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Great line from Hartford Courant columnist Jeff Jacobs, who led his story like this: “Flush with a most fruitful victory over a ranked team on the road, Kevin Ollie, that noted farmer out of South Central Los Angeles, was talking about reaping what is sewn.”

Tyler Olander (AP)

In Ollie’s words, “I always talk about time, seed and harvest. The seed goes first. Then you have the time. Then you have a harvest. (Tyler Olander) is not finished yet, but I really enjoyed his harvest today. He has been putting the time in. He has been putting the seed in. No matter what we say to him, no matter if we take him out of the starting lineup. He comes out the next practice and works his butt off.”

Indeed, this day was about Tyler Olander and his career-high 16 points. UConn exploited a matchup against 6-foot-8 guard Scott Martin early in the second half, and even when bruiser Jack Cooley guarded Olander, the 6-foot-9 Mansfield native still had success.

Overall, Olander was 8-for-9 from the field with seven rebounds and a crucial block on Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant that preserved the victory.

UConn doesn’t win without him. It doesn’t win without Shabazz Napier, either.

Passed over by the Bob Cousy Award committee, Napier, who scored a game-high 19 points, was the subject of my column. In case you were wondering (and I was), yes, he can dunk.

Other notes/quotes from Saturday in South Bend:

*UConn snapped a 12-game win streak for the Irish. The Huskies seem to have a habit of doing this: In 2009, they dealt Notre Dame its first home loss in 46 games. Last season, a 29-game winning streak at Purcell Pavilion was cut short, too. Notre Dame is 46-2 in its last 48 times on its home floor. Both losses were to UConn.

*DeAndre Daniels had a goose egg in the first half, but responded with eight points and nine rebounds in the second.

“DeAndre got a beautiful rebound over everybody and just jumped out and used his long reach to get nine rebounds,” Ollie said. “I know he got two or three of them down the stretch and got a big block against (Jerian) Grant. We needed everybody today and everybody came in and played. Don’t forget about R.J.’s (Evans) big offensive rebound.”

*Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said the Napier to Boatright alley-oop was big for momentum.

“They came right back and executed that back-screen lob, and when they answer you like that it’s demoralizing,” Brey said. “It took a lot of energy to guard them throughout the game so offensively you don’t have a lot of juice sometimes. I think maybe we should have played some more zone.”

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Ryan Boatright hit four free throws in the final 43.8 seconds to break a tie and lift UConn to a 65-58 upset over No. 17 Notre Dame Saturday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.

Star of the game: Shabazz Napier kept UConn in the game early and hit a few critical buckets down the stretch. He finished with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Key to the win: UConn, which receives the bulk of its scoring from the backcourt, went inside to start the second half, exploiting the post when Jack Cooley was on the bench. Tyler Olander scored six of UConn’s first seven points in the second half against Irish forward Scott Martin. Olander, who hit the 10-point plateau for the first time in the DePaul victory, scored a career-high 16 on 8-for-9 shooting from the field.

*Notre Dame forward Jack Cooley, the Big East’s leading rebounder, was relatively held in check (14 points, nine rebounds). The Irish hit six 3-pointers, though — most of them at crucial times — to stay within striking distance. A late longball from Eric Atkins brought the Irish within two, 58-56. Atkins later tied the game on a layup with 1:06 remaining.

*With a chance to tie under 40 seconds, Jerian Grant’s layup attempt was stuffed by Tyler Olander. Boatright hit the ensuing free throws to seal the win.

*After a breakout performance versus DePaul, DeAndre Daniels didn’t score a single point or register a rebound in the first half. He came up huge in the second, however, with eight points and nine boards.

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Notre Dame took a 31-29 lead into halftime behind a balanced offensive attack that included eight points from center Jack Cooley and four well-timed 3-pointers.

UConn trailed 26-18, but tied the game, 29-29, on a transition 3-pointer from Napier. The junior guard led the way with 13 points.

After a breakout performance versus DePaul, DeAndre Daniels was scoreless with zero rebounds in the first half Saturday.

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Live Updates

It’s Take 2 for Ryan Boatright’s homecoming.

A year ago at Notre Dame, Boatright — a native of Aurora, Ill. –  received the news that his eligibility was under review for a second time in three months. A large turnout of family and friends came to Purcell Pavilion last January to see Boatright in street clothes, watching from the bench.

This time around, it’s smooth sailing for Boatright and the Huskies. A look at stats and rosters below:

WHEN: Today, 2

WHERE: Purcell Pavilion (South Bend, Ind.)

RECORDS: UConn 11-3, 1-1 Big East; Notre Dame 14-1, 2-0

ON THE AIR: SNY (Lou Canellis, LaPhonso Ellis); WTIC 1080 (Joe D’Ambrosio, Wayne Norman)

UP NEXT: Monday vs. Louisville, 7, XL Center (ESPN)

UCONN

Shabazz Napier G 6-0 Jr..: 16 pts, 8 rebs, 7 assists, 0 TO vss. DePaul

Ryan Boatright G 5-10 So.: 58 percent from field in last 6 games

Omar Calhoun G 6-5 Fr.: Single-digits in both Big East games

DeAndre Daniels F 6-8 So.: Career-high 26 pts, 8 rebs vs. DePaul

Tyler Olander F 6-9 Jr.: Season-high 10 pts vs. DePaul

Enosch Wolf C 7-1 Jr.: 7.6 rebs in past 3 games

Niels Giffey F 6-7 Jr.: 2 pts in 12 mins vs. DePaul

R.J. Evans G 6-3 R-Sr.: Season-high 4 assists vs. DePaul

Phil Nolan F 6-9 Fr.: Scoreless in both Big East games

NOTRE DAME

Eric Atkins G 6-0 Jr.: Sixth nationally in assist/turnover ratio (4.12/1)

Jerian Grant G 6-5 Jr.: 12.7 ppg, 5.3 apg

Scott Martin G 6-8 R-Sr.: 9.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg

Pat Connaughton G 6-5 So.: 9 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Jack Cooley F 6-9 Sr.: 15.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg

Garrick Sherman C 6-10 Jr.: 8.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg

Cameron Biedsheid F 6-7 Fr.: 8.1 ppg, 41 % 3-pointers

STORYLINES

UCONN EXPLORING OPTIONS?: Mark Blaudschun of AjerseyGuy.com reported Friday that “some UConn officials” officials were considering a plan which would keep the Huskies with the Catholic 7 for basketball. UConn athletic director Warde Manuel, via a UConn spokesperson, shot down the idea, saying a move to the Catholic Seven or Mountain West is “nothing we would consider.”

COUSY SNUB: Shabazz Napier, far and away UConn’s most valuable player, is not among the 20 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, annually given to the nation’s top point guard. Napier, averaging 17.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4 assists, was a little banged up in Friday’s practice, but UConn coach Kevin Ollie insisted it was “no big deal.”

COOLING DOWN COOLEY: Tyler Olander and Enosch Wolf will likely take turns guarding Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley, one of the league’s top post players. The 7-foot-1 Wolf believes he can use length to his advantage. “He’s not a particularly great athlete — he’s just very strong,” Wolf said. “I’m probably going to be able to contest his shot and, for me on the offensive end, I’m going to be able to shoot over him.”