Men's College Basketball
Roundup: 5th-ranked UConn hammers Syracuse

By Seattle Times news services

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HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun was pleased with the way his Huskies handled Syracuse.

Emeka Okafor contributed 25 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and No. 5 Connecticut cruised to an 84-56 win over the 18th-ranked Orangemen yesterday.

"That was one of the best combination games we've played," Calhoun said. "We were tough and we were good. And that's a nice combination. Coming down the stretch in February, every game is big and you want to start proving things to yourself."

UConn (18-3 overall, 6-1 Big East Conference) held the defending national champions to 31 percent shooting.

Hakim Warrick led Syracuse (14-4, 4-3) with 26 points and 11 rebounds.

Calhoun picked up his 665th career win, passing Hall of Famer John Wooden of UCLA for sole possession of 20th place on the all-time win list.

Pac-10 honors Robinson

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Washington sophomore guard Nate Robinson was named the Pac-10 men's player of the week for Jan. 26-Feb. 1, commissioner Tom Hansen announced.

Robinson, a former standout at Rainier Beach High School in Seattle, averaged 19.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3.5 steals in the Huskies' home sweep of Arizona and Arizona State.

Robinson is the first UW player to earn the weekly Pac-10 honor since Curtis Allen on Dec. 3, 2001. Washington has had 20 Pac-10 players of the week.

Other Top 25 games

No. 3 Saint Joseph's 74, at Villanova 67 — The perimeter trio of Jameer Nelson, Delonte West and Pat Carroll combined for 60 points as the Hawks (19-0) beat the Wildcats (12-8) in a nonconference game.

Nelson had 23 points, West scored 21 and Carroll 16.

At No. 20 Kansas 65, Missouri 56 — Wayne Simien scored 18 points to help the Jayhawks (14-4, 6-1 Big 12) defeat the Tigers (9-9, 4-4).

Arthur Johnson led Missouri with 15 points.

Notes

• For the third straight week, the first three spots in the Associated Press poll remained the same: No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Stanford and Saint Joseph's. Gonzaga moved up two positions to No. 8.

No. 24 Utah State, winner of 14 straight, appeared in the AP poll for the first time since 1971.

• Bracket Buster II pairings and times were announced, and Gonzaga will play at Tulsa on Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. PST. ESPN2 will televise the game.

• ESPN reported Stanford senior forward Justin Davis, the team's leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer, will miss at least two weeks because of an injured left knee.

• Texas Tech coach Bob Knight got into a verbal spat with the university chancellor at a grocery store in Lubbock, prompting a review by school officials. School spokeswoman Sally Logue Post said she did not know details of the encounter between Knight and Dr. David Smith.

• Navy coach Don DeVoe will retire after this season. The Midshipmen are 3-17 and have lost eight in a row. DeVoe's 510 career wins rank 18th among active coaches.

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