2008 Woodie Awards
The Huskies will get started on their quest for a Big East tournament championship in just over an hour from now. Here are the team’s projected starters:
UConn (24-7)
F - Stanley Robinson (10.5 points per game)
F - Jeff Adrien (14.8 ppg)
C - Hasheem Thabeet (10.5 ppg)
G - Craig Austrie (7.5 ppg)
G - A.J. Price (14.7 ppg)
West Virginia (23-9)
F - Da’Sean Butler (12.6 points per game)
F - Joe Alexander (16.4 ppg)
C - Jamie Smalligan (2.4 ppg)
G - Alex Ruoff (13.8 ppg)
G - Darris Nichols (10.9 ppg)
Quick Hits
UConn is 4-3 all-time as the four-seed in the Big East tournament … The Huskies are 12-11 all-time in 23 quarterfinal game … Jim Calhoun is coaching his 71st game at MSG today; he has a 43-27 career record in those games … UConn has lost its opening round game in each of the last two Big East tournaments.
We’ve made it to Madison Square Garden and it is about four hours until the Huskies tip-off in their first Big East tournament game of 2008 against West Virginia. UConn is the four-seed for the tournament and West Virginia is the five-seed. The Mountaineers got to the quarterfinals by defeating Providence yesterday, 58-53, in the tournament’s opening round.
UConn is the second game of an afternoon doubleheader. Georgetown and Villanova will have the floor before the Huskies and that game will begin at noon. Both games are on ESPN.
The primetime doubleheader on ESPN features Louisville-Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. and Notre Dame-Marquette at 9 p.m.
We’ll be here with updates all day, including something after the Georgetown-Villanova game, and the starting lineups for the UConn game when they come out.
Head coach Jim Calhoun on tomorrow’s game:
”Tomorrow will obviously be a tough game, as all games are this time of year, especially in the Big East Conference. West Virginia is clearly an NCAA Tournament team and we had a tough matchup with them just two weeks ago.
The challenge of stopping, or at least slowing, Joe Alexander will be a key. He has been one of the hottest players in the country over the last several weeks and was deservedly recognized as a Big East First Team player.
We have had a good two days of practice here in New York and we look forward to jumping back into tournament play tomorrow afternoon in Madison Square Garden. I am excited and I know the team is too.”
The Huskies now know who their opponent will be for their quarterfinal game Thursday. UConn, which holds the four-seed in the tournament, will face-off with West Virginia for their first game of the 2008 Big East championship (2 p.m., ESPN).
The Mountaineers defeated Providence Wednesday 58-53 in the first round of the Big East tournament. Joe Alexander led the way for West Virginia (23-9), scoring 22 points in the victory.
No. 15 UConn (24-7) and West Virginia played each other March 1 at the XL Center and the Huskies came away with a 79-71 win. In that game, UConn had a difficult time containing Alexander who scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Mountaineers.
The winner of tomorrow’s UConn-West Virginia game will move onto the semifinals Friday night where they will play the winner of the Georgetown-Villanova game.
– Dan Olender
Curtis Kelly returned to practice yesterday and also participated in today’s two-hour workout at Columbia University in preparation for UConn’s Big East tournament quarterfinal match-up tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
Kelly has been out of action after dislocating his elbow Feb. 23 in the first half of the Huskies’ 67-65 loss to Villanova.
The sophomore averaged two points a game this season while fighting for time in the crowded frontcourt. Kelly averaged 7.6 minutes a game while starting in one of the 24 games he’s appeared in this year.
Despite coming in as arguably the most heralded recruit in the eight-member recruiting class of 2006, Kelly has struggled to find his niche this season on a team with Stanley Robinson, Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien entrenched as the starters, and was often one of the last players called upon off the bench. He failed to appear in three games before injuring his elbow.
UConn will face the winner of the on-going match-up between No. 5 seed West Virginia and No. 12 seed Providence at Madison Square Garden. With 10:19 remaining in the second half, the Mountaineers are leading, 41-40.
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