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This game will probably be forgotten, but Kevin Ollie insisted his Huskies — now 15-5 and 5-3 in the Big East –won’t.

Shabazz Napier (AP)

“This team is never going to be forgotten, not by me, not by our fans,” Ollie said. “I just told them they have a gift. To be doing what they’re doing, despite having no postseason, no conference tournament, a situation they weren’t even involved in, to be doing what they’re doing is just remarkable.”

UConn has won ugly this week, eeking out back-to-back victories over Providence and South Florida. The Huskies couldn’t miss versus Providence, and outside of Shabazz Napier, they couldn’t hit anything against USF.

Some notes, quotes and links from a pretty brutal Sunday:

*My column: UConn has won in different ways, but it always comes back to Napier.

*Aside from Napier, UConn was 10-for-43 from the field. UConn has played five overtime sessions this season (four games, Quinnipiac went to double OT) and Napier has been brilliant in all of them, totaling 34 points on 18-for-20 shooting from the line and 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Per 40 minutes, that’s an average of 55.2 points. Ridiculous.

*Leon Tolksdorf got some unexpected burn in the first half. He scored three points in eight minutes.

“Leon has been working his tail off in practice — he deserved some minutes,” Ollie said. “They played a longer lineup, they didn’t have a breakdown guy at the two, three or four so I thought we could get some minutes for Leon.”

*Shabazz Napier, R.J. Evans, Niels Giffey and Leon Tolksdorf made the honor roll in the fall semester by attaining a 3.0 GPA or higher.

“It means a lot to me, but it also means a lot to my family,” Napier said. “My mom brought me up as a kid, and I wasn’t a good kid, I was kind of a headache. For her to be out here, even though she knew about it, it still feels good. I do this for her and my family.”

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Shabazz Napier hit a trio of 3-pointers in overtime as UConn, lackluster for most of Sunday afternoon, emerged with a 69-64 victory over South Florida at Gampel Pavilion.

The Huskies, who move to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big East, scored just 15 points in the first half. They needed just 3:30 to match that total in the second.

STAR OF THE GAME: Napier seemed passive in the first half, but delivered so many timely shots in the second. He tied the game on a 3-pointer with 4:20 remaining, hit two free throws with 40 seconds left to give UConn a two-point lead and then totaled 11 points in the overtime session. He finished with 24 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

KEY TO THE WIN: The Huskies forced the tempo in the second half and were able to roar back from a 12-point halftime deficit. After taking a 30-29 lead, the game was back-and-forth until overtime, when Napier provided the Huskies with some breathing room.

*UConn had a two-point lead at the end of regulation, but South Florida point guard Anthony Collins blew by Ryan Boatright for a game-tying layup with 11.6 seconds remaining. Napier misfired on a long 3-pointer and overtime ensued.

*UConn shot just 5-for-27 from the floor in the opening half. Fortunately for the Huskies, South Florida wasn’t much better, converting 10-of-28 attempts.

*Sunday marked UConn’s lowest point total in a first half since Dec. 10, 2002. The Huskies trailed UMass 30-9 at the break that day and came back to win.

*South Florida forward Toarlyn Fitzpatrick was the only Bull who assembled an adequate offensive game. The 6-foot-9 forward scored 22 points on 5-for-12 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.

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South Florida at UConn men
WHEN: Today, 2
WHERE: Gampel Pavilion
RECORDS: South Florida 10-10 (1-7 Big East), UConn 14-5 (4-3)
ON THE AIR: SNY; WTIC 1080 (Joe D’Ambrosio, Wayne Norman)
LINE: UConn by 10
UP NEXT: Feb. 6 at St. John’s

SOUTH FLORIDA

• Anthony Collins G 6-1 Jr.: Ninth nationally with 7 assists per game
• Javontae Hawkins G 6-5 Fr.: Double-figures in 4 of past 5 games
• Zach LeDay F 6-7 Fr.: 10 pts, 7 rebs vs. Marquette
• Victor Rudd F 6-8 Jr.: 13 pts, 3 rebs vs. Marquette
• Toarlyn Fitzpatrick F 6-9 Sr.: 10.1 ppg, 5 rpg
• Jawanza Poland G 6-4 Sr.: 10.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg
• Martino Brock G 6-6 Jr.: 5.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg

UCONN

• Shabazz Napier G 6-0 Jr..: 18 pts on 5 FGA vs. Providence
• Ryan Boatright G 5-10 Soph.: 19 pts, 7 assists vs. Providence
• Omar Calhoun G 6-5 Fr.: Game-winning 3-pointer vs. Providence
• DeAndre Daniels F 6-8 Soph.: 18 pts, 7 rebs, 4 assists vs. Providence
• Tyler Olander F 6-9 Jr.: 0 rebs in 12 mins vs. Providence
• Enosch Wolf C 7-1 Jr.: 5 blocks in past 2 games
• Niels Giffey F 6-7 Jr.: Made 1 of past 11 3-point FGA
• R.J. Evans G 6-3 R-Sr.: 2 pts, 2 assists in 7 mins vs. Providence
• Phil Nolan F 6-9 Fr.: Has not scored in Big East play

STORY LINES
THE LITTLE GUY: South Florida point guard Anthony Collins is one of the premier facilitators in the country. UConn coach Kevin Ollie said he’s “never seen anyone dribble as low as he does. (Collins) is able to get in the thick of the defense and find their shooters and make plays so we’re going to have to contain him,” Ollie said.
USF OFFENSE: At times, it’s been tough to watch. The Bulls’ leading scorers — post players Victor Rudd and Toarlyn Fitzpatrick — are respectively shooting 37.7 percent and 39.2 percent, respectively. As a team, South Florida converts on just 40.5 percent of its field goal attempts, which ranks 300th nationally.
HUSKIES HEALTHY: Ryan Boatright (twisted ankle) was banged up following the Providence win, and Tyler Olander was still battling flu symptoms. Both are OK Ollie said. There should be no issue with either for this afternoon’s game.

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