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The reigning Big East Player of the Week and likely conference Player of the Year pays a visit to Gampel Pavilion Wednesday.

Otto Porter Jr. (AP)

Otto Porter Jr., a super-versatile 6-foot-8 sophomore, dropped 33 on Syracuse last Saturday, catapulting the Hoyas to No. 7 in the latest AP poll. For the Hoyas, Wednesday could mark the team’s 10th straight win.

For UConn, it’s the final big-time matchup of a shortened season.

If the Huskies take down the league-leading Hoyas, they’ll need to neutralize Porter. Here are some pertinent links and stats regarding the sophomore star:

*During Georgetown’s 9-game winning streak, Porter is averaging 18.6 points and 7.8 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field and an outrageous 54 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

*Porter ranks No. 7 in NBADraft.net’s mock and No. 15 by DraftExpress.

*Porter makes case for National Player of Year — Dana O’Neil, ESPN.com

*Porter’s path is uncommon, and so is his success — Nicole Auerbach, USA Today

*Add Porter to National Player of Year conversation — Gary Parrish, CBSSports.com

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As of Saturday, UConn’s story includes a 19-7 overall record, a 9-5 Big East mark and another romp over DePaul.

Unlike the Jan. 8 blowout, this one was close for a while. The Blue Demons led 37-34 at the half before UConn tightened its defense and kept rolling offensively.

In a homecoming, Ryan Boatright scored 17 points, including a one-handed jam and a pretty no-look, behind-the-back assist. Omar Calhoun added 17 more and Shabazz Napier was “awesome” (in Kevin Ollie’s words), totaling 28 points and grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.

Shabazz Napier and Omar Calhoun (AP)

UConn’s three guards shot a combined 22-of-35 from the floor. They scored 62 of the Huskies’ 81 points.

“It starts with our guards, on defense and on offense,” said UConn coach Kevin Ollie. “When they’re engaged, and everybody is in their gaps and in their positions, we’re a real good team.”

*After coming one point from matching his career-high in points (29), Napier’s Big East Player of the Year candidacy actually took a hit. That’s only because Otto Porter Jr. was outstanding in Georgetown’s win over Syracuse, netting 33 points. Of course, Porter and the first-place Hoyas visit Gampel on Wednesday.  A UConn win would put the Huskies at 10-5 in the league, one game out of first. But that’s for another time…

*Omar Calhoun, dealing with a sprained right wrist, made 7-of-11 field goal attempts. He said the injury occurred early in the Villanova game when Wildcats forward James Bell tried to take a charge on Calhoun.

“Usually sprains take like 2-3 weeks to heal completely,” Calhoun said. “So it’s still affecting me but it’s getting better and better every day.”

*If you bet the 26th game for Ollie’s first technical, you’re the winner (for the record, I had the second Big East game of next season). Ollie was T’d up about midway through the first half Saturday.

“I was almost at the halfcourt line — I don’t know why my assistant coaches didn’t grab me back, so I’m blaming them,” Ollie joked afterwards. “…(The referee) had to do it, I was way out there. I lost my mind for a second.”

Napier  “congratulated” Ollie on the technical.

“I said, ‘give it up for coach Ollie, he got his first technical. He’s on his way to being coach Calhoun,’” Napier said with a laugh.

*An NBA Scout said he was impressed with Boatright, but noted that he’s probably not yet ready for the draft. He wasn’t too keen on Napier leaving early, either. The scout said that DeAndre Daniels — who has prototypical NBA wing length — is the team’s best pro prospect.

*I’d be remiss to not mention the DePaul student section, which belligerent at tipoff and still pretty drunk by the end. They pointed out that the collar of my shirt needed to be fixed (which I appreciate) and then proceeded to bash everyone from Kevin Ollie to the student managers. Insults ranged from “UConn sucks” to “Your managers suck” to “Boatright sucks.”

Really, though, their chants sucked. Except this one: “Win or lose, we still booze.”

Right on.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

Ryan Boatright (AP)

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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Not sure who did Mick Cronin’s scouting report, but let this be a lesson for the Bearcats when they host UConn on March 2: Shabazz Napier isn’t a streaky shooter, especially not in overtime.

Kevin Ollie (AP)

The junior guard has scored 46 points in 29:40 of overtime this season on 9-for-14 shooting from the field, 8-for-12 from 3-point range and 20-for-22 from the free throw line.

As a prolific junior year nears its end, Napier has to seriously consider leaving for the NBA Draft. That’s my column from Thursday.

Some other notes and quotes from UConn’s 73-66 overtime win over Cincinnati:

*UConn suffered an 8:51 scoring drought in the second half and still came out tied, 43-43

*A Shabazz Napier free throw tied it up, 53-53. He also hit the game-tying layup in the final minute.

*Tyler Olander grabbed two rebounds in 32 minutes, a truly baffling statistic. In Enosch Wolf’s absence, Olander is in line for more time, but it’s hard to imagine that he plays 30-plus minutes if he can’t contribute anything on the glass or offensively, as was the case Thursday. Niels Giffey, a 6-foot-7 small forward, seems to be UConn’s best center.

*Ryan Boatright shot just 3-for-12, but locked down Cincinnati guard Cashmere Wright, holding him to a 2-for-9 shooting night from 3-point range.

“He had his head down in the last game because he wasn’t shooting the ball well,” Ollie said. “This game, he picked up and he took Cashmere Wright out of the game in the second half. He stepped up and he grew up.”

*Cincinnati entered 19-0 in games in which it scored 60 or more points.

*The Bearcats, who drop to 19-8 overall and 7-7 in the Big East, held a 44-28 advantage on the boards. Cincinnati had 17 offensive rebounds.