The New York Times-20080127-Short-Handed on Road- Connecticut Beats No- 7 Indiana

Return to: The_New_York_Times-20080127

Short-Handed on Road, Connecticut Beats No. 7 Indiana

Full Text (755  words)

A day after he suspended two guards for violating team rules, Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun watched the Huskies turn in their grittiest performance of the season and pull off an improbable 68-63 victory at No. 7 Indiana.

Calhoun said the victory meant as much as any since he won his second national championship in 2004.

To do what we did is certainly the greatest I've had and it's going to get up there since the national championship team beat Georgia Tech, he said. Quite frankly, they deserve more than a hug from me. They deserve one from the state of Connecticut, from the university, from our fans.

Less than 24 hours before tipoff, Calhoun learned that Jerome Dyson, a starter, and Doug Wiggins, a backup, had violated team rules. Calhoun would not say what the players did, but when he got the details, he decided to leave the players at home.

It appeared the loss of Dyson and Wiggins would doom UConn (14-5) against an Indiana team that had won 13 consecutive games over all and 29 in a row at home.

But UConn dominated the middle, outscoring Indiana, 34-16, in the lane and holding a 44-28 rebounding advantage. And when the Huskies needed to seal the game, Craig Austrie, Dyson's replacement, made six free throws in the final minute. Five Huskies scored in double figures, led by Austrie's 15 points.

The Hoosiers (17-2) had not lost a game since Nov. 24, and had not lost at home since Feb. 11, 2006.

RUTGERS 77, PITTSBURGH 64 Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn led Rutgers's decisive second-half run as the visiting Scarlet Knights pulled off their second consecutive upset of a ranked team by stunning No. 13 Pittsburgh.

Chandler scored 18 points and Coburn had 17 and led a game-altering 20-2 run in the second half as Rutgers (10-11, 2-6) handed Pittsburgh (16-4, 4-3) its biggest upset loss in conference play in Jamie Dixon's five seasons as the coach.

Pittsburgh, which was 11-0 at home this season and had won its previous 13 there, had beaten Rutgers eight consecutive times. The Scarlet Knights were 0-7 in Pittsburgh since last winning there in 1996, during their first season in the conference.

Rutgers, which had lost its last 11 road games against ranked opponents and was 1-7 away from home this season, followed up its 80-68 victory against No. 18 Villanova on Wednesday night.

LOUISVILLE 67, ST. JOHN'S 57 Derrick Caracter scored 17 points and Terrence Williams flirted with his third triple-double of the season with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists as Louisville (15-5, 5-2 Big East) beat visiting St. John's (7-11, 1-6), which lost its fifth consecutive game.

Anthony Mason Jr. led St. John's, tying a career high with 29 points, but he received little help. Mason made 10 of 21 field goals, including 7 of 11 3-pointers. The rest of the team was 7 of 32 from the field.

CHARLOTTE 74, FORDHAM 60 Lamont Mack scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to help Charlotte (13-6, 4-1 Atlantic-10) defeat visiting Fordham (8-9, 2-3).

CORNELL 72, COLUMBIA 54 Adam Gore scored 17 points, 14 in the first half, as Cornell (10-7, 2-0 Ivy League) rolled to a victory at Columbia (7-10, 0-2).

LOYOLA (MD.) 79, MANHATTAN 60 Marquis Sullivan scored 23 points to help visiting Loyola of Maryland (11-10, 7-3 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) defeat Manhattan (8-12, 2-8).

MOUNT ST. MARY'S 80, L.I.U. 66 Jeremy Goode scored 17 points to lead Mount St. Mary's (9-11, 5-4 Northeast Conference) to a victory at Long Island University (10-9, 2-6).

TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN 54, N.J.I.T. 42 Texas-Pan American (13-10) defeated the New Jersey Institute of Technology (0-21), extending the Highlanders' losing streak to 25 games.

IN OTHER GAMES Damon Huffman had 23 points to lead Brown (9-7, 1-1 Ivy League) to a 77-68 victory against visiting Yale (7-9, 1-1). ... Jeremy Chappell and Tony Lee each scored 21 points to lead host Robert Morris (15-6, 6-2 NEC) to an 83-78 victory against St. Francis of Brooklyn (5-16, 2-8). ... Antoine Agudio scored 32 points to lead Hofstra (5-13, 3-6 Colonial Athletic Association) to a 70-65 victory at Northeastern (7-12, 3-6). ... Sacred Heart (11-10, 8-2 NEC) did not have a field goal for the final 4:12 but secured a 75-74 victory against visiting Quinnipiac (10-9, 6-2).

[Illustration]PHOTO: Corey Chandler of Rutgers shooting over Tyrell Biggs of Pittsburgh in the second half of the Scarlet Knights' 77-64 win against the No. 13 Panthers. (PHOTOGRAPH BY KEITH SRAKOCIC/ASSOCIATED PRESS)