No. 12 Connecticut Is Ready for the Road

Thursday, December 28th 2006, 6:12 am

By: News On 6

Starting three sophomores and two freshmen, and without an upperclassman on scholarship, the 12th-ranked Connecticut Huskies have used a season-opening homestand to run up an 11-0 record.

``I think we're going to prove we're pretty good when it's all said and done,'' Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said after Wednesday night's 84-41 victory over Coppin State. ``But we've got places to go and certainly some people to play against.''

UConn will play just two of its next six games at home, with road games against West Virginia, No. 17 Louisiana State, St. John's and No. 10 Pittsburgh.

``We're anxious to go on the road and anxious to play some tough games,'' Huskies point guard A.J. Price said. ``By no means do I think any team was taken lightly. We did a good job preparing for every game.''

And winning them easily.

The Huskies have won by an average of 27 points and played just one opponent from a major conference, an 18-point win over Mississippi on Nov. 19.

``I can't ask any more of them,'' Calhoun said. ``They've won them all.''

In the only other games involving ranked teams on Wednesday, No. 4 Wisconsin beat Gardner-Webb 98-40 and No. 17 LSU defeated Wright State 71-45.

Sophomore forward Jeff Adrien and 7-foot-3 freshman center Hasheem Thabeet anchored UConn's dominant inside game against Coppin State as the Huskies pulled down a season-high 64 rebounds to the Eagles' 33. Adrien had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Thabeet finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and had four of UConn's 14 blocked shots.

The Huskies extended their home winning streak to 30 games: 17 at the Hartford Civic Center, where they won Wednesday, and 13 at the on-campus Gampel Pavilion.

``We want to go out there and win all of our games,'' Adrien said. ``Win the Big East regular season and hopefully the Big East tournament. Our expectations are always high. It doesn't matter how young we are.''

Ethan Kennedy had 12 points, all in the first half, for Coppin State (2-10), which has lost 10 games on the road. Tywain McKee added 11 points for the Eagles, who shot 21 percent (13-for-61).

The Huskies scored the game's first 10 points, holding the Eagles scoreless for 11:24. Coppin State missed its first 14 shots until a 3 by Kennedy snapped the drought.

It was a frustrating night for McKee, who was averaging a team-leading 18.4 points. He missed his first 16 shots and didn't connect until 5 minutes into the second half.

No. 4 Wisconsin 98, Gardner-Webb 40

Brian Butch had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Badgers (13-1), who had a 32-5 run on the way to a 52-19 halftime lead. Alando Tucker, who leads the Big Ten in scoring at 20.7 points per game, was held to 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting but had five assists.

Ricky McPhee had 17 points for the visiting Bulldogs (2-9), who lost to a top five team for the second time this season. Gardner-Webb lost 103-50 to No. 2 North Carolina on Nov. 19.

No. 17 LSU 71, Wright St. 45

Glen Davis matched his season high with 26 points for the host Tigers (8-3) in the first round of the Hispanic College Fund Classic. Davis, who had never made more than one 3-pointer in a game during his career, hit three 3s and was 10-of-13 from the field overall and grabbed 12 rebounds.

DaShaun Wood had 17 points to lead the Raiders (5-6), but he was held to one field goal in the second half as LSU pulled away from a 36-28 lead.