Bearcats rebound against Connecticut

The Bearcats got back to .500 in the Big East with a 60-48 win over UConn in Hartford. The Bearcats are now 15-9, 6-6, while UConn is 14-11, 4-8. Jim Calhoun's return to the sideline was the only thing that the Hartford crowd cheered for. The Bearcats had much more to cheer for, as they played a fantastic second half in pulling away. Lance Stephenson lead the way with 14 points, and lead the way by helping UC break a 22-22 halftime tie into a 9 point lead UC would never relinquish. Deonta Vaughn had 10 points, 4 assists, but the surprise star was Ibrahima Thomas. Ibrahima put up a double double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. My best friend Dion Dixon returned from the dead with 6 points, looking strong taking the ball to the rim and keeping UC ahead. The Huskies were lead by Kemba Walker's 14. Jerome Dyson had 13, and Stanley Robinson scored 10, all in the first half, to go with 9 boards. The Bearcats rebounded the ball very well, holding UConn to 1 shot most of the time, and getting a lot of offensive rebounds. UC had 41 boards on the day, 17 offensive. Steve Toyloy had 8, 5 offensive, Rashad Bishop 7, and Yancy Gates 5. This was a great win for the Bearcats, mainly because it came on the road. Let's take the rest of the weekend to enjoy this one.

Know Your Opponent: Connecticut Huskies edition

Tomorrow at high noon, the 14-9, 5-6, Cincinnati Bearcats take to the scenic streets of Storrs, Connecticut to take on the 14-10, 4-7, Connecticut Huskies. Both teams are coming off losses to Syracuse, UConn's in less dominating fashion Wednesday. This is the second meetings of the UC's this season. The Bearcats pulled off a 71-69 victory thanks to a beneficial call in the closing seconds leading to Lance Stephenson sticking in a pair of free throws for the W. Lance Stephenson exploded on UConn to the tune of 21 points. Deonta Vaughn went for 17-5-5, Ibrahima Thomas had 6-9-3 blocks, and Larry Davis had 9. The Huskies were powered by 24 from Jerome Dyson, along with 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals and 20 from Stanley Robinson. UC blew a 12 point lead in the second half of that game, and Kemba Walker hit a 3 to tie the score with 9.4 seconds left.

 Just like the first meeting, Jim Calhoun is coaching the Huskies. Calhoun took a medical leave for 7 games, in which UConn went 3-4. I asked the highly esteemed UCHuskies.com what impact they thought Calhoun had coming back for Saturday, and the rest of the season.

Two things I think the Huskies have working for them Saturday, and the rest of the way, are, Calhoun's return and the emotional lift it will provide...and the "us against the world" mentality the team will have, following what I consider to be some "questionable" officiating in Syracuse. Calhoun is the motivator, Blaney is the good cop. Calhoun's return is probably a game later than ideal, but is still well timed. 7 Big East games remaining, the Huskies must go 5-2 to get back to .500 in the league. It's all hands on deck from here on out. No excuses.


 Along with UCHuskies.com, TheUConnblog.com is a great place for UConn news and views. This is a pivotal game for both teams, as you could see on both of their sites, because neither can afford to take on more losses. Let's take a look at how the teams match up this time.

Jim Calhoun returning the sidelines for UConn Saturday

(Pictured: Jim Calhoun)

News broke this afternoon that the coach of the Connecticut Huskies is returning to the sidelines Saturday. The press release and more can be found at our friends the UConn Blog's site.  As if the game in Storrs wasn't big enough, the return of Calhoun should rile up the crowd and the UConn players. Connecticut has been in the tank lately, sporting a 14-10 record and are 4-7 in conference. UConn was 3-4 in Calhoun's 7 game absence. We knew this one would be tough, and the tough just got tougher for the Big East tilt at high noon Saturday.