Ollie looking for better effort from UConn against Memphis

The Huskies led by eight with as little as 6:05 to play, but Memphis bullied its way into the lead, thanks to a barrage of free throws (mostly by Shaq Goodwin) along with some shaky play by UConn on offense. “More in the second half, we did that”. At one point, Daniel Hamilton – already struggling through a God-awful shooting night – tried to throw a lob pass to Rodney Purvis.

But free throws would get UConn back on top, and with just under 3 seconds left, Dedric Lawson was unable to get a shot off to possibly tie the game and send it into overtime. “I hadn’t been shooting the ball well”.

“It’s a testament to who they are”, Hughey said. Memphis inbounded the ball and got a good look at a 3-pointer, but Lawson’s shot was way off the mark.

Memphis (10-5, 1-1 American) played more zone than it has recently in part because its big men were in heavy foul trouble.

Trahson Burrell made a 3-pointer to get Memphis within two points at 80-78 with 2.3 seconds left. “I think that run put everyone at ease”. There’s no way we should shoot two free throws in a half against Temple. Goodwin was tagged with fouls on consecutive plays with just under eight minutes left.

The Huskies have only one other player ranked in the top 20 in the AAC in rebounding in graduate transfer Shonn Miller (Cornell), who’s averaging 5.5 boards per game. “If we don’t get back in transition, it’s not going to be a game”.

Even after picking up his fourth foul, however, Goodwin returned to the game after only a brief absence and scored nine of the Tigers’ next 12 points.

“This was a good win”, coach Josh Pastner said.

Adding another high-profile addition to its non-conference schedule, Oklahoma women’s basketball announced Thursday that it will play a four-year, home-and-home series with three-time defending national champion CT starting in 2017.

Goodwin, coming off a one-game suspension, had two early dunks for Memphis, but also two early fouls and played just four minutes before intermission. Stewart had five points in the half-ending spurt, including UConn’s first 3-pointer of the game, and finished the half with 11 points. UConn leads the all-time series 10-0. Hamilton is 4-for-24 from the field over his last two games. Kentan Facey, with seven points, five rebounds and five blocks – “Amida blocks”, Kevin Ollie called them – did a nice job inside and Phil Nolan, given 16 meaningful minutes, played like a veteran.