University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Gear Up for Iona on Saturday
12/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Upon returning to the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press’ Weekly poll, the UConn men’s basketball team will face off against Iona on Saturday, December 20. Game time is set for 12 noon at the Hartford Civic Center and will be televised locally on WTXX-20.
Connecticut returned to No. 1 in the AP poll and is at No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches’ poll behind Kentucky. The Huskies were ranked No. 1 for the first two weeks of the season, but fell from the top after losing to Georgia Tech in the Preseason NIT semifinals. The Huskies are 8-1 on the season, and come off an 88-55 win over in-state opponent Quinnipiac on December 13.
Junior Emeka Okafor is averaging 16.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.7 blocks per game on the season, while having three double-doubles and a triple-double. He missed his first start in 74 previous games against Quinnipiac with back spasms, but is expected to play in the Iona game. “I am feeling decent, a little sore. But with any injury you come off of, I was trying to work through it and get ready for tomorrow,” said Okafor on his injured back. “It is definitely feeling good, after resting it for a week. I did a lot of pool work, and abs stuff, a little shooting and worked my way back into practice.”
The Gaels enter Saturday’s contest with a season’s record of 2-4, and have already begun Metro Atlantic Conference action at an even 1-1. Iona has taken wins over Vermont (56-53) and Loyola (77-60), and most recently had dropped its last two games at Rider (67-88) and at St. Bonaventure (62-65). The last time Iona played a ranked opponent, the Gaels defeated No. 22 North Carolina, 65-56, on December 27, 2002 in the first round of the Foot Locker/MSG Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden. Currently, the Gaels are 2-1 against ranked opponents all-time.
“I don’t know, but Jeff (Ruland) knows why they are 2-4. Their talent certainly speaks for the fact that they are going to be better. Once again teams do get off to a rough start to begin the season,” said UConn head coach Jim Calhoun.
A former All-America at Iona, Jeff Ruland is in his sixth season at the helm of the Gaels. He is just 10 games shy of his 100th victory at Iona, and would become the third head coach in program history to reach the feat. In his six-years at Iona, Ruland holds a 90-70 overall coaching record.
A transfer from Syracuse University, senior guard DeShaun Williams leads the Gaels in scoring for the 2003-04 season. He averages 13.3 points per game and has grabbed 36 total rebounds. While at Syracuse, Williams averaged 9.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in three contests against the Huskies. Classmate Greg Jenkins leads Iona in both offensive and defensive rebounds, with 15 and 32, respectively, averaging 7.8 boards per game. He also has a team-best 11 rebounds.
“As far as Iona, DeShaun Williams scored pretty easily against us at Syracuse, and he’s a good player. Greg Jenkins is also a good player, we like their guards and our kids all know them well”, said Calhoun. “They (Iona) have enough talent, but they have struggled through the early part of the season… We have enough respect knowing the fact that we need to step up and call them talent, because they are bigger than teams we have played recently.”
Saturday’s game marks the third meeting between Connecticut and Iona dating back to the 1984-85 season. The last time the two teams faced off was in the first round of the 1997 NIT, with the Huskies winning 71-66, on March 12 in Storrs. In a regular season meeting on December 29, 1984, in the first round of the Connecticut Mutual Classic at the Hartford Civic Center, Iona was victorious with the 55-54 win.
Connecticut had a career night against the Bobcats with several Huskies making a mark on career-best performances. Sophomore Hilton Armstrong started the game and recorded the first double-double of his career. He had a career-high and game-best 12 rebounds, and came within one of his career-best with 11 points on the evening. He also added a career-high four blocks. Also setting a career mark for rebounds was sophomore Denham Brown, who snared 11. Senior Taliek Brown scored six points, dished out a game-high eight assists and committed just one turnover. He now has 514 assists at UConn, moving past Ricky Moore into 5th place on the school career assist list.
