800 ... thanks to 36

At this point in the season, UConn doesn't have many more statements to make outside winning a Big East championship, a league tournament title and of course, a national title. But boy, Wednesday's 93-82 win at No. 8 Marquette sure felt like one.




A.J. Price was simply unstoppable at times, proving a litany of big-time 3-pointers (8-of-13 in total), en route to his career-high 36 points. In balancing that, Stanley Robinson had his best game thus far this season, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes. And when needed, Hasheem Thabeet arose to the occasion. His rebounding never left (15 of the Huskies' 44), but midway through the second half, UConn looked to him more and he responded, scoring 14 points.

It all led to one of UConn's most significant victories on the year, considering its impact in the Big East -- UConn (26-, 14-2) is still tightly gripping first, with Marquette falling to 23-5, 12-3 -- and of course, historically, as it gave Jim Calhoun the 800th of his career. He's just the seventh Division-I coach to reach that milestone, now four short of tying Eddie Sutton for sixth all-time. But as he said before the game, Calhoun will likely drill home after: He'll look back and enjoy that milestone later. Now with two games left (vs. Notre Dame on Senior Day on Saturday, at Pitt on March 7), the Huskies are in the driver's seat in the league, not to mention 13-0 on the road this season after snapping Marquette's' 17-game home winning streak.

Some other observations from tonight (made from my couch, not Milwaukee unfortunately):

(1) Need to mention Price again. When the senior wasn't scoring tonight (12-for-20 from the field overall), he was screaming. After 3s, after jumpers, after big plays -- he made a habit of silencing the 19,000-plus at the Bradley Center and then filling that void with a battle cry. Price is very humble when he speaks with the media, but he plays with a noticeable swagger and confidence. When he took Jerel McNeal off the dribble midway through the second half, dropping the Marquette guard to his back-side, Price made sure to look him off before nailing a 15-foot jumper from the wing. Some may call that cockiness. A New York point guard will call that necessary.

(2) A few notes on 800:

Calhoun has joined a club that includes: (1) Bobby Knight (902 career wins); (2) Dean Smith (879); (3) Adolph Rupp (876); (4) Jim Phelan (930); (5) Mike Krzyzewski (825); and Eddie Sutton (804).

Next to likely reach it: Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, who has 791 career wins.

Calhoun's 1st win: Dec. 9, 1972; Northeastern 82, St. Michael's (Vt.) 66
Calhoun's 1st win at UConn: Nov. 29, 1986; UConn 58, UMass 54

Games Calhoun has coached: 1,139, the most of any active coach.

(3) Marquette was at a disadvantage, especially from a depth standpoint, when Dominic James was lost for the game (and perhaps the season) with a fractured left foot early in the first half. He spent the rest of the game cheering from the bench and walking on crunches, and his absence robbed the Golden Eagles of a third of their uber-talented backcourt. Jerel McNeal (26 points n 9-of-23 shooting) and Wesley Matthews (20 on 6-of-17) were great without him, but take a talent like that off any team, including one that normally only goes seven deep anyway, and you feel the effects at some point. (I'm guessing during UConn's 11-0 run over 2-plus minutes that started with roughly six-and-a-half minutes to play.)



(4) Robinson had showed signs of coming along in recent games (10 points, six boards against USF; eight and 10 against Pitt), but he was active, aggressive and aware from that start Wednesday. I think a telling sign was on one of the Huskies' first possessions when he dribbled the ball from the right wing to the foul line, pump faked and drew the foul as he shot. He didn't convert on the jumper, but how many times has he's taken initiative like that on the offensive end this season? Rarely. And he hit his first 3-pointer of the season, after missing his first 15. Remember, it was Sticks who came alive late last year, scoring in double figures in six of his final seven games. The Huskies need him to now.

(5) For the first time this season, Jeff Adrien was largely invisible tonight, finishing with season lows of two points and four rebounds despite playing 29 minutes with little foul trouble. In his defense, with Price lighting things up from the outside, UConn didn't look inside as much as many probably expected it to, negating Adrien's offensive chances. And even though undersized, Marquette played with great physicality in the post, especially Lazar Hayward. It didn't really show up on the boards (UConn dominated 44-25 and 14-6 on the offensive glass) but it helped make Adrien a non-factor in many areas.

(6) In the same vein, this game initially was pegged as Marquette's perimeter play against UConn's inside play. It didn't quite turn out that way. Again, the rebounding was a factor. But UConn hit as many 3s (11) as Marquette with just one more attempt (22 and 21), and a lot of times, this game looked like a shooting contest, with Price answering McNeal or vice versa. It turned out that way because it turned into Price's game. His 3-pointer with 1:15 to play that made it 89-81, UConn, iced the game -- and made just another statement in a season that's brimming with them for the Huskies.

(7) And, oh, not to forget, the Huskies' got some contributions outside of their top six tonight, especially from Scottie Haralson. The freshman hit 2-of-5 3-pointers and had six points in eight minutes. More importantly, he didn't show any hesitance when firing them up, which was the main reason Calhoun subbed him out after two minutes against South Florida. Considering the situation and the atmosphere (that crowd was really fired up at times), that says something. Gavin Edwards, meanwhile had five points and five rebounds in 15 minutes. That's all UConn may need if Stanley Robinson plays like he did on Wednesday. But of course, it's a story line to continue to watch as things get even more serious down the line here.