THE SCOUTING REPORT
CONNECTICUT (15-6, 7-3 Big East): The Huskies return to conference play after losing to No. 2 North Carolina, 77-70. UConn outshot (43.5 percent to 40.5) and outrebounded (49-37) the Tar Heels but were hurt by 22 turnovers. . . . The team's six losses equal last year's total, when the Huskies won the national title with a 33-6 record. . . . Four Huskies have blocked 27 or more shots, and the team averages 9.9 blocks per game. Villanueva is averaging 8.5 rebounds in Big East games, tops in the conference. Boone leads in blocks (3.0) and Williams is tops in assists (7.6). . . . UConn leads the Big East in field-goal defense, limiting foes to 37 percent shooting. Also dominating the league in rebounding, averaging 7.5 more boards than opponents.
PROVIDENCE (11-13, 1-9): The Friars hope for a second straight conference win after snapping their nine-game losing streak by beating Rutgers, 81-64, on Sunday. PC has won its last two games against Connecticut, both on the road. PC hasn't won three in a row in the series since 1986-87. . . . UConn has won five of the last six meetings in Providence. PC last beat the Huskies here in 2001. . . . Gomes won Big East Player of the Week honors after averaging 27.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4 assists in a loss to West Virginia and the win over Rutgers. He shot 61 percent from the field in the two games. It's the seventh time in his career that Gomes has been so honored, the most by a Friar in the school's Big East history. Gomes leads the Big East in scoring (22.9). . . . McGrath is 29 for 42 from 3-point range in his last seven games. . . . In conference play, PC is being outrebounded by 1.9 per game and is allowing foes to average 76.5 points on 46 percent shooting.
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Gomes goes for threepeat vs. UConn
PC star Ryan Gomes gets a chance to create a lasting legacy tonight in his third go-round against his own state's university.
PROVIDENCE -- Ryan Gomes already has proven you can go home again. Now he gets his chance to create a lasting legacy against his own state's university.
Gomes is the Providence College senior forward who has risen from an overlooked high school star from Waterbury, Conn., to stardom in the Big East with the Friars. He's also Connecticut's prodigal son, the local kid who not only was bypassed by his state school but also has returned to the Nutmeg state the last two seasons and led PC to upset victories over the powerhouse Huskies.
Two years ago at Gampel Pavilion, Gomes scored 26 points against the Huskies in a 76-70 Friar win. Last season, the Friars waltzed into the Hartford Civic Center and Gomes enjoyed another sparkling day, throwing in 26 more points and grabbing 12 rebounds as PC beat the fourth-ranked Huskies, 66-56.
Tonight, Gomes goes for three in a row, but his first-ever win over UConn at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
"We've had a couple good games the last two years, but UConn is tough. We have to play real well," Gomes said.
While PC enters the game wearing a smile after winning its first Big East game of the season Sunday against Rutgers, the Huskies come to town hurting. While still good enough to be ranked 18th in this week's AP poll with a 15-6 record, UConn is without its leading scorer (guard Rashad Anderson) and can't seem to get its supposed NBA-ready stable of talented big men to play well every game.
UConn lost a nationally televised showdown at home against North Carolina on Sunday, 77-70. The Huskies played pretty well -- most of them, anyway -- but ultimately were victimized by 22 turnovers. That sloppiness trumped a strong defensive effort against perhaps the nation's premier offensive team, including a mind-boggling 16 blocked shots. While the Huskies' Josh Boone (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gay (13) played well, 6-11 sophomore Charlie Villanueva made just 1 of 6 shots (2 points) and couldn't clear key rebounds with the game on the line.
"I thought we competed as well as we possibly could, but we came apart ball-handling-wise," coach Jim Calhoun said after the loss. "It's 22 turnovers. That's what they took away from you."
A thin UConn backcourt is further hindered by the loss of Anderson, who won't play tonight and could miss several more games. He's been hospitalized in Hartford since last Tuesday with a skin abscess on his inner thigh that developed bacteria complications and landed him in intensive care. UConn is placing a heavy load on sophomore point guard Marcus Williams, who leads the Big East in assists but was too careless in the Carolina game and turned the ball over a career-high seven times.
While UConn needs to right its ship quickly if it hopes to make a run at the Big East title, the Huskies remain a major roadblock for a PC team hoping to catch fire down the stretch. The Huskies own the most formidable frontcourt in the country, one that's capable of dominating any opponent with its rebounding and shot-blocking skills.
"Even without Rashad, they're an elite team. They can win with or without him," said PC coach Tim Welsh. "Against North Carolina they played very, very good defense. That's what they do. They defend you in the halfcourt as well as anybody in the country."
The North Carolina loss hurt Calhoun because it followed a signature win last week at Syracuse, 74-66. That could have signaled the start of a long, late-season winning streak, the type that his teams always seem to put together this time of year.
If UConn hopes to bounce back, it'll have to slow down PC's Gomes. That's been all but impossible the last two years.
CONNECTICUT (15-6, 7-3 Big East): The Huskies return to conference play after losing to No. 2 North Carolina, 77-70. UConn outshot (43.5 percent to 40.5) and outrebounded (49-37) the Tar Heels but were hurt by 22 turnovers. . . . The team's six losses equal last year's total, when the Huskies won the national title with a 33-6 record. . . . Four Huskies have blocked 27 or more shots, and the team averages 9.9 blocks per game. Villanueva is averaging 8.5 rebounds in Big East games, tops in the conference. Boone leads in blocks (3.0) and Williams is tops in assists (7.6). . . . UConn leads the Big East in field-goal defense, limiting foes to 37 percent shooting. Also dominating the league in rebounding, averaging 7.5 more boards than opponents.
PROVIDENCE (11-13, 1-9): The Friars hope for a second straight conference win after snapping their nine-game losing streak by beating Rutgers, 81-64, on Sunday. PC has won its last two games against Connecticut, both on the road. PC hasn't won three in a row in the series since 1986-87. . . . UConn has won five of the last six meetings in Providence. PC last beat the Huskies here in 2001. . . . Gomes won Big East Player of the Week honors after averaging 27.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4 assists in a loss to West Virginia and the win over Rutgers. He shot 61 percent from the field in the two games. It's the seventh time in his career that Gomes has been so honored, the most by a Friar in the school's Big East history. Gomes leads the Big East in scoring (22.9). . . . McGrath is 29 for 42 from 3-point range in his last seven games. . . . In conference play, PC is being outrebounded by 1.9 per game and is allowing foes to average 76.5 points on 46 percent shooting.
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Gomes goes for threepeat vs. UConn
PC star Ryan Gomes gets a chance to create a lasting legacy tonight in his third go-round against his own state's university.
PROVIDENCE -- Ryan Gomes already has proven you can go home again. Now he gets his chance to create a lasting legacy against his own state's university.
Gomes is the Providence College senior forward who has risen from an overlooked high school star from Waterbury, Conn., to stardom in the Big East with the Friars. He's also Connecticut's prodigal son, the local kid who not only was bypassed by his state school but also has returned to the Nutmeg state the last two seasons and led PC to upset victories over the powerhouse Huskies.
Two years ago at Gampel Pavilion, Gomes scored 26 points against the Huskies in a 76-70 Friar win. Last season, the Friars waltzed into the Hartford Civic Center and Gomes enjoyed another sparkling day, throwing in 26 more points and grabbing 12 rebounds as PC beat the fourth-ranked Huskies, 66-56.
Tonight, Gomes goes for three in a row, but his first-ever win over UConn at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
"We've had a couple good games the last two years, but UConn is tough. We have to play real well," Gomes said.
While PC enters the game wearing a smile after winning its first Big East game of the season Sunday against Rutgers, the Huskies come to town hurting. While still good enough to be ranked 18th in this week's AP poll with a 15-6 record, UConn is without its leading scorer (guard Rashad Anderson) and can't seem to get its supposed NBA-ready stable of talented big men to play well every game.
UConn lost a nationally televised showdown at home against North Carolina on Sunday, 77-70. The Huskies played pretty well -- most of them, anyway -- but ultimately were victimized by 22 turnovers. That sloppiness trumped a strong defensive effort against perhaps the nation's premier offensive team, including a mind-boggling 16 blocked shots. While the Huskies' Josh Boone (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Rudy Gay (13) played well, 6-11 sophomore Charlie Villanueva made just 1 of 6 shots (2 points) and couldn't clear key rebounds with the game on the line.
"I thought we competed as well as we possibly could, but we came apart ball-handling-wise," coach Jim Calhoun said after the loss. "It's 22 turnovers. That's what they took away from you."
A thin UConn backcourt is further hindered by the loss of Anderson, who won't play tonight and could miss several more games. He's been hospitalized in Hartford since last Tuesday with a skin abscess on his inner thigh that developed bacteria complications and landed him in intensive care. UConn is placing a heavy load on sophomore point guard Marcus Williams, who leads the Big East in assists but was too careless in the Carolina game and turned the ball over a career-high seven times.
While UConn needs to right its ship quickly if it hopes to make a run at the Big East title, the Huskies remain a major roadblock for a PC team hoping to catch fire down the stretch. The Huskies own the most formidable frontcourt in the country, one that's capable of dominating any opponent with its rebounding and shot-blocking skills.
"Even without Rashad, they're an elite team. They can win with or without him," said PC coach Tim Welsh. "Against North Carolina they played very, very good defense. That's what they do. They defend you in the halfcourt as well as anybody in the country."
The North Carolina loss hurt Calhoun because it followed a signature win last week at Syracuse, 74-66. That could have signaled the start of a long, late-season winning streak, the type that his teams always seem to put together this time of year.
If UConn hopes to bounce back, it'll have to slow down PC's Gomes. That's been all but impossible the last two years.
