A look back at Wednesday’s UConn-Notre Dame game:
Notre Dame 58, UConn 50
TURNING POINT _ UConn lost the game with its play over the final nine minutes of the first half and the first nine minutes of the second half.
In that span the Huskies managed six points, making 2-of-19 shots from the floor. In that same time period Notre Dame scored 26, turning a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead.
“They kept grinding the shot clock down,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “We’ve been in that situation before. It hasn’t bothered us anywhere near as much as it did tonight. Maybe they did a better job with it.”
Many of the UConn players said it was an old problem that caused them to struggle, running offense at less than full speed.
“It was a lack of effort on our part, I think,” forward Gavin Edwards said. “We were kind of going through everything half speed.”
UNSUNG HERO _ Starting in place of injured All-American Luke Harangody, Notre Dame F Carleton Scott had 12 points and 14 rebounds in 38 minutes against the Huskies.
It was a career-best performance on the boards for Scott, a career-high in minutes and the first double-double of the junior’s career.
Scott was 6-of-25 on 3-pointers before Harangody went down. He’s 9-of-13 in the five games since.
“Our coaches helped me, and working with them, especially knowing that I am going to be more on the court now, has gotten me ready for those shots when they come up,” Scott said.
BEST ‘X’ AND/OR ‘O’ _ In a nutshell Notre Dame hung onto the basketball and UConn did not.
The UConn coaching staff cautioned its players about the price they would pay for turning the ball over, though Calhoun jokingly said he may not have been specific enough with his instructions.
“How do you tell a kid ‘Get a rebound and don’t throw it to the scorer’s table?’ Or ‘Don’t throw it at halfcourt where there are two guys in white jerseys,’ ” Calhoun said. “I must have missed that early lesson in Coaching 101.”
The Huskies had 15 turnovers against Notre Dame. That’s not a huge number considering the 22 UConn had Sunday against Louisville, but in a slow-down affair with fewer possessions Calhoun said it was even more destructive.
“In a game like that that grinds down, you can not afford to keep throwing the ball to the other team,” Calhoun said. “We continued to do that.”
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS _ When the game was over and nearly all of the fans had left the Joyce Center, the UConn players walked across the court one last time on their way to the team bus.
One player in particular, as he often has in recent weeks, walked much slower than the others. Senior guard Jerome Dyson practically hobbled his way up the tunnel.
“It hurts to end my career like this,” Dyson said.
Dyson was speaking about the emotional hurt of losing, but he certainly could have been talking about his physical ailments, too.
A full-contact player throughout his career, Dyson’s body has taken something of a beating this season. It seems highly improbable that he’ll miss even a minute of action on the court as the Huskies finish the season, but players with less of a pain threshold probably would.
Dyson says he has numerous minor injuries, most notably to his right ankle and his left hamstring. He and trainer James Doran have been referring to the various ailments by the game in which they started, as in ‘How’s your Rutgers?’
LOOKING AHEAD _ Despite what appeared to be a woeful performance, some of the Huskies remain positive about their postseason chances.
UConn has one regular season game remaining, a date in Tampa on Saturday against South Florida.
“Even though we lost the game we still know we’re a good team,” forward Stanley Robinson said. “I’m quite sure we still have a great shot. We just have to win this game and go into the Big East Tournament and win games there. We’re looking to win that.”
BY THE NUMBERS
20 _ Wins earned by Notre Dame this season after its victory Wednesday.
3 _ Big East teams with at least 20 wins that were not chosen for the NCAA Tournament (of 123) since the 1982-83 season.
- Neill
