ROSEMONT, ILL.—UConn shot a blistering 60 percent from the field as it turned a back-and-forth battle into an 81-69 rout of DePaul Saturday at Allstate Arena.

STAR OF THE GAME: Shabazz Napier scored 28 points — one off his career-high — and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. The three guards— Napier, Ryan Boatright and Omar Calhoun — were 22-of-35 from the floor.

KEY TO THE WIN/LOSS: A 14-0 UConn run, which included threes from Napier and Niels Giffey and a highlight behind-the-back pass from Ryan Boatright, opened up a 59-47 lead.

*Five straight points from Omar Calhoun — a corner 3-pointer and a pull-up — extended the Huskies lead to 69-54 with 7:35 remaining. Boatright added the exclamation point on the ensuing possession, a one-handed dunk on a backdoor cut. Another Calhoun 3 eliminated any chance of a DePaul rally, ballooning the lead to 20.

*DePaul went on a 12-0 run late in the first half to claim a 34-29 advantage. Boatright eventually halted the Blue Demons’ spurt with a floater.

*UConn received contributions from nearly everyone. Tyler Olander scored the Huskies’ first five points of the second half, Giffey connected on a pair of 3s and converted a key put-back and Calhoun finished with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting.

*DePaul’s Cleveland Melvin posted 20 points and 10 rebounds. He caught alley-oops on back-to-back possessions early in the second half.

*Kevin Ollie picked up the first technical foul of his head coaching career while arguing a call at the 8:34 mark of the first half.

Brandon Young converted a 3-point play with 6.8 seconds remaining in the first half and DePaul took a 37-34 lead into the break.

Cleveland Melvin had 10 points to pace the Blue Demons, who administered a 12-0 run to take a 34-29 lead. Ryan Boatright, who scored 12 points in the first half, stopped the run with a floater.

Kevin Ollie picked up the first technical foul of his head coaching career when he argued a call with 8:34 remaining.

It appears as though Big East basketball will keep being broadcast on ESPN.

ESPN spokesperson Mike Soltys posted on Twitter Saturday morning, “ESPN has matched an offer for the Big East and we look forward to continuing our relationship.”

The initial offer from NBC Sports was worth an estimated $20 million annually, according to the Associated Press, and nets each member roughly $2 million.

As of now, UConn is one of three current members that haven’t found a new conference for the future (Cincinnati and South Florida are the others). Schools jumping to the ACC — Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame — will take home roughly $17 million annually from the league’s TV contract. Even the Catholic Seven, which features subpar programs such as DePaul (tonight’s opponent), will profit more from a hoops-only TV contract than UConn will from both football and basketball.

Rumors popped up last week of the Big 10′s interest in North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Virginia. If an ACC team is eventually plucked, UConn figures to be among the leading candidates to fill the vacancy.

I caught up briefly with an NBA Scout in the pregame to discuss UConn’s pro prospects. In recent weeks, I’ve come around to the idea of Shabazz Napier declaring for the NBA Draft this year. This particular scout pegged Napier as a possible second-rounder, but said he sees him as a “D-League guy.” The scout also mentioned that DeAndre Daniels was UConn’s best pro prospect because he’s “the most translatable.”

Additionally, he feels that Ryan Boatright needs to come back, which seems to be the consensus. He doesn’t envision Boatright being drafted in 2013.

Some notes on tonight’s game:

WHEN: Tonight, 8

WHERE: Allstate Arena (Rosemont, Ill.)

RECORDS: UConn, 18-7, 8-5 Big East; DePaul 11-15, 2-11 Big East

ON THE AIR: SNY; WTIC-AM 1080 (Joe D’Ambrosio, Wayne Norman)

UP NEXT: Wednesday vs. Georgetown, Gampel Pavilion, 7 (ESPN2)

UCONN

Shabazz Napier G 6-0 Jr..: 27 pts (11 in OT) vs. Cincinnati

Ryan Boatright G 5-10 So.: 19-for-57 FG in past 6 games

Omar Calhoun G 6-5 Fr.: 14.4 ppg in past 5 games

DeAndre Daniels F 6-8 So.: 4 blocks, three 3-point FG vs. Cincinnati

Tyler Olander F 6-9 Jr.: 2 rebs in 32 mins vs. Cincinnati

Niels Giffey F 6-7 Jr.: 4.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg

R.J. Evans G 6-3 Sr.: 1 pt in 3 mins vs. Cincinnati

Phil Nolan F 6-9 Fr.: Has appeared in 4 straight games

Leon Tolksdorf F 6-8 Fr.: DNP vs. Cincinnati

DEPAUL

Brandon Young G 6-4 Jr.: Career-high 35 pts vs. UConn on Jan. 8

Charles McKinney G 6-3 So.: 5.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Jamee Crockett G/F 6-4 So.: 10 pts in 18 mins vs. Georgetown

Cleveland Melvin F 6-8 Jr.: 16.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg

Donnavan Kirk F 6-9 Jr.: Leads team with 46 blocks

Worrel Clahar G 5-11 Sr.: 7.1 ppg, 27% 3-PT FG

Moses Morgan F 6-6 Jr.: 6.6 ppg

Derrell Robertston C 6-10 So.: 2.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg

STORY LINES

NEED A T.O.: Tyler Olander has earned more minutes since the indefinite suspension of back-up center Enosch Wolf. He hasn’t produced much, though. He has a paltry 12 rebounds in his last 115 minutes.

REGULAR SEASON TITLE: At 8-5, UConn is not completely eliminated from conference title contention. The Huskies sit a half-game behind Notre Dame, one game behind Louisville and two games behind Syracuse, Georgetown and Marquette. They’ll likely need to win out — and get some help — to claim the top spot in the league.

THE OPPOSITE OF A REGULAR SEASON TITLE: Perpetual basement-dweller DePaul is actually ahead of Seton Hall (2-12) and South Florida (1-13) in the standings. The Blue Demons have finished in last place every year since 2008-09.

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