Tough UConn pays back Villanova

Forget revenge or first place. The one thing that kept coming up after No. 3 Connecticut beat No. 2 Villanova was toughness.

After the Huskies’ 89-75 victory Sunday in Storrs, Conn., left everybody drained whether they played or watched, coaches and players talked about the attitude and style that has become the trademark of the Big East.

“This was an advertisement for how hard the teams in this league play,” Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun said. “Increasing our toughness was one thing I thought we had to do. We knew we could score, but we had to show we could come up with (this) kind of game.”

And it wasn’t Connecticut’s stars who let the Huskies avenge the loss that knocked them from No. 1 and moved them into a tie for first in the conference.

Denham Brown, Rashad Anderson, Hilton Armstrong and Jeff Adrien all came up big for Connecticut (25-2, 12-2), 13 days after Villanova (22-3, 12-2) beat the Huskies 69-64.

“This game was really a big game for us, a statement,” Adrien said. “They got real happy after that first win and we had to shut their mouths.”

Brown, a senior swingman, had a career-high 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting.

Alabama 82, (12) Florida 77: At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ronald Steele scored 19 points as the Crimson Tide (16-10, 9-5 Southeastern Conference) beat the Gators (22-6, 8-6).

Indiana 78, (18) Michigan State 71: At Bloomington, Ind., Robert Vaden scored 21 points as the Hoosiers (15-10, 7-7 Big Ten) held off a second-half comeback to beat the Spartans (19-9, 7-7) in coach Mike Davis’ final game at Assembly Hall.

(21) North Carolina 81, Maryland 57: At Chapel Hill, N.C., Tyler Hansbrough scored 21 points as the Tar Heels (19-6, 10-4 ACC) knocked off the Terrapins (16-11, 6-8).

Women

Tennessee doesn’t seem so dominant anymore.

The No. 5 Lady Vols (25-4, 11-3 SEC) lost at home to an unranked team for just the second time in school history and first time in 22 years, falling 95-93 to Florida (20-7, 8-6) in overtime in Knoxville, Tenn.

On top of that, Tennessee lost to two unranked teams in one season for the first time since the women’s rankings started in 1976. Its first loss to an unranked team this year came at Kentucky, 66-63 on Jan. 26.

(3) LSU 62, Mississippi St. 48: At Baton Rouge, La., Seimone Augustus had 27 points to lead the Tigers (25-2, 13-1) to their second consecutive SEC title by beating the Bulldogs (6-21, 1-13).

(4) Maryland 89, Northern Colorado 53: At College Park, Md., Kristi Toliver scored 17 points, and Crystal Langhorne had 16 as the Terrapins (26-3) completed the winningest regular season in school history by beating the Bears (13-15).

(6) Ohio St. 61, Penn St. 59: At State College, Pa., Marscilla Packer hit a fadeaway jumper with 2 seconds left as the Buckeyes (25-2, 15-1 Big Ten) beat the Nittany Lions (12-15, 6-10).

•About three dozen people protested against Penn State coach Rene Portland. Former player Jennifer Harris has filed a federal lawsuit against Portland, accusing the coach of asking her to try to look more “feminine.”

(9) Oklahoma 73, Nebraska 45: At Norman, Okla., Courtney Paris recorded her 21st double-double in a row with 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Sooners (25-4, 15-0 Big 12) beat the Cornhuskers (15-11, 7-8).

(12) Purdue 66, Wisconsin 63: At Madison, Wis., Katie Gearlds scored 19 points as the Boilermakers (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) beat the Badgers (11-17, 5-11).

(13) Georgia 74, Auburn 61: At Athens, Ga., Tasha Humphrey had 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs (20-7, 10-4 SEC) beat the Tigers (13-14, 4-10).

Florida State 71, (17) Boston College 60: At Tallahassee, Fla., Ganiyat Adeduntan had 20 points as the Seminoles (19-9, 10-4 ACC) knocked off the Eagles (19-10, 6-8).

(17) Temple 91, Rhode Island 79: At South Kingstown, R.I., Candice Dupree had 27 points and 14 rebounds as the Owls (21-7, 12-4 Atlantic-10) beat the Rams (8-19, 5-11).

(22) Minnesota 71, Northwestern 33: At Minneapolis, the Gophers 19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) tied a school record for fewest points allowed in a win over the Wildcats (6-21, 2-14).

(24) Vanderbilt 88, South Carolina 71: At Nashville, Tenn., Dee Davis scored 14 points and had 10 assists as the Commodores (19-9, 8-6 SEC) beat the Gamecocks (17-10, 7-7).

(25) Texas A&M 64, Iowa St. 53: At College Station, Texas, A’Quonesia Franklin scored 18 points to lead the Aggies (21-7, 10-5 Big 12) past the Cyclones (15-11, 6-9).