Storrs, CT (Sportsbooks) - The nation's second-ranked team will be in action this evening, as the Connecticut Huskies host the Delaware State Hornets in what appears to be a tremendously lopsided matchup.
Delaware State has already played nine games and has only one win to show for its effort. That lone victory came in the opener, and the most recent of the eight straight losses for the squad came on Saturday against Longwood by a 69-65 final. Not since the opener have the Hornets topped the 70-point mark, and they were held to exactly 42 points in four straight games, ironic to say the least.
UConn owns a 6-0 record, and all but one of the victories thus far have come by double figures. On Saturday, the squad knocked off Division I Independent Bryant by an 88-58 final. While the level of competition in that tilt wasn't very high, the Huskies have knocked off Miami and Wisconsin, and several challenges await once Big East Conference play begins.
Connecticut won its only previous meeting with Delaware State by a 74-68 final back in 1985.
Delaware State is only averaging 55.1 ppg this season on 41.1 percent shooting from the floor. The team is surrendering 69.4 ppg to the opposition, and the lineup is void of a star-caliber performer. Donald Johnson is posting 10.6 ppg, and he is the only double-digit scorer in the lineup. In the most recent loss to Longwood as part of the Las Vegas Invitational, Arturo Dubois did all he could to keep Delaware State close. The standout frontcourt performer ripped down 21 rebounds, one more than the rest of his teammates combined, and Dubois also scored 13 points to go with three blocks. Frisco Sandidge was also impressive, as he netted 21 points. As for Donald Johnson, he scored 15 points in the clash. Overall this season, Sandidge is netting a modest 9.9 ppg, while Dubois checks in with 9.1 ppg and 8.4 rpg.
UConn earned a 48-27 rebounding advantage over Bryant last time out, including a 17-6 edge on the offensive boards. The Huskies finished with 18 assists against only nine turnovers and shot 50 percent from the floor. All five starters for the Huskies reached double figures in scoring, including Hasheem Thabeet who finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Thabeet, the team's standout center, also blocked three shots, and he is averaging 14.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, and 4.2 bpg this season. Jerome Dyson is the leading scorer for the Huskies with his 17.0 ppg, and Kemba Walker is contributing 14.0 ppg. As for Jeff Adrien (13.7 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and Craig Austrie (11.3 ppg), they have been solid contributors as well. UConn is scoring 84.8 ppg while shooting 50.4 percent from the field as a team, and the club is limiting its opponents to 61.7 ppg on 38.7 percent shooting. The Huskies are also outrebounding their foes by an average of 10 boards per contest.
