University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head Back from Break to Face Ball State
12/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STORRS, CT (December 26) – The UConn men’s basketball team remained in the No. 1 position in the Associated Press poll this week and head into Sunday’s game against Ball State with an 8-1 overall record, having won the last five games. UConn has been home for the entire month of December and will close it out with two games in three days, Sunday against Ball State and Tuesday against Massachusetts.
Leading the Huskies in several statistical categories, Gordon is ahead of the game. He is averaging 19.1 points per game, he has 19 steals and is 31-for-39 from the free-throw line, a team-best .795 percentage. Okafor has a team-high 88 rebounds, 11 per game, and has blocked 39 opponent shots, while Taliek Brown has assisted on 52 baskets this season.
Ball State enter Sunday’s game with an overall record of 3-4 on the season. The game will be the last non-conference contest for the Cardinals before they start their Mid-American Conference schedule against Kent State on January 3. Ball State is coached by fourth-year head coach and former Cardinal assistant Tim Buckley. He holds an overall coaching record of 107-97, and notched his 100th-career victory on February 6, 2003 against Ohio.
The Cardinals have lost their last three games, but have claimed three wins against Xavier (75-63), Butler (63-61) and Anderson (83-48). Junior guard Dennis Trammel leads Ball State in scoring averaging 13.2 points per game and is shooting 12-for-14 from the free-throw line for an .857 percentage. Senior forward Peyton Echols grabs 7.0 rebounds per game, and is averaging 7.1 points per game. Also seeing plenty of time is freshman guard Peyton Stovall, who leads the team with 27 assists and 10 steals.
Sunday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between Connecticut and Ball State. The last time Connecticut faced a MAC school during the regular season was the 1993-94 season and in post-season play in 1995-96. The Huskies played Ohio University on December 29, 1993 at the Big Island Invitational in Hilo, Hawaii. On March 16, 1996, Connecticut defeated Eastern Michigan, 95-81, at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Ind. to advance to the NCAA Mideast Region Second Round.
Junior guard Ben Gordon notched his first career triple-double with 17 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in UConn’s win 104-54 win over Iona on December 20. For his effort, Gordon was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week. In the win, sophomore Denham Brown matched his career high with 22 points, while junior Emeka Okafor had a season-high 24 points, one shy of tying his career best. Okafor’s double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, was his 33rd of his career at UConn, and he is now tied for fifth all-time. Freshman Charlie Villanueva also recorded a double-double, the first for him at UConn, with 15 points and a career best 11 rebounds. Lastly, junior Taliek Brown had six points, seven assists and committed only one turnover.
In the UConn men’s basketball programs history, only five triple-doubles have been recorded, two coming during this season. Gordon’s, along with Emeka Okafor, who had 18 points, 15 rebounds and blocked 10 on December 6 against Army. In 2000, Caron Butler had a strong outing on December 26 against Rhode Island notching 14 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists. The last two triple-doubles came against Hartford by Donyell Marshall and Doron Sheffer. Marshall scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked 10 shots on January 17, 1994, while Sheffer recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and had 11 assists on December 30, 1995.
