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UCONN Men Win The BIG EAST Tournament As Ben Gordon Earns MVP

As shown on SI.com on March 14th - Full story

Also:
UConn dethrones Pitt - PittsburghLive.com
UConn Overcomes Villanueva Void - CTNow.com
No denying Okafor on this night - New Haven Register
Gordon rallies Connecticut to Big East tournament title - Courier News

UCONN Men 61 - Pittsburgh 58

As reported on UCONNHuskies.com on March 13th - Full story

Junior guard Ben Gordon scored a game-high 23 points, made the game-winning shot and was named the winner of the David R. Gavitt Most Valuable Player Award as the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team posted a 61-58 win over Pittsburgh in the championship game of the 2004 BIG EAST Championship at Madison Square Garden.

The title is the sixth BIG EAST tournament title in UConn history tying the Huskies with Georgetown for most tournament championships. The Huskies improve to 27-6 on the season and earn the BIG EAST’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. UConn now awaits its tournament fate as the field of 65 will be announced Sunday night. Pittsburgh now has a 29-4 record.

Gordon finished the tournament with 81 points in three games – besting the mark of 79 set by Allen Iverson during the 1996 event. Gordon has now scored 184 career BIG EAST tournament points, trailing only Chris Mullin of St. John’s, Sherman Douglas of Syracuse and Alonzo Mourning of Georgetown.

Gordon was named to the all-tournament team and was joined on the team by senior guard Taliek Brown. Carl Krauser, Jaron Brown and Chris Taft from Pittsburgh were also named to the team along with Craig Smith of Boston College. In three tournament games, Brown had 22 assists and is now tied for sixth all-time in BIG EAST tournament history with 54.

UConn junior forward and two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year Emeka Okafor returned to the Husky lineup after missing the first two games of the tournament with back spasms. Okafor scored 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the year before fouling out with 2:19 to play and UConn trailing by two 56-54.

Rashad Anderson added 14 points for the Huskies and made two three-point field goals in UConn’s game-ending run.

Boxscore - Sportsline.com

Also:
Ben there: UConn, Pitt meet for title again - New Haven Register
Big East: It's business as usual as Pitt, UConn earn final - The Star-Ledger
Pitt, UConn to meet again - The Buffalo News
Pitt faces UConn for Big East title - SFGate.com

Doug Wrenn - Update

As reported on The Manila Bulletin Online on March 13th - Full story

Red Bull will try to parade a new import in Doug Wrenn when the Barako duel with San Miguel this afternoon.

Despite sporting a 2-1 card, Red Bull wants to put an end to its woes as far as acquiring quality reinforcements are concerned and is optimistic the 6-6 former University of Washington standout will turn out to be the last to be brought in.

Wrenn, originally from Seattle, Washington, "has Ray Allen skills and Richard Hamilton-type scoring ability" according to ESPN.com. but Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao would only decide to pop open a bottle of champagne after their game with star-studded SMB.

The 24-year-old Wrenn replaces Bingo Merriex, who was unimpressive in his two outings for the team. Merriex was taken in as replacement for Carlos Wheeler, who only saw action for one game.

Wrenn has also been described as being "very aggressive, intense and competitive, apart from being a "physical specimen."

Rizzotti Looks For Veterans To Step Up

As reported on CTNow.com on March 13th - Full story

When the Hartford women's basketball team tips off next fall, the starting lineup and rotation could be vastly different.

The Hawks (18-12) set a school record for victories in a season, had a nine-game winning streak, received votes in a national weekly poll for the first time and sophomore Erika Messam and freshman Ikea Witt were named to All-America East teams.

But the Hawks lost nine of their last 11 games, and coach Jen Rizzotti blames immaturity. The Hawks lose only senior Bridget Murray and have five freshmen coming in, which on paper is her best freshman class. That will make for serious competition for the 10 returning players.

Rizzotti won't go into the season with a preset idea of a lineup.

Also:
Playing second fiddle - Bristol Press

Men's Alumni - Update - Ray Allen Scores 26

Games of March 13th:

Jake Voskuhl: 14 minutes, 1-3 FGs, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 points for the Suns in 113-90 loss to Dallas.
Cliff Robinson: 22 minutes, 2-6 FGs, 0 rebounds, 2 assists and 7 points for the Warriors in a 102-84 loss to New Orleans.
Ray Allen: 38 minutes, 11-21 FGs, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 26 points for the Supersonics in a 115-101 win over Orlando.

UCONN Men 84 - Villanova 67

As reported on UCONNHuskies.com on March 12th - Full story

Junior guard Ben Gordon scored 29 points for the second-straight night and sophomore guard Rashad Anderson added 19 as the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team posted an 84-67 win over Villanova on Friday night in the semifinals of the 2004 BIG EAST Championship at Madison Square Garden.

The win by the Huskies sets up a Connecticut vs. Pittsburgh championship game for the third year in a row as the Huskies won the title in 2002 and the Panthers were victorious in ’03.

Husky All-American and two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year Emeka Okafor missed his second-straight game due to a stress fracture in his back.

Senior guard Taliek Brown dished out 10 assists in the game to break both the UConn career and single-season record. Brown now has 683 career assists, besting the record of Tate George with 677 from 1987-90 while his 214 assists this season top the mark of 212 by Kevin Ollie in 1994-95 and Doron Sheffer in 1995-96.

Brown added 11 points in the win for his first double-double of the season and now has 12 double-figure assists games – a school record.

Freshman forward Josh Boone posted six block shots in the game – the second highest for a freshman in a BIG EAST tournament game behind Georgetown’s Alzono Mourning with eight in 1989 against Boston College. Boone also had 11 points and 15 rebounds for his third double-double in the last nine games.

Boxscore - UCONNHuskies.com

Also:
CCSU Scheduled To Play UConn - CTNow.com
The Hartford Catches Final Four Fever - prnewswire.com
Soltys Still Known In Northwest Corner For UConn Ties - CTNow.com
Speaking Of Huskies, March Means Packer And Vitale - CTNow.com
Pitt, UConn step it up - Boston.com
Okafor-less UConn cruises past Villanova, into Big East final - c-n.com
Pitt, UConn state cases for top seed in East if Saint Joe's falls out of favor - mcall.com

WNBA Draft Slated For April 17

As reported on USAToday.com on March 12th - Full story

The eighth annual WNBA draft will be held April 17 in Secaucus, New Jersey, the league announced Thursday.

The Phoenix Mercury own the top overall pick after winning the draft lottery on December 3. The Washington Mystics select second, followed by the Charlotte Sting, who acquired the third pick in a trade with the Indiana Fever.

The Connecticut Sun have the fourth and eighth selections, with the New York Liberty, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx and Sacramento Monarchs rounding out the top 10. The defending champion Detroit Shock have picks 11 and 13, with the Los Angeles Sparks selecting 12th.

University of Connecticut forward Diana Taurasi heads this year's draft class along with Duke guard-forward Alana Beard.

Also:
Ball is sure to be in Taurasi's hands - Journal Inquirer
Rare moments of perfection memorable - kaleo.org

Men's Alumni - Update

Games of March 12th:

Caron Butler: 18 minutes, 2-5 FGs, 0 rebounds, 1 assist and 4 points for the Heat in a 82-74 win over Seattle.
Ray Allen: 32 minutes, 5-17 FGs, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 16 points for the Supersonics in a 82-74 loss to Miami.
Jake Voskuhl: 28 minutes, 2-2 FGs, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 points for the Suns in 99-90 loss to Utah.
Cliff Robinson: 32 minutes, 8-17 FGs, 1 rebound, 0 assists and 19 points for the Warriors in a 99-74 loss to San Antonio.

Games of March 11th:

No Huskie Alumni were in action.

UCONN Men 66 - Notre Dame 58

As reported on UCONNHuskies.con on March 11th - Full story

Junior guard Ben Gordon scored 29 points and freshman forward Josh Boone had a career-high 16 rebounds as the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team defeated Notre Dame by a 66-58 score in a quarterfinal game of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The Huskies were playing without leading scorer and All-American Emeka Okafor, who is suffering from a stress fracture in his back. His status is considered day-to-day.

Freshman forward Charlie Villaneuva had 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and played a career-high 32 minutes of game time. Gordon was 9-of-24 from the field which set a career-high in field goals attempted for the junior guard.

Boxscore - UCONNHuskies.com

Also:
UConn rises up without Okafor - The Star-Ledger
NCAA Game Summary - Notre Dame vs. Connecticut - Basket-Ball.com

UCONN Cheerleaders