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Louisville cranked up its pressure and UConn, which once held a 10-point lead against the newly-crowned No. 1 team, ran out of gas as the Cards turned a close game into a 73-58 blowout Monday night at the XL Center.

STAR OF THE GAME: Louisville guard Russ Smith was electric from the opening tip, torching the Huskies defense for a game-high 23 points in 33 minutes.

KEY TO THE LOSS: Louisville point guard Peyton Siva sat for the final 16:13 of the first half after picking up his second foul on a Shabazz Napier runout. After re-entering in the second half, Siva sparked a 32-10 second half run that completely reversed the momentum in the opening period.

*Freshman Omar Calhoun, who entered the game averaging 5.6 points and shooting 27 percent from the field in Big East play, scored 10 in the first half—capped by a buzzer-beater that put UConn ahead 34-28. He finished with 20 points, but committed six turnovers, some that proved to be costly during Louisville’s 19-5 run.

*Shabazz Napier scored 10 points in the first few minutes, but was locked down for the rest of the game, missing eight consecutive shots. He finished with 12 points on 1-for-7 shooting from deep. His backcourt mate, Ryan Boatright, was equally ineffective, totaling just 11 points. Together, they shot 4-for-14 from 3-point range.

*UConn took a 29-19 lead on a DeAndre Daniels dunk with 4:30 remaining in the first half. Daniels made the steal, and then took it the length of the floor for the jam.

*Louisville dominated in the paint as the night wore on. The duo of Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan was far too massive, collecting a combined 25 rebounds. The Cards held a 44-20 scoring edge in the paint and a 36-28 advantage on the boards.

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Shabazz Napier scored 10 points in the first half as unranked UConn took a 34-28 lead over newly-crowned No. 1 Louisville.

Napier picked up his second foul with 3:08 to play, and sat the remainder of the half. Louisville, which trailed 29-19 at one point, was without its point guard, Peyton Siva, for the final 16:13. He picked up two fouls, as well.

Freshman Omar Calhoun (10 points on 4-for-5 shooting) gave UConn a boost. His buzzer-beating layup extended the lead to six.

Louisville was led by dynamic guard Russ Smith, who scored 15 points. The Cardinals also grabbed eight offensive rebounds.

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It took one full day at UConn to sell Amdia Brimah, the wiry 6-foot-11 center with a 7-foot-6 wingspan.

A standout at Archbishop Carroll High in Miami, Brimah ended his recruitment while an official visit Monday morning when he pledged to become the third member of UConn’s 2013 class, joining Kentan Facey and Terrence Samuel.

The verbal commitment, first reported by Joey Natale of Coast2CoastHoops.com, gives UConn another body up front next season. The frontcourt nucleus of Tyler Olander, DeAndre Daniels, Enosch Wolf and Phil Nolan should return, and now Facey and Brimah — both big-time shotblockers — are in the mix.

“”He’s going to improve tremendously on the offensive end, but defensively, he’s ready to play college right now,” said Briham’s high school coach, Juan Hernandez. “…By the third quarter (of high school games), guys just don’t want to drive in anymore.”

The 6-foot-11, 210-pound center averages roughly 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks per game at Archbishop Carroll.

“He was a good shot-blocker when he got here and he’s gotten even better,” Hernandez said. “He’s understanding when to go after blocks. He used to go after everything. Sometimes he got them, sometimes he fouled. Now he’s doing a much better job of timing things, staying on the ground and getting the ball at the height.”

Brimah, a native of Ghana, has been in the U.S. for three years. It’s his first season at Archbishop Carroll, and Hernandez has noticed a steady improvement since his arrival.

“He’s continuing to pick up the game, like little things that are second knowledge to some guys, but they’re new to him,” Hernandez said. “He works extremely, extremely hard. He’s a great teammate. He’s always positive and encouraging when he’s on the bench, and that’s one thing the (UConn) coaches always told me about him.”

Aside from UConn, Brimah had scholarship offers from South Carolina, LaSalle and Florida International. He had also received recent interest from Villanova and St. Louis, Hernandez said.

Brimah, who recently posted 28 points and 22 boards in a single game, is not listed in the Rivals150 or Scout100. He’s the first recruit to commit since Kevin Ollie signed his long-term contract.

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Amida Brimah, a 6-11 center from Miami’s Archbishop Coleman Carroll, verbally committed to UConn this morning. The recruit made the announcement via Twitter.

I will be playing college basketball at University Of Connecticut#Blessed

— Amidaprinceofzumunda (@Young_Brimah) January 14, 2013

He is the third player to commit in Kevin Ollie’s first recruiting class. He joins Long Island Lutheran’s Kentan Facey and Brooklyn’s Terrence Samuel.