Storrs, Conn. ? Jim Calhoun needed a way to get his team’s attention after a bad home loss. He simply wrote down the rest of the schedule. It worked like a charm.
Connecticut, coming off a 12-point home loss to Providence, rebounded with its first victory over a ranked opponent in almost two years, 89-73 over No. 13 Marquette on Sunday.
“I just wrote who we had to still play on one side, and then I put the Big East standings on the other,” Calhoun said of what he did before Friday’s practice. “I showed them who we had left and how hard it was going to be.”
It also helped that 7-foot-3 sophomore Hasheem Thabeet had one of his best games at Connecticut. He had 15 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots as the Huskies came up with one their best offensive showings of the season.
“We’re getting better every day, and we always play defense,” Thabeet said. “We had poise today.”
It was the second straight big loss for Marquette, which lost 71-51 to Louisville on Thursday.
No. 8 Washington St. 69, Oregon 60
Pullman, Wash. – Derrick Low scored 27 points, and Washington State rallied to end a 13-game losing skid to Oregon.
Kyle Weaver added 16 points and eight assists for Washington State, which tied Arizona State and UCLA for the league lead.
No. 9 Indiana 81, Penn State 65
Bloomington, Ind. – Eric Gordon scored 25 points, and D.J. White added 22, including nine during a 14-4 second-half run that lifted Indiana.
The Hoosiers won their 27th straight home game and stretched their winning streak this season to 12 games, their longest in 15 years.
No. 11 Michigan State 78, Minnesota 73
Minneapolis – Drew Neitzel emerged from a deep shooting slump and made five three-pointers in the final 20 minutes to lead Michigan State.