STORRS, Conn. — UConn got caught up in something it could not handle Monday night, an onslaught of power and physical play. It was a style of basketball that Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said his team had not seen all season — a style that UConn ordinarily thrives in.
Not on this night. Pittsburgh stormed into the XL Center, threw all its weight at the Huskies and knocked them from the top of the college basketball world. Forceful, opportunistic and smart, the No. 4 Panthers were better at the outset and down the stretch of a 76-68 victory before 16,294.
“I said all week that the tougher team would win,” UConn point guard A.J. Price said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
Calhoun said he felt as if his team were in a foreign land in the second half, and not just because the Huskies, who had won 13 in a row, were trailing most of the game. UConn (24-2, 12-2 Big East) was dismantled on the boards 48-31, outrebounded for the first time in 33 games. The Huskies committed more fouls than their opponent (19-18) for the first time all season. Their post players were overwhelmed. And just when it looked like they might pull it out despite all of this, Levance Fields, who had missed his first eight shots, made two wide-open three-pointers to seal the deal.
“I told them in the huddle we were going to knock down some big shots down the stretch,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “Sure enough, we did.”
DeJuan Blair made up the 6 inches he gave up to 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet with muscle and tenacity. Blair had 22 points and 23 rebounds, one of the best performances in Pitt history.
Versatile forward Sam Young had 25 points for the Panthers (24-2, 11-2), who have won six in a row.
Price led UConn with 18 points, 15 in the first half.
“Everyone was talking about this game,” Dixon said. “It obviously lived up to it, especially in our minds.”
Afterward, Calhoun heaped praise on Blair and Pittsburgh. He also made clear that he was unhappy with how the game was officiated. Still, he acknowledged that sometimes you get caught up in a certain style and, no matter what, you have to perform. UConn did not at key times.
“There are no excuses from me,” Calhoun said. “Someone else should have played better tonight.”
From the beginning, there was no match for Blair. He dominated his high-profile matchup with Thabeet, who fouled out and finished with five points, four rebounds and two blocks. Thabeet, the Big East player of the week the past two weeks, was 1 for 5 and hurt his left elbow when he was flipped over Blair’s back during a tussle for a rebound. The injury wasn’t serious, and he quickly returned.
“I couldn’t get going,” Thabeet said. “You’ve got to be alive from the beginning of the game. If you fall asleep a little bit, he takes advantage of that.”
Just like Fields took advantage of the space he found on the perimeter with the game in the balance. Tied 61-61, Fields made consecutive three-pointers to give Pittsburgh a six-point lead with 2:19 left. Kemba Walker lost him on the first one, Craig Austrie on the second.
“We have not played that sort of game since back in the early 2000s,” Calhoun said. “That’s what was going to be allowed tonight. Quite frankly, Pittsburgh played it well.”
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