From the In Case You Care department, Charde Houston has removed her extensions. That means she should see a minute more than she did against LSU, which was 10.

Taking to Geno Auriemma, its becoming more evident that any sense of hope that Houston can contribute is quickly evaporating. A few weeks ago, he had said the key to the season will be the play of Tina Charles, Kaili McLaren and Charde Houston. Thursday, Auriemma revised his expectations and said that the burden fell on Charles and McLaren, his two sophomore post players. Just the mention of Houston and Geno looks ready to pull his eyes out.

DePaul would be a great chance for her to get back into the rotation to a degree. The problem is, if she plays well, it now only adds to the frustration.

The Huskies head out to Chicago for a big matchup with DePaul. While DePaul is not ranked and had a bad shooting/coaching night against Rutgers Wednesday (36 3-point attempts/0 free throws), a win for UConn is vital. If they, and the Scarlet Knights win Saturday, it sets up the game Monday for the conference title.

Now, in the event they finish tied, the tie breakers goes through the head-to-head of UConn and Rutgers against the rest of the Big East. Provided UConn doesn't lose to DePaul, the tie breaker lies with West Virginia, who UConn beat and Rutgers did not.

What happened in Baton Rouge was the Huskies grew up. And I know they pulled off this accomplishment last year in comeback fashion, but that was different. That was Renee Montgomery taking over the game and with some help here and there.

Monday night Maya Moore, Kaili McLaren, Tina Charles and Ketia Swanier shared the load. I've said before that what McLaren did against Sylvia Fowles was incredible. But even Charles, who at times seemed scared of Fowles, played inspired in the final 15 minutes or so, not backing down from Fowles and attacking the rim as the best center in the Big East should. Afterwards, Geno Auriemma said he hopes that Charles understands that her misses Monday weren't because Fowles made her miss, it was because Charles allowed herself to miss them. And he's right. How many easy layups didn't fall for her? I can think of three right off the top of my head.

and since McLaren was benched a few weeks back and was told to not take being a Husky for granted, she has played some inspired ball off the bench. It couldn't have been any more significant when you consider that Charde Houston played so poorly that she sat the entire second half and that Brittany Hunter didn't play.

This is what Auriemma had to say about his two post players after the game:
"Kaili and Tina are their own worst enemies. To me, players are generally as good as they want to be if they have some God-given talent. They're as good as they want to be. Kaili sometimes wants to be great; sometimes she just settles for being good, and sometimes she's just OK. (Monday) she played like she wanted to be really good and great at times. And it's not like she did anything tonight that surprised anybody on our team. We've seen her do those things on a regular basis. It's just you got to get that all the time now. That's the bad side of being really good."

Speaking of really good, Moore was again named the conferences top freshman, while DePaul's Allie Quigley was named the top player for the second straight week. You know, Quigley, who was statistically inferior to Moore and who's Blue Demons beat Georgetown by four and lost to Notre Dame by two. Meanwhile, all Moore and the Huskies did was win two games by large margins.

What's the message the Big East is sending? If you are a freshman, no matter how good, you can't be the best player.And you can be a good player on an average team that loses and that trumps the best player on the best team. Well, UConn visits DePaul Saturday. Let's see how that works out for Quigley and company.

If you caught a glimpse of Brittany Hunter on the bench, you might have noticed a bandage-like patch under the brace on her right knee. I initially thought she might have had a cortisone shot, but when I spoke with Geno Auriemma after the game, he said it was one of those 8-hour heat patches like those made by ThermaCare.

The officiating in this game is horrendous. LSU misses a layup and Sylvia Fowles goes over the back of Renee Montgomery, knocking her out of the way in the process. Who is the foul called on? Montgomery.

There was a steal by LSU which Geno Auriemma felt Maya Moore was fouled. He marched onto the court in a rage and was assessed a technical foul at 13:52. After one of the free throws was made and a Fowles jumper, the score was 45-43 UConn. Since then, the Huskies have built the lead to 10 by the time the clock read 11:38.

This is the type of response the Huskies need to show in big games if they want to win a national championship.

If this game is decided by three points or less, remember this play:

Tina Charles backs down Sylvia Fowles for a layup with 16:01 on the clock. LSU goes down the court and a player takes a shot from the right side and misses everything. Fowles grabs the ball, puts it on the floor and lays the ball in with 15:30.

There are two problems here, first is that you can't legally score in 31 seconds without the shot clock resetting. The other is that when Fowles got the ball, the clock was reset to 30 despite the previous shot didn't come close to the rim.

Fowles made the basket and a foul was called on Tina Charles leading to a three-point play.

The fans here as well as LSU coach Van Chancellor have been complaining about how physical UConn has been, but the Tigers have taken 10 free throws to one for the Huskies.

Also, Kaili McLaren is starting the second half over Charde Houston.

Kaili McLaren gets called for a foul that should have gone against Sylvia Fowles at the 6:26 mark and everything begins to fall apart. Fowles has eight points since and the 12-point Huskies lead is just four.

With seven minutes left, McLaren is 6 points on 3-for-4 shooting and six rebounds.

In attendance is former Husky Barbara Turner.

The battle between Sylvia Fowles and Tina Charles is a draw through the first eight minutes. Charles has more points, but Fowles has made her presence known defensively. What I've been impressed with -- and if you saw last year's game here, you'd recall -- the job Kaili McLaren is doing is fantastic. McLaren presents a big body that Fowles can't get around or move easily.

Brittany Hunter is not in the starting lineup and will not play. In her place is Charde Houston.

For an arena that's not at better than 90 percent capacity, the crowd is fantastic here. I would argue it is better than either meeting between teams last season or anywhere else for that matter.

My head is spinning a bit right now. The touching Senior Night tribute yesterday is still fresh, and I have to say, it was great to see the fans support Charde Houston, Ketia Swanier, Mel Thomas and Brittany Hunter.

Houston has had two consecutive solid games, something coach Genon Auriemma hopes continues. But it was Thomas who stole the pre-game ceremony, capped by her being introduced with the starters. Once the ball went up, it was all Swanier, all the time. It would have been nice for Hunter to have played, but that's the nature of her right knee.

Anyhow, I am in Baton Rouge preparing for tomorrow night's showdown with LSU. On my way to find some lunch (if you've ever had Wienerschitzel -- the fast food chain -- then you know how good my meal was) I drove over to the campus to see if there was much anticipation. From all accounts, no. It is about 75 degrees and everyone wanted to take in the sun and worry about the game when the time comes.

Meanwhile, there's some good women's games on television here. ESPN had Michigan State-Purdue and now has Texas-Texas A&M, but the one that has my attention is Tennesse holding on with a five-point lead over Mississippi State at the half from Knoxville. Yes, we know how this game will end. I just want to see how it gets there.

St. John's suspended six players -- Kia Wright, Nikki Jo Rotolo, Charisse Curtis, Kristin Moore, Sheree Ledbetter and Recee Mitchell -- have been suspended for today's game for violating an an unspecified team policy.

That leaves the Red Storm with just six players.

This, my friends, will be uglier than expected.

A few notes to hold you over until tomorrow...

UConn assistant coach Jamelle Elliott is in Florida on the recruiting trails and checking in with one of next season's freshman, Tiffany Hayes, of Winter Garden, Fla. Meanwhile, Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey was supposed to be making her way to Texas to check out one of the nation's highly sought-after juniors, Kelsey Bone. Weather has made it tough for the Huskies to visit Bone in the past and this is no different. The snow storm has appeared to left Dailey waiting at the airport in Philadelphia.

Tomorrow's game against St. John's will be the first-ever locally produced UConn game to be broadcast in HD. If you are able to get CPTV in HD, be sure to check it out. Tickets for the game and the senior night presentation before hand, are a hot commodity. There were roughly 300 left as of this afternoon.

Brittany Hunter and Charde Houston didn't practice today, but Geno Auriemma said he expects both to be on the court against the Red Storm. He asked Hunter if she was going to play, considering her right knee makes her day-to-day, and she said she was playing. Houston, on the other hand, took an elbow from Tina Charles that forced one of her upper front teeth into the inside of her lip. Houston said she is OK and didn't need stitches. Recalling the play, Houston said that it took a couple of moments, but the pain increased significantly.

Just an observation -- Stonington High School product Jacquie Fernandes moves much faster in practice than she does in her limited game action. Is this because she knows what the plays are that are being run on both sides in practice or is it a matter of getting into a groove?

Hayes and fellow recruit Elena Delle Donne have been named to this year's McDonald's All-America team. It's a great accomplishment by both, who are expected to have great careers with the Huskies.

Some news that you would all like to hear -- Kalana Greene was shooting free throws today after practice. She would occasionally move in from the line by a few feet and she was getting some decent bend at the knees. Understandably, she isn't as smooth as she was pre -injury, but the fact that she is out there and trying to do things to keep some of her basketball skills fresh can't be seen as anything less that great news.

On the topic of Greene -- and fellow injured teammate, Mel Thomas -- Auriemma said he sometimes sits and imagines what could have been had both stayed healthy. While he won't say as much, you have to believe the coach doubts anyone in the country could have beat the Huskies at full strength. Not that a starting five next year of Tina Charles, Renee Montgomery, Maya Moore, Greene and Delle Donne is chopped liver.

What can't Maya Moore do? Moore scored 25 points in the first half and passed Tamika Williams and Tina Charles for sole possession of second on the all-time freshman scoring list. She is now 75 behind Svetlana Abrosimova.

Also, Ketia Swanier has replaced Lorin Dixon in the starting lineup. I think this is a pre-emptive move leading up to Monday's clash with LSU. It's also a way of getting Dixon to relax.

It's really sad how far women's college basketball still has to go before it is treated even close to the same level of men's sports.

I was watching a local newscast from my hotel room in Pittsburgh last night and I was interested in how yesterday's UConn-Pitt game was presented to viewers. This is the rundown of topics the city's NBC affiliate presented in its 11 p.m. newscast:
1. Penguins-Sabres NHL game
2. Daytona 500
3. Look back at Pitt's men's game from Saturday
4. Rutgers/Notre Dame men's basketball
5. Look back at the Duquesne men's basketball team's loss to Richmond

Now maybe I am biased when I shouldn't be, but Pitt does have a nationally ranked team and they played the No. 2 team in the country and it was a "Think Pink" game. After the game, Pitt coach Agnus Berenato said how her goal is to have 6,000 fans a night at a great facility. That may seem simple for fans in Connecticut because there is a long tradition of success, but getting people to care is tough. If the local media doesn't care, then the casual fan will never care, either.

Great effort by the bench today against Pittsburgh. Maya Moore gets two early fouls called on her, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles aren't having any luck with their shots, so you might think that its time to panic. Nope.

Enter Charde Houston, Ketia Swanier, Kaili McLaren and Meghan Gardler. Stats-wise, Gardler's line is a lie. In 11 minutes, it looks like she did nothing. She regularly found the post players with keen passes, she tracked down rebounds and on one play after Swanier was beaten on the fast break by Taneisha Harrison, Gardler came from behind to block the shot.

McLaren hadn't seen the light of day since the loss to Rutgers nearly two weeks ago and showed aggressiveness that I don't recall having seen in some time. She had a lot of phantom fouls called on her or at least calls that most players wouldn't have been called for. But the officiating is a story for another day.

Swanier provided stability that Lorin Dixon didn't give at the point early on and played a balanced, yet opportunistic game. Afterwards, Geno Auriemma said no one has had a tougher three days of practice than Swanier. His senior responded today and he's confident she will carry this into the final weeks of the season.

Houston was strong. She played 28 minutes, the most she had played this season. She also provided offense, which is her strongest skill. When Houston can get on a roll, there aren't many players who can control a game in the manner that she does. She seemed confident during and after the game when she recalled her effort. It can't be overstated how significant Houston is to the team. If she can catch fire, like she did in last season's Big East Tournament (she would have been MVP had UConn beaten Rutgers), no one will beat the Huskies this season.

Geno Auriemma said earlier this week that Kaili McLaren would be back in action today against Pitt. If she plays as hard as Auriemma suspects she will after not playing in two games, don't be shocked if she puts up a 10 and 10 kind of game. I'm interested to see how she matches up with Pitt's Marcedes Walker. Both have similar degrees of quickness, but Walker has proven to be a tough defensive assignment.

New poll...so vote!!!! Oh, and let's have some discussion/debate with this one.

Here's hoping that the rest of this trip turns out much better...

I was booked on a pair of Southwest flights, which is new to me as I have never flown them before. And after today, I have no plans to fly them again. I connect in Baltimore and have a 45 minute layover. In the time between flights, I changed terminals, stopped for some food and waited at least 15 minutes at the gate. Meanwhile, Southwest was able to not transfer my luggage to my next flight. Only when I arrive in Pittsburgh just before 10 p.m. did this become known to me.

The rep at the counter said they "think" my bag will arrive Sunday morning but they won't get it to me until around 5 p.m. Hey, doesn't UConn play at 2 p.m.? That's right. I'm told all about the airline's limited liability and how if I need to replace anything, like a suit over 50 bucks, I need to appeal to their corporate office in Dallas.

I get to the hotel and the lady at the front desk -- a Rhode Island native, I come to find out -- hooks me up with a toothbrush, comb, toothpaste, etc. Plus she gives me a bottle of water and cookies. At this point I'm thinking things are looking up.

That is until I decided I was going to meet up with some of my fellow beat writers. I call for a cab and I'm told it will be no more than 20 minutes. 45 minutes after that call, I get a call telling me everyone is calling it a night. By the time I go from the lobby to my room, the cab driver who just pulled up calls. Thanks, buddy. I should have sent him to get my luggage. I'd have it in time for the conference tournament.

Down 21-2? No problem for LSU as it came from behind to knock off No. 1 Tennessee. What does this mean? Well, for one thing, it means to beat the Lady Vols, you need a dominant post presence like Sylvia Fowles. Maybe if the Huskies run into them Tina Charles can step up. Next, it means that provided the Huskies win at Pitt Sunday -- which they should -- expect to see UConn back atop both polls next week. And if what LSU didn't put a big red flag next to the Feb. 25 meeting between Huskies and Tigers, I don't know what would have. At that point, LSU might be playing to be the No. 1 team in the country. I suspect they'll be No. 5 come Monday, a jump of two places.

Big East Assistant Commissioner of officiating Barbara Jacobs said that the league, along with the SEC, have absolved the officials of last night's Tennessee-Rutgers game of any wrong doing.

The joint statement reads: “The Big East and SEC conferences have been in communication throughout the day, coordinators of officials for both leagues have spoken to the officials as well as the clock operator. The officials discharged their duties properly and there’s no indication anything improperly was done by anyone involved. There will be no further comment on the issue as the leagues, institutions, coaches and teams look to move forward”

The Huskies dropped from the top spot in today's Associated Press poll. Tennessee has 45 of 50 votes, with the Huskies garnering the other five votes. Of course, tomorrow's ESPN/USA Today poll could look different if Tennessee falls tonight to Rutgers.

To call the happenings at Walsh Gym odd would be an understatement.

For starters, to set the stage, the gym looks to be what you would expect from an old Catholic League high school game in the 1950s. On one end of the court there is a stage behind the basket. Then throw in the balcony seating.

Then there are no media notes or box scores given out. The reason? The staff is too small.

To top it all off, the Huskies are charged with a technical foul when Meghan Gardler is listed incorrectly in the scorebook. Why? Because the Seton Hall offical scorer used an old roster.

None of this would have happened at a men's game. Sad.

I'm back -- and so are the Huskies, who are looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time in 15 years. Seton Hall isn't going to scare anyone, but they are no cakewalk.

Keep an eye on Charde Houston. Geno Auriemma said he didn't mean that he wouldn't play her, as he claimed Tuesday. But with the harsh words directed at her, it will be a test of her committment to the team and herself to see how she responds.

Now that the Huskies have been dealt their first loss, there seems to be some change on the horizon, starting with the second half tonight. Geno Auriemma said that he can't play Charde Houston any longer.

“I can’t play Charde, that‘s the bottom line” he said after the two-point loss Tuesday. “I’ve tried, I’ve tried, I’ve tried. There’s just too many things that happen on the court when she’s out on the court.”

Furthermore, her teammates are turning a new leaf as far as Houston.

"My thought is, it’s kind of true because in big games when we need her and it’s just how things go,” Tina Charles said. “It really hurt me deep inside because I know what she can do. I saw the way she played against Tennessee last year, even though we lost. It hurts us, but coach has to do what coach has to do. It’s his decision.”

She went on to say that the team needs to start confronting its issues before its too late.

The Huskies don't look particularly good, taking bad shots, many of them forced by the Scarlet Knights defense. What may prove a bad omen, UConn not scoring very much, which works to Rutgers' advantage. Part of the problem has been Maya Moore being held scoreless with two fouls over nine minutes. Also, Lorin Dixon is struggling with the Rutgers pressure, which has been impressive at times.

I'm also impressed with the crowd at The RAC. They never get quiet and cheer as if their team is leading at all times. They are what you'd expect from basketball fans in the northeast.

If you are watching the game on television and are a Big East football fan, you may notice someone very familiar.

Pulling cables for CSTV will be Rutgers wide receiver Tiquan Underwood. Underwood apparently enjoys women's basketball and asked to help out a year ago. Football coach Greg Schiano approved Underwood's involvement then and again this year.

There are those who'd like to think coaches are some sort of protected species, like the bald eagle, where the government needs to step in and make sure they are kept safe from negative conditions.

But there has to be a line. Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer was so unhappy with her team that her 3:15 teleconference didn't start until 3:52. And at that, it lasted just eight minutes. Why? Because she would give reporters one word answers.

If there's any wonder why she's not exactly loved, here's a perfect example.

There was definitely some life, especially from Kaili McLaren and Tina Charles. Geno Auriemma said that McLaren was in need of a confidence boost and that hopefully what she did tonight will serve that purpose.

When asked if she was lacking confidence, McLaren said she was but played it down a bit. Her teammates agree with the coach's assessment.

"I wouldn't say down," McLaren's best friend and roommate Tina Charles said. "She doesn't realize if she would use her body and just overpower anybody."

Sometimes it seems that McLaren is more likely to give you a performance like tonight than you will get a similar game from Charde Houston (who did all of her damage hen the game was not on the line) or that Charles will show up or that Brittany Hunter will play.

Aside from that, the job Ketia Swanier did was solid. Yes, eight of her 17 came almost all at one to close out the first half, but when Renee Montgomery isn't scoring or Maya Moore gets into a funk, that kind of ability -- to shoot from the outside or to drive and create a shot for someone else or to get out on the break, becomes valuable.

OK...it's late and I'm the last to leave Gampel Pavilion, so good night and enjoy the Super Bowl. Tuesday's not far off.

The Huskies got the message. After Geno Auriemma complained about the lack of rebounding, particularly on the offensive boards, the Huskies hold a 22-10 edge at the half. On the offensive end, UConn holds a 7-5 advantage. Tina Charles has three of those seven and is having a strong game. She has 12 points, six boards, two blocks, two assists and two steals.

Not that it should come as too much of a surprise, but Brittany Hunter is not playing tonight against Providence. Not a bad move considering the Huskies should easily handle the friars and keeping Hunter for Tuesday's big game at Rutgers (who came from behind to top Pitt today) makes sense.

Who does C. Vivian Stringer think she is? Clearly she thinks she is the women's basketball version of the New York Giants -- except I think she hates football. Although one of her nephews, Corey Stringer, plays for UConn.

Anyway, my point is, who would schedule a teleconference for the same afternoon as the Super Bowl? Really? Not Geno Auriemma, who will be talking to scribes like me on -- get this -- MONDAY!!!!!

Maybe I'm bitter that dear 'ol Vivian (I dropped the "C." because I know her like that -- OK, not really) ruined my Super Bowl Sunday.

There are some similiarities between the Huskies/Patriots and Scarlet Knights/Giants. Some of the obvious: UConn and New England are both undefeated. Tom Brady and Renee Montgomery are excellent quarterbacks for their teams, the Scarlet Knights and Giants are both from New Jersey, Patriots and Huskies are New England's pride, Tom Coughlin and C. Viv both have reputations of being less than loveable, Geno and Bill Belichick are filled with sarcasm. OK, I'm exhausted just thinking about this because not only can this list go on for another day, or if I tried hard enough, until Tuesday's game between teams (the REAL Super Bowl).

Go ahead and leave me your similiarities. I'd give out a prize, but who wants a pat on the back from me?

The production from the post has become a continous theme. Tonight, Geno Auriemma was unhappy with how Tina Charles, Charde Houston, Kaili McLaren and Brittany Hunter played.

The expectations for Charles -- who at times looks like the best center in the country -- may be too much for her. The idea that she should be able to go out and dominate a game no matter the opponent and her ability to focus/dedicate/accomplish that task is holding her back.

No, I don't think she's affraid of success; she wouldn't have gotte this far if she was. But sometimes you have to punch the other guy in the mouth to let him know you mean business. I don't think Charles can do that. While I'm not being literal, if Tina did hit someone, she'd appologize and grab the girl an ice pack. What the Huskies need is a center who will knock down the playing guarding her and stand over her so she has to wait another second of two to get back up.

Auriemma said the difference between Charles and Moore is that Moore wants to be great and will work toward that goal. Charles expects a fairy to come down and sprinkle greatness on her.

We can say that Hunter, McLaren and Houston are as important and should be critiqued as throughly as Charles. In principle, that's correct. But here's the rub: Hunter is limited due to injury. Anything she gives is a bonus. Houston's train is just about out of town. Four years of failure and lost potential. And then there's McLaren. She cae in with Charles, was a McDonald's All-American with Charles and is her best friend. But McLaren simply doesn't have the ability to dominate a game from start to finish the way Charles can.

Something has to change or when it comes time for the later rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Huskies will be going home earlier than they imagined.

An oldie, but a goodie...

It was a great bonus today to see Maya Moore and Tina Charles put on a dunk contest after practice today.

Assistant Tonya Cardoza walked by Geno Auriemma and said, “Tina just did it without travelling,”

Auriemma's not worried if they dunk in a game. He even thought they lowered teh rim. But sure enough, it was regulation height.

Moore just appreciated having the ability.

“It’s just fun,” she said. “We’re not going to be 18 or 19 forever. I want to try and do it as much as I can until it stops.”

Another down for the Huskies, who are proving they can win away from home. That's two straight road wins, something that after losing two key players seemed questionable to occur.

Even though Maya Moore didn't have her best game, she did do something very important. Her fast start allowed UConn to go stride for stride with Notre Dame. In that early spurt, Moore's effort gave Tina Charles and Brittany Hunter time to warm up and take advantage of their opportunities in the paint.

And it was good to see Hunter on the floor. This is a special season for her and I really have gotten the sense that she felt a bit under seige last season when her right knee was a bigger issue than it has been this year. Maybe it's because of it being her senior season -- keep in mind she could have not come back this year -- or because she has some hopes of playing professionally, or maybe she just wants to prove something and in the process win a national championship. Whatever the case, and it may be all of teh above, Hunter is important to the team.

We saw once again how unreliable Charde Houston is. Kaili McLaren comes and goes ,and it appears that Charles is developing a not-as-nice-as-usual streak. Coach Geno Aurriemma has wanted to see a mean streak, so I guess a partial transformation is better than nothing.

Maybe when Charles sees the green and gold of South Florida Wednesday night it will serve as a flashback to the game she had in Florida last year when she single-handedly delievered the conference title.

I remember that the USF fans were rowdy. At times, they crossed the line into rude and obnoxious with comments made towards some of the Huskies. None of that seemed to make a difference because even with scoring machine Jessica Dickson, the Bulls were helpless.

The Huskies are gearing up for another big road game, this time at Notre Dame in a nationally televised game Sunday night. It's also a sell out, if you hadn't heard already.

Notre Dame is scoring a bunches, but are also struggling on defense.

Looking at the Huskies road schedule, it is no laughing matter. Consider:
At Notre Dame
At Seton Hall
At Rutgers
At Pitt
At LSU
At DePaul

All but Seton Hall is ranked. That says a lot about the quality of play in the Big East (except for LSU) and about how tough the Huskies' schedule is.

You hear all the Big East coaches shouting from mountain tops about how good the Big East is this year. They said as much a year ago, but you know what? This year has proven to me much better.

Consider the four worst teams a year ago, Villanova, Providence, Georgetown and Syracuse. Syracuse is ranked, Syracuse and 'Nova have already exceeded last season's win totals and Providence, well, the Friars are still bad.

Elsewhere, UConn, Pitt, DePaul, Notre Dame, West Virginia and St. John's (barely) are improved. Rutgers is not as good but still a top-5 team, Marquette, South Florida, Cincinnati and Louisville have slipped.

Of the bunch, all seven of the currently tanked teams (UConn, Rutgers, West Virginia, Pitt, Notre Dame, Syracuse and DePaul) should make the tournament, as should Louisville and you may see two more teams sneak in if they can get on a roll.

Sunday's game at Notre Dame is sold out, and like Monday's game, will be seen on ESPN2.

I now believe the McDonald's All-America Game is a crock. And no, that's not a play on the founder of the burger franchise.

This is the list of Connecticut's girls nominees for this year's game:

Richelle Anderson (Bulkeley High School, Hartford)
Katie Ciarleglio (Holy Cross High School, Waterbury)
Calli Coffee (Old Lyme High School, Old Lyme)
Brittany Demers (East Windsor High School, East Windsor)
Desiree Pina (Plainville High School, Plainville)
Ilicia Mathis, Gabrielle Oglesby (Hill Regional Career Magnet
H.S., New Haven)
Michelle White (James Hillhouse High School, New Haven)

Anything stand out? How about the state's top player, Heather Buck. Can someone please explain to me how the Gatorade Player of the Year for Connecticut is NOT a candidate for the showcase game? Buck is widely viewed as one of the top 30 high school players on the country but gets no love.

Website Scout.com ranks Buck as the 21st best recruit of this graduating class. De'Shena Stevens of Stamford's Trinity Catholic is ranked 34th. None of the nominees are listed among the top 249 seniors in the country.

Who is on McDonald's selection committee? They need to re-evaluate the selection process because they got this wrong.

It's been an ugly half for the Huskies. No one has really been reliable after Renee Montgomery's hot start. It seemed like the Heels were all over the boards, but the Huskies hold a two rebound edge. North Carolina had an 8-0 run to start the game and have an 18-10 lead in second-chance points.

The biggest problem has been the shooting for UConn. To UNC's credit, they double and triple every ball handler, they contest every in-bound pass.

If something doesn't change, the Huskies will suffer their first loss.

Maya Moore was named Big East Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season. More is having a fantastic season, one less than Tina Charles a year ago.

In case you were straggling behind and wanted to attend the game, don't bother. It's sold out. Watch it on ESPN2.

Brittany Hunter is out. Charde Houston, Kaili McLaren and Tina Charles need to step it up tonight or it could be 17-1 by 10 p.m.

When I arrived at Gampel Pavilion around 4:45, there seemed to be a lot more people present than usual. Granted students were moving back onto campus, but the parking lot was filled with families, mothers and daughters decked out in UConn gear.

No question about it, this is a big game. The biggest game of the year. As the Huskies took the court for warm ups, they looked relaxed, which is a big positive. A year ago, they looked tentative at Chapel Hill.

Just over 60 minutes till game time....

Let's talk about Kaili McLaren's game against Cincy.

Her 10 points and 10 rebounds wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome, but I do think it should be worth watching what she does against UNC tomorrow. She's played well in her last two games and maybe she's gotten some fire lit under her. The Huskies could use another post presence, being that Brittany Hunter doesn't know when she'll play again, Charde Houston has stunk for three months and Tina Charles lacks aggression. If you watched Saturday's game and didn't know the players' histories, you would think Kaili was starting and was more likely to have been the high school player of the year two years ago, not Charles.

Before someone says Charles had eight and eight, keep in mind that almost all of it came in the final four or five minutes against a tired Bearcats team that has no depth and the game was already decided.

Against North Carolina, UConn will need everyone to stave off a loss. The Tar Heels are about as deep a team as there is and Erlana Larkins is a beats in the paint.

I asked McLaren after the game if she was trying to send a message or if she was disappointed in not being named starter over Houston and she said she wasn't. The only message was that everyone needed to step up and she wanted coach Geno Auriemma and her teammates to know they can count on her.

An amzing response to Mel Thomas today. The senior guard, who is out for the rest of the season and underwent surgery yesterday, attended the game this afternoon.

As Thomas made her way out to her place behind the bench with Kalana Greene, the crowd rose to its feet and cheered. It was unsual because on the press row side of the court, it was difficult to see what the commotion was about. That was because of the large hat men carrying the american flag for the national athem. I think the woman who was preparing to sing the anthem thought her entire family showed up at the XL Center.

Instead it was Thomas, who will be honored before Monday's game against North Carolina.

Geno Auriemma announced today that Lorin Dixon will step into the starting lineup beginning tomorrow against Cincinnati. The general consensus is one of shock, including that of Dixon. She'll play more of a point role while Renee Montgomery will serve as an alternate point guard and as a two-guard.

Meanwhile, more injury news as Thomas underwent surgery this morning.Brittany Hunter dind't practice and shouldn't be expected to play against the Bearcats. Replacing her in the starting lineup will be Charde Houston.

This is what Auriemma had to say about Houston:
“You know what, Charde’s been floundering all year long,” he said. “And a few years ago up until last year, we were counting on Charde so much that it got to the point at the end Charde goes, by her actions, ‘I don’t think you can count on me.’ I don’t care what anybody says, that’s what she was saying.
“So this year, she’s kind of been floundering around like ‘Well, they don’t need me.’ So, now she’s come full circle and, Charde, we really, really need you right now.”

Her response:
“It wasn’t that I felt like I wasn’t needed,” she said. “You get so used to him yelling at me night-in and night-out, and as you get older that stops because I am a senior and he has to work out our freshmen and try to get them ready. Regardless of if he needed me or didn’t need me, that’s not the point, it’s about me putting myself in position just in case I have to play a much bigger role, and in fact, that’s come up.”

As many of you know, Mel Thomas sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus in Tuesday's win at Syracuse, ending not only her season but her career with the Huskies.

This is as severe of a blow to UConn as the loss of Kalana Greene roughly a month ago. Thomas' heart, hustle and leadership will be missed. She can't be replaced, but the Huskies will have to try to fill the void without her.

Either Charde Houston or Kaili McLaren will move into the starting lineup, keeping Ketia Swanier in her valuable reserve role. I suspect that Maya Moore will move to the off guard position, giving more athleticism and size to the position. Plus, she has the ability to drive to the hoop and score from behind the line.

But back to Thomas, from my end, she will be missed. She's well-spoken and willing to answer questions. On the court, the team will miss her leadership but she will still be with them, much like Greene is.

Now, the Huskies and coach Geno Auriemma are going to fins out what they are made of. Personally, I think the losses of Greene and Thomas will be too much for them to overcome in the quest to win a national championship.

I wasn't in Syracuse last night for the near defeat, instead I had the chance to watch Heather Buck play.

She spent most of the night looking as if she was being swarmed by gnats. Despite that, she managed 34 points, 11 rebounds, four steals and a block in a two-point loss for her Stonington Bears. She seems stronger since I last saw her about a year ago. She could use some work on her free throws (she'll fit in at UConn just fine in that regard) but had a good night at the line, and at times became flustered with the physicality of the Norwich Free Academy defense. In college, she'll face stronger and better defenders, so she's going to have to learn to make adjustments.

On the positive side, she has a nose for the ball. She has a couple of different moves that she makes to finish plays, which should keep her from becoming predictable.

It's one more on the road for the Huskies, who will play their fourth road contest in its last five games when it plays at Syracuse tonight.

These four games (Villanova, Purdue, Louisville and Syracuse) serve as good tests for UConn. Nat in the sense that they are expected to be close games, but games that present different challenges that have to be confronted away from Storrs or Hartford.

The Orange, who even if they lose every remaining game, will have one of its better seasons, have begun to make some strides in the highly competitive Big East. They made a jump this season and with a young team and a highly regarded recruiting class.

Tonight, they will start three players who score better than 10 points a game and their top reserve happens to be their second-leading scorer. Should this worry UConn? Of course, but so should have West Virginia's four players scoring in double-figures and we all saw what happened there.

Meg Bulger had an awful game, Tina Charles dominated in the paint and the Mountaineers had no answer to Maya Moore. In reality, those nights from Charles and Moore are typical and most teams lack the talent to respond.

Maybe its a bit of an overreaction on my part, but I thought the game against Louisville was a lot closer than the score reflected. And you know what impressed me? Angel McCoughtry's ability to focus after she picked up her third foul late in the first half.

That is a great sign of things to come for her. She has so much talent and I look forward to next season's matchup between her and Maya Moore. Of course, there will be plenty more to come when they are both in the WNBA in a few years.

So what does the win say about UConn? First, they can win when they aren't at their best. But I think teams with similar players to the Cardinals will try to mimick what Louisville did. Can most teams actually do that? No.

Second, the experience and leadership of Renee Montgomery and Ketia Swanier made all the difference.

What interests me now is how do the Huskies come out on Tuesday against a much-improved Syracuse team. Are the Huskies mad the game was as close as it was? We'll see in a couple days.

Once again the Huskies have made it look too easy.

There were thoughts a road game at Purdue would provide a test. Wrong. UConn went into Mackey Arena on Sunday and toyed with Purdue. It was so bad in the 100-50 win, that the Boilermakers' fans were upset at UConn for running up the score late in the game, so Geno Auriemma had to remove Meghan Gardler. Gardler had 14 points (a career-high) in 11 minutes.

Last night, the Huskies came right out and attacked the Mountaineers of West Virginia. It started with a 13-0 run to start the game. From that point, the Mountaineers looked like a team drowning. Meg Bulger, arguably West Virginia's best player, was a non-factor.

What UConn did -- besides play spectacular defense -- was get scoring from all parts of the floor. Tina Charles did it inside, Mel Thomas outside, Maya Moore in and out; Renee Montgomery and Ketia Swanier distributed the ball and the Huskies crashed the glass against a team that should have been more of an equal.

When will the Huskies actually face a team that will make them break a sweat?
Duke and Stanford didn't, so finding a team that can is tough.

It's unlikely that the next two games, both on the road, will do the trick. Louisville has the conference's best player and Syracuse is much improved, but neither of those does the trick. Then Cincinnati comes to Gampel, and the Bearcats are not very good. It's the next game to look forward to: North Carolina. I'm not going to jump into that breakdown just yet, but there aren't many teams that can stay on the court with the Huskies, as the repeated 30-point-plus wins attest.

In a little over 24 hours, the Huskies will take the court at Purdue, where the Boilermakers have sold over 10,000 tickets for the Sunday afternoon game.This will be a great test forUConn despite the fact the Boilermakers aren't as good as expected or as good as recent years.

With a losing record, a win over the top-ranked Huskies would do wonders for the Boilermakers and whatever postseason hopes they may have left. A win and Purdue probably needs 17 wins to get a tournament bid. A loss, and they'll need to win the Big 10. If you really think about it, that's a big margin of error.

The problem for UConn is that a loss, even to an underachieving Purdue squad, looks bad and would guarantee losing their top ranking in both the AP and USA Today polls. A win is what would be expected. Considering it is on the road at a tough locale, don't hand this win toUConn just yet. No, I'm not saying they'll lose, but I am saying this game could prove much closer than anyone suspects.

Another factor is the national television factor.

This isn't an ESPN game. This is on CBS. If my memory serves me correctly,
the only game that fell into that category last season was thenail biter at LSU. What if Brittany Hunter can't play? What if Charde Houston is more of a ghost than someone who scares the Boilermakers? What if Maya Moore gets stage fright? All these things are possible and they could happen intandem, which would be a nightmare.

That said, I don't expect any of those events to happen. I don't suspectthat Renee Montgomery is going to care who is around her, she might will the Huskies to victory. And if Tina Charles can carry over what she did to Villanova into West Lafayette, then Purdue might find itself on the wrong end of a 40-point loss.

A few of you have told me how great my job is. I know, I know, working for the Bulletin is about as good as it gets. But to cover sports is a treat. Not many people get paid to watch and report on something they love. That, my friends, makes me lucky.

Now that the travel-heavy portion of the schedule is upon us, I figured a little insight into what a sports writer experiences while covering the Huskies would be fun.

One of my favorite aspects of my job is the travel. Whether I see new places, meet new people or have the opportunity to experience something exclusive to a location, I find it highly interesting.

I've been to Philadelphia before Thursday and it was significantly different. For starters, my two previous visits included local guides. Then again, attending Phillies games shouldn't be seen as a visit.

I boarded a train in New London, and after reaching New Haven, I didn't have anyone sitting next to me. "Great," I thought. "More leg room." I fell asleep and by the time I reached New York's Penn Station, a conductor woke me up with her screams alerting me to the need for the seat beside me and how I shouldn't be using two seats. Yes. I'm that guy.

No sooner do I move my bag does the train depart, and to no one's surprise, the seat next to me remained empty. Maybe this was too good to be true. It was.

A conductor led a lady to the seat next to me shortly before stopping in Trenton, N.J. She had numerous bags, a big blue hat with a flower on the front and a neck brace, which was quickly discarded. These are the moments when my iPod comes in handy. The lady began swinging elbows into my chest and left arm as she fought with her bags. At one point, she tried to feed a straw into a pill bottle. Don't ask me why because I don't know.

She chats up the lady directly in front of me, who surrenders too much information. She's a paralegal and my seat neighbor begins to tell her the best way to make herself more efficient is to wake up an hour early every day and spend time telling herself how good she is. Great. IPod back on.

We cross into Philadelphia and she started leaning over me to look out the window as if she were on Meerkat Manor. Sorry, but I could only wish I had a meerkat next to me. Besides, meerkats don't begin to tell you the story of how they sustained a psuedo neck injury that comes with a stylish, yet completely unneccessary brace.

I was thankful when I de-trained. At the cab stand, I found a friendly driver, who because he took his time reaching the stand, had the customer take the cab behind him. Insulted, the driver stepped out and began cursing and screaming at the guy, who now couldn't hear or see the driver. This cab driver didn't lose a fare and couldn't be heard or seen by his target. But the elderly women getting into his car must have been excited to have a driver with so much vigor.

The rest of the trip was normal except for the pimp who drove me back to the train station and managed to get the gas station attendant in Villanova to re-open for a quick transaction. I don't know if it was the 1970s style Kangol hat or the three-quarter length leather jacket or the gold chain going across his neck on the outside of his suit, but something made me think of Huggy Bear.

Oh, and the lady behind me on the train home, who was in the midst of the Amtrak All-You-Can-eat buffett at midnight. All I heard was crumple, crumple, smash, crunch, chew, slack, slurp. Until she began moaning while eating her chicken salad, roast beef and whatever else was there. It was like when Harry met Sally, but it was just Sally meeting Chicken Salad.

So when you think life as a sports writer is glamorous, consider yourself right on the money. What other occupation allows you to interact with dumb luck, meerkats, jovial cabbies pimps and food enthusiasts?

During his postgame press conference, Geno Auriemma said he told Renee Montgomery he was considering starting Meghan Gardler tonight. Montgomery told him that was a cool idea because she is from the Philadelphia area. Auriemma said, "No. She looks like their players. Maybe we can get some early turnovers."

With 12 seconds left, Tina Charles has 17 points and 9 rebounds. The Huskies hold a 41-9 edge on the glass.

The Huskies are on a 13-2 run since my last entry, a period of 3:40.

The first 8:45 of the game has been ugly. The Huskies have just a six-point lead and had it not been for some off-the-mark shooting by the Wildcats, UConn wuld be trailing.
Villanova has been able to stretch the UConn defense with some good passing and as a result has found the open shooter.
Charde Houston has been left open twice just inside the three-point line and both times she's drained the jumper.

Brittany Hunter is in tonight's starting lineup despite not practicing yesterday.

Purdue has sold over 10,000 tickets for this weekend's game at West Lafayette, IN. Even though the Boilermakers have struggled this season, Sunday's game is a prime opportunity to get back on track before the season slips away from them.

Keeping close eye on the Huskies tonight are two of next season's highly regarded recruits, Ellena DelleDonne and Caroline Doty.

Now that their arrival in Storrs is in writing, these standouts will certainly be imagining themselves on the court with their future teammates tonight.

Don't look for Brittany Hunter tomorrow at Villanova. She sat out of practice, wearing her warm-ups the whole time.

This isn't one of those games where UConn fans should say, "We need her." That said, let her use this time to get healthier. Keep in mind that despite her health through the first nine games, she was bound to have bumps in the road. Better now than in February when the Huskies close out with LSU, DePaul and Rutgers.

Brittany Hunter aggravated her surgically repaired knee is listed as day-to-day. With her potential absence, the starting lineup will again have a different look.

Who would step in? Charde Houston would seem logical, but then consider the bench options. It would be Ketia Swanier and....(crickets). Maybe moving Houston back in, with say, Tahirah Williams and putting Maya Moore back on the bench is better.

The loss of Kalana Greene hasn't seemed to hurt the Huskies, as they handled San Diego State on Friday. Now the stakes are higher as the Huskies are the new No. 1 team in the country, something that should have happened a lot sooner based on how well, and easily, they have beaten teams.

With the ranking comes the big 'ol target on their backs. and first up is Hartford and coach Jen Rizzotti. The Hawks are a strong team this year and Rizzotti has done well in building her program.

The Huskies have lost junior guard Kalana Greene for at least the remainder of tonight's game against South Carolina. With 2:44 left in the opening half, Greene was hit from behind and fell to the court hard, injuring her right knee.

After being checked on by the team's training staff, Greene was helped off the court.

If it helps to serve as a measure of the injury's significance, coach Geno Auriemma was not on the sideline when play resumed in the second half. It is assumed he is with his starting guard.

This season Greene has started every game and is averaging 7.6 points per contest.

Mel Thomas needs five points tonight for 1,000 in her career. My guess is she'll have that within three minutes of tipoff.

Coach Geno Auriemma has said a few times in recent weeks that he never would have imagined Thomas scoring 1,000 points when he recruited her out of Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, OH.

The Huskies ran away with tonight's game, 80-34, but the big note here is that Charde Houston, playing 12 minutes, had six points, five rebounds and a steal.

It will be interesting to hear what Geno Auriemma has to say shortly.

Mel Thomas is five points away from 1,000 for her career. She has 14 so far with 9:20 to play in the game

The team is back from the Virgin Islands and ready to get back to business at the Civic Center. Tonight BYU comes in and should be easy fodder for the Huskies.

Keep an eye out for Charde Houston, who has been in the dog house, no pun intended. Don't expect her to start tonight. When she does come off the bench, if Houston can't show that her head is in the game, don't expect to see much of her even in a blowout.

Stonington High School's Heather Buck signed her national letter of intent today, joining three others in UConn's class of 2008.

“I’m shaking,” Buck said moments after signing. “I’m really excited. During last period, around 1:50 (p.m.) or so, I started getting butterflies. It’s just really exciting now that it’s officially official.”

Reportedly, the Huskies have received two leters thus far.

Mel Thomas said teammate Charde Houston, who missed the season opener, will play tomorrow night against Holy Cross.

Tomorrow's national signbing day with three of the four members of UConn's 2008 recruiting class expected to sign their letters of intent. Tiffany Hayes, Caroline Doty and Heather Buck will sign on the dotted line Wednesday. Meanwhile Elena DelleDonne is scheduled to do her part on Monday.

Huskies coach Geno Auriemma can't discuss each player until the letters of intent have arrived.

Just like that, it's over.

I'm in shock, to be honest. I'm not sure what to make of the loss to LSU. My first reaction is sadness for the team. They are a great bunch of kids. You always want to see them happy. To see them crying is a shame.

They will be back, I am sure.

Rutgers is slapping around Arizona State and are on course for Cleveland. Provided UConn wins tonight against LSU, the Huskies and Scarlet Knights will meet in the Final Four. They will also face each other for a fourth time, something UConn has never done with any opponent.

Today has been exciting.

First there was no hot water at the hotel.

Then when we arrive at the arena, we are told we can't park in the media lot because we were supposed to have a parking pass that wasn't needed all weekend.

After that, the wireless internet service went kaput.

Fresno, how I love thee.

I forgot to pass along one of my favorite stories of my time in Fresno.

Last night I had dinner with Rich from the Willimantic Chronicle, Tim from the Meriden Record-Journal and Mike and Vickie from The New London Day.

First I need to say that you don't expect to find as much good restaurants in Fresno as you would in a bigger city, but our meal at Livingston's was fantastic. The highlight was the Tortilla Soup. They need to serve it in gallon portions.

Anyhow, as we are about to turn into the hotel parking lot, we pull up to a red light and a car stops next to us blasting a P-Diddy (or whatever his name is now) song. What Mike did next nearly forced Rich to fall over laughing when we exited the car.

Mike looks over at the other car, which was on our right, and turns up his radio to match the volume of the adjacent car. Playing? Herb Alpert.

It's game here in Fresno and I think it's time I make a prediction.

This may be confusing, but I have been more concerned with facing LSU than N.C. State. But I had a bad feeling about the N.C. State game.

The biggest difference is that LSU has the athletic ability to compete with UConn top to bottom. That said, I don't think neither team is going to play as well as they did in February down in Baton Rouge, La. Nor do I think LSU has more than one player who be expected to support Sylvia Fowles. There's just a lot of inconsistant play offensively. They do play solid defense -- something that didn't happen in the prior meeting.

In the end, I am taking the Huskies to advance on to Cleveland and the Final Four with a 73-61 win.

Fresno has been an OK host for the regional portion of the tournament. Aside from the lack of shuttle service to and from the hotel (I walked again before being picked up by Mike and Vickie from The Day), there is a heavy lack of support for women's basketball.

From apathetic fans to indifferent locals, this isn't where the games should be played and the NCAA -- and ESPN -- need to take notice.

Why not Seattle? San Francisco? Los Angeles? San Diego? Las Vegas? Phoenix? Tempe? Salt Lake City? San Antonio? Houston? St. Louis? Minneapolis? Sacramento?

There would have been more that 3-4,000 fans in the arena had the regional been elsewhere.

Shame on the NCAA for not being more particular in a host city's ability to successfully host games.

There was an interesting sense of dullness coming from LSU Sunday. The players and coach Bob Starkey sounded more like they are just happy as clams to be here in Fresno.

Starkey downplayed all the talk of LSU's vaunted defense by saying the last time the Lady Tigers played UConn, LSU played well and still couldn't stop the Huskies.

On the other side of the equation, the Huskies sound very much like a team on a mission. It is as if they just want to win this game to shake all the pressure that resulted in last year's loss to Duke in the same round.

While there may be some relief with a win over LSU, if the Huskies have to play Rutgers in the Final Four, the questions will return after the Scarlet Knights won the Big East Tournament against the Huskies at Hartford.

Back where they were a year ago: the Elite Eight.

Last year, a misses shot by Charde Houston at the buzzer sealed the Huskies' fate as they lost a heartbreaker to Duke. But now the Huskies find themselves faced with LSU, a team they know and played a month ago.

Charde Houston said she doesn't think about that game or that shot much these days. Good for her. She said the focus is on doing what she has to to help her team win the game at hand.

Saying you look only at the current game and not the potential next game is hard to do. Almost impossible. The HUskies have said that's what they do all season. Although when the Tennessee game came around, several players admitted that they had been thinking about the Lady Vols for weeks. Maybe having some sort of obession with an opponent explains the way UConn started out against Tennessee.

Maybe the same happened with LSU, only UConn came back and won the game. So does this take pressure off knowing there's a win under your belt? At this stage of the game, I don't think so.

I am sorry to those who stopped by looking for blog updates throught Saturday's game. The internet connection is bad at courtside and I was unable to log on.

Some thoughts from the Huskies' win:

* If the Huskies can play a full 40 minutes, I don't think anyone can beat them. They've yet to put all the pieces together for a whole game, which is a shame.

* The spirit displayed both during and after the game by N.C. State is admirable. Khadijah Whittington walked past the UConn locker and assistant coach Trina Trice tried to console the Wolfpack's best player. Seeing the pain in her eyes, not that her season ended, but that it may have been the last game for Kay Yow, was moving. If UConn was going to lose to someone, I'd want it to be to N.C. State.

* I am more and more impressed by Charde Houston's growth. Just seeing the changes in her from October is impressive.

* After LSU defeated FSU, LSU center Sylvia Fowles was asked about the embrace she shared with members of the Seminoles' coaching staff. Keeping in mind Fowles is from Miami, the big smile on her face said it all.

Rutgers is on the verge of defeating Duke. It is hard to think of a team playing better than Rutgers right now.

What is even more interesting is if Rutgers defeats Arizona State Monday and UConn wins tonight and Monday, the Huskies and Scarlet Knights will meet in the Final Four.

Rutgers just fouled Duke's Lindsey Harding with 0.01 seconds left and she missed both shots, which would have tied or won the game.

Tim stopped by so we can get lunch. As we were leaving, the good people of the Daily Campus were relaxing poolside.

Kevin, who likes to refer to himself as a Shining Beacon of Light, said that a guy in Starbucks could tell who was from Connecticut. Their white shirts matched their pale skin.

So true.

Somewhere along the way, the writers had been told that there would be a shuttle to and from the hotel and arena. We found out Friday morning that there was not.

After completing my work, Tim from Meriden and I walked back. Tim walked to the arena in the morning. But with added papers/media guides plus about 80 degree weather and our two mile or so journey turned into what felt like a walk in the desert.

Today, we ride with colleagues in their rental cars.

UConn's Sweet 16 history
1991: Defeated N.C State, 82-71
1994: Defeated Southern Miss, 78-64
1995: Defeated Alabama, 87-56
1996: Defeated San Francisco, 72-44
1997: Defeated Illinois, 78-73
1998: Defeated Arizona, 74-57
1999: Lost to Iowa State, 64-58
2000: Defeated LSU, 86-71
2001: Defeated N.C. State, 72-58
2002: Defeated Penn State, 82-64
2003: Defeated Boston College, 70-49
2004: Defeated California-Santa Barbara, 63-55
2005: Lost to Stanford, 76-59
2006: Defeated Georgia, 77-75

You come to Fresno, where it is in the mid-to-upper 70s, from Connecticut and the snow. Then on the first full day in town, we end up confined to the basement of the SaveMart Center.

The atmosphere is a lot less relaxed than the Big East Tournament and the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Maybe that's because I'm so used to being in Hartford.

The players seem more relaxed, but then again, the weather will do that to you.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is the odd things people say and do. My winner for today was came from one of the first people I saw in Hartford. While taling the shuttle from the parking lot to the terminal, the driver said there was a bear in one of the lots earlier this week. A passenger replied, "Well, bears don't bother people unless they're hungry or something."

REALLY?

What isn't covered in "hungry or something"? Bears usually venture into places where people dwell because they are HUNGRY!!!!

I've finally made it to Fresno -- after 12 hours plus of travel. I went from Hartford to Atlanta to Salt Lake City, back to Salt Lake City and onto Fresno.
Yes, I said back to Salt Lake City. My flight took off and about 20 minutes into the trip, turned around because of electrical issues.

Anyhow, as Kalana Greene told me Tuesday, it's nice to get away from the snow and into the sun.

Friday is media day, so expect some interesting comments from all four teams in town. Of course, UConn coach Geno Auriemma is always good for a quote.

Like the Huskies have done all year, they have come out witha burst in the second half. UConn is on a 10-2 run.

At the half..UWGB 40, UConn 38.

UConn down four with 26.5 to play, 40-36.

It is a bad sign when Kalana Greene is taking three point attempts. If there is one thing she shouldn't be counted on to do offensively, its shoot the trey.

UWGB takes the lead....33-32 with 2:49 to play.

UWGB is hanging around. I'm impressed how they didn't crumble when UConn turned up the heat.

The Huskies have outscored the Phoenix, 13-2, over the last five minutes plus.

UConn takes its first lead thanks to a Mel Thomas three.