The stage is set for a supreme dogfight between UConn and Providence at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs on Saturday. The No. 2 Huskies have won eight straight following a listless home loss to Georgetown, while the Friars have won four consecutive games at UConn.
Conference Notes
Born Ready: The Greatest Or Just The Latest?
Is Lance Stephenson the greatest, or just the latest, of a long line of New York prodigies? His story is made all the more interesting by the many who have come before him.
Sharaud Curry Is Back for the Friars
A year ago, a game like this must have seemed so far away, so unimaginable for Sharaud Curry. It had to be a pipe dream, something he could only imagine happening at a time when his team was struggling without him, when they needed him. It was a game many imagined happening last year, certainly. There was a time when Curry was well on his way to becoming one of the top point guards in the Big East, emerging nicely as a sophomore. With that, there were high hopes for him as a junior and for his team. But they never materialized, the result of a well-chronicled foot injury that forced him to redshirt after playing just nine minutes last season.
Horizon Notebook – Looking Towards the End Game
Everybody’s doing it. Everybody denies it, but everybody’s doing it. At this time of the year, every coaching staff in America is scrutinizing its remaining schedule. Can we win our conference? Can we get a conference tournament bye? Can we get an at-large bid to one tournament to another?
Reggie Jackson Emerges For Boston College
Entering the season, Reggie Jackson projected to be the best of Boston College’s three freshmen. He looked the part early on, as it’s clear he’s a terrific athlete and has some offensive skills that should get better. But you could also tell early on that he was a freshman, and with the way Boston College plays, the learning curve that comes with playing college basketball isn’t always expedited.
Hoop Group Lehigh Valley Showcase Recap
Parkland High School was the site of the 14th annual Lehigh Valley Hoop Group Showcase on Sunday. It consisted of four games, the last two of which came right down to the end. The first game of the day was short on Division I prospects but not long on good shooting by one team. Victorious Emmaus, the alma mater of former Pitt big man Aaron Gray, shot 54 percent from the field and a scorching 10-17 from long range en route to their 84-74 win.
UIC Flames at Wright State
Tonight Wright State held University of Illinois-Chicago to just five buckets in the second half and a school record 31 points in the game as the Raiders win 57-31.
Horizon Notebook: Butler Too Good for Green Bay in Battle for First Place
The Wisconsin-Green Bay team may not have read this space recently, as we had long decided that the Horizon regular season belongs to Butler. In fact, the only question that remains in the mind of this writer is whether Butler will lose a single game, either in the Horizon regular season or in a conference tournament in which it will need to win but twice, both games at home.
Losing Hasn’t Slowed Dartmouth’s Barnett
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Alex Barnett remembered something his coach said about their Ivy League travel partner. Dartmouth last won at Harvard in 1999, despite having some chances since then to pull out a win at Lavietes Pavilion. Fifth-year head coach Terry Dunn was determined to change that, and, it turns out, his senior star had something to do with it.
Wolfpack Playing with Heavy Hearts
Coaches talk all the time about playing for 40 minutes. You don’t win games playing 20, 30, 35 or even 39 minutes unless you’re significantly better than a team. Even then, a full 40-minute effort is what’s needed to get a win. Right now, that’s the big battle North Carolina State is facing, and their latest example is their 79-68 loss at Boston College on Saturday.
