Sterling Gibbs has already played against the team with whom he originally signed a national letter-of-intent (Maryland), as well as the team he chose UConn over as a graduate transfer (Ohio State).

Next up: playing against the program for whom he played as a freshman (Texas), when the Huskies face the Longhorns in Austin on Tuesday night. There were no hard feelings about his departure from Texas on either side and, in fact, remains in contact with former UT head coach Rick Barnes (who's now at Tennessee).

Is it inevitable UConn somehow faces Seton Hall, the team for whom Gibbs played for two seasons, in the NCAA tournament? (Or, dare I say, the NIT)?

Some notes, quotes and video from UConn's tough, 55-54 loss to Texas on Sunday. A painful loss for the Huskies, in more ways than one.:

RYAN BOATRIGHT:



(on how he first hurt his ankle with 5:58 left)

“We were fighting for a rebound in traffic, and I don’t know what happened, if I stepped on somebody’s foot or something.”

“If anybody knows me, you know I’m not gonna sit down. I was just trying to tough it out the last four minutes. For me, when I continued to play, when I put all that force on it to turn back the other way, it just gave out.”

(on being helpless while watching Jonathan Holmes' game-winning shot went in)

“Man, it was crazy, because when I rolled it and I was falling, I’m watching it the whole time. So it was like slow motion. As I’m watching the ball go through the air, I didn’t even feel my ankle, it was like numb. As soon as it went through the basket, it just shot straight through me. The pain was crazy. But, it was a great play, he made a tough shot. It’s basketball, you’ve got to live with it, get better and move on.”

(on status of his injury)

“I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I’ll be back. It’s nothing major, to the point where I’ll miss 2-3 games. I don’t know if I’m gonna play Friday, but I’m gonna try my best to get back Friday.”


KEVIN OLLIE:



“I’m disappointed for them, because they worked very, very hard and should’ve won that game. But it was a great shot by Holmes, he’s a great player.”

“They’re wide-open shots. Somebody’s gonna have to step up and make some shots here if we’re gonna win some games.”

(on Boatright's ankle injury)

“Ryan is very meticulous about his body, so he’s gonna get in and rehab. He hates missing practice, so that’s one guy I’m not gonna be worried about him getting back on the court.”

(on whether he's "confident" Rodney Purvis will be back for Friday's Yale game)

“I’m not confident in anything. I’m gonna let my medical team address the situation. He’s gonna be in a boot, I don’t know how long. If he’s ready, he’s gonna be out there playing, hopefully like Rodney can play.”

(on Omar Calhoun)

“He had a good practice, but we just didn’t feel comfortable in him playing in this game. Hopefully, he gets another week off and he can come back for Yale. If he’s not ready for Yale, we’ve got a break for finals, and I imagine he’ll be ready for Coppin State.”

JONATHAN HOLMES:

"The first look was to Myles (Turner) slipping to the basket, I’m guessing it wasn’t open. The second one was D-Holland screening for me in the corner. Connor (Lammert) did a really good job delivering the pass, and D did a really good job setting the screen.”

“Yeah, that’s about as good a look you’re gonna get with four seconds left.”

RICK BARNES:



“I know how hard it is to come in here and win. You come in here and win, you’ve done something.”

“The only time we really listened to what we were asking for was on that last play.”


DANIEL HAMILTON:

“In the huddle we said switch everything, but I guess the guy behind me didn’t know that they were setting a back screen on me and we were supposed to switch everything. My guy ended up getting the open shot. He just made a tough shot.”

“It’s real tough. I just think we’ve got to get in the gym and make shots. If we just make a couple more shots, we’ll be alright. I think going in, we’ve just got to get more time in the gym and continue to work on our game.”

“We most definitely should have won. We had the game won. It just came down to one shot and just miscommunication. If we had communicated, we would have won the game, because we played hard and we got after it.”

“I got back-screened and I guess we just got confused. He got open for a shot, and it was uncontested.”

(on whether he was able to talk to Barnes, who coached his older brother, Jordan, for two seasons)

“I actually tried to go in the beginning of the game and he didn’t want to shake my hand. I thought it was pretty crazy, but that’s how it goes sometimes, I guess.”

Rick Barnes spoke with the Connecticut media on a conference call Friday morning, in advance of Sunday's UConn-Texas battle at Gampel.

Here's some of what Barnes had to say:

(on how things have changed for the Longhorns with the loss of freshman point guard Isaiah Taylor, who broke his wrist last week and is out for a while)

“Not so much, with Javon (Felix) and DeMarcus Holland, they’be been here, they all do it a little bit different. We’ve tried to put a system in to help us when we have injuries, so it’s not built so much around one person. Isaiah's speed, his ability to get to the basket and create is a little different than how Javon does it. He moves the ball more than Isaiah ... The other night, DeMarcus did wonderful job running the system, staying in system. In terms of what we try to do, we haven’t changed that much."
(on what he thinks of UConn)

“You look at our team, we’re a big team, but we can play small if we have to. We’ve done a little bit of all of it. Look at our size, look at their guard play, perimeter play, we're gonna have to defend ball screens in halfcourt. We're gonna have to be able to guard the basketball. Ballscreen defense is very, very important. Handling their quickness, speed will be a major thing for us."

(on scheduling a tough non-conference slate each year)

"Dave Gavitt taught me a lot, and I'm very fortunate to have had him in my life. We played in the Big East tournament one year and he jumped on the bus and was riding back with us. I think at the time he was working with the (NCAA selection) committee. We're on the bus coming back, we had won a game in the Garden and were feeling pretty good. We were right on that bubble. Dave said to me, 'What are you prepared to tell your team if you don't get in the tournament.' I said, 'Are you telling me something I don't know or should know?' The next day, we didn't make the tournament."

"If you ever don't make it based on your non-league schedule, you have no one to blame but yourself. Since that day, we've tried to do that. There have been years I know we could've won more games. But playing against Connecticut, against Michigan State, North Carolina through the years, those games have helped us in more ways than you can imagine."

(his thoughts on Kevin Ollie)

"What I remember about him as a player: I was watching them on TV, they were in a tough game, and all I know is they inbounded the ball with eight, nine seconds on the clock and he took it the length of the floor, penetrated, drew the defense and kicked it out to Ray Allen, I think. Maybe it was Donny Marshall. I'm telling you, the very next game, we have a two-point lead, same situation I watched him just win a game. I said to Franklin Western, 'I know he's gonna push it,' and they did exactly what they did against the other tam. Franklin tried to stop him, he kicked it out and won the game."

(It should be noted that Barnes appears to have gotten the second half of the story wrong. Ollie made the last-second shot to beat PC in that game. I believe it was his only field goal of the game)

"Like all of Jim's teams back then, they fight, they compete. He was as a player the way he is as a coach. His personality, he's gonna compete and take care of business."

(on Daniel Hamilton, whose older brother, Jordan, played for Barnes at Texas)

"He's different, more athletic than Jordan. Just like Jordan, he's a competitor. He's gonna play. It'll be fun watching him grow. Kevin will do a great job with him. They're different players, Daniel and Jordan.

"I do remember on a home visit to Jordan, (Daniel) was on the top of the bunk bed, sleeping. Everybody told me he's gonna be a good one."

The big winners in my AP Top 25 this week are Michigan, Texas and Creighton.

The Wolverines jump 12 spots, from 16 to 4, after a tremendous week in which they beat No. 3 Michigan State (on the road) and No. 10 Iowa. Couple that with another road win last week at (then) No. 3 Wisconsin, and that's a brilliant three-game stretch for the Wolverines, who are 7-0 in the Big Ten. John Beilein can coach a little, eh?

I also welcome back Creighton and, for the first time, welcome Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns. I knocked the Blue Jays out last week after they got blitzed at Providence, but welcome them right back after they destroyed No. 4 Villanova on the road on Monday, 96-68. (By the way, that loss to PC isn't so bad. The Friars are, as of right now, an NCAA tournament team, even without Brandon Austin and Kris Dunn).

Texas, meanwhile, gets the nod after winning at No. 24 Baylor and at home against No. 22 Kansas State this week. This after beating No. 16 Iowa State last week, giving it three straight wins over ranked teams. The Longhorns will look to make it four straight when they host No. 8 Kansas on Saturday.

So, with two new teams, I had to knock two out. Kansas State was easy, after a two-loss week. The other was trickier (keep in mind, I didn't have Baylor ranked). I wound up booting Ohio State, whom I had ranked No. 17 last week. The Buckeyes lost at Nebraska on Monday, their fourth straight loss. And while they bounced back with a perfunctory home win over Illinois on Thursday, I have a tough time ranking any team that's lost four of its last five games.

Elsewhere, I kept UConn at No. 23 after wins over Temple and Rutgers. I'm starting to like my SMU at No. 25 all the more, though I was one of only two voters to vote for the Mustangs last week. And I righted a wrong by moving San Diego State up a few notches and moving Kansas over Oklahoma State, whom the Jayhawks beat two weeks ago.

1.       Arizona

2.       Syracuse

3.       Florida

4.       Michigan

5.       Wichita State

6.       San Diego State

7.       Michigan State

8.       Kansas

9.       Oklahoma State

10.   Villanova

11.   Cincinnati

12.   Louisville

13.   Kentucky

14.   Wisconsin

15.   Saint Louis

16.   Iowa

17.   Pittsburgh

18.   Duke

19.   Iowa State

20.   Creighton

21.   Texas

22.   UMass

23.   UConn

24.   Memphis

25.   SMU

Is it time yet?

The loss of another big-time recruit (Brandon Austin ... to Providence, of all places), coupled with the early-season success and rave reviews for Kevin Ollie begs the question of whether it's time Warde Manuel decides to give Ollie a long-term deal.

Ask anyone from Rick Pitino, Jim Boeheim and Rick Barnes to people close to the UConn program to the vast majority of college basketball media, they'll tell you that Ollie's lack of a long-term commitment (he's only signed through March) is a HUGE impediment to the Huskies on the recruiting trail. Noah Vonleh and Austin are two recent examples.
I asked Manuel at the Paradise Jam Monday night whether he worried that Ollie's lack of a long-term contract is hurting the team recruiting-wise.

"I want us to be in the best position," Manuel said, "but as I've said before, you never know what hurts you in recruiting. Jim Calhoun, in his prime, lost great recruits. Kevin is going to win a lot in the recruiting wars, and he's going to lose some, whether he's been there one year, 10 years or 20 years ... I've been around quite a bit with some great coaches who have lost some kids, and you never truly know. You put your best foot forward, and the student-athlete makes the choice to go somewhere else for a different reason."

Manuel indicated he'd like to see Ollie in Big East competition before he decides on his future, and also said he'd like to make a decision before the season ends on March 9.

"Whether I make it before then or not remains to be seen," he added. "I don't have a timetable."

I may be in the minority on this, but I understand Manuel's position. For one, he was put in a tough spot by Calhoun's abrupt retirement on Sept. 13, essentially forcing him to hire Ollie. For all the praise Ollie got at the time from sources all around the basketball world, it was fair for Manuel to be a bit cautious about giving a long-term deal to someone who'd never coached a game of basketball in his life, at any level. And, he had to show that whomever the new long-term coach at UConn was going to be was going to be his decision, not something thrust upon him by Calhoun's retirement.

And if that was the case two months ago, it's hard to say that things should change too much since then. As impressive as Ollie has looked on the sidelines and in practice (like he's been doing this for four decades, not four games); as impressive as the win over Michigan State was, along with a good showing by a fatigued team in St. Thomas, getting to the championship game; five games would seem to be a little early to make a rash, long-term decision.

But maybe Manuel should. The Huskies are getting killed in recruiting. There's no excuse losing a recruit to PC, even if the Friars seem to be on the rise and Ed Cooley is as likable a coach as any. And, well ... Ollie has certainly done the job to this point, no matter how early it's been.

Back on Sept. 13, here's what Manuel said he'll be looking for from Ollie this season:

“I’m looking to see how he is on the sidelines, how he handles decision-making, how he does substitutions and things that are normal in the course of a game,” he said. “How does he handle a loss with a team, how does he motivate them the next day to come back and play. How's he handling practice and the staff and all the things that come with being a head coach at this level.  I want to see it, because I can’t turn to somebody and say, ‘Hey, how did he do? How was he as a head coach?’ I need to see that. It really, truly is a long-term plan. I want to see where Kevin is before I extend that long-term contract. But I love Kevin, I’ve enjoyed working with him the past six months. I see why Jim believes in him so much, but I want to see it myself before I would make that determination.”

Let's break it down:

"I'm looking to see how he is on the sidelines" -- Ollie appears in complete control. Sometimes the game speeds up young coaches, but that hasn't happened with him. And he's got a stellar staff of Glen Miller, Karl Hobbs and George Blaney behind him, as well.

Manuel admitted as much Monday, saying, "You don't just roll the ball out and say, 'Shabazz, Ryan, go score.' He's designing the plays, and he and the staff are impressive to watch."

"How he handles decision-making, how he does substitutions ..." --- Again, all aces. Ollie lets guys play through their mistakes, by and large (unlike Calhoun), and, in fact, will ride the hot hand (i.e., Enosch Wolf vs. Wake Forest) even if it means a starter rides the pine for a longer-than-expected time. Ollie seems to use his timeouts rather judiciously, but that's not a major criticism.

"How does he handle a loss with a team, how does he motivate them the next day to come back and play ..." --- Well, we'll find out for sure on Sunday against Stony Brook, on the heels of the Huskies' first loss of the season Monday to New Mexico. But so far under Ollie, UConn has shown it can handle prosperity (the Huskies could have laid an egg against Vermont after flying home on the wings of the Michigan State victory, but instead played well), as well as in-game adversity (they were down 10 with less than five minutes to play against Quinnipiac, only to win in double OT).

"How he's handling practice and the staff and all the things that come with being a head coach at this level ..." --- Ollie has taken some of the ideals he learned under Calhoun and put his own personal brand on it, from techniques he learned from 13 years in the NBA (bringing in a sports psychologist, fostering better team communication, etc.) and different basketball philosophies. He's been terrific thus far. Manuel even admitted such Monday night.

"He's been unbelievable," the AD said. "I'm very, very proud. He's doing a terrific job in all aspects. He's a super guy doing a great job. He couldn't have had a better four games, a better script in his first four games. I'm proud of him, proud of the team and the effort they're putting forth. What you see on the court, he's been talking to the student-athletes about. It's a great thing to see."

So maybe it's time for that long-term contract, before the Huskies get hurt on the recruiting trail any more than they already have been.

Went to the Jimmy V Classic Dinner tonight at Pier Sixty in Manhattan. Didn't get to enjoy the menu, but had a great filling of coach conversation beforehand with Kevin Ollie and Texas coach Rick Barnes.

Here's some of what they had to say:

I asked Ollie if he thinks he'll be animated and, shall we say, "vocal" on the sideline like his predecessor, Jim Calhoun.

“Anybody who knows me from when I played here ... once I got between those lines, I’m a tough competitor. I want guys to compete, to understand who I am, what I demand. I demand excellence in everything I do, I demand that from my coaches, I demand that from myself.

"You can make a suit out of the same material 15 different ways. Me and coach have the same material. I might make my suit different, he might make his suit different, but it’s the same material. It’s hard work, it’s different, it’s understanding that it’s the group greater than the individual. And theyr’e going to understand that. If not, they’re going to be sitting right down beside me and they’re gonna get the picture real quick.”




He added that there's a running joke around the players that "Coach Ollie is different now," moving from assistant to head coach, "but they understand what’s on the line, and putting on that UConn jersey is something special.”

“You’re gonna see the passion," he concluded. "If that’s laid-back passion or (in-your-face) passion, you’ll see it.”

Calhoun has been around Gampel just about every day since his retirement, and Ollie doesn't see that changing anytime soon. And he's happy about that.

“I think he’ll be around. I don’t think he can leave. He’s been great so far. Any question I ask, he’s already seen it, done it. Before I can even say it, he knows what’s coming. He gets me really focused on my task around. He’s been a tremendous asset for me."

Ollie added: “It’s not like I’m following him. I’m right on the side of him. I think we’re locked on. It’s going to be a great new era of UConn basketball, but not an era without Coach Calhoun. I’m gonna be with him. I’m looking forward to it.”

Ollie said that the extra hour or two of practice each week now allowed by the NCAA has helped his team get off to a "tremendous" start, particularly picking up defensive principles. He had a sports psychologist, Dr. Joseph Carr, who's worked with numerous NBA and college teams, come in with the team a few weekends ago and spent about 30 hours with the players, helping them "just getting to know each other, how to common-bond. We established that. I wanted to establish the guys taking ownership of the team. Hopefully they run with it throughout the whole season … and throughout their whole life.”

Ollie said Tyler Olander (ankle) is in "great" health, and that Shabazz Napier should be about "85 percent" by Saturday, when hopefully he'll be back on the floor. Napier hasn't been doing drills, but rather doing rehab in the pool and treadmill, but has ramped up his rehab over the past week.

Ollie said he has a comfort level with both Glen Miller and George Blaney, and that "Glen will be a great person at my side, and just in case I get kicked out of a game, he’ll take over.”

*** Some real interesting stuff as well from Barnes -- who, of course, went up against Calhoun many times at Providence (and later at Texas), and who coached against Ollie when Ollie was a player. Boy, does he respect Ollie.

"I’m not sure people really understand that he was the perfect guy to step into this position," Barnes said of Ollie. "My only thing, as a coach, I wish they would have given him a long-term contract, to have him do what he needs to do. He’s gonna get it done, but still … I can tell you this, there’s not a university in the country that wouldn’t want him to represent their university, the way he conducts himself. And he’s another guy, like Jim Calhoun, that truly, truly loves the University of Connecticut.”

Barnes continued: “We were out recruiting yesterday. I said to him, ‘I’m happy for you, because you’re the perfect guy, but I wish they would have done things different.’ And he immediately said, ‘Hey, this is a great opportunity. I appreciate them giving me this opportunity.’ That tells you all you need to know. He could have gone the other way, but he didn’t … that right there, as much as anything, tells you how loyal he is. I don’t think you could find a coach that wouldn’t say he’d wish he’d have a four or five-year (contract).”

Barnes confirmed one of my favorite Calhoun stories of all time: that UConn recruited both Austin Croshere and Travis Knight, got Knight but not Croshere, and every time Croshere hit a 3-pointer against the Huskies, Calhoun would turn to his assistants and yell, "Wrong guy!"

But he also told me this story: After Barnes' Longhorns had beaten UConn in the Elite Eight in 2003, Calhoun sent Barnes a letter (not an email, a letter) a couple of days later.

"I got a great, great letter from him," Barnes recalled. "He told me how much he hated losing, and said, ‘I want you to know that I’m extremely happy for you.’ It was one of those letters where when you read it … I felt he meant it, because he knew that we both had some tough jobs along the way."

Statement from UConn Basketball Coach Jim Calhoun:

“Dave will be missed incredibly by me as a mentor and friend. He was always such a big picture guy and he has done more for the sport of basketball than anyone in my lifetime. His impact on athletics in the Eastern part of the country is immeasurable and the BIG EAST Conference, created through his vision and foresight, has taken all of us to a place that we never could have imagined.

It is especially sad, considering today is certainly one of those days, with everything in the news about our league, I would love nothing more than to call him and ask him simply, 'what do you think and what should we do.' Sadly, we cannot do that.”

Personally, I'll never forget when UConn hosted Texas two seasons ago at Gampel Pavilion, and Gavitt was in attendance. He was recognized during a timeout and received a nice ovation from the crowd, most of whom may not have realized how instrumental he was to the Big East's success (or what poor health he was in at the time).

After the game, Texas coach Rick Barnes -- whose team had just suffered a disheartening loss -- was moved to tears just talking about how nice it was to be able to see Gavitt earlier that day and talk to him briefly.

"Obviously, we want to win basketball games," Barnes, his voice breaking and his eyes welling with tears, said during his postgame presser, "but coming up here today and having a chance to see Dave Gavitt is everything. I'd take a loss to see him."

People like Barnes -- a former coach at Providence, where Gavitt had his greatest success as a coach and where he later mentored Barnes -- and, obviously, Calhoun, realize what a great and important man Gavitt was in the history of college basketball.

He will be greatly missed.

Well … didn't see that one coming. Especially after a first half that, at times, appeared to be men vs. boys – with Texas playing the roll of men.

Then came a second half that few – and certainly not this prognosticator – could have seen coming.

Admit it, after UConn committed 16 first-half turnovers, then Stanley Robinson threw away the inbounds pass to start the second half (leading to an Avery Bradley dunk that gave Texas a 10-point lead), you didn't really believe the Huskies would pull off the comeback, did you?

"We went at them at halftime, (turnovers are) pretty much all we talked about," said George Blaney. "Then the first play of the second half we turned it over. I called a timeout and said, 'What did we just spend 10 minutes on?'"

And even if you did call it, you couldn't have possibly predicted it would be as thorough and impressive as it was, with the outcome determined with 6 ½ minutes left following a head-spinning, 26-6 Husky run.

"We should have kept smacking them in the face and playing hard," said Bradley. "But we let them back in it in the second half."

They sure did. And I'm out of the prediction business. In the words of Arthur Fonzarelli, I was wr-wr-wr-wr-wr ...

***Nobody had a better second-half redemption than Kemba Walker. He had six of UConn's first-half turnovers, including four within the game's first five minutes. In the latter half, Walker had 17 points and just two turnovers. He finished with 19 points, 10 assists and six steals.


"That was probably the worst first half I've ever played in my life," Walker confessed. "I was a little bit too hyped. In the second half, I came out poised and in control."

Walker hit a long trey with 6:17 left to give UConn a 71-58 lead, then waxed some Husky history afterwards.

"When it went in, all I could think about was when Taliek Brown hit that shot," Walker said, referring to Brown's 35-foot heave with 35 seconds left in double-overtime of UConn's Big East tourney championship game win over Pitt in 2002.

What did Blaney say to Walker at halftime?

"I told him, 'Don't turn the ball over,'" Blaney said. "I'm serious. I told him another time, 'Go tell Alex (Oriakhi) to make two foul shots.' He looked at me like I'm crazy, and I said, 'Go tell him.' And he did, and he made them. Then, when Kemba missed one, I said, 'Kemba, ask Alex to tell you to make a foul shot.'"

***And Jerome Dyson … oh, Dyson. He had a career-high 32 points on one big basket after another, including four 3-pointers.

"He's not Ray Allen, Ray's a pure shooter," said Blaney. "Jerome's a scorer. You put Jerome in any game, he's going to score points: foul line, drives, steals, dunks, everything. He's not what you would call a shooter, but he can make shots if he would just concentrate a little bit more."


But perhaps Walker said it best.

"'Rome was just 'Rome," the sophomore point guard noted. "That's what 'Rome does."

***Of all the game's numerical stats, however, the most important one didn't show up in the final box score: Three. As in, the number of times freshman Ater Majok dove to the floor for loose balls in the first half.

Majok was back in the starting lineup after usurping the spot to Charles Okwandu the past two games, and his hustle plays truly inspired the Huskies. Early on, he hit the floor for a loose ball and got the ball to Dyson at midcourt. Dyson fired up a long alley-oop pass to Robinson for a dunk.


"The play he made in the first half, going on the floor for that loose ball was something that got everybody's motor going," said Blaney.

Added Gavin Edwards: "That was a huge play. That kind of set the tone for the energy that everybody had to play with. Once everybody saw that, everybody got excited and knew that was how we were going to have to play."

Majok would cause two more jump-ball situations later in the half with hustle plays. He wound up with five points, six boards and four blocks in a career-high 31 minutes, but Majok's contributions went far beyond the stat line.

"I'm not the scorer on the team yet, I'm not the best rebounder," Majok said. "But hey, if they need an energy man, I'm going to be that energy man. I'm going to bring that energy, bring that heart. You've just got to keep working."

***Jim Calhoun spoke to his team via Blaney's cell phone in the locker room after the game.

"He was excited," Blaney said. "He told them how tough they were, and how he believed all along in their heart, never questioned their heart. When you're 10 down to the No. 1 team in the country and come back and go 10 up in a short period of time, that is hard. The kids were all excited, yelling at the phone, 'Hurry up back, Coach. Get well.' He sounded very good."

"We've got to play for him," said Dyson. "We know these wins help him get better, because it takes some of the stress off him, having to worry about us.You could tell through the phone that he was happy and proud of us."

Blaney was asked how much he's had to do with the two wins he's coached since Calhoun's medical leave of absence.

"I think I've had a lot to do with it. I've done exactly what Jim would want me to do, with his team. He prepared the players to play this way. His teams have always gotten better in January. That's when you run offense better, because offense is so hard to teach. That's something he's always done."

***In a gesture to thank the hundreds of students who slept outside of Gampel to get good seats for the game, Blaney invited about 300-400 students inside the gym for Saturday morning's shootaround.

***UConn is now 2-6 all-time against No. 1-ranked teams, its other win over Duke in the 1999 national title game. The Longhorns, however, won't be ranked No. 1 come Monday.

***Big East founder Dave Gavitt, who has been battling health issues, was in the crowd and acknowledged on the big screen during a break in the action. Texas coach Rick Barnes, who was mentored by Gavitt when Barnes coached at Providence, got very emotional after the game.

"Obviously, we want to win basketball games," said Barnes, his voice breaking and his eyes welling with tears, "but coming up here today and having a chance to see Dave Gavitt is everything. I'd take a loss to see him."