Short-handed UConn pulls upset of No. 7 Hoosiers

Hosting a short-handed Connecticut squad Saturday afternoon, the No. 7 Hoosiers lost their second game of the season, falling 68-63 to the Huskies.\nConnecticut played without guards Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins after Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun suspended the two players Friday afternoon for violating undisclosed team rules. The suspensions left a void in the Huskies’ offensive attack, but Connecticut did not miss a step en route to upsetting the Hoosiers and snapping IU’s 29-game winning streak at Assembly Hall.\nThe Huskies’ effort came as no surprise to IU coach Kelvin Sampson who said he expected Connecticut to rally around the adversity surrounding its team.\n“We’ve been on the other side of this enough to know how big (of a situation) they were in,” Sampson said. “We told our guys we played a game similar to that this year. I thought those guys being out helped us in a way. It kind of brought us together.”\nSampson was referring to the Hoosiers’ 70-51 victory over Kentucky on Dec. 8, when IU played without freshman guard Eric Gordon and sophomore guard Armon Bassett. \nThe Huskies outrebounded, outshot and outhustled the Hoosiers in every facet of the game, according to Sampson. The postgame reactions from Sampson and Calhoun were on opposite ends of the coach-speak spectrum, with Sampson obviously left disappointed in his team Saturday afternoon.\n“I wasn’t proud of our effort,” Sampson said. “That’s what was disgusting to me.”\nCalhoun called the win one of the most memorable in his Hall-of-Fame career, putting it on the same plateau as his two national championship victories over Duke and Georgia Tech.\n“The pride I feel with them and the hugs I gave to them are why athletic competition brings out the things in people that are very special,” Calhoun said.\nThe Connecticut defense stifled the Big Ten’s top-scoring team, holding the Hoosiers 16 points under its season average. The Hoosiers were unable to get to the charity stripe all game, attempting only eight free throws during the contest. Additionally, IU tried to make up for its lack of offense by forcing shots throughout the game, connecting on only 37.1 percent of its shots.\nPart of the stagnant Hoosier offense was due to the interior presence of Connecticut’s 7-foot-3 center, Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet affected the game in many ways, Calhoun said, some that were not evident on the stat sheet.\n“Hasheem Thabeet made two blocks and twenty detour signs,” Calhoun said. “They went in and they left without him ever blocking a shot.” \nHe was particularly effective against senior forward D.J. White, who put up a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds on 5-13 shooting, but only scored four second-half points.\nIn addition to White’s struggles, IU’s leading scorer this season, Gordon, managed only 14 points on mediocre 5-16 shooting.\nBassett, who led the Hoosiers with 18 points, attributed the Hoosiers’ offensive woes to not making the extra pass.\n“Probably for the first time, a couple of us probably played a little selfish, probably took some shots that we haven’t taken all season,” Bassett said.\nThe Hoosiers will have little time to dwell on its loss before preparing for a showdown between two of the top teams in the conferences. IU resumes conference play next Thursday when they head north to face No. 11 Wisconsin on the road.\n“We still have a good team,” Sampson said. “I don’t worry about records. All I am interested in is this team bouncing back (and) learning from our mistakes.”