A few weeks ago the outcome might have been different. The Huskies are long on talent and youth but short on experience, and during a recent stretch earlier this month they lost back-to-back games they probably should've won. But Jim Calhoun isn't a Hall of Fame coach because he's been around forever. He's earned the honor because he has three national titles and annually fields some of the most competitive teams in the country.
Which is why it's not surprising that the Huskies went to South Bend and beat the Fighting Irish, an outfit that had won 29 home games in a row. And they did it without freshman guard Ryan Boatright, again on the bench while the NCAA reviews his eligibility.
But even before the latest Boatright ruling, Calhoun had decided to go with a bigger lineup, getting more minutes for Roscoe Smith and DeAndre Daniels.
And Shabazz Napier didn't miss a beat in Boatright's absence. He had 16 points and five assists and played 40 minutes. Freshman Andre Drummond, for the third time in as many games, registered a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds).
"We were energized, tonight," said Calhoun. `'We had a pretty emotional talk. But it is about us. It is not about anyone but us and we can't control the world but we can control what we do. Tonight we stayed with things and the biggest thing in life is just staying with things."
Calhoun has been harping for more consistency from his defense recently and that's exactly what he got against Notre Dame. The Huskies held the Fighting Irish 32.3 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from behind the arc.
"It was hard for us to anything offensively against their defense," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "First half, we had some open stuff - some layups, free throws right before half. Second half, we got looks but they were kind of hurried and they were hurried because of Connecticut's length. Their size beat us up on the backboard at times. They were hard to keep off the board. We were trying. We kept fighting. Not today."
And UConn's length was the reason that Calhoun went with a taller lineup. He was willing to give up perimeter shooting and ball-handling to increase the team's presence on the boards.
Now the 17th-ranked Huskies are 14-3 and 3-1 in the conference and suddenly things appear back on track even with Boatright's fate again in the hands of the NCAA.
"I'm proud of what we did," Calhoun said. "We broke a 29-game home winning streak. I'm proud of what we did against Notre Dame, and I'm proud we beat Mike Brey, who has evolved into what I think is as good a coach as there is."
Next up: UConn hosts Cincinnati at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday.
