Ketia Swanier leaves the game and all Quigley breaks loose. DePaul is on a 15-9 edge over the last six minutes, thanks to Quigley making her shots and the Huskies looking lost on offense.

Maya Moore seems to be fighting the ill-affects of being fouled hard Monday against Rutgers, as she has made just 2-of-8 shots.

First media timeout and the Huskies lead 6-2. What stands out is that the Huskies are putting good pressure on the Blue Demons' Allie Quigley. Quigley is too god to not create her own shot, but she's taken a few bad shots as well as those that just didn't sink in.

UConn's missed its fair dhare of shots, but the missed shots and turnovers by DePaul have presented a few fast break opportunities. On one turnover, Ketia Swanier got the ball near DePaul's foul line --and three feet behind Missy Mitidiero. By the time Swanier reached her own 3-point line, she had already passed Mitidiero by a couple of feet for an easy layup.

Now if the Huskies can stop committing silly fouls.

It's a lively, yet sparse crowd at the XL Center. The Huskies took the court with about two minutes until game time, giving a slight hint of drama.

There are decent number of fans from Rutgers and DePaul here, too, which makes the atmosphere nice. That's what makes tournament season special.

Notre Dame can't blame anyone other then itself for the collapse it suffered today. Up 12 and it ends up losing by 11. For Pitt, it was a game it really needed only because it struggled the final weeks of the season. Even if the Panthers lose tomorrow to UConn, it can feel good going into the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt, despite sloppy play, has clawed back into the game and has taken a one-point lead, 19-18, with 1:40 to play in the opening frame. The key has been playing with a smaller, faster lineup that has allowed the Panthers to move around quicker to find open shots.

Assuming that UConn advances, it will face either Notre Dame or Pittsburgh, the teams playing right now in Game 1 of the day. Eight minutes in and Notre Dame leads by a 14-2 margin with 10:49 left in the half. The Panthers look awful, with Marcedes Walker having better luck picking up fouls than points.

A lot of people have been wondering about Maya Moore's injured tailbone/lower back, this is what she told me last night:

“I’m nursing it. I don’t think I’m 100 percent right now, but I’m getting there. It’s getting better every day and its tough playing with any type of nagging injury. I’m fine, I can play and I’m going to do my best.”

Here are some pics from last night's banquet. The second photo isn't great because I had to get my arm -- and camera -- through about 10 people. I'll have more as the tournament progresses.

It was a big night for the Huskies at the league award banquet. Maya Moore became the first player EVER in ether men's or women's basketball to win the league's Player and Freshman of the Year awards. She was also named to the First Team All-Big East and All-Freshman teams.

Tina Charles and Renee Montgomery were also first team selections, while Ketia Swanier was named the top sixth man and Lorin Dixon made the all freshman team.

Geno Auriemma shared Coach of the Year honors with Syracuse's Quentin Hillsman.

Tonight is the Big East awards banquet. Here is my early prediction for the awards. I will preface my picks by saying that I think a few of the UConn players will get the short end of the stick. Why? The league's coaches have penalized the Huskies for having as much talent as they do. Based on my knowledge of some of the players nominated for awards (including Olayinka Sanni, West Virginia's first-team All Big East center being nominated for most improved), there are some odd nominations. I do think Ketia Swanier will get the sixth man award only because a lot of attention has been paid by media outside of Connecticut as to whether she's eligible or not. Now that everyone knows she is, if she doesn't win, there will be a good outcry. Not to mention an angry Geno.

So without further ado...

Player of the Year

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville

Freshman of the Year

Maya Moore, UConn

Most Improved Player

Shavonte Zellous, Pitt (she won last year)

Defensive Player of the Year

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville

Sportsmanship Award

Allie Quigley, DePaul

Sixth-Man Award

Ketia Swanier, UConn

Coach of the Year

Quintin Hillsman, Syracuse

First Team All-Conference

Angel McCoughtry, Louisville

Renee Monthomery, UConn

Shavonte Zellous, Pitt

Essence Carson, Rutgers,

Tina Charles, UConn

Maya Moore, UConn

Allie Quigley, DePaul

Charel Allen, Notre Dame

Krystal Ellis, Marquette

Matee Ajavon, Rutgers

Epiphanny Prince, Rutgers

Second Team All-Conference

Olayinka Sanni, West Virginia

Shantia Grace, USF

Ketia Swanier, UConn

Kia Wright, St. John's

Diedre Naughton, DePaul

Marcedes Walker, Pitt

Laquita Owens, West Virginia

Meg Bulger, West Virginia

Kia Vaughn, Rutgers

Chandrea Jones, Syracuse

Monique McLean, St. John's

All-Freshman Team

Maya Moore, UConn

Erica Morrow, Syracuse

Angel Robinson, Marquette

Keisha Hines, Louisville

Ebonie Williams, Seton Hall

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, along with Tennessee's Pat Summitt, LSU's Van Chancellor and Rutgers' C. Vivian Stringer have been named finalists for coach of the year.

This is a tough one because you have four teams that returned just about everyone (only Tennessee lost a key player); one coach new to his team (Chancellor); another coach who lost two starters but still has the most talent (Auriemma) and another who continues to improve a program out of ashes (Stringer).

I will be on the radio tomorrow morning at 6:50 a.m. on 102.3 WXLM discussing the Huskies as they ready for the Big East Tournament. Check it out.

Add another to the list...Elena Delle Donne, of Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del., was named the 2008 Naismith National High School Basketball Players of the Year, following in the footsteps of soon-to-be teammate Maya Moore.

In just her first year with the UConn women’s basketball team, Maya Moore has made quite the name for herself. One day after leading the top-ranked Huskies to the Big East’s regular season championship, Moore became the first freshman in conference history to be named its player of the week.

She was also named Freshman of the Week.

Is Player of the Year next? We'll find out Friday.

Here's the schedule for the Big East Tournament, which begins Saturday:

Saturday
Game 1: No. 5 Pittsburgh vs. No. 12 Villanova (noon)
Game 2: No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 DePaul (2 p.m.)
Game 3: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 10 St. John's (6 p.m.)
Game 4: No. 6 Syracuse vs. No. 11 USF (8 p.m.)

Sunday
Game 5: No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Game 1 winner (ESPNU, noon)
Game 6: No. 1 Connecticut vs. Game 2 winner (ESPNU, 2 p.m.)
Game 7: No. 2 Rutgers vs. Game 3 winner (ESPNU, 6 p.m.)
Game 8: No. 3 West Virginia vs. Game 4 winner (ESPNU, 8 p.m.)

Monday
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner (ESPNU, 6 p.m.)
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner (ESPNU, 8 p.m.)

Tuesday
Game 11: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner (ESPN2, 7 p.m.)

This was definitely a special win for the Huskies, who spent the last week on the road playing tough games with LSU and DePaul. Geno Auriemma said he tried to have the team do as little as possible the last few days so not to wear them down. He also told them they can be exhausted as Big East champs or exhausted as "slugs." He's got a way with words.

It's also important to note the contribution from Kaili McLaren. In reality, she made life hellacious for Rutgers. McLaren had a solid all-around night with seven points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists. What she did in the high post, combined with Tina in the low post, the UConn forwards created matchup problems for Rutgers all night. At one point, Rutgers went with four guards to try and use speed against UConn's big players and that didn't work. There was one play where I wanted to gauge hustle and what I saw was McLaren start off after the rebound as the player furthest away from the ball. By the time she got to her spot, she had passed three Rutgers players and one of her teammates up court. That isn't speed; that's heart.

Heart is something cliche in sports and in journalism. Scribes such as myself may write about heart as if its a jump shot. If you practice heart enough, it comes to you. Not excatly. Few player truly have heart and you know it when you see it. For as much gruff as Auriemma give shis squad, Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Kaili McLaren, Lorin Dixon, Charde Houston, Brittany Hunter, Ketia Swanier and Meghan Gardler all showed heart.

Rutgers didn't show its heart. Kia Vaughn, is normally displaying her heart on her sleeve. Not tonight. Same with Essence Carson and Epiphanny Prince. Not here. I know they tried hard, but when trying hard doesn't get the job done, heart gives you the courage to fight through your woes.

Don't worry. These teams will meet again and I suspect it will be in the conference tournament title game. Just remember, the Huskies blew away the Scarlet Knights in the season finale last season only to be thumped in the tournament. We saw the difference Moore makes when she can play by staying out of foul trouble. If her medical report comes out OK, the rest she'll get from days off Tuesday through Friday will be valuable. The first-round bye helps, too.

Maybe she won't play against Marquette or DePaul. Not likely, but the Huskies could probably win without her in those matchups.

Anyhow, three big games in eight days. Now the games get bigger.

Accepting the conference championship trophy, fittingly, Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene.

Who is the best in the Big East? Without any question it is UConn. The Huskies win the conference title with a 66-46 win.

Maya's limp is pretty bad. Hopefully she is OK and can make use of the rest between now and Sunday's game.

Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer is sitting on the bench with hr hands over her head. Why? Because there is nothing she or her team can do to change what happened here.

The air was nearly sucked out of the arena as Epiphanny Prince intentionally fouled Maya Moore as she made a breakaway move to the hoop. The hard foul led to Moore coming down on her back and came up limping and in pain.

The boobirds are giving it to Prince and rightfully so. That was an unnecessary foul. Moore is out of the game and stretching on the sidelines. Kaili McLaren shot the free throws and Renee Montgomery hit a 3 to make it a 20-point game.

Renee Montgomery hit another NBA 3 to give the Huskies a 15-point lead.

Lorin Dixon leaves with 4:11 on the clock. She was incredible. She came in with a four-point lead and leaves with one of 15.

If Rutgers does not make a stand now, they will be blown out of the XL Center. Everything is going the Huskies' way: Fouls, rebounds, shots and most of all, hustle. Hustle makes all the difference, especially when you want something more.

UConn by 12 with 6:13 to play....timout called by Rutgers.

The Huskies are smelling blood. As they walk off for a timeout, Renee Montgomery beckoned the crowd with her waving arms to get louder. Less than eight minutes away from the conference title.

As for Dixon and Houston, neither has hurt UConn. Dixon looks more poised than a month ago and made a great rebound while falling down and maintained her dribble. This is the kind of effort she needs to go into the conference tournament with some confidence.

Moore's jumper has pushed the lead to 10 for the Huskies.

Lorin Dixon and Charde Houston are in with a four-point lead. Needless to say, this stretch with them on the court will likely prove the decisive moments of the game.

And in a matter of seconds, Swanier has foul No. 4.

Swanier stays in the game.

Ketia Swanier just picked up her third foul with just over four minutes expired in the second half. It will be interesting to see if the Huskies go with her coming out of the current timeout or if the choice is to rest her for a few minutes and play Lorin Dixon. With a six-point lead, Dixon would be a risky call by Geno Auriemma, but one that should give the freshman some confidence.

The teams have been trading baskets for much of the first 3:36, which is unusual for a game featuring the top defensive teams.

The verdict is....foul and 0.4 seconds are on the clock.

Moore misses the first.

UConn 28-23 at the half.

The Huskies have gone ice cold and Rutgers heads into the break down five.

Just now, the officials are ckecking of a foul committed against Maya Moore happned before time expired. If before the buzzer, Moore shoots one-and-one to end the half.

I was just informed by a UConn spokesperson that the game is not a sellout, but the university expects the final total to be over 15,000 fans. That makes me wrong in thinking there was more for the St. John's game.

In return, Brittany Hunter knocked over Rashidat Junaid and there was no call.

Another post player, Tina Charles, has been very active. Despite not making five-of-six at the line, she had seven points and drew another foul on Junaid, who has two.

Another bad call...Moore gets the inbounds pass, takes a shot to the face and no foul is called.

Swanier and Brittany Hunter are coming into the game.

Coming out of the timeout, Rutgers employed four guards: Essence Carson, Epiphanny Prince, Matee Ajavon and Brittany Ray.

UConn has brought in Lorin Dixon and the Scarlet Knights immediately went to the press.

Moore strikes again!

She steals the ball and on the other end finishes the play with her third three-point basket, giving her 13 and the Huskies a 23-13 lead with 7:08 on the clock.

Timeout Rutgers.

Tina Charles is making her third trip to the line and is in need of at least one to drop in. She got the second to fall, ending her 0-for-5 streak.

With Renee Montgomery's split of two free throws, the Huskies are a sorry 1-for-5 from the line.

Geno Aurimma's just picked up a technical foul after arguing a bad call by referee Bill Titus. He alleged that Ketia Swanier was guilty of a blocking foul. There have been some bad calls against UConn and some not called.

Kaili McLaren came down with a rebound earlier and was pushed in the back, but no foul was called.

Matee Ajavon faked past Renee Montgomery and than traveled, but she was allowed to continue.

On Moore's off-balance three, she was interferred with, but no call was made.

Two travel calls, one pass thrown away, one three-second violation and four missed shots (1-for-5) has not helped Rutgers, which is trailing 10-2. Moore just set the new freshman record for points with a jumper at 15:36. She has eight of UConn's 10 points.

Moore, Moore, Moore....back-to-back threes for the freshman, who has tied Svetlana Abrosimova for the all-time UConn freshman scoring mark.

Two possessions for Rutgers, two turnovers. Not that UConn has fared better with a few missed shots until Maya Moore's off balance trey.

The university just honored Norm Prisell, who served as the official scorer for over 20 years. Tonight is his last game.

I'll give the near capacity crowd some credit. During pregame introductions they made some decent noise. Now if they can keep it going from start to finish.

Pat yourselves on the back, Huskies fans. The game is NOT sold out. The Biggest game of the year and there might be more people at the St. John's game from Gampel than for tonight's contest.

Here's the deal, folks. Amazingly there are still tickets available for tomorrow night's game in Hartford between UConn and Rutgers. If this game is not a sellout, every Huskies fan who does not attend should be ashamed of themselves.

In the last week, UConn has played two road games in which the crowds at LSU and DePaul put the best crowd at either the XL Center or Gampel Pavilion to shame. Why can't the Huskies be given a better home-court advantage? Or is it just good enough to sit at home and watch it on CPTV because $15-$22 is too much when you throw in $10 for parking and another $10 for a drink and popcorn or whatever? Carpool with a friend and split the parking and share the popcorn. That's enough because you should be too busy screaming to eat anything. We don't want popcorn-related choking.

You don't think those women who you cheer for don't notice the drop off between a home crowd and a road crowd? This is your Tennessee game now. Pat Summitt isn't about to walk through the door to give you a reason to pack an arena.

If UConn's biggest rival on the last day of the season with the conference title up for grabs isn't enough to get you out the door and into a seat, what is?

Right now, I'm sitting at O'Hare airport and reflecting a bit about my stay in Chicago. This is my second visit here and I like it even more after this trip.

I'll start with the little things that made my stay exceptional.
* My hotel. It was $10 more than where I stayed at in Baton Rouge and the total opposite. Assigned to the Bellagio of the South, a.k.a the Dis-Comfort Inn, outside of a comfy bed, it was a dump. The people there were more than nice and made me feel at home as much as possible.
Here, the Renaissance O'Hare was bordering on luxurious. The staff bent over backwards, and with the exception of some bad directions, acted as if they were my personal staff.
* Dinning. This was my birthday weekend and as a gift, I was given a dinner at Harry Caray's steakhouse. I have two words for you: Holy Cow. Another two? Poterhouse steak. It was truly one of the best meals I had ever had. No worse than top three. It's up there with Juban's in Baton Rouge and Delmonico's in Las Vegas.
The staff followed up my great steak with a key lime cheesecake. The wait staff came out and said, "It might be, it could be, it is! Holy Cow! Happy Birthday!"
* Entertainment. After dinner, a trip over to the famed Second City Comedy Club was in order. I love laughing, so checking out some of the best up-and-coming comedians was a can't-miss for me. Two hours later, Second City delivered the laughs I wanted.
This leaves me with one question: Why isn't the Big East Tournament held here? I understand proximity to the team whose fans travel the most, as well as proximity to the league headquarters in Providence, but this place needs to be given a good, hard look.
Accomodations aren't hard to find, games can be played at AllState Arena, where DePaul's men's team plays and with so much to do here, events can be planned around and tailored for the tournament.

At the risk of sounding condesending, I'm really surprised that you guys have even voted for Allie Quigley. I figured that at best, even after her strong performance against the Huskies, that she wouldn't have gotten more than a vote. But three so far?

It just surprises me because usually players from other teams or their teams don't get much love here; just look back at the older polls.

What it does tell me, presuming that only UConn fans voted, is that there isn't as much homerism going on. Not that it shouldn't be expected. Afterall, do you know how hard it is for me to say anything negative about the Yankees? Trust me, I much rather eat hagis.

How Taylor Pikes missed that final shot, I don't know. She was wide open and from my perspective, was one of those plays where everything goes in slow motion and you are holding your breath.

It was senior night for DePaul, and the looks on the faces of Deirde Naughton and Allie Quigley were ones of devestation. It's understandable.

They still have positioning to worry about for the Big East Tournament next week.

Assuming that UConn, DePaul, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Pitt, Louisville and Marquette win their final games, this is how the brackets should look for the first round.

No. 5 Pitt vs. No. 12 Villanova, winner faces No. 4Notre Dame
No. 8 Marquette vs. No. 9 DePaul, winner faces No. 1 UConn
No. 7 Syracuse vs. No. 10 St. John's, winner faces No. 2 Rutgers
No. 6 Louisville vs. No. 11 Georgetown, winner faces No. 3 West Virginia

It's hard to look at one area and say that's why the Huskies were able to come back from 17 down to win, but an area that I think made the biggest difference was turnovers.

At halftime, this was the breakdown:

UConn: 14 turnovers for 13 DePaul points
DePaul: Six turnovers for eight UConn points

In the second half:
UConn: Five turnovers, three DePaul points
DePaul: 10 turnovers, 13 UConn points

Understandably, not all the turnovers came on steals -- UConn had seven -- but it was UConn's pressure defense that did the trick. Don't be too surprised if UConn uses the press on Rutgers, sort of giving a dose of its own medicin. I admit, however, that Rutgers does have an impressive pressure package that I don't know if UConn can match,

Let's make sure this is clear -- even if UConn had lost the game, it still would have won the Big East if it won Monday against Rutgers in Hartford.

With that in mind, it makes what the Huskies did tonight even more impressive. They could have given up, but didn't. With the wins at LSU and DePaul, the Huskies have lots to ride on going into Monday and beyond.

"We can take a sense fo confidence. We were in a hard enbvironment, down 17 points, and we managed to find a way to come back. I think if we're ina situauation in the tournament where it looks like there's no way we can win, we can always think back on these last couple of games and give us a sense of accomplishment -- we've done it before and we've done it again."

A foul was called on Tina Charles at or near the buzzer, as she came down on Allie Quigley. Right now, officials are reviewing whether the infraction happened during regulation or not.

FYI: Even if the Huskies lose tonight, they win the division Monday with a win over Rutgers because of the tie breaker -- a win over West Virginia.

On the heels of UConn's run, DePaul has one at that's at 8-0 and counting.

In a sign that either she's feeling OK or that the post play has been that bad, Brittany Hunter has entered the game.

Just like that, in a matter of two minutes, 51 seconds, the Huskies reel off a 9-0 run and retake the lead by one, 23-22.

The Huskies are trailing by a score of 22-14 with11:54 left, and honestly, I think the Huskies have taken the Blue Devils for granted. Could they have their sights set on Monday's clash with Rutgers already?

Any talk of an injustice being served with DePaul's Allie Quigley being named conference player of the week twice over Maya Moore is being put to rest through the first seven minutes. Quigley has an 8-2 advantage in scoring.

It didn't take long for Geno Auriemma to have seen enough of Lorin Dixon. Less than four minutes in, the plus was pulled in favor of Ketia Swanier. In 20 seconds, the Huskies scored twice, including a jumper from Swanier. They had two baskets in the previous 3:44.

Outside by threes on the opening possession for both teams, it's been a whole lot of back and forth with missed baskets. Not much else.

Tonight is Senior Night for DePaul, and they're exhibiting some class, by holding their ceremony after the game, allowing the Huskies to conduct their post-game interviews sooner so they can leave ASAP.

That's great, but if DePaul loses, I'm not sure how much that diminshes the event.

I'll call the result predictable, but go ahead and vote on the right. After winning the last two Big East Player of the Week awards, is Alley Quigley of DePaul better than Maya Moore?

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?