Half Bad

Jim Calhoun got a standing ovation from the crowd – about 1/4th of which had yet to take their seats – when he walked out from the locker room about 1:30 before the national anthem. He waved to the crowd several times during the ovation, which lasted about a minute.

When Calhoun was introduced prior to the opening tap, he again received a warm ovation and acknowledged it with a wave.

Then, the Huskies went out and played an awful first half. They held Cincy to 29-percent shooting, yet sit here at the break tied, 22-22. The Bearcats have 11 offensive rebounds. UConn missed its first five shots and is shooting 41 percent (9-for-22).

Calhoun? Same ol' self. He yanked Alex Oriakhi 47 seconds into the game after he didn't box out. Eight seconds later, Donnell Beverly was in for Kemba Walker after Walker committed a foul.

And yet, the Huskies will somehow play well Monday night at Villanova. Why they can't play well against bad teams (and Cincy would qualify right now as a bad team – certainly a lot worse than I thought they'd be this season) remains a mystery.