Thabeet stands tall as Connecticut rolls

Hasheem Thabeet had 23 points and 17 rebounds to lead No. 2 Connecticut to a season-opening 81-55 win over Western Carolina at Storrs, Conn., on Friday night.

The 7-foot-3 junior, who towered at least 7 inches over any defender for the Catamounts, also blocked five shots. He was 7 of 11 from the field, with most of his attempts from inside 5 feet.

The Huskies extended their winning streak at Gampel Pavilion to 46 games in November and December, dating to the opening of the arena in 1990. UConn is 19-4 in season openers under coach Jim Calhoun.

Brandon Giles led Western Carolina with 16 points.

In other season openers:

(5) Pittsburgh 86, Fairleigh Dickinson 63: At Pittsburgh, DeJuan Blair was overpowering inside with 17 points and 13 rebounds in slightly more than a half and the Panthers got a big lift from point guard Levance Fields’ return from a broken foot.

The 265-pound Blair scored eight points during a 16-2 surge in the first 61/2 minutes as Pittsburgh won its 12th consecutive season opener.

(7) Texas 68, Stetson 38: At Austin, Texas, A.J. Abrams scored 21 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and Texas opened the season with a victory over the Hatters.

It was Abrams’ 18th game with at least five 3-pointers.

Connor Atchley added 14 points for Texas, which returns four starters and nine of the top 10 scorers from the squad that won a school-record 31 games last season.

(11) Purdue 82, Detroit Mercy 50: E’Twaun Moore scored 18 points to help the Boilermakers defeated the Titans at West Lafayette, Ind.

(12) Oklahoma 83, American 54: Blake Griffin had 24 points and a career-high 18 rebounds to lead the Sooners over the Eagles at Norman, Okla.

(15) Arizona State 80, Mississippi Valley State 64: James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists to lead the Sun Devils over the Delta Devils at Tempe, Ariz.

The Sun Devils won their opener for the first time in Herb Sendek’s three seasons.

(16) Marquette 95, Houston Baptist 64: Wesley Matthews scored a career-high 27 points and Marquette won easily in Buzz Williams’ debut as the Golden Eagles defeated the Huskies at Milwaukee.

(19) Florida 80, Toledo 58: Dan Werner scored 19 points for Florida, and Nick Calathes added 16 points and seven assists as the Gators defeated the Rockets at Gainesville, Fla.

Calathes was Florida’s catalyst, despite a potential distraction.

Calathes acknowledged truth to a story first reported by Yahoo.com that said he ran up a $600 debt playing poker online, but was adamant he did nothing illegal. Coach Billy Donovan said an investigation by the school’s athletic department found no evidence of wrongdoing.

(20) Davidson 107, Guilford 83: Stephon Curry scored 29 points and set career highs with 10 assists and nine steals as the Wildcats defeated the Quakers at Davidson, N.C.

(21) Wake Forest 94, North Carolina Central 48: Freshman Al-Farouq Aminu had 21 points and 10 rebounds to help the Demon Deacons cruise past the Eagles at Winston-Salem, N.C.

(23) Villanova 78, Albany 60: Scottie Reynolds scored all 13 of his points in the second half to lead the Wildcats’ victory over the Great Danes at Villanova, Pa.