STORRS, Conn. _ What an amazing box score for No. 19 UConn Thursday night from a 101-55 victory over Detroit. The Huskies went on a 21-2 tear in the first half to take control of the game and after leading 48-26 at halftime, it was just a matter of watching the columns of the box fill with numbers that were slightly unusual.
— Thirteen UConn players scored. Walk-on Pat Lenehan, who logged three minutes at the end, was the only member of the Huskies to play and not score.
— Six UConn players scored in double figures. Haven’t had time to research that but it has probably been a while since that happened. Omar Calhoun led the way with 17, followed by Niels Giffey with 15 (all in the first half again, oddly enough), Ryan Boatright (12), DeAndre Daniels (11) and Shabazz Napier and Tyler Olander (both with 10).
— UConn scored 100 points for the first time since March 2009, when the Huskies posted 103 against Chattanooga in the first round of the NCAA tournament.Connecticut’s 46 point victory was the first time since 2009 that the Huskies have won by a 40-point margin. It marks the first time the Huskies have done so during coach Kevin Ollie’s tenure.
— The Huskies had 21 assists on 35 baskets. Napier and Boatright had 15 of those assists.Napier moved to ninth all-time in assists with 476 in his Connecticut career. Napier had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists – pretty close to second consecutive triple double – and he only played 22 minutes. “I messed up Shabazz,” Ollie said. “I had to take him out of the game.”
— Ollie questioned his players’ pride after Yale outrebounded UConn Monday. There was no repeat performance. UConn won the boards 49-34. Ollie said the Huskies went through so many rebounding drills, “we could make a rebounding DVD.”
— Amida Brimah has 14 blocks in 53 minutes this season. He is responsible for 12 of 24 UConn blocks on the season and had four against Detroit.
— UConn was called for only 14 fouls. The Huskies seem to be making an adjustment to the new emphasis in officiating.
— The Huskies shot 57.9 percent from three-point range, hitting 11 of 19. Niels Giffey was 5-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point range. For the second straight game he matched a career high with 15 points. He still hasn’t scored in the second-half this season. “Let’s not talk about that,” Giffey said with a smile. “I don’t know, to be honest. I know I can pick it up in the second half. I didn’t force any shots. I’m just trying to be picky with my shot selection.” The fans are now surprised when Giffey misses. “That’s a great thing, right?” he said. “I’ll take it as a compliment.” On the lineup board Thursday night everyone else was listed by last name. For Giffey, it was simply “Niels.” That’s sort of treatment like a rock star or maybe a European soccer hero. “Yeah, I saw that,” he said. “It’s all right. I like that.”
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