Pirate Galaxy » ament. A neutral-court win over Cal might

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A month into the season Connecticut doesnt look quite as vulnerable as many people thought. Not after beating No. 2 Notre Dame. Not after winning its 83rd straight game.Two days after narrowly earning the top-ranking in The Associated Press poll, the Huskies easily secured that title on the court with a comfortable 72-61 victory over the Fighting Irish on Wednesday night, their third straight victory over a ranked team.Coach Geno Auriemma said the Huskies (8-0) wouldnt know their winning streak stretched to more than two years if not for the media.I would think if this was the first time our program had ever been here, wed be acting a little bit different. You dont want to sound like you dont appreciate it -- but we did win 90 in a row, Auriemma said.Napheesa Collier scored 14 of her 20 points in the second half after playing just nine minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, Gabby Williams had 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and Katie Lou Samuelson added 18 points to pace the Huskies.The Huskies trailed for about 2 minutes in late in the second quarter, but played with the lead most of the game as they controlled the inside, outscoring the Irish 42-30 in the paint and finishing with a 35-32 edge in rebounding.I was really disappointed in everything, execution, the inability to get the ball to Bri. Completely ineffective offensively, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said.Brianna Turner led the Irish (8-1) with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Lindsay Allen added 11 points.After Notre Dame tied it at 42 with just under 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the Huskies forced a pair of turnovers leading to layups by Samuelson and Williams. Collier added a pair of free throws to give Connecticut led 50-43 at the end of the third quarter.We knew they were going to hit us hard at times and we just had to hit back harder, Williams said.Auriemma said that stretch was the key.In that moment when it could have gone into the fourth quarter differently, I think it kept our confidence level high and may have put a damper on them, he said.The Huskies stretched it to 65-54 on a 3-point play by Samuelson with 3:06 left to put the game away.Auriemma said he wont get too excited about the victory.I know this is Dec. 7th and theres a long way to go between now and the end of the season, he said.BIG PICTUREUConn: The Huskies have beaten five ranked teams, including No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Baylor, and have staked their claim as the clear No. 1.Notre Dame: The Irish faced adversity for the first time this season and couldnt respond as they struggled, going 3 of 14 on 3-pointers and making just 4 of 8 free throws. The Irish lost to the Huskies for a sixth straight time and have work to do if they hope to challenge Connecticut by the end of the season. No one on the roster has ever beaten the Huskies.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Two days after narrowly passing the Irish in the poll, the Huskies showed there is no doubt who deserves to be No. 1. The Irish lost to the Huskies by the same score as Baylor, so it could be a tossup as far as who is No. 2 next week.TIP-INS: The game marked the 57th time the top-rated team in The Associated Press poll faced No. 2. The No. 1 team is 36-21. ... The last time UConn was No. 1 and lost to a No. 2 was against Notre Dame in the NCAA Tournament semifinal in 2001, when the Irish rallied back after trailing by 16 points in the first half to beat the Huskies 90-75 en route to the national championship. ... The Huskies have won 27 straight road games. The record is 30 straight set by UConn (2007-11) and matched by Notre Dame (2011-15). ... The Huskies have won34 straight against ACC teams.UP NEXTUConn: The Huskies stay on the road to play at Kansas State, ending a streak of three straight games against ranked teams. They then play No. 12 Ohio State in Storrs on Dec. 19.Notre Dame: The Irish, who have played only one true road game, play six straight on the road starting Saturday at No. 16 DePaul. They are then off for finals until playing at Toledo on Dec. 18.Jamie Meder Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Tyler Lockett Jersey . 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There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters.The lineups that 25th-ranked California and San Diego State will field when they meet at Sacramentos new Golden 1 Center on Monday (11 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Networks) might bear little resemblance to the players they put on the floor in their last games on Wednesday.The Bears (2-0) were missing three starters -- preseason All-American forward Ivan Rabb (toe) guards Jabari Bird (back) and Grant Mullins (neck) -- in their 75-65 overtime victory against UC Irvine.The Aztecs (2-1) faced a worse situation. They started Wednesdays home game against San Diego Christian with only eight players and at one point were down to six, including one walk-on, by the time they finished off an 81-58 victory.They are probably looking for the same thing we are -- to get healthy, Cal coach Cuanzo Martin said, But thats a great program.There is a pretty good chance that many of the injured players will be available on Monday.All three injured Cal players may be ready to return Monday, and if Rabb plays, it would represent his season debut after he sustained a sprained toe in a scrimmage against St. Marys three weeks ago.For San Diego State, Valentine Izundu (ankle) and Matt Shrigley (ankle) could have played Wednesday if the opponent had not been an overmatched NAIA school.Montaque Gill-Caesar (nose) and Dakarai Allen (ankle) were injured during Wednesdays game, but might return for Mondays game, too.The outlook for Malik Pope (knee), Max Hoetzel (knee) and Ben Perez (back) is less certain. All three missed the first three games of the season and remain questionable for the game against Cal.The 6-foot-10 Pope is the key member of that group after starting 16 games last season.Maliks making progress, Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said after Wednesdays game, but I would term myself cautiously optimistic today that he would have a chance (to play Monday).It would haave been nice to have those injured players last Monday at Gonzaga, which clobbered San Diego State 69-48 when the Aztecs shot only 28.dddddddddddd.6 percent from the field.They were not needed against San Diego Christian, although Fisher nearly ran out of players.We had two 13-year-olds as honorary coaches today, Fisher said after the game, and at halftime I said, John, Jake, do you have tennis shoes? They looked at me. I said, Where do you go to school? La Jolla Country Day. What grade are you in? Seventh grade. I said: Im putting one of you in. I mean that, Im putting one of you in.After consulting a rule book, Fisher did not put them in. Jeremy Hemsley had a game-high 23 points for the Aztecs in that game and preseason all-conference selection Trey Kell added 19.The Bears had a much bigger challenge against UC Irvine, which held a 13-point lead early in the second half.Cal rallied behind freshman Charlie Moore, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Chicago who scored 38 points, a Cal freshman record and the most points by a Bears player since Jerome Randle, another undersized point guard from Chicago, scored 39 in 2010.We didnt want to have any excuses after the game, Martin said. You had key guys out, and this is part of the game. You have 13 scholarship guys. You have to make it work with the guys whove been in practice. Probably one of the better wins in my coaching career, just to see guys compete and battle and not make excuses.San Diego State, the preseason pick to win the Mountain West Conference title again, won the conference regular-season title by three games last season, but failed to get into the NCAA tournament. A neutral-court win over Cal miament. A neutral-court win over Cal might