As is usually the case in recent years, this game has significant importance in the standings, with both teams jockeying with Florida State for the top spot in the ACC. North Carolina enters the game at 7-1 in conference action, while Duke slipped to 6-2 after losing to Miami. Duke can ill-afford another loss, especially because the Seminoles and Tar Heels will not meet again this regular season.

Besides the usual hostility generated by one of the most intense rivalries in the game, the 233rd match up between these teams — UNC leads the all-time series 131-101 — is critical for both teams. Duke is facing more than its fair share of critics after a lackluster performance against the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, North Carolina needs to prove it can beat an elite team, sometime the Heels haven’t done in a few months.

For the Blue Devils, coach Mike Krzyzewski will be looking for renewed passion from his team after calling them out for lacking the energy to compete with the Hurricanes in the overtime loss at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Expect his team to rally around his battle cry, especially on the road surrounded by the Enemy in Powder Blue. To win, Duke will need to play smart defense, something the Blue Devils haven’t done consistently this season.

On the other hand, North Carolina seems to be on the rise, especially after a gutsy win in College Park last weekend in which Maryland tried to beat up the Tar Heels. Unlike the game in Tallahassee in which Florida State annihilated UNC, the Tar Heels responded after getting hit in the mouth and clamped down in the second half to erase a nine-point deficit to win by nine. However, the Tar Heels haven’t beaten a team guaranteed to be in the NCAA Tournament since they knocked off Wisconsin in Chapel Hill Nov. 30. North Carolina needs a win at home against the team’s arch rival to validate the argument that this team should be in the conversation for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

That adds a lot of pressure to both teams, and that might favor North Carolina. The Tar Heels have a roster full of players who have been through this rivalry at least three times after last season. Duke has struggled with leadership on the court, and the Blue Devils must get someone to step up or else things could ugly for Duke pretty quickly.

Let the battle begin.

We take you coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

Louisville coach Rick Pitino got his wish with Memphis, as the Tigers will be joining the Big East starting in 2013-14, according an ESPN.com news services report. Pitino had lobbied for the Conference USA’s Tigers to join the Big East to help replace the power that will be departing with West Virginia, Syracuse and Pittsburgh in coming years.

Florida coach Billy Donovan tried to preach that Kentucky faced all the pressure entering the Gators/Wildcats clash Tuesday night, with the home team trying to extend a 15-game winning streak and 48-game undefeated streak at Rupp Arena, according to the Associated Press. That psyche-out didn’t seem to work as the Wildcats clobbered Florida 78-58.

If Connecticut can rally around the toughness of coach Jim Calhoun, the Huskies won’t be out of the picture despite a bleak couple of weeks, including a horrid loss Monday night at Louisville. Calhoun told ESPN’s Andy Katz that he doesn’t plan to let spinal stenosis to force him into retirement, and the coach could return to the sidelines sometime this season if the pain in his legs and back subsides.

There’s also health concerns for another coach: College of Charleston’s Bobby Cremins. The 64-year-old Cougar coach took a leave of absence Jan. 27, and he told people that he’s just taking a break to recuperate from a lack of energy, according to a CBS Sports.com wire report.

Alabama’s tournament chances could be in some jeopardy after the team indefinitely suspended junior Tony Mitchell for misconduct, writes TideNation’s Alex Scarborough. The junior forward averages 13.1 ppg and 7.0 rpg in more than 30 minutes per game for the Crimson Tide.

Already, about half of Division I conferences have played at least one conference game. The Summit League’s South Dakota State sits at 3-0, giving the Jackrabbits the most conference wins of any team in the country. There’s a random fact for you.

In many ways, it feels like the season starts anew when conference play begins in earnest when the calendar turns to a new year. Yes, there are plenty of fantastic nonconference games throughout the season, and some of the best rivalries involve teams from different conferences, such as this weekend’s bout featuring Louisville and Kentucky. However, no matter how intense those rivalries might be, the stakes just aren’t as high when the winner doesn’t gain ground in the win-loss column of its conference standings.

I like to view the nonconference schedule as a time for growth. Teams get two months to adjust to new arrivals — on the roster or coaching staff — while playing only a few games conference games. That gives the coaching staff a chance to settle on an effective rotation and integrate any late additions because of transfer rules or early season suspensions.

In addition to growth as a team, the nonconference slate gives teams a chance to build their résumé for the NCAA Tournament. For the vast majority of D-1 programs, the only route to an NCAA Tournament is the automatic bid awarded with a conference tournament championship. However, for a bunch of teams, November and December help set expectations for conference play. Just look at Indiana, which entered the season unranked. The Hoosiers beat up some overwhelmed competition, which wouldn’t do Indiana any good in the eyes of the selection committee members come March. Then the Hoosiers went out and beat Kentucky. That’s a massive win that will help solidify Indiana’s NCAA Tournament status, even if the Hoosiers scuffle a bit in Big Ten play, finishing with only a .500 Big Ten record.

On the other hand, teams like Vanderbilt enter conference play knowing they have some work to do. The Commodores started the season as a top 10 team, but they have dropped games to Cleveland State, Xavier, Louisville and Indiana State. A couple of those losses are surprising while a couple are missed opportunities. Right now, the Commodores’ best wins are against Oregon, Oregon State and North Carolina State. None of those teams is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. So Vanderbilt must make hay in the SEC, especially against Florida, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi State. The Commodores get those teams six times, and Vanderbilt probably needs to win at least three — preferably one on the road — to feel secure about an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

And that just spices up already-compelling conference slugfests.

We go coast to coast with news from around the college basketball nation.

We’ll have at least two undefeated teams heading into 2012, as Baylor and Syracuse don’t play again in 2011 after winning last night. And that’s more than previously unbeaten Indiana and Louisville can say after dropping their first game of the season last night. Missouri plays Old Dominion Friday, and fellow unbeaten Murray State will also be in action Friday, against Eastern Illinois.

Connecticut might not be undefeated, but the Huskies are 1-0 without Jim Calhoun on the sidelines this season, CBS Sports.com reports. The Huskies beat South Florida last night, the first game of Calhoun’s three-game suspension, which is his punishment from a recruiting scandal in which he was cited for creating an atmosphere of compliance in Storrs.

Rhode Island is 1-11 this season, and that’s with senior guard Jamal Wilson in the lineup for 11 of those games. Life won’t be any easier for coach Jim Baron after he suspended the team’s leading scorer for breaking team rules, according to an Associated Press report. Wilson is averaging 17.5 ppg for the struggling Rams.

One of the complaints about conference expansion/realignment/destruction is the loss of rivalries that get the fans going. The Big Ten and Pac-12 are looking to avoid those situations via a strategic partnership that will allow the conferences to schedule multiple games between its members to encourage compelling match ups, which could include rivalry games, according to an ESPN.com report.

Maryland had to wait 10 games to get Ukrainian big man Alex Len on the court, writes Eamonn Brennan for ESPN.com’s “College Basketball Nation” blog. However, he could become a critical player quickly, as evidenced by his 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in his first game Wednesday against Albany.

In case you missed the big news of yesterday, Louisville coach Rick Pitino announced that he intends to call it a career when his contract expires in 2017, according to the Associated Press. At 59, Pitino is already looking ahead to the end of his coaching run, which includes trips to the Final Four with three different teams (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville).

More often than not, those cupcakes turn out to give some of the more talented squads from conferences such as the Big East a run for their money, even knocking off a few of them along the way.

The Big East has had its fair share of losses in the early going as some of the teams we picked to be contenders for the conference championships are dealing with some early season growing pains.

Preseason No. 22 Cincinnati, which has been criticized for having too easy of a nonconference schedule, has lost a pair of games in their first five; once to Presbyterian and the other to Marshall in overtime on Friday night.

Pittsburgh, thought by many to not only be near the top of the Big East but also have a fighter’s chance at the national championship, dropped an early season game to Long Beach State. West Virginia lost to Kent State during ESPNs 24-hour marathon of hoops. And even defending national champions Connecticut fell to Central Florida in the Battles 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.

In each instance, you’re sure to find a hard-core fan that will play Chicken Little and claim the sky is falling, pointing out everything that went wrong in the (enter your team’s November collapse here) game.

We’ve heard it over the past few seasons about how the gap between the majors and mid-majors is closing, and each year it seems we see more and more instances of that belief becoming fact with these so-called upsets.

One thing Big East fans need to grasp ahold of is this: it’s only November. Things will (or at least should) get better.

You’ll hear announcers calling the games on ESPN and CBS talking in clichés about teams being completely different now than they will be in February or March and even though it is a cliché, it’s true.

That’s how sayings become clichés, they turn into assumed truths. So while maybe your Big East team has dropped an early season game that was supposed to be a snoozer, don’t it deter you from an expectations you might have had before the season began.

These teams, especially some of those who are incorporating some new talent into their rotation need some time to gel. With each passing game comes more experience.

Now, if you’re dropping games to Presbyterian and Kent State in January, then there should be some cause for alarm.

Last Year:

32-9 overall, 9-9 Big East (T-9th)

Coach:

Jim Calhoun (25th season, 605-228)

Projected starting five:

G: Shabazz Napier, So.
G: Jeremy Lamb, So.
F: Alex Oriakhi, Jr.
F: Roscoe Smith, So.
C: Andre Drummond, Fr.

Important departures:

Kemba Walker 23.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.5 apg 37.6 mpg
Jamal Coombs-McDaniel 5.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 16.6 mpg
Charles Okwandu 2.9 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 15.4 mpg

Inside the numbers:

53 percent scoring returning
70 percent rebounding returning

Additions:

C: Andre Drummond, 6’10”, 275 – ESPNU #2
G: Ryan Boatright, 6’2”, 165 – Rivals #42
F: DeAndre Daniels, 6’8”, 180 – Rivals #10

Schedule:

Toughest nonconference game: 1/21 at Tennessee
Toughest in-conference stretch: 2/6 – 2/18 at (8) Louisville, at (5) Syracuse, vs. DePaul, vs. (21) Marquette

Prediction:

3rd in BE; 25+ wins; Second weekend of NCAA Tournament

What to expect:

Despite losing their All-Everything floor general Kemba Walker, the defending national champs might have even more talent in 2011-12 than they did on the title squad. Returning All-Rookie team selections Jeremy Lamb and Shabazz Napier, the Huskies also have big man Alex Oriakhi as well as a top recruiting class that expects to see major playing time right out of the gate.

Andre Drummond, one of the nation’s top high school centers looks to be inserted into the starting lineup, and Ryan Boatright should see some time as Napier’s backup whenever he becomes eligible. The question in Husky-land isn’t whether or not this team will be able to live up to last year’s accomplishments; it is if they can match them.

The postseason runs through the Big East and NCAA tournaments masked the fact that the Huskies were perfectly mediocre in conference play, ending at 9-9. With most of the championship team returning in 2011 as well as the influx of top recruits, folks in Storrs will be calling this a reloading year, not rebuilding.

Next: DePaul Blue Demons

Back to Big East preview

Possessions
UConn 82
Ohio State 87

Offensive Efficiency
UConn 98
Ohio State 58

The offensive efficiency of Ohio State was 58. It’s a paltry number by offensive standards but a phenomenal show of dominance on the part of UConn’s defense. That is .58 (efficiency is points per possession * 100) points per possession. Geno Auriemma’s club entered the game averaging in the high 60s possessions per game; Ohio State was averaging 75 possessions per game. Both teams played faster than normal and it worked to UConn’s advantage. The Huskies made a concerted effort to push the ball. “We definitely planned to come out and run,” point guard Tiffany Hayes said. “We wanted to get the rebound and get out and run.”

Hayes was outstanding, a game-high 26 points with 4 assists and 6 boards. Maya Moore added 22 points. Freshman center Stefanie Dotson scored two points on one of two shooting from the field. Dotson played a solid all around game adding a team high 15 rebounds and blocking three shots in 25 minutes.

Defensively the Huskies held Ohio State (8-2) to 27 percent shooting from the floor. The nation’s leading scorer, 6-4 Jantel Lavender, scored 14 (7 of 21 shooting) points, a dozen below her average. She and Tayler Hill paced the Buckeyes with 14 points each.

Next for UConn (10-0) is a meeting with Florida State in Hartford on Tuesday for the potential record setting 89th consecutive victory.

With the victory behind them, talk turned to comparisons with UCLA’s streak. Perhaps Maya Moore summed it up most accurately and thoroughly. “It was different times but there were things that were similar,” she said. “Both teams (UCLA men and UConn women) shared a similar level of competitiveness. Both had expectation levels above that of anyone else.”

Beyond the record, Moore hopes UConn is remembered in another light. “We want people to realize how much we love and respect the game. We want that to show in the way we play it.”

So it goes for the Connecticut Huskies this season.

Look at their roster, or watch them before the game, and they look impressive.  They pass the look test, with a lot of length and athleticism.  But once the game begins, it’s not long before the feeling changes.  And on Wednesday night, when the Huskies lost 81-66 at Providence, it was right there for many to see.

Like many of Jim Calhoun’s teams at Connecticut, this one is excellent defensively.  The Huskies entered the game tops in the Big East in field goal percentage defense, with Syracuse not far behind.  On Wednesday, they held Providence to 40 percent shooting, which on many nights would be good enough to win.  The Huskies have been remarkably consistent defensively, as there is basically no difference in the opponent’s field goal percentage in their wins or losses.  It’s the offense that wins or loses games, and for too much of this season it has been losing games.

Another thing this team shares with many of Calhoun’s teams is that there is a lot of athleticism.  This team is dangerous in a fast-paced game with a lot of running, as they are at their best when they get transition baskets.  When it’s a slow, half court game, the opponent has this team right where they want them.  Past Connecticut teams could win these games, often quite convincingly, but not this one.

It starts with the lack of shooters.  Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson are capable shooters, but neither strikes fear in opposing perimeter players and neither seems fond of taking jumpers.  Stanley Robinson is shooting well, but he, too, strikes more fear in opposing players with his ability to score closer to the basket.  He isn’t a sniper.

The lack of a shooter might not be so bad if not for the fact that this team has a lot of the same player.  The Huskies are loaded with athletes who can score but not shoot, and that has hurt this team.  In their seven losses, the Huskies have shot below 22 percent from long range, a major difference from their 38.5 percent shooting from deep in their 13 wins.  Knowing that the Huskies like to score off the bounce, teams can play a zone against them or just sag back and force them to prove they can make shots.  Even when given those openings, they don’t always opt for the jumpers because the mindset is to go to the basket.

Get past that, and this team doesn’t have the post scorers they have had in the past.  When you’re in the Big East and your best post scorer is Gavin Edwards – a nice player and slight over-achiever who is at best a complementary player in the Big East – you could be in for some difficult times.  Freshman Alex Oriakhi has rebounded well and had his moments, but has always been a bit soft and tries too hard to out-finesse opponents inside, evidenced by his average of 2.5 free throw attempts per game in over 28 minutes per contest.  Ater Majok is long and has some athleticism, but is also clearly over-hyped.  Jonathan Mandeldove was over-recruited, and Charles Okwandu is a role player at best.

With all of this, it’s not a surprise that offense lost Wednesday night’s game first.  Mind you, this came against a Providence team that has had its struggles on the defensive end and had a meltdown there in their last game, a 109-105 overtime loss to South Florida.  While the Friars were able to get good penetration against the Husky guards and turn them into a number of dunks and layups, that’s not where the Huskies lost this game.

“We get ahead, we got right where we wanted to be, then we stopped playing offense,” said associate head coach George Blaney, coaching the team in Calhoun’s absence for medical reasons.

As a result, the Huskies are 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big East.  That puts them likely on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble at the moment, especially since they lacked a resume win before knocking off Texas on Saturday.  They have plenty of opportunities left to get quality wins while improving their record, but it’s not going to come easily with the offense being what it is.

“We have the talent to do it,” said Dyson.  “We’re playing tentative at times, giving up way too many points by taking a break.  If we keep giving teams 10-0 runs, 12-0 runs, it’s difficult to win games.”

The way this team plays offense, that might be an understatement.

Connecticut has a team with plenty of physical gifts, as they have certainly recruited athletes.  They are translating into some success defensively, but you have to score to win, and right now the Huskies are having trouble scoring.  As a result, they are also having trouble winning.

1. Talent – UConn is absolutely loaded. With eleven players dressed the most minutes (23) went to Tina Charles and Meghan Gardler, the least to Jacquie Fernandes, who logged 11. Going to the bench there did not seem to be much of a drop-off in skills. Coach Geno Auriemma also has the luxury of two solid point guards. Sophomore Tiffany Hayes is more of your half court set floor leader while junior Lorin Dixon is a high-octane transition type. Some teams are fortunate having one proven lead guard; UConn has two.

2. Pick your poison – The exact phrase used by Seton Hall coach Phyllis Mangina. UConn, with Charles posting and Maya Moore penetrating, is a force inside. Mangina opted to give the Huskies the outside shot. They knocked down 6 of 18 from three but also hit a succession of mid range jumpers from fifteen feet. On the afternoon, UConn shot 57 percent (38 of 67).

3. Scoring woes – Throughout the pre-conference schedule Seton Hall had trouble scoring and turning the ball over. They committed 28 turnovers, despite the fact UConn did not press. In addition the Pirates shot 17 percent from the floor (9 of 52).  “When you do not shoot well against an opponent like UConn the problem magnifies,” Mangina said. “you have to shoot very well to have any chance of beating them.” Or of being in the game. The Pirates actually shot better from three-point range (4 for 21 for 19 percent) than inside the arc (5 for 31 for 16 percent).

Notes

• Seton Hall did not have a player in double figures and was led by junior guard Ebonie Williams with 9 points.
• UConn pit four players in double figures and was led by Charles’ 19 points 8 rebounds. “Since last March (Charles) has just lifted her game to another level,” Mangina said of the 6-4 Husky center.
• UConn improved to 12-0, their “closest” game being a 12-point win over number two Stanford just before Christmas.
• The Hall falls to 8-6 and Syracuse is next on Tuesday. “There are things to learn from this game but we have to put it behind us,” Mangina said. “In the Big East you need a big ego and a short memory.”
• UConn Coach Geno Auriemma, on facing a team UConn has defeated 25 straight times: “Our kids do not realize the history of the series. What we do every game is simply prepare for the opponent at hand. We focus on each team and get ready in the same manner.”
• Attendance was 4,166, as roughly eight busloads of UConn fans made it for the afternoon meeting.

The keys to the UConn-Cal contest:

1. Poise – There have been upsets in the women’s tournament this year. With just over 6 minutes remaining in the half, UConn trailed 31-23 and Cal had the momentum. The Huskies never hit the panic button and continued to execute on both ends with poise.

2. Defense – From that juncture with six minutes to play in the half, Cal scored six field goals the remainder of the game. Up until that point they had 11. UConn just dug down deep, forced a few shot clock violations and a succession of rushed attempts with the clock expiring. “The way we played the second half, especially on defense,” said coach Gene Auriemma, “was classic UConn basketball.”

3. Tiffany Hayes - the UConn freshman buried a few treys early and finished with a game high 28 points to spark the Huskies with a game-high 28 points. “She was open and took the shots,” said teammate and star lead guard Renee Montgomery of Hayes. “She showed a lot of confidence to step up like that in a Sweet 16 game.”

UConn led 35-33 at the half and opened it up immediately as the final twenty minutes began. Maya Moore with a relatively quiet start added 22 points. Tina Charles was limited by foul trouble but had a solid five-point, eight-board effort in 23 minutes. Cal’s big gun Ashley Walker sparked the Bears to the early lead. A strong inside player, Walker led Cal with 21 points, but only five following intermission.

In the final contest both coaches were planning on a grind-it-out defensive battle. Instead they got an offensive display as Arizona State pulled a big upset over Texas A&M. Sun Devil mentor Charli Turner Thorne studied the stat sheet following the game and said, “Giving up 69 points and 48 percent from the floor and we win?” As noted, it was an offensive display on both ends. It wasn’t a case of poor defense by either team. “There were times kids hit shots with a hand in their face or made a nice step-back,” Turner Thorne said.

At the half Arizona State held a 42-37 lead, a figure some may have expected to be a final tally. Arizona State was shooting 67 percent while A&M wasn’t too shabby, checking in at 55 percent. In addition, neither team missed a free throw as Arizona State was 9 of 9 and the Aggies were perfect in four attempts.

The second half saw much of the same: torrid shooting and the Sun Devils just refusing to relinquish a lead. A&M hung tough but could never grab the lead as the Pac-10 reps maintained a consistent two-possession lead. In the stretch the Sun Devils gained some separation. A&M had to gamble on defense and was forced into a late-game fouling mode that inflated the final margin.

Arizona State senior guard Briann January paced all scorers with 22 points. Texas A&M had three players in double figures, led by junior forward Tanisha Smith with 19 points. Arizona State finished the game with a 62 percent mark, while A&M cooled off with a 41 percent field goal percentage the second half. The defense for Arizona State may have been a little late but it got there – in time to send them to the regional final against UConn on Tuesday.

“They have a Hall of Fame coach,” Turner Thorne said. “This is one of his best teams for a number of reasons. This is an incredible opportunity to play against them. They are unbeaten and they are the team to beat.”

It was perfect. Akron, a very good MAC team with a coach that always gives me a good quote, coming in to try to steal a win from a strong Rams team from the A-10. That Mid-Major struggle was the early game.

The night cap was the Huskies taking on Big East foe, Rutgers. Sounds like a simple operation. Take care of the URI/Akron game then drive a little over an hour and knock out the late game.

Holy crap, did that plan go south in a hurry.

First off, the Rhode Island women played before the men and that game moved at the pace of some Post Office workers. The men’s game concluded with the Rams pounding Akron.

After the game I finish writing my evaluation then I stuck around and started to get some post-game comments and finally figured out it would take too long. I needed to get on the road to UConn.

The Rhode Island campus in Kinston is a good 10 miles on two-lane roads from I-95. It took me 20 minutes just to get to the highway and the whole trip is supposed to take 75 minutes.

After reaching I-95, it was a 25 mile drive down to the exit to start the cross country journey to Storrs.

I missed the turn off and it took me about 20 minutes to get turned around. Then it was too dark in my car to read the directions without pulling over to stop under a light, which I did every five minutes.

I finally asked a woman coming out of a gas station where UConn was from where we were. She knew, but explaining it to me in concise way was not something she could do easily.

She said, “Drive down this road until you get to the big rocks and turn right, then follow the signs.”

Of course, I wanted to know how far down it was and she explained she was not very good at miles.

So I asked how about in driving time. She thought for a few moments and said, “Drive for maybe 20 minutes.”

I then inquired as to what these rocks looked like.

“Not rocks, ducks! It is big ducks”

I said ducks and she said it back to me, only it still sounded a little like she was saying rocks.

So I said ducks again and she said something I could not understand but I thought it was either rocks or maybe ducks. I just couldn’t make it out for sure. I thanked her and proceeded to drive looking for some either big rocks or ducks.

After about 18 minutes I spotted a bridge that had big columns with big stone or cement ducks on top of them. So I guess she said ducks.

There was a sign for UConn and I went in the direction the sign was pointing and 10 miles later the campus appeared. I had no idea where the arena was located but I saw a line of cars and I figured it was in that direction.

So I decided to out-flank those cars by driving around the outside of the campus and coming in the back. I got around the back and there was a line of cars and I got in it. After about 10 minutes I inched up to a policeman and asked him where to find my correct parking lot.

In between directing cars he yelled out, “Up the hill and to the right.”

That was about as concise as telling me to turn at the duck or rock.

Thirty minutes later I inched up to Gumpel and there were no policemen, parking lot attendants or anyone that looked official.

There was a huge line of cars turning in next to the arena, so that looked like where I could park. If it was the wrong lot, I felt pretty confident I could talk my way in for free. I have done that earlier today at Rhode Island, at Butler several million times, UNC, NCSU, UGA, Maryland and a bunch more over the years.

But while I still about 150 feet away someone came out with a couple of barrels and closed off that parking area off to the right of the arena. To make it worse, he walked away.

Now there was nobody to talk into letting me park. I drove around outside the perimeter of the campus again and parked on the street about a mile from Gampel Pavilion and started walking toward the general direction of the arena.

I decided to shave some time off by cutting between two dorms. It was like a maze of dorms. I walked toward my right then back toward my left around another building and then right again and finally left around one more building and then I saw a fence.

That maze came to an abrupt end and I never found the cheese. I just walked 300 yards out of my way in 20 degree cold.

I was boiling mad at this point.

I finally got to Gampel and I was on the opposite side of the building from the gate I was supposed to enter. I walked around the whole building able to see inside the seating bowl each time I passed one of the three gates I had to go by before I got to the west gate.

I walked in still hopping mad and a guard told me I couldn’t bring a case into the building and that I should take it out to my car. You know, that car that is over a mile away on the other side of the maze of dorms.

I informed him it was my computer. He wanted to know why I had a computer. I told him so I could write about this crappy campus and piece of crap arena.

He said, “Oh, I thought you were a fan” I let him know that sports writers could be fat pigs too.

When I got in there was about six minutes left in the first half. I waited until half time and set my computer up. It took me one of the media people 15 minutes to figure how to get me logged on the wireless internet.

At this point I am a broken man. I have a lot of words to write and not much game left to do it.

So let’s see what we have here.

The Rams just took apart Akron. Rhode Island shot 55.8 percent (29-52) for the game and 57 percent from beyond the 3-point line (8-14).

Akron shot just 35 percent for the game and not a single Zip scored in double figures. Rhode Island’s strong defense had a lot to do with how poorly Akron played.

In the night cap, Connecticut beat the tar out of Rutgers 80-49. Rutgers shot just 28.8 percent (15-52) for the game UConn was big and fast. When they pulled down a rebound they shot out a quick pass and they were off to the races

Rhode Island against UConn might have been a better game today

And now for the arena comments.

Gampel Pavilion opened in 1989 and it is pretty underwhelming for a school from a Big Six Conference. It is not a dump, it is well kept, it is just the bare minimum in terms of a basketball venue.

It is a cement structure with a walkway around the inside of the seating bowl and that separates the upper seating section from the lower seating section. The upper seats on the ends are plastic bleachers and the rest are plastic chair backs. There is no outer concourse or lobby. In the four corners on the walkway level there are some concession stands that serve food. The score boards are attached to the wall above the seats. They are standard boards with video boards and player stats. I guess they don’t put more money and effort into making it nice because they play a fair number of games every year at the XL Center in Hartford and that is much bigger. The crowds at Gampel are big time. It holds 8000 and 2000 plus each game are screaming students. It is loud and intimidating.

Now Rhode Island built a much nicer arena. Ryan Center opened in 2002 with a thrilling overtime over USC.

It has a lower seating area with padded seats on the sides and upper seating consisting of plastic chairs with a beautiful carpeted concourse that runs under the upper seating section. The seats go up, rather than out, so the sightlines from the top row are great. It seats 7657 and every seat is a chair back.

Rhode island has pretty good parking nearby and they don’t charge to park I don’t think they have a maze of dorms either.

They just need more fans, it was at most, half-filled today.

So that is my East Coast swing for this year. Any day I can get two games in is a good day even with ducks, mazes and traffic jams.

Hey! Shouldn’t there be a cigar in this story?