Its been 1,033 days since UConn men's basketball was ranked No. 1 in the country.
After a dominating 94-61 victory over Providence and losses by No. 1 Duke, No. 3 Pitt and No. 4 Wake Forest, that drought is almost certain to end.
UConn, which started off as the preseason No. 2 and has dipped no lower than No. 6 in the polls this year, will likely ascend to the top spot in the country when the rankings come out later today despite not even being in first place in the Big East.
"It's great when a team that's third place in the Big East is No. 1 in the country," said Providence coach Keno Davis. "It shows you how deep this league is."
UConn guard A.J. Price, who led the Huskies with 19 points in Saturday's victory, said that the team's new ranking doesn't "mean much at all."
"We have a tough game coming down in Louisville and they're not going to play any harder because we're No. 1," Price said.
"They're No. 1 in the Big East right now (7-0 conference record) and we're right on their tail. If they win the game, they get some separation, if we win the game, we put ourselves in great position coming down the stretch. That's what it boils down to, not No. 1."
While Price has never been an active participant on a No. 1 team, senior forward Jeff Adrien has. The 6-foot-7, 245-pound double-double machine was a key reserve on the Huskies' 2005-2006 squad that finished the season 30-4 and was rated at the top of the polls on numerous occassions.
"I've been there before," Adrien said. "It's about being No. 1 at the end of the year, that's what you want. Until then, you just go out and play every game like its your last."
UConn coach Jim Calhoun, though flattered that the voters would consider his team tops in the nation 21 games into the season, certainly wasn't satisfied with the ranking either.
"It's nice," Calhoun said. "But it was only a few years ago that we were No. 1 and upset by George Mason. [No. 1] is just a number that goes by quickly."
Price scores 1,000th point
In a game with several storylines - the Huskies' staking claim to No. 1, Stanley Robinson's re-emergence, Hasheem Thabeet's triple-double and UConn's revenge on a Providence team that had three consecutive wins over the Huskies - Price's 1,000th point may have been a bit overlooked. Price drilled a pull-up 3-pointer with 8:47 remaining in the first half to become the 42nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and the second in the past week.
Jerome Dyson reached the plateau Wednesday at DePaul, and was honored prior to tip-off Saturday.
Given the struggles Price has endured at UConn - a brain hemmorhage that cost him a season and nearly his life, the year-long suspension for stealing laptops from a dormitory and the torn ACL he suffered in last year's NCAA Tournament loss to San Diego - there was a time when 1,000 points seemed like an impossible milestone.
"It shows how strong he is," Adrien said. "A lot of guys who've been through what he's been through would have quit easily. He disregarded everything that was handed to him and went out and scored 1,000 points. It's great."
Break-out game for Sticks
Calhoun and Price both summoned the same words when asked to describe Robinson's 18-point, seven-rebound performance Saturday: Welcome back.
"It's so nice to see you, Stanley," Calhoun joked. "I haven't seen you in a month or so." After being declared academically ineligible prior to the start of the season, Robinson missed the first eight games of the season before re-gaining eligility and joining the team for its Dec. 15 victory over Stony Brook.
Robinson has been inconsistent, especially on the offensive end. The 6-foot-9 small forward, who is arguably among the most explosive athletes in all of college basketball, was averaging just 4.8 points per game before torching Providence for 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
"Stanley was at his bottom. And when you're at your bottom, you can only go up from there," Adrien said. "Today he definitely picked it up and showed the Stanley that we know. If we have Stanley rolling against Louisville and he has to go up against Terence Williams, that's going to be big."
According to Calhoun and Price, Robinson attacked the basket with much more aggressiveness and confidence and still did the little things - he added two blocks, two steals and two assists - to fuel the Huskies' 34-point thrashing of Providence.
As happy as his teammates were to see him dominate offensively (he scored in double-figures in only one other game this season, an 11-point effort against Rutgers), Robinson was even more thrilled.
"Coach told me 'Welcome back' when I came to the bench and I just said 'Thank you,'" Robinson said. "Everything worked out."
Okwandu ineligible
Freshman center Charles Okwandu has been ruled acadmically ineligible for the remainder of the season. The 7-foot-1 Okwandu appeared in 10 games this season and averaged 0.3 points and 1.1 rebounds in 4.5 minutes of action. He is allowed to practice with the team but will not dress or travel to away games.
The Quotable Calhoun
"Well, we're not No. 1 yet, and I dont plan on reading the papers till about 9 p.m. Monday, so I don't know what you're talking about." - Calhoun on UConn's soon-to-be No. 1 ranking.
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