Dyson leads UConn past DePaul, 71-49

Here's the difference between being the nation's No. 2 team and being one that can't find a win.

Connecticut led DePaul by 6 points at halftime Wednesday night, but the Blue Demons entered their locker room pumped up while Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun treated his Huskies to a high-decibel lecture.

The Huskies proceeded to allow just 14 second-half points as they pulled away for a 71-49 Big East triumph before perhaps 7,000 at the Allstate Arena.

"We talked very loudly at halftime about the fact we weren't playing defense," Calhoun said. "That's as good a defensive performance as we're going to have."

DePaul sophomore Dar Tucker led everyone with 20 points, but he went scoreless for the final 13:05.

"They saw I was driving a lot, so they just crowded the paint," Tucker said. "I think I still could've gotten to the rack, but I was winded a little bit. That's something I've just got to work on."

During the stretch when UConn clamped down on Tucker, the Huskies (19-1, 8-1) turned an 11-point lead into a prototypical Big East manhandling.

The Blue Demons (8-13, 0-8) had 22 points in the paint in the first half to trail just 41-35 at the break. But their only second-half basket in the paint came on Kene Obi's meaningless layup with 20 seconds left.

"We got beat up," said DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright, who couldn't believe his team got to shoot just 9 free throws. "We got physically beat up and moved off of cuts and moved off of drives."

Connecticut, led by thickly muscled senior forward Jeff Adrien, outrebounded DePaul 41-29 and owned a 14-point edge on second-chance points.

Meanwhile, the Demons' top post player couldn't find any room to work.

Sophomore Mac Koshwal entered the night averaging a double-double. But forced to deal with the specter of 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet most of the night - not to mention the 243-pound Adrien - Koshwal suffered a season low with 6 points and tied his season low with 5 rebounds.

Thabeet finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. Junior guard Jerome Dyson led four Huskies in double figures with 18 points.

Because top-ranked Duke lost at Wake Forest on Wednesday, Connecticut can assume the No. 1 spot with a home win over Providence on Saturday.

"We don't talk about those things," Calhoun said. "This is a veteran team."