NCAA Championship - UConn Huskies

a new league standard for defensive excellence. His 94 blocks breaks the mark of 93
held by Alonzo Mourning of Georgetown, accomplished in the 1991-92 season.
Thabeet led the league in blocked shots for the second straight season. He has 143
total blocks on the year, an average of 4.5 per game.
AUSTRIE AS A STARTER: Craig Austrie moved into the starting lineup in the win
at Indiana and is averaging 10.9 points in the 14 games since. He has started 15
games total this season and 45 games in his career. The Huskies have a record of 37-
8 in his career as a starter, 12-3 this season, 3-3 last season and 22-2 in 2005-06 as
a freshman. Austrie has reached double figures nine times this season, equaling his
career total of double figure games entering the 2007-08 season.
DYSON RETURNS: Jerome Dyson is averaging 12.4 points per game this season
and has reached double figures in 13 games on the year. He returned to action at
Rutgers on February 26 after being suspended indefinitely on January 25 by coach
Jim Calhoun for violation of team rules. Dyson had 20 points in the win at Cincinnati,
including ten points in the last 5:44 to help erase a 12-point deficit. It marked his fifth
20-point game of the season and ended a slump of three straight games out of double
figures. In the win over St. John’s, Dyson’s nine steals (eight in the first half) tied the
Connecticut record for most thefts in one contest (set by Scott Burrell against Maine
on December 9, 1990.) The nine steals set a school mark for steals in a BIG EAST
game, eclipsing the eight that Bobby Dulin had on January 23, 1980 against
Providence. Dyson led the Huskies in scoring as a freshman in 2006-07, reaching
double figures in 11 of the last 12 contests last season and averaged 19.9 points per
game in the last seven contests. He finished the season with 21 points in the BIG EAST
Tournament contest vs. Syracuse, giving him 20 or more points in five of the final
seven games. Including this season’s action, he now has reached 20 points or more
11 times in his career.
TEN IN A ROW: Here are some of the stats and facts from UConn’s ten-game win
streak, which ended at Villanova on February 23:
Eight of the ten wins were by single digits.
Average score-- UConn 73.6-Opp. 67.9.
There were two wins each by one and two pts.
Eight league wins and two non-conf wins.
Six home wins and four road wins.
Four wins over ranked squads.
Price, Adrien, Thabeet avg. over 35 min/gm.
UConn at the line-- 206-269 (76.6%).
Opponents at the line-- 101-151 (66.9%).
FG% DEFENSE LEADERS: UConn continues its annual presence among the
national leaders in field goal percentage defense, now having finished among the
nation’s top 15 schools in ten of the last 12 seasons entering 2007-08. The Huskies
are allowing their opponents to shoot 38.4% from the field this season. In 2006-07,
UConn held opponents to 37.1% from the field and ranked No. 1 nationally. That
marked the sixth straight finish in the top five and the second time in four years that
the Huskies led the nation in the category.
OUT OF THE BLOCKS AGAIN: The Huskies have owned the statistical category
of blocked shots for the past six seasons and, with 281 blocks (8.8/game) this season,
are in position to do it for the seventh straight season. Ten different players have
already blocked at least one shot. With 12 blocked shots in the game at Notre Dame,
UConn tied the Joyce Center record for blocked shots by an opponent set by UCLA
on January 27, 1973. UConn is the only school in NCAA history to lead the country
in blocked shots for six straight seasons, turning the trick in 2006-07 once again. Last
season, the Huskies blocked 266 shots (8.6/game), led by Hasheem Thabeet, who
had 119 of the 266 rejections. Eleven different players recorded a blocked shot on
the 2006-07 season. UConn has averaged national leading totals of 8.6 in 2006-07,
8.8 in 2005-06, 8.9 blocks in 2004-05, 8.1 blocks in 2003-04, 7.7 blocks in 2002-03
and 6.9 blocks in 2001-02.
HUSKIES IN THE NBA: UConn has more alums on active 2007-08 NBA rosters
than any other school in the country. The Huskies have 13 former players on NBA
rosters, outdistancing Duke (12), North Carolina (12), Arizona (10), UCLA (10),
2007-08 BIG EAST AWARDS
BIG EAST Player of the Year
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Oppenheimer Funds/BIG EAST
Coach of the Year
Mike Brey, Notre Dame
BIG EAST Rookies of the Year
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse
BIG EAST
Defensive Player of the Year
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Sam Young, Pittsburgh
BIG EAST Sixth Man Award
Patrick Ewing, Jr., Georgetown
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Ronald Ramon, Pittsburgh
Darris Nichols, West Virginia
2007-08 All-BIG EAST
First Team
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, So.
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, Jr.
*A.J. Price, Connecticut, Jr.
*Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, Sr.
*David Padgett, Louisville, Sr.
*Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, So.
Kyle McAlarney, Notre Dame, Jr.
Sam Young, Pittsburgh, Jr.
Brian Laing, Seton Hall, Sr.
Kentrell Gransberry, USF, Sr.
Joe Alexander, West Virginia, Jr.
2007-08 All-BIG EAST
Second Team
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, So.
Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown, Sr.
Draelon Burns, DePaul, Sr.
Terrence Williams, Louisville, Jr.
Lazar Hayward, Marquette, So.
Dominic James, Marquette, Jr.
Jerel McNeal, Marquette, Jr.
Donte' Greene, Syracuse, Fr.
Paul Harris, Syracuse, So.
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, So.
2007-08 All-BIG EAST
Hon. Mention
DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Fr.
Geoff McDermott, Providence, Jr.
Anthony Mason, Jr., St. John's, Jr.
Dominique Jones, USF, Fr.
Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, Fr.
BIG EAST
All-Rookie Team
Mac Koshwal, DePaul, Fr.
Dar Tucker, DePaul, Fr.
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, Fr.
*DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh, Fr.
Corey Chandler, Rutgers, Fr.
Justin Burrell, St. John's, Fr.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, Fr.
*Dominique Jones, USF, Fr.
*Jonny Flynn, Syracuse, Fr.
*Donte' Greene, Syracuse, Fr.
Corey Fisher, Villanova, Fr.
*denotes unanimous selection
University of Connecticut Basketball
2008 NCAA Championship Media Notes
First/Second Rounds, St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla.