ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 23, 1996 TAG: 9603250038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LEXINGTON, KY.
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
Nicknames aside, it really was a dog-eat-dog NCAA Southeast Regional semifinal opener.
The underdog won, even though much too soon it quit playing like the Bulldogs they appropriately are named.
Mississippi State reached the final eight of an NCAA bracket for the first time in history Friday night, and it was Connecticut that was left feeling like it was in Starkville.
UConn has to be the best program that can't reach a Final Four, and became the second No.1 seed in this 58th NCAA Tournament to go home.
The Huskies (32-3) had 89 wins the past three seasons - that's past tense, too - but forget about them winning the big one.
They can't even get there.
In a 60-55 upset at Rupp Arena, State (25-7) was dominating and intimidating the third-ranked Huskies until the Bulldogs began running the clock instead of their offense.
That was just what UConn needed to get back into the game, because other than the scoring of guard Ray Allen and fierce offensive rebounding that produced few second-chance points, the Huskies were getting nothing.
The Southeastern Conference tournament champions were poised and impressive. Now, with Kentucky and the Bulldogs, the SEC has two of the tournament's final eight teams.
``As a group of coaches, we've said all along that our league was better than it was given credit for,'' said State coach Richard Williams. ``Most people don't realize how good that Kentucky team is.
``They may not have one player as good as Ray Allen, but they have 12 guys who are very good. It's the best team I've seen in my 12 years in the league, and I think the rest of us haven't gotten the credit we deserve because we've been compared to that team.''
State, ranked 19th and an eight-point underdog, was expecting a game of pressure and up-tempo play from a team that averaged 83 points per game. Then, the Bulldogs never let the Huskies run.
UConn got where it was partially with its trapping defense. Although it missed the quickness of injured backup point guard Ricky Moore, coach Jim Calhoun's team was passive for too long.
The Huskies led the nation in field-goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to .385. State, however, could play that game, too - and came into the Sweet 16 defensively at .387.
UConn's last game of the season was its worst offensively. The Huskies' score wasn't just their season low. UConn hadn't posted fewer points since its 68-49 loss to Georgetown in the 1991 Big East tournament. UConn's .324 field-goal percentage was another depth for the season.
``They played great defense, but we didn't play great offense,'' Calhoun said. ``Every time we pressed them, they'd come down and make a 3-pointer. Four times.''
The Bulldogs offered a physical matchup for which the Huskies weren't husky enough.
``Sometimes, it's what bracket you get in and who you play,'' Calhoun said. ``Mississippi State was a tough matchup for us.''
In the only regional in which every team was a conference regular-season or tournament champ - or both, like UConn - the fifth-seeded Bulldogs weren't awed.
``I think we played as hard as we can play,'' Williams said. ``Marcus [Bullard] and Darryl [Wilson] did a good job controlling the game. We ran a lot of sets to get things open.''
Wilson took advantage of the picks and screens. The senior two-guard may be known as ``Super D'' in Starkville, but it was his first-half ``O'' that did the most to contain the Huskies.
Wilson made five of six from behind the arc in the first half. Then, after UConn had closed its deficit to 55-50, the guard hit a scoop shot with :04 on the shot clock and 1:30 to play.
It was Wilson's last hoop in his 27-point game. It was also the Bulldogs' biggest.
These Huskies may own the school season record for victories, but their magic disappeared after Allen's Houdini hoop that beat Georgetown in the Big East tournament final two weeks ago.
That clinched a No.1 seed for UConn, but beating Colgate in the first round was a chore when the Huskies went the final 5:22 of a 68-59 victory without scoring.
UConn lost backup point guard Moore to a right shoulder dislocation in that win, then had to rally from an early 10-point deficit to send Eastern Michigan back to Ypsilanti.
``We didn't go out the way we came in,'' Calhoun said.
No, they won't be champions.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 linesby CNB