Connecticut 96, Virginia Tech 60
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 1/28/04
Blacksburg, VA -- With 5:21 left in the first half, the Hokies went on a 5-0 run to close this game to 26-20, UConn leading. The crowd of 7,908, the largest of the season in Cassell Coliseum, was rocking, and the Hokies were giving the #6 Huskies a run for their money.
Then UConn went to town, scoring 70 points in the next 25 minutes and dealing seriously outmanned Virginia Tech their worst-ever loss in Cassell Coliseum, 96-60. The 36 point margin of victory exceeds a 30-point win that Temple hung on the Hokies in 1999, when the Owls beat Tech 78-48.
VT got off to a bad start in this one, hitting just one of their first 11 shots and falling behind 14-3. But the Hokies recovered and used a couple of runs to close it to 26-20, before UConn exploded. The Huskies' Rashad Anderson, who scored 26 points in just 20 minutes, hit three 3-pointers between the five-minute mark and intermission, and UConn led 44-27 at the half.
When the second half started, Connecticut just continued to pour it on, scoring 52 points in the second half, the most in a half against the Hokies since this same UConn team scored 56 in the second half of a 95-70 win over Tech on January 10, 2002.
Nasty stats abound:
- The Huskies shot 60% (36-of-60) for the game.
- UConn hit 13-of-23 (56.5%) from 3-point range, including 6-of-9 by Anderson.
- UConn outrebounded Tech 45-30.
- The Hokies were outscored 23-8 on fast break points.
- Connecticut's bench, led by Anderson, outscored Tech's bench 42-16.
VT was led by Bryant Matthews, as usual, with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Markus Sailes added 10 points, but no other Hokies scored in double figures, on a night where VT shot just 30.8% (20-of-65) from the field.
Prior to the game, VT reserves Shawn Harris and Fabian Davis were suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. In the good news category, Jamon Gordon returned to action for the first time since the ECU game, scoring 5 points in 21 minutes.
The Hokies fall to below .500 for the first time this season, at 8-9 (1-5 Big East). Their next game is Saturday, on the road at Syracuse, at 7 p.m. The game will be televised -- click here for more info and check local listings.
================================================================================
Connecticut 96, Virginia Tech 60
1/28/04, Blacksburg, VA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UConn......................... 44 52 96
Virginia Tech................. 27 33 60
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONNECTICUT (16-3, 4-1)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
D Brown 25 2-6 1-2 3-10 2 3 6
E Okafor 30 6-8 4-8 2-11 0 3 16
J Boone 22 3-6 0-1 3-5 1 1 6
B Gordon 30 7-10 4-4 0-6 4 2 22
T Brown 35 2-5 0-2 1-3 11 2 4
R Swaller 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
C Villanueva 21 5-10 0-0 2-4 0 5 12
H Armstrong 7 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 1 2
J Baisch 2 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 2
S Tooles 5 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
R Anderson 20 9-12 2-2 0-2 1 1 26
J Evanovich 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 36-60 11-19 12-44 20 19 96
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.600, FT-.579. 3-Point Goals:
13-23, .565 (D Brown 1-4, B Gordon 4-6, C
Villanueva 2-4, R Anderson 6-9). Team
Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 7 (E Okafor 4, D
Brown, J Boone, C Villanueva). Turnovers: 18
(B Gordon 5, D Brown 4, T Brown 3, E Okafor
3, H Armstrong 2, C Villanueva). Steals: 5 (E
Okafor 2, B Gordon, R Anderson, C
Villanueva).
VIRGINIA TECH (8-9, 1-5)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
A Calloway 21 0-5 0-0 1-2 0 2 0
B Matthews 31 6-13 10-14 3-7 1 4 25
C Collins 24 2-9 0-0 3-6 1 0 4
Z Dowdell 31 2-9 1-2 1-3 3 2 5
M Sailes 27 4-8 2-4 3-5 1 1 10
J Gordon 21 2-6 0-0 1-1 1 3 5
B Randall 18 1-4 2-3 0-0 2 2 5
B Ritchie 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
M Lattimore 3 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0
P McCandies 19 3-9 0-0 2-3 0 3 6
C Tucker 3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 20-65 15-23 15-28 9 17 60
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.308, FT-.652. 3-Point Goals:
5-17, .294 (B Matthews 3-3, C Collins 0-2, Z
Dowdell 0-4, M Sailes 0-2, J Gordon 1-3, B
Randall 1-3). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked
Shots: 1 (P McCandies). Turnovers: 12 (M
Sailes 3, Z Dowdell 3, B Matthews 2, P
McCandies 2, A Calloway, J Gordon). Steals: 9
(B Matthews 3, M Sailes 2, P McCandies, J
Gordon, B Ritchie, B Randall).
-----------------------------------
CONNECTICUT 44 52 - 96
VIRGINIA TECH 27 33 - 60
-----------------------------------
Technical fouls: None. A: 7,908. Officials: Andre
Pittillo, Jim Haney, Tony Greene
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results