Jim Calhoun thinks it’s important for his University of Connecticut Huskies to get out and log a few thousand miles, to places they don’t normally play basketball games.
And because Gonzaga agreed to head East for UConn’s Hall of Fame Showcase game last season, the Huskies held up their end by traveling 2,500 miles to play in tonight’s “Battle in Seattle” at KeyArena.
The game should be the easy part.
Travel was the real battle.
Neither program could get an upper hand on the unexpected heap of snowfall, incurring travel delays and other pitfalls that have made this week’s preparation unusual, to say the least.
But that won’t matter much when the No. 2 Huskies and No. 8 Zags tip off in one of this season’s most highly anticipated nationally televised non-conference matchups.
“This is a great game to cap off (non-conference play) and show we’re ready for the Big East,” Calhoun said. “You beat a Gonzaga, you’re ready for the Big East – physically, you’re ready to play high-quality teams.”
This is Calhoun’s 23rd season at UConn. Never before has he coached a game in Seattle.
At least the Huskies made it to practice Friday at the downtown arena, after they endured issues early in the week.
They played Stony Brook (N.Y.) in a home game Monday – winning, 98-57 – and were supposed to fly out of Hartford on Wednesday so they could have three full days to spend in Seattle.
Instead, their flight was canceled, and the team took a bus to Newark, N.J., for an early- morning flight Thursday.
The team was divided up on two planes – one on a direct flight that landed in Seattle shortly after noon, and another that had a stopover in Phoenix and arrived at SeaTac airport around 3 p.m.
“It was not that bad on the plane,” Huskies center Hasheem Thabeet said.
“We had to ... find any way to get out here, and as long as we got here we’re looking forward to playing the game.”
Calhoun and the group held an early-evening practice at the Furtado Center on Thursday, and got done in time to catch the tail end of Gonzaga’s 84-42 manhandling of winless Texas Southern from Spokane on TV.
“Gonzaga is a good team,” Thabeet said. “We’re looking forward to playing them.”
If he had a less-seasoned team Calhoun might have reconsidered setting up this two-year agreement with Gonzaga in the summer of 2007, even without the travel headaches.
“If you have an all-freshman team, I wouldn’t be out here,” Calhoun said. “We think we have a pretty good basketball team, and it’s great for traveling and testing.”
While the Huskies finished up their light practice early Friday afternoon, they were half-heartedly expecting the Zags to walk through the doors any second after they bundled up and were ready to depart. That never materialized.
Instead, the Zags were grounded in Spokane.
That was coach Mark Few’s worst fear after the game Thursday. The city had been pounded by 20-plus inches of snow, a record in a 24-hour period.
On Friday morning, flights out of Spokane were delayed. Gonzaga didn’t get out of town until midafternoon. Its scheduled practice at KeyArena and a half-hour media interview session were canceled.
The Zags did get in a light workout later Friday.
Few did offer an assessment of his team’s toughest opponent to date after the game Thursday.
“Their athleticism is off the charts,” Few said.
“I mean, they are the most physically imposing team in college basketball with their size and their athleticism. And they can really, really crank up the defense and be really, really hard to score on. They’ve got experience across the board.
“It is a national-championship-caliber team. We’re going to have to play A-plus to get it done. But it’s a great challenge for us. To have it in Seattle, to have it sold out, it’s a great opportunity for us.”
Todd Milles: 253-597-8442
TODAY
No. 2 Connecticut (9-0) vs. No. 8 Gonzaga (8-1) at KeyArena, 1 p.m., Ch. 7
A LOOK BACK
Gonzaga and Connecticut engaged in a memorable NCAA tournament game at the 1999 Elite Eight in Phoenix. Richard Hamilton, now with the Detroit Pistons, scored 21 points as the No. 1-seeded Huskies beat the No. 10 seed Zags, 67-62, in the West regional final en route to their first national title. TOP 10
The game today against second-ranked Connecticut is Gonzaga’s first against a Top 10 team since an 81-73 loss at No. 1 Memphis on Jan. 26. Gonzaga men’s basketball gameday
No. 2 CONNECTICUT (9-0) vs. No. 8 GONZAGA (8-1)
Battle in Seattle, KeyArena
Tipoff: 1 p.m. TV: Ch. 7.
Series: UConn leads, 2-1. The Zags got their first victory at last year’s Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase, 85-82. The Huskies have beaten Gonzaga in the 2005 Maui Invitational championship game (65-63) and in the 1999 NCAA West Regional finals (67-62).
Statistical leaders: For UConn – G Jerome Dyson (15.4 ppg), C Hasheem Thabeet (12.1 rpg) and G A.J. Price (4.0 apg). For Gonzaga – C Josh Heytvelt (15.7 ppg and 6.2 rpg) and G Jeremy Pargo (7.6 apg).
Scouting report: Few programs are more intimidating to face than the Huskies under longtime coach Jim Calhoun. They have led the country in blocked shots per game for seven consecutive seasons, and are at it again behind Thabeet (3.8 blocks a game) – a 7-foot-3 native of Tanzania who has greatly improved his offense. Pair him with forward Jeff Adrien (14.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and UConn boasts one of the best front lines in basketball. Gonzaga’s reserve center Robert Sacre (foot) is expected to miss today’s game, which should produce more playing time for White River product Will Foster. The Zags shoot 37 percent from the 3-point line, and fire one up nearly every three field-goal attempts (189 of 545 FGs).
Next: Tuesday vs. Portland State, 5 p.m., FSN.
Todd Milles, The News Tribune
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