Irish upset UConn once again
It was supposed to be a mismatch up front when Connecticut faced Notre Dame. It was – only it was the Irish who dominated.
Torin Francis had 19 points and seven rebounds and Dennis Latimore added 12 points as the Irish (13-5, 5-3 Big East) outscored the No. 19 Connecticut Huskies (12-5, 4-3 ) 38-20 inside en route to a 78-74 victory on Sunday in South Bend, Ind.
“Latimore and Torin Francis were a little too much to handle,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “They completely dominated our frontcourt.”
Connecticut’s game plan was to try to take away Notre Dame’s outside game and make the Irish beat them inside. The Irish did.
“Everyone always talks about us as a shooting team and they question our frontcourt. After today, I don’t think there’s anything left to question,” Francis said. “I think we have the best frontcourt. We haven’t done much to show that yet, but this is a big step.”
The game wasn’t decided, though, until the closing seconds. After shooting 50 percent for most of the game, UConn missed its final five shots, including a breakaway layup by Marcus Williams that would have tied the game at 76 with 15 seconds left. Instead, Williams’ shot came up short and he fouled Chris Thomas on the rebound. Thomas made two free throws to give the Irish the four-point lead.
“No excuses. I think I was going too fast,” Williams said. “I thought he was going to foul me to make the free throws, but there’s still no excuse.”
UConn missed its final two 3-point attempts as time ran out, giving Notre Dame its first win over a ranked team since beating the ninth-ranked Huskies a year ago.
(2) Duke 100, Virginia Tech 65: At Durham, N.C., the Hokies first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference was painful. Shelden Williams had a double-double by halftime and J.J. Redick scored 29 points despite a shaky performance at the free-throw line, helping the Blue Devils (16-1, 6-1) bury Virginia Tech (11-7, 4-3). Williams finished with 25 points and 17 rebounds for Duke.
(9) Oklahoma St. 104, Colorado 86: At Boulder, Colo., John Lucas scored 26 points and Jameson Curry had 17 of his 22 in the second half to lead the Cowboys (15-3, 5-2 Big 12) over the Buffaloes (10-8, 2-5), their first win here in almost nine years. The Buffaloes made 11 of their school-record 17 3-pointers in the first half and trailed 52-50. Richard Roby went 4 for 4 from behind the arc in the first half and finished with 14 points.
(14) Alabama 75, Georgia 47: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Kennedy Winston scored 18 points and the Crimson Tide (17-3, 6-1 SEC) capitalized on its suffocating defense to beat the Bulldogs (7-10, 1-6). Alabama held Georgia to 31 percent shooting from the field, the eighth time this season the Crimson Tide have held an opponent under 40 percent.
Maryland 79, (22) Georgia Tech 71: At College Park, Md., Nik Caner-Medley scored 19 points and Chris McCray had 16, leading a balanced attack that carried the rejuvenated Terrapins (13-5, 4-3 ACC) over the Yellow Jackets (12-6, 3-4). The Terrapins let a 10-point halftime lead dwindle to three before pulling away to their second win over a ranked opponent in a five-day span.