What a mess in Louisville!

The UConn men were destroyed in Louisville on Saturday afternoon.  I am very happy I did not get the opportunity to watch it.

The defending national champions made some noise, playing at a higher level and hope to get back to the Final Four next month.

Kevin Ollie took full responsibility for the way his team played.  It was honestly embarrassing.  I am not sure if the loss against Houston was worst.  The Huskies were outplayed and outcoached.  I really hope the Huskies learn to play against zone and some pressure defense and learn some patience on offense or it will be a quick end to March.

Ollie was asked if he saw this coming and he said no.  As of fan, I saw it happening.  Last Wednesday, they struggled to beat Rutgers.  There were many times this season where they were lucky to win games.  Still it would be great if there was another consistent option or two besides Shabazz Napier.  And post play, including rebounding, is key.

UConn will play Memphis on Thursday night in Memphis in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference. UConn will be the home team by seed, but Memphis will be playing on their home court.  The winner will most likely take on Cincinnati in the semifinals.

Finally, anyone else notice the happy music ESPN has during the 30 for 30 commercial on the Big East?  It is like they are happy they destroyed the Big East.  However, I did notice on the new Big East website, they control all the records and the AAC (which is technically the Big East before it was renamed the American) has nothing.  Sad to see the likes of Ray Allen, Emeka Okafor, 6 OTs and UConn's 2011 run controlled by a bunch of Catholic schools who purchased it. So is the Big East dead or just dead to ESPN?  Still want to know what UConn does with the Big East banners in Gampel Pavilion?

AAC Women's Tournament - Quarterfinal Journal

The next few days, I am reliving some of the best moments of my life.  I am covering the American Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament at Mohegan Sun this weekend for SB Nation/The UConn Blog.  What a great experience and an honor!

First of all, most the reporters are still the same since I last saw them in San Antonio in April of 2002. It is great to see a lot of old faces. Do they remember me, of course not, but I remember them.  They are all great people.

Mohegan Sun Arena is a wonderful place to host this event.  It is near the American's conference headquarters in Rhode Island and it is located in the state that has the most passion for women's basketball.  Today, there were over 7,000 fans - mostly UConn fans - for the quarterfinals.  A decade ago I remember going to the Rutgers Athletic Center and it was half filled with no excitement.  The XL Center served its purpose the past eight years, but the building is old and falling apart and looked empty the past few years.  I am sure the non-UConn games will struggle in attendance at Mohegan Sun, but a "neutral" site at a smaller venue is the way to go.   

I really hope the American considers hosting the men's championship at Mohegan Sun in the future as well.

No big news to report on during the UConn-Cincinnati game from today.  I was really impressed the skill of Breanna Stewart and Stefanie Dolson.  Sitting on the baseline gives you a better vantage point than on television or in the stands.

UConn will be playing a final time against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon during a conference tournament.  My best memory of this rivalry was the Big East semifinal in 2001 when the roof leaked at Gampel causing a lengthy game stoppage.

I will be tweeting and posting pictures on Twitter @TheUConnBlog and my game stories will be posted at theuconnblog.com.  I will be continuing my journal on this site after each game.

Back to Uncasville in the afternoon!  Don't forget to change your clocks - spring forward!

The American Women’s Tournament Preview

On Friday afternoon, the American Athletic Conference announced the conference’s major award winners – Coach, Player, Rookie and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Just like on Thursday, the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team took home some more hardware.

Sophomore Breanna Stewart was honored as the Player of the Year and head coach Geno Auriemma was named the Coach of the Year.  Rutgers’ Tyler Scaife was earned the Rookie of the Year honors, while Antonita Slaughter from Louisville was the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Stewart was a dominating force during the regular season. She averaged 19.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. This should be the first of many awards that Stewart will earn this postseason. She is a finalist for most National Player of the Year awards and should be named a First Team All-American.

Auriemma has led the Huskies to another undefeated regular season. Dating back to last season’s NCAA Tournament, No. 1 UConn has won 37 straight games and will be the favorite to win the AAC postseason tournament and the program’s ninth national title.

UConn will begin American Tournament play on Saturday in the second quarterfinal game at 2:00pm on ESPN3. The top-seeded Huskies will face No. 8 seed Cincinnati at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

The Bearcats hung on for a 54-52 win over No. 9 seed Central Florida in the opening round on Friday night and will play UConn for the third time this season. In the second game of the opening round, No. 10 seed Houston upset No. 7 seed Memphis and will play No. 2 seed Louisville on Saturday evening.

AAC Preview

Dark Horse-

South Florida is fighting for its NCAA Tournament lives.  They earned the No. 3 seed with a win at Rutgers this past Monday. Two more wins would get them to 20 for the season and the championship game which should guarantee them an NCAA bid.

Game to Watch-

Rutgers vs. SMU – Rutgers has been ranked during the regular season and should make the field of 64.  However, they have lost their past two games (at UConn and vs. USF).  Have they done enough to get into the NCAA Tournament?

A Final Goodbye-

UConn can possible play Rutgers and Louisville for the final time in a conference postseason tournament. Next season Rutgers is off to the Big Ten while Louisville is heading to the ACC.

Just like the Old Big East-

UConn should win their first American Athletic Conference Tournament Championship on Monday night. They have been the best team all season and have the best player and coach in the conference – if not the country. If the Huskies win, it will be their 38^th conference championship. 

American Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament Schedule

Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, Conn.

Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 8, 2014

12pm – No. 4 Rutgers (21-8, 12-6) vs. No. 5 SMU (17-12, 8-10)

2pm – No. 1 Connecticut (31-0, 18-0) vs. No. 8 Cincinnati (13-17, 5-13)

6pm – No. 2 Louisville (28-3, 16-2) vs. No. 10 Houston (6-24, 1-17)

8pm – No. 3 South Florida (18-11, 13-5) vs. No. 6 Temple (14-15, 8-10)

Semifinals – Sunday, March 9, 2014

1pm – Semifinal No. 1 (ESPNU)

3pm – Semifinal No. 2 (ESPNU)

Championship – Monday, March 10, 2014

7pm – Winner of the Semifinal Games (ESPN)

American announces women’s regular season awards

The American Athletic Conference named their inaugural regular season women’s basketball award winners on Thursday afternoon. The University of Connecticut, the regular season champions with a perfect 18-0 record, had seven players earn recognition. 

Stefanie Dolson received a lot of hardware and recognition. Dolson was named the American Defensive Player of the Year and the American Sportsmanship Award Winner. The senior center led the Huskies with 9.1 rebounds and was second on the team with 2.3 blocks, but also scored 12.4 points and had 3.4 assists.

Dolson joined Bria Hartley, Moriah Jefferson, and Breanna Stewart on the All-Conference First Team. Dolson, Hartley, and Stewart were unanimous selections. Hartley, a senior guard, averaged 16.6 points and 4.2 assists. Stewart, a sophomore forward, led UConn with 19.5 points and also grabbed 8.3 rebounds. Jefferson, a sophomore guard, scored 10.1 points, 5.2 assists and 2.6 steals.

Junior forwards Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and Kiah Stokes made the All-Conference Second Team. Saniya Chong was on the All-Freshmen Team. Mosqueda-Lewis, limited to only 19 games this season due to injuries, averaged 12 points and shot 40.7 percent from three-point range. Stokes only scored 5 points per game but shot 62.3 percent from the field and averaged 7.4 rebounds off the bench. Chong averaged 5.7 points a game in her rookie season for the Huskies.

The American will announce the Coach of the Year and Player of the Year awards on Friday afternoon prior to the first round of the AAC Tournament at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.  UConn will open tournament play on Saturday in the second quarterfinal game at approximately at 2:30pm (ESPN3).  The Huskies will face the winner of Friday night’s 8/9 game between Cincinnati-Central Florida.

The UConn Blog will at the AAC Tournament. Follow our twitter feed for live updates and the blog for all your pre- and postgame tournament coverage.

American Defensive Player of the Year
Stefanie Dolson, UConn, Sr., C
 
American Most Improved Player of the Year
Asia Taylor, Louisville, R-Sr., F
 
American Sportsmanship Award
Stefanie Dolson, UConn, Sr., C
Tia Gibbs, Louisville, R-Sr., G
 
American Sixth Player of the Year
Rateska Brown, Temple, Jr., G
 
All-Conference First Team
*Stefanie Dolson, UConn, Sr., C
*Bria Hartley, UConn, Sr., G
Moriah Jefferson, UConn, So., G
*Breanna Stewart, UConn, So., F
Sara Hammond, Louisville, Jr., F
Asia Taylor, Louisville, R-Sr., F
*Shoni Schimmel, Louisville, Sr., G
Ariel Hearn, Memphis, So., G
Kahleah Copper, Rutgers, So., G
Courtney Williams, USF, So., G
*Keena Mays, SMU, Sr., G
 
All-Conference Second Team 
Jeanise Randolph, Cincinnati, Sr., F
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, UConn, Jr., F
Kiah Stokes, UConn, Jr., C
Bria Smith, Louisville, Jr., G
Betnijah Laney, Rutgers, Jr., G/F
Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, Fr., G
Alisia Jenkins, USF, So., F
Inga Orekhova, USF, Sr., G
Akil Simpson, SMU, Sr., F
Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, Fr., G
Natasha Thames, Temple, R-Sr., F
 
All-Freshman Team
*Zykira Lewis, UCF, Fr., G
Bianca Quisenberry, Cincinnati, Fr., G
Saniya Chong, UConn, Fr., G
Emmonnie Henderson, Louisville, Fr., F
Breigha Wilder-Cochran, Memphis, Fr., G
Mooriah Rowser, Memphis, R-Fr., G
*Tyler Scaife, Rutgers, Fr., G
Ariadna Pujol, USF, Fr., G
*Kiara Perry, SMU, Fr., G
*Feyonda Fitzgerald, Temple, Fr., G
Taylor Robinson, Temple, Fr., C
 
[*] denotes unanimous pick                   
 
Ties are not broken

   

UConn women look to clinch top seed in AAC Tournament

Eleven months ago in New Orleans, the upstart Louisville Cardinals met the Connecticut Huskies for the NCAA National Championship. Although it was a rout for the UConn women, Louisville displayed in that game that they were no Cinderella.

Tonight, they meet again for another championship at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Ky. (7pm ESPN2). This time it is for the inaugural American Athletic Conference regular season title. If UConn wins, they will win the outright conference championship and will be the top seed in this weekend’s American tournament at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. If Louisville wins, both teams will share the regular season title and a coin flip will determine the top seed in the tournament.

The No. 1 Huskies defeated No. 25 Rutgers, 72-35, to earn a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season championship last Saturday. In a game where they never trailed, top-ranked and unbeaten UConn (30-0 overall, 17-0 AAC) used a stifling defense to keep the Scarlet Knights at bay. Rutgers was held to a season-low 35 points scored. They played without their leading scorer Kahleah Cooper who missed most of the game Breanna Stewart and Bria Hartley led the Huskies in scoring. They both scored 20 points each. Stewart and Stefanie Dolson (six points) had 10 rebounds apiece. Kia Stokes pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.

Last month, UConn defeated the No. 3 Cardinals 81-64 and ended a 16 game winning streak in front of soldout crowd at Gampel Pavilion. Since then, the Cards (28-2, 16-1) have won five in a row, most recently a 75-51 victory against Cincinnati.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz is known for his aggressive game plans. In the last meeting, his team was physical and they opted to leave Moriah Jefferson open. However, offensively they struggled against the UConn defense and Stewart just took over. Stewart had 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Jefferson scored a career-high 18 points. The Huskies forced 14 turnovers and held the Cardinals to 36% shooting.

Expect Walz and his team to learn from the previous meeting and come with another game plan to contain Stewart and Hartley. It is without question that Walz will use some type of full-court pressure defense to tire out the Huskies who only have eight scholarship players. They will also use a combination of a two-three or three-two zone. Expect Stewart to be double or triple teamed in the post.

The Cardinals are led by a pair of All-American candidates in guard Shoni Schimmel (17.2 point per game) and forward Sara Hammond (11.2 points, 6.6 rebounds). In the last meeting, the UConn defense was able to contain and limit both players on offense. Forward Asia Taylor (12.2 points) had 18 points in the last meeting and guard Antonia Slaughter is a three-point threat.

Both teams are pretty much at full strength. UConn saw the return of Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis on Saturday afternoon. Although she scored only seven points, she did play 27 minutes. Geno Auriemma expects Lewis to have a better shooting performance than she did last Saturday. Lewis sat out the past two weeks with mononucleosis. Louisville will have guard Bria Smith, who missed the last meeting with the Huskies due to a knee injury.

The Cardinals are undefeated at home this season (17-0) and this is their senior night.

UConn women win on Senior Day, 72-35

March got off to a great start for the Connecticut women’s basketball team. The Huskies defeated No. 25 Rutgers, 72-35, to earn a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season championship.

In a game where they never trailed, top-ranked and unbeaten UConn (30-0 overall, 17-0 AAC) used a stifling defense to keep the Scarlet Knights (21-7, 12-5) at bay.  Rutgers was held to a season-low 35 points scored. They played without their leading scorer Kahleah Cooper who missed most of the game with turf toe.

Breanna Stewart and Bria Hartley led the Huskies in scoring. They both scored 20 points each. Stewart and Stefanie Dolson (six points) had 10 rebounds apiece. Kia Stokes pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds off the bench.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis returned to the court after missing four games with a bout of mononucleosis and played 27 minutes and scored seven points. She was a bit rusty making only one three pointers in seven attempts but had three assists.    

Prior to the game, Hartley and Dolson were honored in the senior day festivities. Both All-Americans were also inducted into the Huskies of Honor at Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies, which have won 36 straight, have started the season 30-0 for the seventh time in program history.  They went on to win the national title five times and went undefeated four times. This is also the ninth straight time UConn has won 30 games in a season and the 18^th time in the last 20 seasons.

During the game, Dolson pulled down her 1,000 career rebound. She became the fifth UConn player to score 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds.

No. 1 UConn will visit No. 3 Louisville on Monday night in the final regular season conference game of the season. If the Huskies win, they will capture their first outright American championship and the top seed in next weekend’s conference tournament. If they lose, both teams will be declared co-champions and a coin flip will determine the top seed in the tournament.

No. 1 UConn women hosts No. 25 Rutgers on Senior Day

March is finally here. This is what college basketball is all about.

The easy competition is over.  Every game now can be a struggle.  It is all about survive and advance.  This is the time of year where legends are made.

The final two regular season games for the No. 1 Connecticut women’s basketball team are against two NCAA caliber opponents. This afternoon, UConn (29-0 overall, 16-0 American) will host No. 25 Rutgers (21-6, 12-4) at Gampel Pavilion on Senior Day (4pm, CBS Sports Network). The Huskies travel to No. 3 Louisville on Monday night.

Seniors Bria Hartley and Stefanie Dolson will be honored in a pregame ceremony. Since both were named All-Americans during their career they will both be inducted into the Huskies of Honor.

Hartley and Dolson have had stellar senior campaigns and great college careers. Hartey recently joined elite company by being the third UConn player (Diana Taurasi and Maya Moore) to have 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. Dolson enters today’s game is six rebounds shy of 1,000 for her career – she can become the fifth member of the 1,000 point/1,000 rebound club.

In addition to the final regular season home game at Gampel Pavilion, today marks an end of an era.  UConn and Rutgers had a fierce conference rivalry dating back to the late 1990s.  C. Vivian Stringer came to Rutgers wanting to make them the jewel of the east.  She made the Scarlet Knights relevant – NCAA appearances, Final Fours, Big East regular season and tournament titles, and wins against UConn. They gave the Huskies a run for their money in the Big East.

With Rutgers leaving for the Big Ten next season, today’s match-up may be the last between the two Hall of Fame coaches. Auriemma (868) and Stringer (924) have combined for 1,792 wins. However, Auriemma has had an edge in the overall series (31-6) against Rutgers.  The Huskies have won 11 straight games and are 18-1 at home. 

Most recently, UConn defeated Rutgers 94-64 on January 19.  Hartley scored a career-high 30 points while Breanna Stewart added 22 points and nine rebounds.  Dolson had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Rutgers was led by Tyler Scaife (22 points) and Kahleah Copper (20 points).

Overall, the Huskies survived their 6,000 mile, nine-day road trip and got some good news along the way.  Brianna Banks came back from ankle injury and provided the team with some depth and quality minutes.  In addition, there was word on late Thursday night that Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis participated in practice and may play today.

This past week, the Huskies swept their Texas road trip defeating both Houston 92-41 and SMU 81-48. Auriemma was not pleased with the first half performance against Houston last Saturday.  Despite winning by 51 points in a nearly empty arena, the Huskies struggled to be motivated in Auriemma’s 1,000^th game.  They regrouped at the half and UConn was lights out in the second half shooting 80 percent and went on to the easy victory.  Hartley and Dolson scored 24 points apiece to pace the Huskies.

On Tuesday, SMU played with UConn and kept things closer than their previous meeting earlier this month.  The Mustangs were playing in front of their largest home crowd at Moody Coliseum.  They played pretty good defense and kept within five points with four minutes left in the first half. UConn just went on a dominating 30-7 run that spanned the end of the first half into the first eight minutes of the second half.  Hartley and Stewart led the way with 25 and 23 points, respectively, in the 33-point rout.

If UConn wins today, they will win at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season title.  This will be their first regular season conference championship since 2011.  They can win the outright title on Monday night at Louisville.