UConn Crushes Coppin State
No. 5 Connecticut was just too big for winless Coppin State as the Huskies won 89-44 on Monday, handing the Eagles their worst loss ever.
The Huskies' size in the post 6-foot-11 Jake Voskuhl, Souleymane Wane and 6-10 Ajou Deng kept the smaller Eagles off the boards and forced several turnovers inside.
The trio combined for 19 boards, four blocks and 25 points. Wane, a reserve center, led all players with 10 boards.
"My goal was to come out aggressive like I've been doing," said Wane. "We play so well as a team the big guys who's ever out there we just feel comfortable."
The Eagles (0-5) came out in a zone to try and slow the Huskies up tempo game. The big guys, said Wane, were waiting.
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UConn (4-1) is averaging six blocks per game, led by Deng with 11 over the last five games. The Huskies outrebounded the Eagles 49-35.
Khalid El-Amin led UConn with 18 points and hit the first two field goals in an opening 11-4 run. The Eagles never recovered. UConn led by as many as 26 points in the half and had a 46-23 lead at the break.
"We had superior size," said UConn coach Jim Calhoun. "Our physicality and strength took them out of it."
UConn last played seven days ago, but showed little rust against the road weary Eagles. Coppin State is three games into a 10-game road trip. Still ahead for the Eagles (0-5) are St. John's, Purdue and Auburn.
"One good thing about it, we've got another one coming up," said Eagles' coach Ron Mitchell. "That's another opportunity for success and we got to look at it hat way and learn from our mistakes we made today."
Voskuhl and Kevin Freeman had 13 and 12, respectively.
El-Amin opened the second half with a three-pointer to spark a 24-4 run. The Huskies didn't allow Coppin State a field goal until 10:09 in the half.
Kofi Pointer led the Eagles with 17 points.
The first four UConn opponents averaged just 34.4 percent from the field. The Eagles fared worse, hitting 17-of-60 for 28 percent.
UConn leads the series 2-0, beating the Eagles 72-50 in 1997.
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