void by the NCAA 

23 Years - 48 Games - 27 Wins, 21 Losses 

FOR A COMPLETE HISTORY OF UCONN IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT, INCLUDING GAME-BY-GAME STATS, 

INDIVIDUAL CAREER STATISTICS, NCAA TOURNAMENT RECORDS AND ALL-TIME BOX SCORES, PLEASE SEE 

PAGES 200-226 OF THE 2001-02 UCONN MEDIA GUIDE. 


2001-2002 UConn Basketball Game-by-Game Recaps 

NC STATE RECAP-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored a 

career-best 34 points and carried the Huskies into the Sweet 

16 with a 77-74 win over NC State. Junior Tony Robertson 

added 18 points for the Huskies, 12 in the first half. UConn led 

by as many as 11 points in the first half and settled for a fivepoint 

lead at the break. The Huskies biggest second half lead 

was ten points, at 67-57 with 4:27 to play. The Wolfpack 

responded with a 14-5 run to cut the lead to one, 72-71, with 

47 seconds left. Butler responded by making three free throws 

after getting fouled on an attempted three and iced the game 

with two more free throws with three seconds left. Julius 

Hodge missed a three at the buzzer for NC State. Butler made 

all 12 of his free throw attempts and added nine rebounds and 

four assists. 

HAMPTON RECAP-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored 21 

points, grabbed nine boards and handed out six assists to lead 

the University of Connecticut to a 78-67 NCAA First Round win 

over Hampton University on Friday, March 15. Senior Johnnie 

Selvie had 13 points and 11 boards, while freshman Emeka 

Okafor scored 12 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked 

five shots in his NCAA debut. The Huskies led by as many as 

15 points in the first half, at 40-25, and settled for an 11-point 

lead at the break. The Pirates cut the lead to four points on 

three occasions in the second half, but UConn held Hampton 

scoreless for the final three minutes and scored the final seven 

points of the contest. 

PITTSBURGH RECAP-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored a 

game-high 23 points and earned Tournament Most Outstanding 

Player honors as UConn outlasted Pittsburgh, 74-65 in two 

overtimes, to capture the BIG EAST Tournament Championship. 

Freshman Ben Gordon battled through foul trouble to 

score 11 points and also earned a spot on the all-tournament 

team. Sophomore Taliek Brown scored 13 points, including a 

game-clinching, shot clock-beating 30-footer in the second 

overtime that gave UConn a 69-64 lead with 34 seconds left. 

Freshman Emeka Okafor had ten points and ten rebounds. The 

win gave UConn its fifth BIG EAST Tourney title. The Huskies 

trailed by as many as seven in the first half, but finshed the half 

with an 8-2 run to cut the lead to one at 28-27. UConn led by 

as many as four in the second half and the game featured six 

ties and five lead changes in the stanza. The Huskies the ball 

and had two shots blocked in the final five seconds at the end 

of regulation. Pitt nearly won the game at the end of the first 

overtime when Brandin Knight’s halfcourt heave hit the front 

rim. Knight was injured at the end of regulation and played 

only those two seconds in the first overtime. The Huskies 

finished the game with a 10-1 run, including Brown’s dagger. 

NOTRE DAME RECAP-- Sophomore Caron Butler scored 20 

points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark in his career to 

lead UConn to an 82-77 win over Notre Dame. Freshman Ben 

Gordon added 19 points in his second straight superb effort 

off the Husky bench. Notre Dame freshman Chris Thomas 

scored 24 points and had 10 assists, while Ryan Humphrey 

had 21 points and 16 rebounds. Matt Carroll also scored 20 

points. Freshman Emeka Okafor grabbed 10 rebounds for 

UConn, while senior Johnnie Selvie added 16 points. The 

Huskies used a 10-0 run in the second half to take control of 

the contest and led 69-59 on a Selvie dunk with 6:36 left. 

UConn extended the lead to 11, 74-63, with 3:51 to go. The 

Irish scored the next six points to cut the deficit to five, but 

junior Tony Robertson scored a pair of baskets to increase 

the lead back to nine and the Huskies made five-of-six free 

throws in the final minute to secure the win. 

VILLANOVARECAP-- Freshman Ben Gordon had a gamehigh 

23 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 

11.8 seconds left in the game, to lead the Huskies to a 72-70 

come-from-behind win over Villanova. The Wildcats led by 

four with under two minutes to play and by three with 1:26 

to go. Sophomore Caron Butler had 14 points and 11 rebounds 

and freshman Emeka Okafor had six points and ten rebounds. 

Gordon kept the Huskies in the game during a foul plagued 

first half, twice erasing six-point deficits on his own. He scored 

seven straight points in one stretch and six straight in another. 

The win was UConn’s seventh straight in the quarterfinals of 

the BIG EAST Tournament. 

SETON HALL RECAP-- UConn shot a blistering 70.8% in the 

second half to overcome a nine-point deficit and 14 threepointers 

by Seton Hall in recording a 90-78 win over the Pirates 

on Senior Night at Gampel Pavilion. Johnnie Selvie made his 

final game at Gampel a memorable one, scoring a season-high 

21 points and leading six Huskies in double figures. Caron 

Butler, Tony Robertson and Ben Gordon added 15 points each, 

Taliek Brown had11 points and five assists and Emeka Okafor 

had10 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. UConn 

trailed by as many as ten points i nthe first half, making only 

three-of-16 shots to start the game. But the Huskies finished 

the half by making 12-of-17 shots and trailed 42-37. The 

Pirates first five baskets of the second half were three pointers 

and, after a technical foul on UConn coach Jim Calhoun, the 

Pirates held a 62-53 lead with 11:42 to play. UConn went on 

a 12-3 run to tie the score at 68-68 with 7:42 to play and retook 

the lead for good on a Selvie free throw with 4:47 to go. That 

started a 16-4 game-ending burst in the final 5:11. 

BOSTON COLLEGE (2/25) RECAP-- UConn bolted out to an 

18-point halftime lead, holdingthe Eagles to 25.8% from the 

field in the half, and cruised to a 76-61 victory over Boston 

College on Senior Night in Conte Forum. The BC trio of Troy 

Bell, Ryan Sidney and Kenny Walls combined to hit on 2-of-17 

three pointers and UConn blistered the Eagles on the boards 

as well, grabbing 43 rebounds to BC’s 28. Caron Butler led the 

way for UConn, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds, 

11 offensive. Ben Gordon scored 15 points, hitting on 3-of-3 

three’s in the process. Johnnie Selvie had 14 points. Emeka 

Okafor became UConn’s single season shot block record 

holder, swatting five shots to give him 115 on the year, passing 

the 111 Donyell Marshall blocked in 1993-94. 

WEST VIRGINIA RECAP-- Caron Butler scored 28 points 

and Emeka Okafor tied the UConn record for blocked shots in 

a season as the Huskies routed West Virginia. Taliek Brown 

tied his career best with 12 assists and added nine points and 

four rebounds. UConn opened the second half with a 12-2 run 

to break open the game and never looked back. Okafor 

finished the game with eight blocked shots, giving him 111 for 

the season and tying Donyell Marshall for the UConn record. 

The Huskies shot 57.1% in the second half and totaled 25 

assists and 12 turnovers in the contest. The win clinched the 

East No. 1 seed for the BIG EAST Tournament and, coupled 

with Miami’s loss to Notre Dame later in the day, gave UConn 

the outright East Division title. 

GEORGETOWN RECAP-- Ben Gordon’s three-pointer with 

47 seconds left broke a 72-72 tie and gave UConn a 75-74 win 

over the Hoyas at MCI Center. The win clinched a bye in the 

first round of the BIG EAST Tournament for the Huskies. Caron 

Butler led the Huskies with 23 points on the evening and 

Gordon added 21, including hitting four-of-eight from threepoint 

range. The Huskies trailed by eight points with under 

eight minutes to go, but used a 6-0 burst in the final four 

minutes to take a 70-69 lead on a Tony Robertson basket. After 

two Mike Sweetney free throws put Georgetown back in front 

at 71-70, Mike Hayes got two big offensive rebounds for UConn 

and was fouled, He made both free throws to put the Huskies 

back in front. Sweetney made one of two at the line to tie the 

score and both teams made a defensvie stop before Gordon’s 

big three. Kevin Braswell was fouled and made a pair of free 

throws to get the Hoyas to 75-74, but Georgetown was unable 

to get a shot off after regaining possession off a Butler miss 

with five seconds left. 

BOSTON COLLEGE (2/16) RECAP-- Taliek Brown had eight 

points and two assists in the final 2:47 of the game to help 

UConn erase a 10-point deficit and the Huskies went on to a 

crucial 79-77 win over the Eagles at the Hartford Civic Center. 

Troy Bell scored 27 points and made a pair of free throws to 

force the overtime session, but also missed his last five shots 

from the field and turned the ball over three times in the final 

moments of regulation and OT. Caron Bulter scored 19 for the 

Huskies and Tony Robertson broke out of a five-game scoring 

slump in scoring 19 as well. Emeka Okafor had nine points, 11 

rebounds and nine blocks for the Huskies, while Ryan Sidney 

had 20 points and ten rebounds for the Eagles. 

VILLANOVA (2/11) RECAP-- UConn held Villanova to 

18.5% shooting in the second half and withstood a nearly 

seven-minute scoring drought to record a 46-40 decision over 

the Wildcats at the Hartford Civic Center. Caron Butler recorded 

his third straight double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds 

and the Huskies did not allow a Villanova player to reach 

double figures. Ben Gordon (12 points) was the only other 

player in the game to reach double figures. Johnnie Selvie did 

not play for UConn due to a sprained ankle. UConn did not take 

its first lead in the game until the 16-minute mark of the 

second half and went on an 8-0 run to take a 35-28 lead with 

12 minutes to play, the biggest lead of the game by either 

team. 

ST. JOHN’S (2/9) RECAP-- UConn erased a seven-point 

deficit in the final 33 seconds to force overtime, but Marcus 

Hatten scored seven of his 34 points in overtime to give the 

Red Storm an 85-83 win. Caron Butler (29 points, 15 rebounds) 

made three free throws with five second left to force the 

overtime session. The Huskies played the final 30 minutes 

without head coach Jim Calhoun, who was ejected with five 

minutes left in the first half. The Huskies trailed by as many as 

11 in the first half, after the technical free throws, but battled 

back on ten straight Ben Gordon points. Gordon finished with 

23, tying his career-high. St. John’s led by 12 points with 11 

minutes to play, but made only 9-of-18 free throws in the final 

three minutes and UConn outscored the Storm 15-7 to 

overcome an eight-point deficit in that span. 

PROVIDENCE (2/5) RECAP-- UConn used an extraordinary 

first half defensive effort to overcome a lackluster second half 

effort in recording a 67-56 win over the Friars at the Hartford 

Civic Center. The Friars scored a BIG EAST-record low 11 

points in the first half, shooting only 11.8% (4-34) in the 

process, as the Huskies opened a 33-11 halftime advantage. 

PC bounced back to shoot 50% (18-36) in the second half, but 

the Friars never got closer than the 11-point final margin of 

defeat. UConn coach Jim Calhoun missed the second half with 

a stomach ailment he attributed to a pre-game meal. Caron 

Butler had 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Huskies, 

while Johnnie Selvie and Ben Gordon both chipped in with 14 

points. 

MIAMI (2/2) RECAP-- The Huskies and Hurricanes matched 

up in another thriller, this time with the ‘Canes taking a 68-66 

decision. The game was a seesaw battle that featured 19 lead 

changes (18 in the second half) and 11 ties. The Huskies 

trailed by five at the break after holding as much as an eight 

point lead during the first half. The Hurricanes five-point 

halftime lead was their biggest of the game. John Salmons led 

Miami with 20 points, including a banked three-pointer with 33 

seconds to play that gave Miami a 66-64 lead. Taliek Brown 

followed with a lay-up with 22 seconds left to tie the score, but 

Salmons found Elton Tyler (16 points) all alone for a dunk with 

11 seconds to go. UConn had a chance to tie or win, but Ben 

Gordon’s three attempt in the final seconds was off and UConn 

was unable to corral the loose ball for another shot as time 

expired. Johnnie Selvie led the Huskies with 17 points and 

Caron Butler added 13. Emeka Okafor had 12 poiints, nine 

boards and four blocks. 

RUTGERS RECAP-- The Scarlet Knights finished the game 

with a 14-2 run to post a 61-53 upset win over the Huskies. 

UConn led 51-47 after a layup by Emeka Okafor with just under 

four minutes left in the game. Rutgers responded with an 8- 

0 burst and UConn missed three free throws and its final four 

shot attempts in the final two minutes. Caron Butler led the 

Huskies with 20 points, while Jerome Coleman had 26 for the 

Scarlet Knights, including ten straight points at one stretch to 

key the decisive run in the game. Okafor finished with 11 

rebounds and nine blocked shots, while Johnnie Selvie had 14 

points and 11 rebounds. The loss was UConn’s first in league 

play on the year and first road loss of the season. 

ARIZONA RECAP-- UConn came back from a five-point 

deficit in the final two minutes of regulation and a six-point 

overtime hole to post a stunning 100-98 overtime win over the 

No. 10 Wildcats. Ben Gordon matched his career-high with 23 

points, including five-of-eight from three-point range, and 

also added a career-best nine assists. Taliek Brown also tied 


2001-2002 UConn Basketball Game-by-Game Recaps 

his career-best with 21 points. Emeka Okafor had a monster 

day with 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine blocked shots, all 

career-highs. The Huskies led by as many as 12 in the first half 

and hit seven three’s in the half. Arizona took its first lead of 

the second half with 7:04 to go and the lead changed hands 

six times in the final seven minutes, in addition to a tie score 

on four occasions. The overtime saw a pair of Salim Stoudamire 

three’s in the first 1:04 to give the Wildcats a 97-91 lead. 

Arizona would not make another field goal and UConn went on 

a 9-1 run to polish off the win. Jason Gardner led the Wildcats 

with 30 points, while Stoudamire added 20. 

ST. JOHN’S (1/23) RECAP-- Johnnie Selvie scored a teamhigh 

16 points and UConn held St. John’s leading scorer 

Marcus Hatten without a point for the first 32 minutes of the 

game en route to a 75-70 BIG EAST win at Gampel Pavilion. 

The Huskies improved to 6-0 in league play with the win. 

UConn led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the Red 

Storm battled back to cut the deficit to four at the half. The 

second half saw three ties and three lead changes. St. John’s 

took its first lead of the second half at 57-55 with 7:37 left, but 

the Huskies responded with an 8-0 run to take a 63-57 lead 

with 5:34 to go. The Red Storm cut the lead back to one at 71- 

70 with 1:52 left to play, but an Emeka Okafor dunk and a 

missed three by Hatten in the final 30 seconds sealed the win 

for UConn. 

NORTH CAROLINA RECAP-- Caron Butler matched his 

career-high with 29 points and the Huskies recovered from an 

early 11-2 deficit to post a dominating 86-54 decision over 

North Carolina on CBS at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies 

finished the first half with a 24-6 run to break open a 20-20 

game and lead 44-26 at the break. UConn then used a 34-8 

burst in the second half to open its biggest lead of 41 points, 

84-43 with 3:36 to play. The Huskies held the Tar Heels 

without a field goal for nearly nine minutes in the second half. 

Butler scored ten straight Husky points to help the Huskies 

claw back from the early deficit and scored his 29 points in only 

28 minutes of action. Ben Gordon added 17 points and Emeka 

Okafor grabbed 13 rebounds. 

PROVIDENCE (1/16) RECAP-- East Providence native 

Tony Robertson scored 22 points in front of his hometown 

crowd and the Huskies held the Friars to 29.4% shooting from 

the field in route to a 69-62 BIG EAST road win. UConn 

improved to 5-0 in the league with the win and 3-0 on the road 

in the BIG EAST. Caron Butler added 21 points and Emeka 

Okafor had eight points and 12 rebounds. UConn led by six at 

the half, holding the Friars to 22.2% from the field in the first 

half. The lead grew to as many as 12 points in the second half 

before the Friars made a run, cutting the lead to three, 43-40, 

with just under 12 minutes to go. The Huskies responded with 

a 10-2 run to get the lead back to 11 and PC never got closer 

than five the rest of the way. 

VILLANOVA (1/13) RECAP-- Taliek Brown scored 16 points 

and made several big defensive plays to lead UConn to a 70- 

65 road win at Villanova to improve to 4-0 in league play. Caron 

Butler led the Huskies with 19 points and scored nine of the 

first 11 UConn points in the first half. Emeka Okafor had eight 

rebounds, all in the second half, and blocked four shots in the 

contest. The Huskies led by as many as 11 points in the second 

half and made seven free throws down the stretch to earn their 

second road win of the year in the league. 

VIRGINIA TECH (1/10) RECAP-- UConn started the second 

half with a 9-0 run and shot a blistering 63.0% in the 

second to pull away from Virginia Tech in a 95-60 rout at the 

Hartford Civic Center. Ben Gordon led the hot-shooting Huskies, 

scoring 18, including four-of-five shooting from three-point 

range. UConn made a season-high eight three’s in the game. 

Six Huskies scored in double figures. Joining Gordon were 

Johnnie Selvie (15), Tony Robertson (15), Emeka Okafor (11), 

Caron Butler (11) and Taliek Brown (10). 

OKLAHOMA RECAP-- A spirited UConn comeback fell one 

basket short and No. 5 Oklahoma held on for a 69-67 win at 

the Hartford Civic Center. The Huskies trailed by as many as 

12 points in the second half and were behind by ten at 66-56 

with 5:35 to go before mounting a final charge. UConn went 

on an 11-1 run and tied the score at 67-67 on a Caron Butler 

(25 points) jumper with 44 seconds left. Oklahoma responded 

with a jumper by Ebi Ere (24 points) to take a 69-67 lead with 

16 seconds to play. The Huskies had a pair of chances in the 

final 15 seconds, but a Tony Robertson turnover with three 

seconds left and a Ben Gordon missed three at the buzzer 

marked the end of the Husky upset bid. 

MIAMI (1/5) RECAP-- Senior Johnnie Selvie’s two free 

throws with 5.7 seconds left gave UConn a stirring 76-75 win 

over No. 21 Miami at Gampel Pavilion. The loss was the first 

on the season for the ‘Canes after 14 straight wins. The game 

was a seesaw contest with eight ties and three lead changes 

throughout. Miami jumped out early and led by as many as 

nine in the first half. Despite first half foul trouble, UConn 

battled back into the game behind an inspired effort from its 

bench and trailed by only four at the break, 42-38. Miami 

missed 11 of its first 13 shots of the second half and UConn 

opened up a ten-point advantage, leading 66-56 with 6:47 to 

go. Miami followed with a 19-8 burst capped by a Darius Rice 

three to make the score 75-74 with 36 seconds left. Selvie 

followed a Tony Robertson miss and was fouled with 5.7 

seconds left and made both free throws. Miami was unable to 

get a shot off before the final horn. 

VIRGINIA TECH (1/2) RECAP-- Caron Butler tied his 

career-high with 29 points and UConn held the Hokies to 

33.8% from the field in posting an 86-74 victory. The Huskies 

shot 57.1% and hit 27-of-34 free throws in the win. Butler 

made nine-of-12 shots from the field and hit 10-of-11 free 

throws, while grabbing six rebounds and handing out four 

assists in 37 minutes. The Huskies led by as many as 13 in the 

first half, but the Hokies cut the lead to six in the final five 

minutes. Butler scored six of the next eight UConn points and 

the Huskies made its last six straight free throws to ice the win. 

ST. BONAVENTURE RECAP-- UConn lost for the first time 

at home in November and December since 1989 as the Bonnies 

turned in a dominating performance in the 88-70 decision. 

UConn lost for only the tenth time under Jim Calhoun at home 

to a non-conference opponent. The Bonnies took 36 threepointers, 

a record for a UConn opponent, and made 11, while 

the Huskies were one-of-eight from three. J.R. Bremer hit for 

33 points to pace four Bonnies in double figures. Caron Butler 

had 24 points and 13 rebounds for UConn. The Huskies had 

won 75 straight at home in November and December, dating 

back to a 1989 loss at the Civic Center to Villanova. 

QUINNIPIAC RECAP-- UConn used a 13-0 second half run 

to break away from scrappy Quinnipiac and record a 95-79 

win. The win was UConn’s 48th straight against in-state 

schools and 78th in a row against a non-BIG EAST New 

England opponent. Caron Butler led the Huskies with 19 points 

and Emeka Okafor had career-highs of 18 points and 14 

rebounds. Okafor also added four blocked shots. 

UMASS RECAP-- Before heading into finals week, UConn 

faced a tough road test against the Minutemen of UMass. The 

Huskies jumped out early, taking a 13-point lead in the first 

seven minutes and held a 13-point lead at the intermission on 

the strength of 12 first half points by Tony Robertson. UMass 

scored the first six points of the second half and closed to four 

points at 41-37 with 12:07 left. UConn responded with an 11- 

5 burst, during which Emeka Okafor scored five points, to get 

the lead back to ten at 52-42 with 7:00 left. Caron Butler (13 

points) and Robertson (15 points) each made big buckets 

down the stretch and UConn made seven-of-eight free throws 

in the final minute to cement the win. Okafor finished the night 

with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six blocked shots. 

NORTHEASTERN RECAP-- Caron Butler led all scorers with 

19 points and Emeka Okafor led a strong defensive effort with 

eight blocked shots as UConn routed Northeastern, 80-44. 

UConn held NU to 22.9% shooting in the second half, extending 

a 17-point halftime lead to as much as a 40-point bulge in the 

second stanza. 

MARYLAND RECAP-- A slow start to both the first and 

second halves proved to be too much to overcome for UConn 

in dropping a 77-65 decision to No. 2 Maryland in the 

championship game of the BB&T Classic at MCI Center in 

Washington, DC. The Terps outscored UConn 21-7 to start the 

game, but the Huskies roared back with a 13-0 run and trailed 

only 36-34 at the half. Maryland bolted out of the gates in the 

second half with a 16-4 run and UConn was only able to get 

as close as seven the rest of the way. Caron Butler led the 

Huskies with 20 points and was named to the all-tournament 

team. Freshman Emeka Okafor had eight points and 12 

rebounds. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON RECAP-- Johnnie Selvie scored 16 

of his 20 points in the first half and UConn overcame foul 

trouble to several starters en route to an 84-76 win over 

George Washington. The Huskies led by as many as 18 points 

in the contest and held off a late Colonial rally. GW got as close 

as eight points late in the second half. Ben Gordon scored 19 

points off the bench, hitting four three-pointers. Caron Butler 

had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE RECAP-- UConn used a 12-0 run to end 

the first half and a 23-7 burst to start the second half en route 

to a 110-58 pasting of New Hampshire. Freshman Ben Gordon 

scored 23 points to lead the Husky attack and UConn completely 

shut down Austin Ganly, UNH’s leading scorer who was 24 

points per game coming in and had scored 29 against the 

Huskies a year ago. UConn rolled up a 64-14 advantage on 

points in the paint and outscored the Wildcats 66-25 in the 

second half. Junior Tony Robertson added 19 points for 

UConn. Marcus Bullock had 20 points for UNH, all in the first 

half, making six-of-seven three’s in the first half. Bullock did 

not attempt a shot in the second half. 

VANDERBILT RECAP-- UConn opened the season with an 

impressive performance in beating Vanderbilt, 84-71. The win 

was the 600th for head coach Jim Calhoun. The Huskies scored 

the first 13 points of the game and led by as many as 26 points 

in the early minutes of the second half. Vanderbilt went on a 

22-6 run to cut the lead to ten points with 12:40 to play, but 

never got the lead to single digits and the Huskies got the lead 

back up to 20 in the late stages. Caron Butler had 23 points and 

tied his career-high with six steals, five of which came in the 

first half. 

GRASSROOTS CANADA RECAP-- Johnnie Selvie scored 19 

points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead the University of 

Connecticut to a 107-57 exhibition victory over Grass Roots 

Canada before a crowd of 13,264 at the Hartford Civic Center 

on Tuesday, November 13. UConn took a 59-23 halftime lead 

on the strength of 67.6% (25 of 37) shooting from the field. 

Tony Robertson led the way by scoring all of his 13 points in 

the first half and four assists. Selvie added 12 in the opening 

stanza. Joining Selvie and Robertson in double figures for 

UConn were Ben Gordon and Scott Hazelton who each had 15 

points. The Huskies played without starters Justin Brown, out 

with mononucleosis, and Taliek Brown, who was attending a 

funeral. 

NIKE ELITE RECAP-- Sophomore All-American candidate 

Caron Butler scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the first 

half to lead the University of Connecticut to a 105-77 exhibition 

win over Nike Elite on Tuesday, November 6. Connecticut blew 

the game open in the first 3:43 of the second half with a 14- 

0 run, keyed by Johnnie Selvie's nine points. Selvie finished 

with 23 points on eight of 10 shooting from the field. Butler 

also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to lead a 58-31 

UConn advantage in the department. Freshman Emeka Okafor 

came off the bench to score 10 points, while grabbing nine 

rebounds. Sophomore Taliek Brown had eight points and 

dished out a game-high 10 assists, while Tony Robertson 

added nine points.

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