PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- UConn has sealed another Big East win here at the RAC tonight, as Jeff Adrien proved to be the difference with a game-high 27 points.

The Huskies had little problem taking down Rutgers, 79-61, and put themselves in strong position in the conference standings at 22-6 overall and 11-4 in the Big East. Rutgers, meanwhile, lost its eighth straight game, falling to 10-19 and 2-14 on the season.

Jeff Adrien led both sides with 27 points and Craig Austrie and Stanley Robinson each tallied 18 points as the Huskies' three double-digit scorers. Robinson led the UConn effort on the glass with a game-high 13 rebounds, while Jeff Adrien grabbed 11 and sophomore center Hasheem Thabeet collected 10 of his own. Thabeet had an unusual night with just two points on 0-for-7 shooting, but his defense kept Rutgers from threatening UConn's lead throughout the second half.

UConn's three-point shooting was also impressive tonight. Jim Calhouns' team, which has a talented backcourt with Jerome Dyson now back from his suspension, shot 6-for-11 (54.5%) from three thanks to Austrie's perfect 4-for-4 night behind the arc.

Earl Pettis was the only Scarlet Knight to register double figures, finishing with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting (2-for-2 fhas rom three). Byron James and Anthony Farmer each had nine points for Rutgers, which shot 42.4 percent for the game and 50 percent (8-of-16) from three.

UConn, at the other end, knocked down 51.8 percent of its shots, including 6-of-11 from three (54.5%).

We'll head down to the press conferences that follow this one and will have more on this game at Hang Time. So until then, we say goodnight from Piscataway, N.J.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Jeff Adrien has continued to lead the way for UConn by a setting a new career high with 25 points, and Craig Austrie has given the Huskies a 12-point lead with a three off a free throw miss by Adrien.

Time is ticking away for the Scarlet Knights and Fred Hill's players need to make a move soon if they hope to get back in this one and upset the No. 15-ranked team in the country.

And recently it's been the Hasheem Thabeet block party, as the sophomore center just sent two back on Rutgers' last trip down the floor.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- UConn is starting to pull away in this Big East battle at the RAC, as Craig Austrie just hit a three from the right wing to put the Huskies up, 65-52.

Stanley Robinson had a two-handed breakaway dunk on the previous possession, and it's Jim Calhoun's team who looks like the stronger of the two teams on the floor right now.

After a pair of free throws by Rutgers' Byron Jones, it's UConn leading, 65-54, with 8:12 left.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- It didn't take long for UConn to retake control of the game, as Jeff Adrien just tallied his 20th point of the game and the Huskies got two more on a fastbreak flush from Stanley Robinson.

It's UConn leading, 55-45, with 14:28 left.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers has made things very interesting thing here at the RAC as Jaron Griffin has shown a hot hand from three for the Scarlet Knights.

UConn, however, has answered quickly back with a Stanley Robinson dunk and a Hasheem Thabeet block at the other end.

Right now it's the Huskies leading Rutgers, 51-45, with 15:34 remaining in the second half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Corey Chandler gave Rutgers a boost with a baseline jumper just before the halftime buzzer, and Rutgers trails No. 15 UConn by only six, 43-37, at halftime.

Chandler started to show some rhythm toward the end of the first half with smooth-looking jumper off a screen and roll, but Jeff Adrien has been too much for the Scarlet Knights to handle, posting a game-high 16 points in the first half.

Craig Austrie has complemented Adrien's frontcourt play with fine shooting in the backcourt, making both of his threes to tally eight points. Stanley Robinson has seven and Doug Wiggins has five for the Huskies, who are welcoming back sophomore guard Jerome Dyson (three points) after his suspension last month.

One of the biggest surprises has been absence of Hasheem Thabeet in the Huskies' scoring line, as the sophomore center did not tally a point in the first half, going 0-for-3 and grabbing five rebounds.

Rutgers, on the other hand, has gotten much of its scoring from its bench and from one player in particular in guard-forward combo Earl Pettis, who has a team-high 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting (1-for-1 from three) from the field. Corey Chandler has dropped in eight and Byron James added seven to the Scarlet Knight's scoresheet, which also shows the home team shooting a solid 48.4-percent clip.

But it hasn't been able to overcome what UConn has done so far, hitting 53.6 percent of its shots and nine of its first 10 free throws. Rutgers, meanwhile, has only gotten to the line four times so far.

The second half is about to get going so we'll turn our attention to the two teams taking the floor for the final 20 minutes of tonight's game.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers has cut UConn's lead to under double digits, but the Scarlet Knights are having a tough time stopping the Huskies on the defensive end.

Jeff Adrien, in the meantime, continues to increase his stat line, and Earl Pettis has hit two straight jumpers for Rutgers. That kind of perimeter shooting might be just the spark that Fred Hill's squad with a couple minutes left before halftime.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- UConn has gotten out to a double-digit lead with nine minutes remaining in the first half here at the RAC, and it's Craig Austrie who's leading the charge for the Huskies, canning two threes for a 27-16 lead.

The Scarlet Knights, in the meantime, are struggling to take care of the ball, committing six turnovers while burning three timeouts in less than two minutes. Fred Hill knew if his team was going to compete tonight that it would need to be efficient on the offensive end, and that has happened so far tonight.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Jeff Adrien is continuing to make Rutgers pay on the defensive end, using his low post skills to score over defenders and find open teammates around the rim.

Rutgers trailed by five just a few moments ago, but a three by Doug Wiggins just put UConn back up by eight with the scoreboard reading 18-10.

UConn has won the rebound battle so far with Adrien and 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, and Jim Calhoun has seen how much the Huskies' effort on the glass lately helped them during that 10-game winning streak.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Jeff Adrien has started out strong for UConn in the early going, hitting a field goal from the right baseline and knocking down a couple free throws to get the Huskies on board first.

J.R. Inman has Rutgers close, but it's Adrien again attacking the basket to give the Huskies a 8-5 lead.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Good evening everyone from the RAC, where tonight we see the host Scarlet Knights square off with its third straight ranked opponent with No. 15 UConn coming to northern New Jersey for a late February Big East brawl.

Connecticut (21-6, 10-4) is coming off its first loss in 11 outings, a 67-65 setback at Villanova, after putting together a 10-game winning streak that's put the Huskies in contention with league leaders Georgetown and Louisville for the Big East title. Jim Calhoun's team currently sits fourth in the conference standings and welcome back sophomore guard Jerome Dyson tonight. Dyson and Doug Wiggins had been suspended earlier in the season for an alcohol-related incident, which caused both players to take a drug test under the policy of UConn's department of athletics. While Wiggins was allowed to return to the team following a critical win at Indiana, Dyson failed his test and was forced to sit out for the last month. Now with Dyson able to return, it will be interesting to see the dynamic of UConn's offense after playing so well shorthanded over in the past four weeks.

Rutgers (10-18, 2-13), meanwhile, suffered a dismantling 78-48 loss to No. 24 Marquette over the weekend. The Scarlet Knights got off to a good start in that contest against the Golden Eagles but struggled after halftime shooting the ball with just a 27.6 percent. Corey Chandler led the way for Fred Hill's club, hitting 5-of-10 field goals for a team-high 12 points, while J.R. Inman added 11 points.

And we'll also get to see two of the nation's best shotblockers tonight, as Rutgers' Hamady Ndiaye (ninth in blocks with three per game) takes on UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, who ranks third in the country with 4.4 blocks per game.

We still have some time before the tip but we'll be back with all the action between the Huskies and Scarlet Knights...

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Roy Williams wasn't interested in staying long after to speak with the media about tonight's convincing 93-71 victory over an overmatched Rutgers team with a sold-out crowd of 8,312 at the RAC, but the North Carolina coach is happy to be headed back home with a 9-0 record and seven straight road victories.

"We feel very fortunate," he said to the handful of reporters that stuck around after Rutgers coach Fred Hill's press conference. "We got them to turn the ball over, and [we] turned it into points at the other end that got us such a working margin that made it hard for them to come back from."

But Williams was also quick to credit a Rutgers team that held the Tar Heels to 42.5 percent from the field for the game.

"I loved Fred's kids," he continued. "They never stopped trying to play, and they competed the whole time."

Sophomore Ty Lawson certainly competed during the 30 minutes of floor time that he saw tonight, dropping in a game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting (2-of-5 from three-point range) in addition to six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

"In the first half, he was aggressive and did a great job defensively," Williams said of his standout point guard. "He's having a heck of a year for us. When he attacks the basket, he helps us get some easy baskets, and he also has the ability defensively to really bother the other teams' [point] guard and stop dribble penetration, so he's really having a good year for us."

Preseason Player of the Year favorite Tyler Hansborough came in behind Lawson on the scoring sheet with 20 points and 11 rebounds (and yes, I did predict that he would finish with that mark in my halftime post) but left the game with five minutes left after suffering a mild concussion when he fell to the floor and hit his head on a photographer's knee underneath Rutgers' basket.

"It's the first time in college basketball that a guy has got a concussion with no foul called, " Williams said with a few chuckles from his audience, "and that better be all I say."

The junior forward, however, looked to be relatively fine as he packed up his belongings in the North Carolina locker room and shared his thoughts on the Tar Heels' long stretch away from home.

"It just shows some toughness on our part," Hansbrough said about the seven straight road games. "This is a tough atmosphere, and Coach really pushed us to play hard. I think we worked off of that."

Going up against the 6-foot-9 UNC big man was Hamady Ndiaye, who finished with a game-high four blocks, which ups his season total to 91, to go along with seven rebounds and three points.

In the backcourt, freshman Corey Chandler was the biggest bright spot for Rutgers, finishing with a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds despite committing six turnovers.

"Corey is an extremely talented, athletic and quick kid," Rutgers coach Fred Hill offered about his 6-foot-2 point guard. "He's a scorer and has a scorer's mentality. Certainly you can see he has great ability and great talent. When he figures everything out he's going to be an outstanding player and scorer for us."

Anthony Farmer was Rutgers' other double-digit scorer with 17 points, but between the Tar Heels' defensive physicality and offensive efficiency, the Scarlet Knights never had much of a chance to test UNC's poise in a hostile and rowdy environment.

"There is a reason why they are ranked No. 1 in the country," Hill said of the Tar Heels. "That's an extremely talented ball club. They have great players at every position and great depth. They're a really hard team to slow down. The game plan was to control tempo, but that's a very difficult thing to do. We did it to the best of our ability, but that's a very deep and talented team."

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.C. -- Rutgers is trying to make this one a ball game with less than three minutes to play and the Scarlet Knights still trailing by double digits at 84-69. The Tar Heels, after all, will up its record to 9-0 when the final buzzer sounds in two minutes, and Roy Williams and company will be able to leave central New Jersey feeling pretty good about its upcoming home games against Nicholls State, UC Santa Barbara, Nevada, Valparaiso and Kent State.

Rutgers, in the meantime, will look to rebound with a couple of home games next week against Rider and Manhattan before the Scarlet Knights beginning Big East play at USF on Jan. 2. And from the way Fred Hill's team played tonight, there's plenty of work to be done. But that's just my own take on the way things unfolded.

The final horn just sounded, and No. 1 North Carolina has captured a 93-71 victory. I'll be back with some post-game thoughts, notes and quotes after we hear both coaches and players talk.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- North Carolina fans who are in attendance here at the RAC are starting to make their voices heard with the Tar Heels holding a dominating 73-47 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the contest.

As I was mentioning earlier, the RAC has started to clear out with the Scarlet Knights not putting up much of a fight against the No. 1 team in the country, and it's something that I certainly expected in making the drive down from the Big Apple.

Out of a timeout, Rutgers managed to turn the ball over again, something they did on 10 occassions in the first half, and Wayne Ellington finished at the other end to push the Tar Heels' lead up to 75-47.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Danny Green was pretty quiet in the first half after playing only seven minutes, but the junior guard-forward combo has just hit back-to-back threes on consecutive possessions down the floor, and the Tar Heels are cruising here at a very quiet and slowly emptying RAC.

JR Inman has managed to pick it up for Rutgers, getting a layup underneath and then draining a three from beyond the arc to up his point total to seven for the game, but the junior forward is going to do a lot more of that the rest of the way for Rutgers to even slice a 25-point lead in half.

With the way the Scarlet Knights keep missing layups in transition, though, that's even unlikely to happen. With 11 minutes remaining, UNC is way up, 69-42.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- At the 16:19 mark after halftime, No. 1 North Carolina has come out with the same firepower in the second half as it did in the first half, and the Tar Heels have upped their lead to 55-30.

Fred Hill's team knew how much a challenge it was going to be to stay with Roy Williams' club for all 40 minutes, but the Scarlet Knights didn't even make it 10 minutes before UNC had a double-digit lead on them. Maybe that's asking too much from a team that doesn't start a senior, but JR Inman has seemed to be non-existent so far for Fred Hill, registering just two points (1-of-4 from the field), two assists, one block and no rebounds in the first half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- We're at halftime here at the RAC, and it right now it's No. 1 North Carolina with a commanding 47-26 lead over Rutgers before the second half starts in 15 minutes or so.

The Tar Heels ended the first half on a strong note, stringing baskets together on consecutive possessions to push its lead past 20, while the Scarlet Knights struggled to gain confidence in its offensive sets, often settling for tough shots from the perimeter.

And Fred Hill's team has caught a few bad breaks here and there, too, after a basket after the buzzer was called off by the officials.

I finally got my hands on a stat sheet from Rutgers media relations, and it's North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson leading all players with a dazzling 19 points. The sophomore Clinton, Md., native has also collected five rebounds and dished out two dimes. Wayne Ellington is the other Tar Heel to hit double-digit points in the first half, as the 6-foot-4 sophomore has 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field. Tyler Hansbrough surprisingly only has eight points, but don't be surprised when the junior power forward collects his regular 20 and 10 by the end of the night. Half of those eight points came at the free throw line for Hansbrough, who also grabbed five rebounds in his first 18 minutes of action.

For Rutgers, freshman guard Corey Chandler is pacing the Scarlet Knights with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting in addition to five rebounds, and Anthony Farmer has tallied six points in his 17 minutes on the floor.

With both teams back in their layup lines, we get ready for the second half.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- With just over three minutes to go before halftime, No. 1 North Carolina leads Big East foe Rutgers, 34-23, at the RAC, and it's been some gritty play by the Tar Heels that has got it done in the first 17 minutes of action here.

Rutgers, however, is shooting itself in the foot with a handful of missed free throws, and between that and its struggles matching up with UNC's frontcourt on the glass, it could be a rather long second half for the Scarlet Knights.

Ty Lawson has just made his third steal at midcourt and laid up an easy two in addition to a foul. The sophomore point knocked down the free throw, and it's 39-23 with 2:24 remaining before recess.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Since I was telling you about my earlier encounters back in Southern California with North Carolina forward Deon Thompson, the 6-foot-8 sophomore has since blocked back-to-back shots for the Tar Heels and is showing his physicality and strength against a smaller Rutgers team.

Jaron Griffin, however, got the ball back on the left wing and was able to can a three to cut North Carolina's lead to 10. Seconds later, it's Ty Lawson again with a steal in the backcourt and an easy layup.

With 5:16 remaining, it's No. 1 North Carolina leading, 32-20.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers is really try to hang with No. 1 North Carolina in the early going of this nonconference matchup at the ever-vocal RAC in central New Jersey.

Ty Lawson now has the Tar Heels holding onto a double-digit lead after stealing the ball at midcourt and laying up an easy one. Deon Thompson, the Torrance, Calif., native who I actually got to cover during his high school days in Southern California, tipped back a shot on the previous possession, and it's been UNC who has controlled the glass early. Rebounding is something that Rutgers coach Fred Hill will want to discuss with his team at halftime, but when you're going up against the strong and powerful bodies of Hansbrough and Thompson, it's never an easy night on the glass.

With about eight minutes remaining, it's North Carolina 25-16.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Both teams started slow in its first few possessions down the floor but are starting to find a little more rhythm from the perimeter.

Sophomore point Ty Lawson just stroked a three from the right wing to give North Carolina a 5-2 lead, and Marcus Ginyard has added a pair of free throws to have the Tar Heels out in front by five with 16:21 left.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Hello everybody from the RAC, where tonight we see the Rutgers Scarlet Knights welcome the No. 1 team in the country in North Carolina on a cold and windy Sunday night in central New Jersey. It's certainly cold for this Los Angeles native, as I'm making my first visit to the RAC, a place that I've been told a lot about since I moved to the New York area a little over a year ago.

And though it hosts a better women's program than it does a men's, the RAC is still an intimidating place for any visitor to play in. Luckily for North Carolina, this will mark the sixth straight game that the Tar Heels have played away from the Smith Center. UNC, in fact, has only played two games at home so far this season in wins over Iona and South Carolina State in the opening rounds of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational, so the Tar Heels definitely know how to win when they're not in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Scarlet Knights, in the meantime, have started the season at 7-3 and are coming off a 65-55 victory over NJIT just up Highway I-95 at the Prudential Center (or the Rock as it's often referred to as) in Newark. Corey Chandler was the big scorer for Rutgers on that night, as the 6-foot-2 freshman guard tallied 15 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the free throw line. Junior forward JR Inman notched his seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and team-best 13 rebounds, and sophomore center Hamady Ndiaye, the Big East leader in blocked shots (seventh in the nation), issued four rejections against the Highlanders.

The Tar Heels, on the other hand, have yet to lose this season at 8-0 and have claimed the No. 1 ranking in the AP pol for every week this season. Roy Williams' ball club is off to its best start since the 1998-99 season, when it also began the year at 8-0. The last team to start the year better was the previous year, when North Carolina reached the Final Four. And with the way Tyler Hansbrough has been leading the way with 21.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, the Tar Heels could just top that mark with a win here tonight against Fred Hill's Scarlet Knights. But UNC hasn't played a game since Dec. 4, when the Tar Heels stomped on Penn, 106-71, in the City of Brotherly Love, so for all of you watching this game on the Worldwide Leader right now, don't be surprised if North Carolina has to shake off a little rust before blowing it open on Rutgers.

But enough with all the babbling. The tip is here, so let's watch some good old-fashioned roundball.

Posted by Josh Herwitt at 07:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)