HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun says he still gets butterflies before games, even when playing a team like Bryant.
Calhoun earned his 780th career victory Saturday as his No. 2 Huskies (6-0) routed the Bulldogs 88-58. The win moved Calhoun into a tie with Lou Henson and Lute Olson for eighth place on the all-time list.
“If I’m still excited about it and still got a little something going through my stomach, which I do, before Bryant, then I think (the players) should,” Calhoun said. “I would like them to share that experience, because you don’t know when that will be taken away from you or just ends, your career ends.”
Hasheem Thabeet had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead five Huskies in double figures. Craig Austrie scored 15, A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien each had 14, and Jerome Dyson added 11 for UConn.
Cecil Gresham, who is from the Hartford suburb of Bloomfield, hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range and had 19 points to lead Bryant (1-3), which is playing its first season in Division I.
Coach Tim O’Shea said he’s hopeful the exposure of playing UConn will introduce more people to the little Rhode Island school, so they’ll stop mistaking it for “Bear Bryant University in Alabama or something.”
“This is all part of branding ourselves as a Division I program,” he said. “For me, it’s tremendously exciting.”
Connecticut was coming off winning the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands with back-to-back victories over No. 23 Miami and No. 25 Wisconsin.
But the Huskies came out sluggish against Bryant, which led 15-14 eight minutes in. Austrie responded with a pair of short jumpers and UConn never trailed again.
“I felt like we came out flat,” Austrie said. “It happens to the best of them. But the good thing is that we turned it around and stomped on them.”
Top 25 men
No. 13 UCLA 89, FIU 54
LOS ANGELES — Freshman guard Jrue Holiday scored 20 points and UCLA cruised to the win. Darren Collison added 11 points, seven assists and four rebounds for UCLA (4-1). Michael Roll made all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with 11 points.
Dayton 89, No. 15 Marquette 75
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Rob Lowery scored a career-high 21 points and Dayton used its depth and quickness to win the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
No. 16 Xavier 60, Miami (OH) 53
CINCINNATI — Derrick Brown scored a career-high 23 points Saturday, and Xavier stayed unbeaten.
No. 20 Villanova 78,
Rhode Island 65
PHILADELPHIA — Dante Cunningham had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Villanova beat Rhode Island in the championship game of the Philly Classic.
No. 22 Miami 79, Stetson 65
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Cyrus McGowan scored 14 points to lead Miami to the win.
No. 25 Wisconsin 67,
Wis.-Milwaukee 46
MADISON, Wis. — Trevon Hughes scored 16 points and Joe Krabbenhoft added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wisconsin.
Pac-10 men
Stanford 76, Colorado 62
STANFORD, Calif. — Josh Owens scored a career-high 21 points to help Stanford beat Colorado to remain undefeated under first-year coach Johnny Dawkins. Lawrence Hill added 16 points as the Cardinal (4-0) won their third straight at home. Anthony Goods had 15 points as Stanford beat Colorado for the third consecutive time. Owens matched his career high with 8 rebounds.
Florida State 80, Cal 77
LAS VEGAS — Toney Douglas had a game-high 28 points and Uche Echefu added 17 points to lead Florida State to a victory against California in the championship game of the Global Sports Classic. After trailing by double digits for most of the second half, California (5-1) rallied in the closing minutes to cut the deficit to two points with eight seconds to play.
Local men
Western 96, Northwest 76
BELLINGHAM — Lakewood High School grad Anthony Wiederkehr had six points and two rebounds for Western Washington University in its non-conference win over Northwest University.
Portland State 81, Seattle 67
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Mountlake Terrace High School alums Mike Boxley and Leigh Swanson combined for nine points and six rebounds for Seattle in its loss at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout.
EvCC 92, Gray’s Harbor CC 83
LONGVIEW — Chris Grounds scored 43 points and contributed 10 assists to lead the Trojans (1-2 overall) to the win in the Lower Columbia CC Tournament. Matt Boyd had nine rebounds and 10 points and Nate Holehenrichs had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Everett, which plays for third place today.
Saint Martin’s 84, Cameron 73
BELLINGHAM — Meadowdale High School alum Jake Linton scored a game-high 22 points to lead Saint Martin’s University to a victory over Cameron University. Saint Martin’s, which had all five starters score in double figures, improved to 8-2 with its seventh straight victory.
SF State 70, SPU 65
SEASIDE, Calif. — Shorewood High School alum Rob Diederichs had four points and four rebounds for Seattle Pacific in its loss at the Otter Classic.
Local women
Douglas 57, Everett CC 50
EVERETT — Kelsey Olson recorded a double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds and Lake Stevens alumnus Karissa Tri added 15 points and five assists, but EvCC couldn’t get the non-conference victory, falling to 0-2 on the season.
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