Welcome to the Boat-Show

HARTFORD– With the UConn men's basketball team leading Seton Hall 22-13 with 4:35 remaining in the first half, Roscoe Smith stole the ball from Jordan Theodore. A couple seconds later, Jeremy Lamb pushed the ball down the court and missed the lay-in as he was fouled at the basket. As the sophomore collected himself, Smith, Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier ran over to greet Lamb with smiles, chest bumps and high fives.

The four veterans shared a laugh as they huddled before Lamb went to the free throw line. The old guard was having fun playing basketball again. The crowd, sensing it, gave the core four a standing ovation. At least for this game, the Huskies had their championship swagger back.

UConn trounced the Pirates 69-46 on Saturday afternoon before a sold-out XL Center. Without coach Jim Calhoun, who went on indefinite medical leave with a spinal condition on Friday, the George Blaney-led Huskies halted their four-game skid and improved to 15-7 on the year and evened their Big East record at 5-5. Seton Hall dropped its sixth straight and is now 15-8 overall and 4-7 in the conference.

"We were on a four-game losing streak and we needed to come back like a Jim Calhoun team. The word was: ‘All In,'" Blaney said.

Oriakhi had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and eight rebounds in 28 minutes. The junior called a players-only team meeting after a loss at Georgetown Wednesday night. He and Smith apologized for being selfish and Oriakhi told the team he didn't want the season slipping away like it did his freshman year, when the Huskies had to settle for the NIT. Oriakhi said the emotional meeting was something he felt, as the captain, he had to do. And after constant pressure to call the meeting from his father, mother and Kevin Freeman, Oriakhi stepped up and talked the talk.

In Hartford on Saturday, he walked the walk.

"It's just crazy when you change everyone's mindset, what could happen," Oriakhi, who added that if he didn't lead with his play on Saturday his words would've been meaningless, said.

The team bought in to Oriakhi and looked loose.

"We were finally having fun out there," Oriakhi said. "We were bonding, just like last year."

"I was particularly pleased with Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier in that there was a light in their eyes," Blaney said.

Napier struggled from the field for the third straight game, shooting 1-of-6 as the team shot 43 percent from the field. He finished with six points and eight rebounds. Andre Drummond finished with seven points, seven blocks and six rebounds. Ryan Boatright led the team with 19 points and five assists and Lamb added 17 points on 3-of-10 shooting.

Theodore and Aaron Cosby led the Pirates with 10 points apeice. Fuquan Edwin totaled nine points and 10 boards. Smith scored four points off the bench for the Huskies and Tyler Olander, who started alongside Drummond, Lamb, Boatright and Napier, finished with six points on 2-of-3 shooting,

Niels Giffey totaled only seven minutes. DeAndre Daniels didn't take a shot in just three minutes of action, and in the blowout victory, Brendan Allen and Enosch Wolf came off the bench for the final minute.