The UConn Huskies continued their reign of inside dominance Saturday evening as they defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 78-64 at the Hartford Civic Center. Coach Jim Calhoun had a plan to pound the ball inside against a weak Rutgers frontcourt and Calhoun got just what he wanted.

Connecticut got out of the gate strong forcing the ball inside and scoring on second chance baskets as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.

Rudy Gay started out strong scoring 9 points in the games first five minutes. Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva would also set the tone for the game by establishing their dominance in the paint, on both ends of the floor, early and often.

UConn would sail through the first half jumping out to as big as a 19 point lead before Rutgers trimmed the margin to 11 going into the half.

The Huskies frontcourt of Gay, Villanueva, and Boone all scored in double figures in the first half while Marcus Williams led a smooth UConn transition attack finishing the half with 6 assists.

Williams mentioned team rebounding as an important factor in getting the Huskies off to a strong start, among other things.

"We're also helping out on defense, blocking shots, and starting the fastbreak," said Williams.

UConn shot 50% in the first half while holding Rutgers to 36% from the floor. While Rutgers managed to keep the rebounding margin close, UConn dominated points in the paint (32-14) and second chance points (10-2).

To the credit of the Scarlet Knights, they would claw their way back into the game, cutting the UConn lead to 6 points, 48-42 at the 17:00 mark of the second half as Connecticut continued to struggle with their perimeter shooting. But UConn would respond with a 14-4 run and never look back, going on to win the contest easily 78-64.

Marcus Williams continued his stellar play. Williams, the Big East assist leader, appears more and more comfortable taking over the team as well as igniting UConn's fastbreak. He finished the game with 8 points, 8 assists, and just 2 turnovers.

"Marcus Williams continues to pass the test for point guards," said Calhoun. "He was running the game, he was defending exceptionally well, I was really happy with his play."

The Huskies were once again led by the interior play of Charlie Villanueva and Josh Boone as the two combined for 36 points, 26 rebounds, 12 blocked shots, and 6 assists. Villanueva and Boone continue to play better and better together and are starting to showcase a terrific big-to-big passing game. Both players showed a deft passing touch out of the double team. The pair finished the game with a combined 6 assists, most of them to each other.

"We had some tremendous ball movement," said Calhoun. I thought our passing in the paint to beat their big-to-big double was just magnificent."

Villanueva, who finished with 4 assists, helped to spark Boone's passing game. Boone, who finished the game with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 2 assists, admitted that Villanueva's passing touch is contagious.

"I know that Charlie really looks to get me the ball when he gets double teamed at all," said Boone. "So I'm trying to return the favor every now and then."

Meanwhile, Villanueva, who finished the game with 14 points, 14 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 4 assists continues to play stronger and stronger as the competition gets better.

"I've been preparing myself better each game," said Villanueva. "I'm more focused and I'm just playing hard...If I do that I get results like this."

The Huskies pulled down 53 rebounds, 18 offensive, and outscored Rutgers 58-28 in the paint and 27-8 on second chance points. UConn also blocked 16 shots and clamped down on defense limiting the Scarlet Knights to just 35% shooting from the floor while the Huskies shot 45% for the game.

Rudy Gay added 14 points and 8 rebounds for the Huskies on 6-10 shooting. While Denham Brown scored 11 points, UConn's perimeter struggles continued. Brown and Rashad Anderson combined to shoot just 6-23 from the floor including 2-11 behind the three-point line.

Waters Not Impressed

Rutgers head coach Gary Waters didn't appear very impressed with the Huskies, even after his team was manhandled by UConn.

"They constantly attacked the offensive glass," said Waters. "There's an issue there though, they have a hard time shooting that basketball and if you can keep them off the glass you have a good chance of competing with them."

Unfortunately for Rutgers, like just about every other team UConn has played, they couldn't come close to keeping the Huskies off the glass. And while Waters was critical of Connecticut's ability to shoot the ball, the Huskies shot 45% for the game while they held Rutgers to 35%. But instead of worrying about his own team's shooting woes, Waters decided to focus on Connecticut's defense, which also didn't impress him much.

"I don't think we're going to shoot like that again," said Waters. "Because I don't think (UConn) plays you that hard or prevents you from shooting the basketball...If you take it to their heart they've got to defend that. That's all Oklahoma did to them, took it straight to them."

In spite of Waters comments, it was UConn who took it to the Scarlet Knights. The Huskies blocked 16 shots, grabbed 35 offensive rebounds, and outscored Rutgers 58-28 in the paint and 27-8 on second chance points. But that didn't seem to deter Waters confidence.

"I'm going to tell you this, this game will be totally different at the RAC," warned Waters.

UConn will face Rutgers at the "RAC" on Saturday, February 19th at 6:00 pm. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

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