HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Ryan Gomes had 26 points and 12 rebounds to lead Providence to a 66-56 upset of No. 4 Connecticut on Saturday, extending the Friars' winning streak to five games.
The Friars (13-3, 4-1 Big East) are 2-1 against ranked teams this season and handed the Huskies (15-3, 3-1) their first conference loss of the season. They beat then-No. 11 Illinois on Dec. 9, and lost in overtime to No. 16 Texas on Jan. 5.
UConn had few answers for Gomes who was able to score both inside and out.
Emeka Okafor, the only Husky in double figures, led UConn with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Huskies shot 40.7 percent from the field, their second lowest mark of the season. They shot 38 percent in the loss to Georgia Tech on Nov. 26.
UConn guard Ben Gordon finished with just nine points, nine below his average. It was his first game since undergoing surgery Wednesday on his broken nose. Gordon, who had a team-high five turnovers, played with a protective mask.
UConn trailed by six points at halftime and battled back to take a 49-48 lead on Rashad Anderson's 3-pointer with 8:56 left in the game. Gomes picked up his fourth foul on Huskies' next possession, drawing a huge roar from the UConn crowd as he left the game. Taliek Brown went 1-of-2 on the ensuing free throws to extend the UConn margin to three points, but it would be the Huskies' last lead.
Undaunted by Gomes' absence, the Friars went on a 9-2 run, fueled by two 3-pointers from Sheiku Kabba, and UConn never recovered.
Kabba finished with 10 points, while Donnie McGrath led the Friars with seven assists.
The Friars had a season-low six turnovers and their zone defense got the best of UConn early. The Friars had nine steals in the first half, stepping into the passing lanes repeatedly for easy picks. Gomes scored 17 points in the period, getting a number of baskets in transition off UConn turnovers and the Friars led by as much as 22-12 with just under 12 minutes to play.
The Huskies eventually found some seams in the PC zone and scrambled back with a 10-0 run. Okafor led the way with two inside baskets. The Friars countered with a 9-2 run to regain the lead and took a 35-29 halftime lead.
When are people going to realize that uconn sucks.
MarshallWINS Wrote:When are people going to realize that uconn sucks.
THANK YOU!!!
Terpy Wrote:Ryan Gomes is a beast.
Yes he is. Very under-rated.
Terrible loss for UConn.
Technically, they don't suck. They probably have the deepest and best collection of talent in the nation including the nat'l player of the year (Okafor)...BUT...talent doesn't always equal a team. They do suck as a team. Nothing but a bunch of individual players out there doing their own thing.
Oh, and Providence is gonna make some noise in the Big Dance this year. IIRC, they're 13-3 and got jobbed at the end of that Texas game.
JoltinJacket Wrote:Technically, they don't suck. They probably have the deepest and best collection of talent in the nation including the nat'l player of the year (Okafor)...BUT...talent doesn't always equal a team. They do suck as a team. Nothing but a bunch of individual players out there doing their own thing.
Oh, and Providence is gonna make some noise in the Big Dance this year. IIRC, they're 13-3 and got jobbed at the end of that Texas game.
They don't have the deepest or best talent... but they do have 2 of the best 6/7 players in the country in Okafor (NCAA POY) and Ben Gordon... but after that they really don't have much.
And you are right, they don't suck, but they are pretty overrated.
nate jonesacc Wrote:JoltinJacket Wrote:Technically, they don't suck. They probably have the deepest and best collection of talent in the nation including the nat'l player of the year (Okafor)...BUT...talent doesn't always equal a team. They do suck as a team. Nothing but a bunch of individual players out there doing their own thing.
Oh, and Providence is gonna make some noise in the Big Dance this year. IIRC, they're 13-3 and got jobbed at the end of that Texas game.
They don't have the deepest or best talent... but they do have 2 of the best 6/7 players in the country in Okafor (NCAA POY) and Ben Gordon... but after that they really don't have much.
And you are right, they don't suck, but they are pretty overrated.
what about Villanueva, brown, boone (sp?)? they are one step above role players. I don't think UCONN is overrated, i just think they're in a funk.
Nate, why are you so biased? most ACC fans are biased but you're worse. Nobody can criticize Duke or their players, you can only criticize other teams.
UConn is still a top five team in America.
I think I can definitley name 5 teams better than UConn. Duke, Stanford, Louisville, Georgia Tech, and UNC are all better than UConn (the last 2 beat them head to head). I would say Wake is better as well, Mississippi has a legitimate claim as well.
Im not saying that UConn couldnt beat these teams, they very well could, but I think at this point they are all better UConn. Nate has a good point, UConn is immensely talented, but they seem to have trouble playing together. I believe they will pull things together and their talent will work together by the end of the season but right now they are not a top 5 team.
The reason I didnt mention St. Joes is because I don think they have the post players to compete with a team like UConn even though they have the best guard combination in the country. They could beat UConn but it would be a very tough victory.
flyingswoosh Wrote:nate jonesacc Wrote:JoltinJacket Wrote:Technically, they don't suck. They probably have the deepest and best collection of talent in the nation including the nat'l player of the year (Okafor)...BUT...talent doesn't always equal a team. They do suck as a team. Nothing but a bunch of individual players out there doing their own thing.
Oh, and Providence is gonna make some noise in the Big Dance this year. IIRC, they're 13-3 and got jobbed at the end of that Texas game.
They don't have the deepest or best talent... but they do have 2 of the best 6/7 players in the country in Okafor (NCAA POY) and Ben Gordon... but after that they really don't have much.
And you are right, they don't suck, but they are pretty overrated.
what about Villanueva, brown, boone (sp?)? they are one step above role players. I don't think UCONN is overrated, i just think they're in a funk.
Nate, why are you so biased? most ACC fans are biased but you're worse. Nobody can criticize Duke or their players, you can only criticize other teams.
Honestly, I have never seen a player who cared about basketball less than Charlie Villanueva. I saw him play in HS and the first thing that jumped out to me wasn't his skills or athleticism, it was that he just doesn't play hard at all. The man has huge potential... but he hasn't even scratched the surface. Being 6'10 and 235 doesn't make you any good.
Josh Boone is too young to say that he's a consistent threat... He's decent, but nothing to focus your defense on. Same goes with Taliek Brown... He isn't even the guy who gets the offense set up and rolling... Ben Gordon does that.
As for Duke... how is Duke involved in this? I just don't think that UConn is any good (as do many others)... There is no reason for me to be biased for or against UConn.
nate jonesacc Wrote:flyingswoosh Wrote:nate jonesacc Wrote:JoltinJacket Wrote:Technically, they don't suck. They probably have the deepest and best collection of talent in the nation including the nat'l player of the year (Okafor)...BUT...talent doesn't always equal a team. They do suck as a team. Nothing but a bunch of individual players out there doing their own thing.
Oh, and Providence is gonna make some noise in the Big Dance this year. IIRC, they're 13-3 and got jobbed at the end of that Texas game.
They don't have the deepest or best talent... but they do have 2 of the best 6/7 players in the country in Okafor (NCAA POY) and Ben Gordon... but after that they really don't have much.
And you are right, they don't suck, but they are pretty overrated.
what about Villanueva, brown, boone (sp?)? they are one step above role players. I don't think UCONN is overrated, i just think they're in a funk.
Nate, why are you so biased? most ACC fans are biased but you're worse. Nobody can criticize Duke or their players, you can only criticize other teams.
Honestly, I have never seen a player who cared about basketball less than Charlie Villanueva. I saw him play in HS and the first thing that jumped out to me wasn't his skills or athleticism, it was that he just doesn't play hard at all. The man has huge potential... but he hasn't even scratched the surface. Being 6'10 and 235 doesn't make you any good.
Josh Boone is too young to say that he's a consistent threat... He's decent, but nothing to focus your defense on. Same goes with Taliek Brown... He isn't even the guy who gets the offense set up and rolling... Ben Gordon does that.
As for Duke... how is Duke involved in this? I just don't think that UConn is any good (as do many others)... There is no reason for me to be biased for or against UConn.
i wasn't talking about taliek brown. i meant denim (sp?) brown.
Duke is in this because you think every Duke team is the greatest team ever. The way you talk, it seems coach K should be president and all 5 of their starters should poy finalists.
Denham Brown... He's another decent player on UConn but is not the focus of anyone's defense.
This thread has NOTHING to do with Duke... unless you claim to be hijacking it.
not every Duke team. but the 92 team IMO is one of the greatest of all time
Calhoun had a nice news conference afterwards.
hoops13 Wrote:UConn is a top 5 team.
talent, yes.
playing-wise, hell no.
cbfranchise3 Wrote:Calhoun had a nice news conference afterwards.
:laugh: Ain't that the truth...
Quote:This game proved to Huskies coach Jim Calhoun that it was a mistake not to recruit him. Ryan Gomes hails from Waterbury, Conn. When asked why he passed on Gomes, Calhoun broke into a profanity-laced response.
"If you want me to say I ******ed up, I ******ed up," said Calhoun, who pointed out that he recruited some top players in lieu of Gomes, including Caron Butler and Emeka Okafur. "Don't shake your head at me. You asked the ******ing question. I'm saying it for the fifth time, I ******ed up. So, write it five times."