No escalators at this Old San Juan castle:

As most of you know, Ryan Boatright once committed to Bob Huggins at West Virginia. Then, a few days later (after WVU also got a commitment from Jabarie Hinds), he de-committed. And a week or so after that, he committed to UConn.

And the rest is history.

On Sunday, Boatright faces Huggins in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament title game. It's not the first time the two have met since Boatright's de-commitment: Boatright played against WVU twice his freshman season, scoring seven points in a 64-57 win on Jan. 9, 2012 (then having to sit out the next three games as the NCAA renewed its look into his eligibility), and 10 points in a Big East tournament game on March 7. 2012 -- a 71-67 UConn win in OT.

That game was not only West Virginia's final one as a member of the Big East, it was also Jim Calhoun's final victory as a head coach.

It wasn't perfect, but this was definitely UConn's best game of the young season. Came against a good team, in a somewhat hostile environment (Dayton fans probably outnumbered UConn fans by about two-to-one).

Ryan Boatright continues to be a leader and scored 20 points (but had the audacity to miss his first two free throws of the season). Rodney Purvis officially became a Husky, with 19 points in a terrific performance. Daniel Hamilton was strong again, with 14 points.

Amida Brimah finished with just six points and as many rebounds as fouls (three). But he had five blocks, three of them on one head-spinning sequence that absolutely changed the entire complexion of the game.

Some notes, quotes and video:

KEVIN OLLIE:

“I was very proud of my team. They focused and played very hard in the second half. To hold a great team like Dayton to 23 points and 28 percent shooting, it shows the focus that they have.”

(on Brimah getting into foul trouble)

“Sometimes on those drives, he tries to block everything. Sometimes, with those little guys, he needs to just stay vertical and let them shoot over him. Sometimes when he gets in trouble, he comes down and gets those cheap fouls. But he’s understanding to get use his length. I thought he did an amazing job the second half controlling the paint. We call the paint the ‘yard.’ He was a dominant force in the ‘yard.’”

(on whether the offense slows down when Boatright isn't in the game)

“I wouldn’t say that. Ryan’s got to sit down. Terrence comes in, and we’re just missing shots, and then we’re not getting back on defense. If we can get stops, we’ll keep the lead. I know good offense translates to good defense, but I think we have to come off the bench and be aggressive, understand what I want to do as a coach.”

BOATRIGHT:

(on Brimah's block party)



(on snapping a streak of 18 straight free throws to start this season)

“I know, man. I couldn’t believe I missed those two free throws! I hate missing free throws. It’s basketball, it happens. I just had to make the next one. I’m trying to shoot in the 90-percent range this year.”

“I shoot a lot of free throws when I go back to the gym every night. I make 10 in a row every day before I leave practice. Some days, I knock them out real quick. Some days, I’ll be there for about 20 minutes. I’ve got to hit 10 in a row before I leave, though.”

(on Purvis)

“I’ve been standing on him since preseason. He’s been a little down, he hasn’t been playing well. He’s been second-guessing his shot. I tell him, ‘You’re All-American, man. I can’t do it all myself, they’re gonna double me sometimes, I’m gonna need you to step up.’”

(on whether he sees the offense sputtering when he's on the bench)

“A little bit, at times. I think it’s just from K.O. with these NBA sets, and I don’t think they’ve run those type of sets in those situations, well enough yet. It’s loud, some people can’t hear. I think it just comes with maturity and my veteran (status). Terrence will get it. He’s trying his best, but it takes time.”

(on his de-commitment from West Virginia -- which is also in this tournament -- four years ago)

“No regrets, I don’t think about it at all. I’m glad I came to UConn. UConn made me the person that I am today. I became a man at Connecticut. All the respect to Coach Harris and Coach Huggins. I’ll shake their hand when I see them, but once we step between the lines, it’s all business.”

BRIMAH:

“When I get into foul trouble, like in the first half, I always get a little bit worried. In the second half, I’m very comfortable and ready to play defense.”

Boatright interjected, regarding Brimah's foul troubles:

“That’s our fault, though. We’d be getting beat off the dribble too much, and he’d be trying to save us and getting into foul trouble. That’s our fault, we’ve got to help him out there.”

PURVIS:

(on staying positive through some early-season struggles)

“I thank Boat for that, he just stayed on me. So did all my teammates. He just told me to stay patient and everything was going to come. I never try to force anything. I’m just happy to be on this team, and happy we got this win today.”

And now, it's on to West Virginia and old friend Bob Huggins, for the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tourney title on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Here's what Huggy Bear had to say about UConn on Friday after his team's win over Boston College:

Greetings from San Juan, Puerto Rico, where UConn will be playing in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament this week, starting Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (EST) vs. College of Charleston.

A few early notes, quotes and videos from today's goings-on (we'll have many more updates later, after UConn's shootaround which ends at noon (EST):

*** This is the second season in a row Charleston will play against a defending national champion. The Cougars opened up the 2013-14 season at Louisville and were thrashed, 70-48.

“It’s always fun going out and playing some great competition like the defending national champion," said senior guard and leading scorer Anthony Stitt. "UConn has a great team, we watched some tape on them. They’re really good in transition, they’ve got some good guys. We’re looking forward to take the challenge.”

Head coach Earl Grant: “We’ve got some older guys. I’m sure they’ll look forward to the challenge. We know it’s a challenge, but that’s why you play the game -- you like to be challenged.”

*** If you remember, Grant was hired back in early September after a month-long coaching search. Also interviewed in that search? UConn assistant Karl Hobbs, who could have been coaching against UConn, not for them, on Thursday had things played out differently over the summer.

*** Along with UConn, fellow Big East expatriates West Virginia and Boston College are here. Of course, Ryan Boatright once committed to Bob Huggins at WVU, only to de-commit a short time later when he found out Jabarie Hinds had committed a day later.

Asked about the (granted, ancient history) on Wednesday, here's Huggins' classic Huggy-Bear response:



*** Charleston sophomore Canyon Barry is the son of NBA Hall of Famer Rick Barry. Like his dad, Canyon shoots free throws underhanded. He's yet to go to the foul line this season, but here's hoping he gets to the stripe on Thursday. I really want to see this, for some reason.

*** Boatright said he's got "about 16" family members and friends arriving for the tournament.

*** Boatright and Rodney Purvis talked about the tournament and what they expect on Thursday:



*** The court at the Coliseo Roberto Clemente features double-rims, but that won't be a big deal, according to Kevin Ollie.

“It’s alright. That’s what we had in the park. It’s fine. It’d be a problem if we just had to shoot on the double-rims, but everybody’s got to shoot on them.”

Ollie seemed interested that Boatright had mentioned the double-rims to reporters.

“I’ll make sure I note that with the guys tonight," Ollie said. "No excuses.”

*** Purvis noted that Jim Calhoun pulled him aside in practice last week and told him to slow down a little bit and "just be ready to make a play, just be ready to catch and shoot, things like that."

Noted Ollie: “That’s the luxury of having Coach there, because he knows so much about the game, and how to get to players. I’m just glad that he’s there if they need him. It’s just another that’s got my players’ backs, and I welcome it every day.”

*** Ollie on Calhoun's ESPN debut Tuesday night: “He did a real good job. He explained things very, very well, right to the point. It was real good.”

*** Omar Calhoun didn't practice on Wednesday and would appear to be unlikely to play against Charleston.

*** UConn will stay an extra day and take part in some team activities on Monday before flying back home Tuesday morning.

Decided to fly into Cincinnati a day early to beat Wednesday's predicted morning snowstorms. Also figured I might have a chance to swing by Cincinnati's practice to talk to Mick Cronin and a few Bearcat players about Thursday night's big bout with UConn.

Turns out, Cronin did a teleconference call with UConn beat writers that I could have done from home. No worries, may head over to practice tomorrow to get a few players.

Anyway, here's what Cronin had to say:

"Obviously, UConn's having a great year. Shabazz (Napier) is one of the best, if not the best guard we'll play against all year. Coach (Kevin) Ollie does a tremendous job ... What they lack in strength and size, they make up in toughness from their coach, toughness on the defensive end. They've been rebounding the ball better than earlier in the season. It's got the makings of a great game -- two of the best players in the country going at it, two ranked teams. It should be a great environment."

"To win a league title, you've got to have a couple of all-league players. Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson have proven that. If the season ended now, one will probably be (AAC) Player of the Year and the other will be Defensive Player of the Year. But there's a long way to go. Shabazz Napier will have a lot to say about that."

(will UConn and Cincinnati be two of the conference's standard-bearers for years to come?)

"Speaking for Cincinnati, I hope so. But I think it would be presumptuous to think other teams aren't going to emerge. SMU is 10-deep, and with their recruiting class what could be next year ... Cincinnati, Memphis, UConn -- for any conference, you want your marquee teams to be good. It's not as easy as it seems, which makes what Jim Calhoun did there so unbelievable, and what Coach (Bob) Huggins did here so unbelievable. It's not as easy as you think. Players don't just sign at your school, you don't just win games because you're UConn or Cincinnati. Sometimes, it's taken for granted. I think it's a lot harder to sustain than people realize."

*** DeAndre Daniels participated in practice on Tuesday. He had no restrictions on what he could do, but participated to a lesser degree than everyone else (less reps, etc.). Daniels did experience soreness in his injured right ankle, but he is feeling better and still considered day-to-day.

Said Cronin: "I hope he plays. I'm a big karma guy. I believe in rooting for kids, positive energy. I hope he's OK and is able to play. We'll absolutely prepare for him to play. We wish him nothing but the best."

Remember the story of Dwyane Wade surprising a girl at her high school senior prom last month? That was at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High -- same school Amida Brimah attended.

Brimah, however, wasn't at the prom. He was back in Ghana, visiting his parents. No big deal -- he had already met Wade at Wade's Fantasy Camp last August, and it's not often Brimah, who came to Miami from Ghana a few years ago, gets to see his folks.

It's been an interesting past few months for Brimah, the 6-foot-11 center, who's flying up from Miami to Storrs tonight to begin summer classes at UConn. This past spring, after a strong senior season on the hardwood, he figured he'd try his hand at high jump.

"The coach kept telling me to do it," Brimah said. "I didn't know I could do it. Back home in Ghana, we do it on bare ground and you can get hurt doing it. He was like 'It's different down here.'"

So Brimah gave it a shot and did pretty well. He won the Class 2A Region 4 championship with a leap of 6-2, then took third place at the states at the same height. And if 6-2 doesn't sound too high, think how tough it is for a 6-11, 215-pound kid to unfurl his body over that height. That's some pretty good athleticism.

Brimah also recently got to bond with two future teammates, fellow incoming freshmen Terrence Samuel (who'll arrive in Storrs on Wednesday) and Kentan Facey, while in New York City. He played with Facey in a game at the NIKE Pro City Summer League , and with Samuel at a tournament in Coney Island. He also got in a run at the famed Rucker Park in Harlem.

It looks like Brimah will be playing in this year's Greater Hartford Pro-Am (in Waterbury) for the Springfield Slamm, coached by Dr. Steve Sobel. He'll likely be teamed with Facey and possibly Samuel, though it hasn't been determined yet if Samuel will play in the pro-am this summer. Sobel also said there's an "outside shot" of DeAndre Daniels playing on his team, if he plays in the league.

Sobel said he's looking forward to the possibility of coaching Brimah, Facey and Samuel.

"As Kevin Ollie said, their attitudes and work ethic are going to be what's needed this year," Sobel said. "My role is to put them in the mental and physical place where they can utilize their talents get conditioned to where they can be contributors."

Interestingly, Sobel also draws some UMass kids to his team, and one of them will be Jabarie Hinds, who recently transferred from West Virginia. Hinds, of course, is one of the prime reasons why Ryan Boatright landed at UConn. Boatright had committed to Bob Huggins at WVU, only to find out a few days later that Hinds had committed, too. That persuaded Boatright to de-commit, and he soon wound up at Storrs.

*** Meanwhile, UConn announced on Tuesday that Lasan Kromah, the transfer from GWU, has officially joined the program.

"We're excited to have Lasan join our program," Ollie said. "He is the tyupe of player and person who is going to make us stronger as a team with his ability on the court, as well as his high character ... I think Lasan can be a great facilitator for us. I love his versatility on the court. He can help us in so many ways."

All the New York City pickpockets working their craft a few blocks away in Times Square were upstaged by a kid from Boston on Wednesday afternoon.

Shabazz Napier stole the show – quite literally – in UConn’s latest how-did-that-happen, Big East tournament win at Madison Square Garden. The sophomore point guard went on a personal 9-0 run – paced by a pair of crafty steals – over an 87-second span late in regulation to tie the game, and his teammates survived without him after he fouled out in overtime.

Jeremy Lamb’s 3-pointer with a little over a minute left in the extra period put the Huskies ahead for good in a 71-67 victory that ousted West Virginia from its final Big East tourney appearance and set up UConn’s third matchup with Syracuse in the past month.

It also essentially clinched a return trip to the NCAA tournament for the defending champions, who are now 20-12 overall.

With less than four minutes left in regulation on Wednesday, however, it appeared the Huskies might not have that chance. The Mountaineers led by nine (63-54) after a Darryl “Truck” Bryant inside bucket with three minutes, 57 seconds left. Napier, however, wasn’t dismayed, and assured his teammates as much at the time.

“I knew we were going to win,” he said. “It’s weird, you just have that instinct, that feeling … I told Alex (Oriakhi), ‘We’re going to win this game.’ I just felt that. When you feel something, you’ve got to go with it.”

Did he ever. Napier canned a 3-pointer, Bryant missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Napier hit a pair of free throws. Then, he swiped a Dominique Rutledge pass near midcourt and cruised in for a finger roll. After a West Virginia timeout, he picked Gary Browne’s pocket off an inbounds pass and again sailed in for a layup, tying the score with 2:10 left.

“One of them, I kind of gambled on,” said Napier. “I just felt like Rutledge was going to be lazy on the pass to Browne, and I just went for it and stole it. And one time, Browne thought I was going to stay with Bryant, and I just came from behind and stole it. Sometimes, you’ve got to take those risks and hope for the best.”

Browne countered with a lane jumper, but UConn got the ball up the floor quickly and Drummond ank a short baseline jumper. Browne turned the tables on Napier by stealing the ball form him near midcourt with 42.2 seconds left, but Andre Drummond blocked a Rutledge shot, Napier missed an 18-footer at the buzzer, and it was on to overtime.

Napier scored the first points of the extra period with a pair of free throws, but wound up picking his fourth and fifth fouls in the span of 24 seconds. Bryant hit a pair of freebies to tie it, but Lamb canned his wing trey to put the Huskies ahead for good.

“I knew we needed a score,” Lamb said, “and in the game (Tuesday), Coach told me to shoot and I didn’t take a shot. Coach was just saying, “I want you shooting the ball.’ So today, they ran a play for me, set great screens, and I was able to get wide open. I had a little time to set my feet and I just shot it with confidence, and thank God it went in.”

It wasn’t over yet, as Ryan Boatright missed three straight free throws within the final 33 seconds. But he finally hit the fourth with 19.2 seconds left, and West Virginia couldn’t score again.

"Boat is always there for us," said Napier. "Go back to the first game he came and knocked down three free throws we needed (to beat) Florida State. That's what he gives you, he gives you a lot of heart no matter what."

The Mountaineers missed all 11 of their field goal attempts in overtime.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our kids,” said coach Jim Calhoun. “I think for a team that obviously has had its ups and downs – no coach, no Boatright, all the various things that have happened to us – those are things that happen and they happen to other teams. But I can only judge my family, my guys, and my guys have come back, won three in a row, and I truly believe that a coach couldn’t be prouder.”

Napier scored 22 of his 26 points in the second half and overtime. Lamb added 22 – 12 in the first 12 minutes of play – and Boatright had 10 off the bench. Napier also had six assists, four turnovers and three blocks (!).

*** UConn-Syracuse. Madison Square Garden. Big East tournament. Doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Not in recent years, anyway.

The last four times these two powerhouse rivals have met in the Big East tournament, three have been decided in overtime. Among those, of course, was the classic six-overtime battle in 2009 eventually won in the wee hours of the morning by the Orange, 127-117.

More recently, Syracuse has beaten the Huskies twice over the last month, pulling away in the final minutes at the Carrier Dome for an 85-67 win on Feb. 11, then eking out a 71-69 triumph two weeks later in Storrs. Calhoun was on medical leave and not on the sidelines for either game, but he’ll be there for Thursday’s noon quarterfinal-round battle.

“We’re playing, in my opinion – along with Kentucky – the best team in the country (Thursday),” he said after UConn’s 71-67, second-round win over West Virginia.

The old adage says it’s hard for a good team to beat another good team three times in a row. Throw in the fact that the second-ranked Orange are a sure-shot No. 1 NCAA tourney seed with nothing to play for, while the Huskies have momentum, and it’s understandable why Drummond promised: “It’s going to be hard for (Syracuse), I can tell you that now. We’re going to come out with fire.”

Added Lamb: “We’ve just got to come out strong. When we played them at home, we didn’t start off (well). We’ve got to come out as hard as we can.”

*** Despite the victory, UConn had to be concerned about its rebounding – or lack thereof – on Wednesday. The Huskies were outrebounded, 47-31. Worse, they allowed a whopping 26 offensive boards to the Mountaineers.

Strangely, Calhoun wasn’t overly concerned.

“You also remember that six or seven of (the offensive boards) are blocked shots,” he pointed out. “They seemed to get every blocked shot that we had. Not that it’s misleading, but we played defense a little bit different than maybe some other teams, and down the stretch it did help since we blocked two of their layups.”

Calhoun was particularly happy with the defensive play late in the game of Drummond, who blocked Dominique Rutledge’s potential game-winner in the final seconds of regulation.

Drummond also locked down WVU star Kevin Jones late in the game. Jones dominated much of the game from both the inside and outside and finished with 25 points. However, following a pair of free throws with 6:17 left in regulation, he didn’t score again.

“It took me longer than it should have,” Drummond confessed. “I should’ve realized that earlier (and said), ‘Alright, today’s not an offensive game for you, Dre, so you just need to lock up on defense to make sure no one scores.’ It took me until the last 10 minutes to realize, we’re going to lose this game if I don’t lock this kid Jones up. Coach told me, final play, play him hard or he’s going to sub me out and I’m not going to play. So I looked at him and said, ‘Alright, he’s not scoring anymore.’”

Said Calhoun: “With 10 minutes to go, he grew up a little bit and played a hell of a player and did a wonderful job.”

*** The Mountaineers are moving to the Big 12 next season, so Wednesday’s loss was their final appearance in the Big East tournament.

“It’s sad in many, many ways,” said Calhoun. “I’m going to miss them greatly. I’m going to miss Bobby (Huggins, WVU’s coach), going got miss the competitiveness … (Huggins) is heading on his way to being a Hall of Fame coach. I don’t think this league needs to be losing Hall of Fame coaches.”

Said Huggins: “Well, it’s been a good run. We’ve enjoyed it, most of it anyway. I mean, there’s nothing like coming to the Garden to play in the tournament.”

West Virginia finishes 12-15 all-time in Big East tourney games, winning the title in 2010 and reaching the finals twice.

The Big East announced on Wednesday that Temple will officially be joining the conference, for football only in 2012 and all other sports in 2013.

“I always thought Temple would be a great addition, being in Philadelphia,” Calhoun said. “They’ve got a tremendous coach, it’s a great city for basketball.”

Calhoun couldn't resist a chance to needle longtime rival Rick Pitino, who has been publicly campaigning for the Owls to join the Big East for a while now.

"I can't get a word in edgewise with Rick praising Temple," Calhoun quipped. "That's not against Rick. I don't Twitter or Tweet or any of those things. You know what I'm talking about."

*** Lamb has hit double figures in all seven of his career Big East tourney games.

*** UConn has won 13 straight postseason games and seven straight in the Big East tourney, tying Georgetown for third-longest winning streak in the event's history.

Jim Calhoun was in a relatively good mood after UConn's win over West Virginia Monday night. Predictably, Bob Huggins wasn't.

Also, Ryan Boatright talks about the ... ahem ... conversation that Jim Calhoun had with him at midcourt on Monday, as well as his big steal.

I'm not fully prepared to credit Jim Calhoun's technical foul for UConn's renewed vigor and intensity over the final 11 minutes or so Monday night.

Several players, after all, said they didn't even know Calhoun had been slapped with a 'T' by Pat Driscoll after arguing an Andre Drummond over-the-back foul during a timeout.

"We didn't even pay attention," claimed Ryan Boatright.

But some inspired talk by Calhoun at some point after that 'T' certainly did seem to light a fire under the Huskies, who suddenly started to rebound and defend with urgency. Drummond and Jeremy Lamb stepped up big-time, an effective zone press certainly helped as well, and UConn rallied to victory.

“I told them, ‘If we’re not going to fight, they might throw me out of here, but I’m going to fight,’” Calhoun said. “(The technical) wasn’t planned, but we just couldn’t keep them going the way we were going.”

Added Boatright: "Coach has got our back, he’s on the refs. If he sees something going on, he tells us not to say anything to the refs and he’ll take care of it.”

Ah, Boatright. A real trick-or-treat player, someone who is going to draw Calhoun's ire quite a bit over the next few years. He certainly did on Monday. With about 14 1/2 minutes left and UConn trailing by five, Boatright threw an inbounds pass over Tyler Olander's head that went out-of-bounds. The freshman seemed to be upset at Olander, and Calhoun yelled from the sidelines, "Don't blame your teammate!"

Boatright appeared to say something back, and Calhoun soon called a timeout, raced out to near midcourt and started screaming right in Boatright's grill.

“I don’t even really remember what he said," Boatright recalled. "It was just the heat of the moment. Coach is going to be Coach. That’s what he does all the time. He does it to everybody. I made a mistake, and you’ve just got to be culpable and be able to play through it.”

Indeed, Boatright later had one of the plays of the night when he stole the ball at midcourt and flew in for a dunk that tied the score at 48 and put a huge charge in the near-sellout crowd of 15,805.

“I just played ‘D’, like I always try to do – stay in front and not gamble," Boatright said. "Coach has been preaching to us not to gamble. He lost it by himself, he gave it to me, and once I got the steal, I was preparing for the contact. I thought he was going to jump and I just went up strong and tried to dunk it, and I got up high enough. That definitely fired the crowd up and fired the crowd up.”

Oh, and about that crowd -- Calhoun has rarely heaped so much praise on an XL Center gathering (even if it was a snooch short of a sellout).

“The crowd was more than special," the coach said. "We were down eight, we cut it to six and I thought we went ahead by four … just by the way the crowd reacted. In the past, we’ve had crowds waiting for us to do things … "

*** Andre Drummond was immense, particularly in the latter half. He followed Lamb in the scoring column with 20 points while also hauling in a game-high 11 rebounds and three blocks – including a Darryl Bryant 3-point attempt in the waning seconds that sealed the deal.


“Andre Drummond was special tonight,” said Calhoun. “He hasn’t been special all season – he’s been good – as you would expect from a freshman. But tonight, he was special.”

Drummond’s biggest play of the night came with 1:27 left and the Huskies clinging to a one-point (58-57) lead. Lamb misfired on a 3-pointer, but Drummond grabbed the rebound and hit a short baseline jumper – one of several such shots he made throughout the night in between rafter-shaking dunks.

I also thought Drummond did a decent job on Jones, the Big East scoring and rebounding leader who finished with 22 points but just five rebounds -- by far his lowest total of the season.

Jones, a 6-8 forward, is a tough guard for Drummond when he steps out to shoot the 3. He buried a trio of treys in the first half but none the rest of the way.

“I think I did a pretty good job of keeping him off the boards," Drummond said. "That’s what he really feeds off of, rebounds to get his points. I slipped up a little bit near the end of the half, letting him get three quick rebounds. Coach said you’ve got to stop letting him to that.”

WVU missed all 10 of its 3-point attempts in the latter half.

*** UConn didn't grab its first offensive rebound until late in the game, though it finished with six.

“I thought we might set the all-time record without getting an offensive rebound," Calhoun quipped afterwards.

He can quip about this after a win. Had UConn lost ... not so much.

*** Neither Drummond's 20 points or 11 boards were career-bests, but he matched his career-high with four fouls. He's starting to learn what Big East refs are going to call.

“Yeah, I mean, they were killing me," he said. "But they were great refs, man. I’m not going to complain or say anything bad, because they’re good refs. I did something wrong and they called it. I’m not going to argue with them. They’re the higher power, so, it was a good call by them.”

*** Bob Huggins didn't seem quite as enamored by the officiating crew.

"There's some things I'd like to say about that, but I can't, y'know what I mean?" he said, in reference to a fourth foul call on Deniz Kilicli.

*** Hate to nitpick, but UConn is really getting very little out of its small forwards -- DeAndre Daniels, Roscoe Smith and now Niels Giffey, who has yet to score a field goal in his two starts the last two games.

I think that's all I've got for now.

I’m not a big Bob Huggins fan. I’ve seen him behave far too boorishly with the media over the years. Tries to be too much of a bully, if you ask me.

But there’s no denying he’s an excellent basketball coach, as evidenced by his 703 career wins. Which raises the question: Why doesn’t Huggy Bear get more respect as a coach?

I don’t recall much of any fanfare surrounding Huggins’ 700th win, achieved a few days before practice. Only 19 other coaches have won more games than him, and only three of them active – Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. Huggins recently passed Denny Crum for 20th on the all-time list, but I remember Crum being a much bigger name in the coaching world than Huggins ever has been.

Then again, Crum won two national championships. Huggins has zero, with two trips to the Final Four and none to the national championship game.

Maybe I just answered my own question.

But here’s something else to consider: At age 58, Huggins would seem to have plenty of more years left as a coach. A lot could happen between now and then, of course, but if Huggins gets in 10 more years and averages 20 per year, we could be talking 900 wins – something only two coaches (Coach K and Bob Knight) have achieved to this point.

*** Bit of a different vantage point for me tonight, and from here on out, for games at the XL Center. Press seating has been scattered all about, with my seat moving from just a bit past midcourt across from the visitors’ bench to near the far corner, across from UConn’s bench. Not a bad vantage point. Certainly better than along the baseline, where we have to sit at Syracuse, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pitt, DePaul, etc. Hard to get a good feel for the game from those seats.

There is no reason for you to care about where the media is sitting, of course, except for this: the reason for the move is that there are now high-priced, courtside seats for the well-heeled where much of press row used to be. More money into the program can only be good for UConn and its fans (if not so much for the media covering the game).

*** Celtics GM Danny Ainge is among the 11 NBA scouts/GM’s, etc. expected at tonight’s game.

Here's what we've got so far from this year's Big East media day at the Madison Square Garden theater:

***As we're sure you know by now, UConn was picked by the league's coaches to finish 10th out of 16 teams. Their reactions:

JIM CALHOUN

"First time in a long time I've got a chance to be coach of the year. That's the way you've got to do it. You've got to be No. 8 or below, otherwise it's not going to happen."

"We're probably where we belong. Seton Hall has more known answers than we do at this particular time. We could have been 11th or 12th … today.

"If we were 12th, that would have been OK. I wouldn't tell my players that. We are Connecticut, we have won a couple of games. But right now, the people beyond Kemba … you don't know.

"Not as much respect for the name as I would have liked. Conversely, if you made us 12th … whether I live with it or don't live with it, you picked us third last year, and we weren't third. We should have been fifth, and we screwed it up. We're a better team than what we played.

"We're the most unknown team in the league. I truly believe that.

"I like to be first, though. You guys aren't that smart, but you aren't that dumb, either. You've got a pretty good idea that you have some talent up there and you're going to win some games. Right now, you're saying we're not going to make the NCAA tournament – they're not going to take 10 teams. You're saying that maybe we can qualify for the NIT. I think we can do more than that."

(Umm, coach … when you say "you guys," you do realize that this it the coaches' poll, not the media poll. But I digress)

KEMBA WALKER:

"It's going to make us work harder, just give us the will to win.

(Is 10th place fair?) "Yeah, I think so, just because we have a lot of freshmen who aren't ranked as high as a lot of other freshmen. I think it's fair enough. I expected us to be 12th or something. I'll take 10th, and hope we have the chance to win some games."

DONNELL BEVERLY:

"We've got a lot of young players, a lot of guys that people don't really know. To me, we have a lot of guys that can play. I think we might surprise a lot of people this year."

ALEX ORIAKHI:

"I love it. We use that as motivation at the gym. We just have to play with a chip on our shoulder every night."

***Calhoun had a few poignant moments regarding the NCAA investigation and all it's entailed.

He was asked what the worst part of the entire ordeal has been, and he said there was only one thing that truly bothered him.

"At Ford Field in Detroit (at the 2009 Final Four), 72,000 people and hearing a chant of 'Cheater' by the whole Michigan State section. My grandchildren were in the crowd, not in that particular section, probably didn't hear a word. But I did. I was very sensitive to that. I may be a lot of things – profane, I can give you a lot of different things I am. But that word, I'm not. That was, to me, the worst thing."

But he insisted that the entire process has only emboldened him.

"The worst thing to do, at least my friends tell me, is to come after me. I'm usually better coming out of a corner than I am up on a pedestal. I'm a natural underdog, I guess – sometimes for no apparent reason. And if I can't be the underdog, I'll make myself the underdog, some way or another."

***Oh, there's another thing Calhoun isn't too pleased about: opening the Big East season on Dec. 27, at Pittsburgh.

"I don't like playing two days after Christmas, I don't care where it's at. And then playing New Year's Eve (at home vs. South Florida) … I don't like it. It puts us in a hole. No one designed it that way, but we're a young team.

"How do you eliminate that? I'll eliminate it: 16 games. I think we should have a preseason. We need to protect the properties of the terrific institutions throughout our league. I just don't think that Connecticut should be playing Pittsburgh – or anybody – on Dec. 27. For us, it happens to hurt more, but that's not malice. We've got to get those games in.

"I don't like New Year's Eve, anyway. I don't know what the fuss is all about."

***Due to some overcrowding at different tables, Calhoun met with the media at a table that had the West Virginia banner behind it (Bob Huggins would take the seat for the second half of the session).

This led to the "Oops!" moment of the day. A young female reporter, perhaps still in college, asked Calhoun: "Coach, despite the graduation of Da'Sean Butler, do you think you can get back to the Final Four like you did last year."

Obviously, she thought Calhoun was the West Virginia coach. Calhoun handled it with aplomb – and certainly a lot better than if someone like me had asked the question – pointing out that UConn had been to the Final Four two years ago and essentially ignoring the fact that Da'Sean Butler never played at UConn.

However, maybe this explains why Jabarie Hinds chose West Virginia over UConn. Maybe he thought he was committing to Calhoun, not Huggins! OK, maybe not.

More to come later ...

Just when you think they're out, they pull you back in.

These Huskies are making things interesting, aren't they? Monday's 73-62 win over West Virginia puts them squarely back on the right side of the NCAA tourney bubble, in all likelihood. Even Joe Lunardi agrees, though we're not sure if that means anything to Jim Calhoun.

"I don't care what Lombardi, or whatever his name is (says)," Calhoun joked afterwards, referring to Joey Brackets. "He happens to be Italian, so I'm a little bit prejudiced. He doesn't know very much."

Umm, Jim ... I'd have someone else start your car tomorrow morning after that statement. (Just kidding, and so was Jim ... though I am 1/4 Italian, so I guess I can sorta say that).

Anyway ...

The story of the night was the bookend technical fouls called against Calhoun and Bob Huggins. Calhoun's, 47 seconds into the action after WVU had jumped off to a 5-0 start, kicked off a 14-1 UConn run. The Huskies would never trail again, though not before allowing a 15-point lead to be whittled down to one with 8:47 remaining.

"It definitely sparked us," senior Gavin Edwards said of Calhoun's technical, "because we knew it was going to be a real physical game after that, and we had to come out and be physical, too."

Calhoun insisted his "T" wasn't by design.

"Suffice to say, I was ready for the game," he said. "I certainly didn't try to do anything of that nature. But I wanted them to know I was ready for the game."

"Them" being his players, not the refs.

"I have no control over officials," said Calhoun. "I don't assign them, I don't blow the whistle for them, certainly. I'm not sure, after a while, what's a foul anymore in the Big East. I complain about it, but I don't know which way they're going."

Apparently, neither does Huggins, who was hit with a double-T with 42.4 seconds left and ejected from the game.

Huggins, who had to be physically restrained by his assistants after getting ejected, didn't want to get into details about the technical.

"I don't know, you watched it," he told a reporter. "You saw it. You're allowed to report on it, I'm not. You have a tremendous advantage."

When asked why the Mountaineers weren't quite able to get over the hump, Huggins responded: "I don't know if I can answer that without getting in trouble. We played triangle-and-two and zone the whole game, right from the beginning. Usually you don't foul as much when you're in that stuff. Usually."

West Virginia was whistled for 26 of the game's 46 fouls and UConn went to the charity stripe 42 times, hitting 30. WVU was 12-for-23 from the stripe. Aside from the dunks by Robinson and Walker in the final minute, the Huskies' only two field goals over the final 12 minutes of action were by Robinson – a putback with 8:25 to play, and a big 3-pointer with 6:14 left that gave UConn a 61-56 lead. The Huskies did have two players foul out – Edwards and fellow big man Ater Majok -- while WVU had just one (Wellington Smith).

Said Calhoun: "It's unfortunate that Bobby got thrown (out), and I mean that very sincerely. But the most important thing for me is my kids. Always has been, always will be."

***Craftiest play of the night: after Smith fouled out, the UConn student section did its usual "Left, right, left, right!" chant every time Smith took a step to the bench. The chant always ends when the player sits and the students yell "Sit down!" But Smith decided not to sit until just as Kemba Walker shot a free throw, and the students' "Sit down!" may have distracted Walker -- he missed the freebie.

***Jerome Dyson turned his left ankle on a drive to the hoop with about 6 ½ minutes left and left the game. He returned a little over a minute later, however, to a Willis Reed-like reception from the home crowd.

The 6-foot-4 guard held 6-7 WVU scoring leader Butler on to nine points on 2-for-10 shooting.

That's all we've got for now.