2010–11 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
# 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

The 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 2010–2011 NCAA Division I basketball season. The Huskies were coached by Jim Calhoun and played their home games at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies were a member of the Big East Conference.

The Huskies entered the year unranked and picked to finish tenth in the Big East. In November, they won the Maui Invitational Tournament for the second time. They finished the Big East regular season in a tie for ninth place at 9–9. Led by Kemba Walker who scored a tournament record 130 points, they became the first school to win five conference tournament games in as many days in claiming their seventh Big East tournament title. By winning the tournament, they were awarded an automatic berth into the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They advanced to their fourth Final Four with a 65–63 victory over Arizona and advanced to their third national championship game with a 56–55 victory over Kentucky and beat Butler 53–41 for their first championship since 2004 and third since 1999.

## Before the season

The Huskies were coming off of a tumultuous 2009–10 season in which they failed to earn a berth in the NCAA tournament for the second time in four years, and amidst an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations involving Nate Miles. As a result of the investigation, assistant coaches Patrick Sellers and Beau Archibald resigned from their positions. Later that summer, Kevin Ollie was hired to take Sellers' role as assistant coach, and Glen Miller was brought on as Director of Basketball Operations, replacing Archibald. Both men have previous links with Jim Calhoun. Ollie played for the Huskies under Calhoun from 1991–95, while Miller was an assistant coach under Calhoun from 1986 until 1992. In addition to the coaching changes, the Huskies also needed to replace three graduating starters: Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards. Reserve forward Ater Majok also left the school before the season began. Prior to the start of the season, the Huskies were picked by both the Big East coaches and writers to finish tenth in the conference. The team was not ranked in the top 25 in any major national poll, although they did receive votes in the Preseason AP Poll. With regards to individual honors, Kemba Walker was selected to the Preseason All Big East first team, and was named to both the Wooden and Naismith award preseason watchlists.

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :

| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Bradley C | Chattanooga, TN | Tyner Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 13, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Niels Giffey SF | Berlin, Germany | Alba Berlin | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 40 ||||||
| Jeremy Lamb SG | Norcross, GA | Norcross H.S. | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 15, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 92 ||||||
| Shabazz Napier PG | Roxbury, MA | Lawrence Academy | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Apr 29, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Tyler Olander PF | Storrs, CT | E.O. Smith H.S. | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Mar 25, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Roscoe Smith SF | Baltimore, MD | Oak Hill Academy (VA) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jan 8, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 ||||||
| Enosch Wolf C | Germany | Wilbraham & Monson Academy | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 18 ESPN: 20 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "ESPN – Connecticut Basketball Recruiting 2010". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 26, 2010. "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 26, 2010. ||||||

## Regular season

After a pair of exhibition games, the Huskies began the regular season with non-conference wins over America East teams, Stony Brook and Vermont. In the win against Vermont, Kemba Walker tied a UConn XL Center record by scoring 42 points. The team next travelled to Hawaii to play in the 2010 Maui Invitational Tournament. They last participated in the tournament in 2005, when they won the championship. To open the current tournament, they played Wichita State. Walker scored 29 of his 31 points in the second in the 83–79 win. The victory meant they would match up with Michigan State, who was ranked No. 2 in the AP poll at the time. Walker scored 30 points, the third straight game that he eclipsed the 30 point mark, as the Huskies won 70–67. In the championship game, the Huskies outscored Kentucky 21–2 at the end of the first half, and defeated the Wildcats, 84–67. Walker, who scored 29 points in the final, was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. His 90 points was just three points short of the Maui Invitational record. Alex Oriakhi was also named to the all-tournament team.

## Postseason

The Huskies entered the Big East tournament as the No. 9 seed, just missing the cut to earn a First round bye. UConn went on to win five games in five consecutive days to earn the Tournament Championship, and an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. In the Big East tournament, UConn defeated four teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.

UConn received a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament's West Region. They continued their winning streak all the way to the National Championship, finishing the season with eleven consecutive wins. As a result of having to play 5 games to win their conference tournament, they became the first team in Division I history to play 41 games in a season.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | $Rank^#$ | $Opponent^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3* 7:30 pm | | American International | W 96–58 | — | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, CT |
| November 7* 1:00 pm | | Bridgeport | W 103–57 | — | XL Center Hartford, CT |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 12* 7:00 pm, SNY | | Stony Brook | W 79–52 | 1–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,319) Storrs, CT |
| November 17* 7:00 pm, SNY | | Vermont | W 89–73 | 2–0 | XL Center (10,216) Hartford, CT |
| November 22* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Wichita State Maui Invitational Quarterfinal | W 83–79 | 3–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 23* 7:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 2 Michigan State Maui Invitational Semifinal | W 70–67 | 4–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 24* 10:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 8 Kentucky Maui Invitational Final | W 84–67 | 5–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 30* 7:30 pm, SNY | No. 7 | New Hampshire | W 62–55 | 6–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,558) Storrs, CT |
| December 3* 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 7 | UMBC | W 94–61 | 7–0 | XL Center (10,591) Hartford, CT |
| December 8* 7:30 pm, SNY | No. 6 | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 78–54 | 8–0 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,241) Storrs, CT |
| December 20* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 | Coppin State | W 76–64 | 9–0 | XL Center (10,193) Hartford, CT |
| December 22* 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 4 | Harvard | W 81–52 | 10–0 | XL Center (11,255) Hartford, CT |
| December 27 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 4 | at No. 6 Pittsburgh | L 63–78 | 10–1 (0–1) | Petersen Events Center (12,725) Pittsburgh, PA |
| December 31 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 4 | South Florida | W 66–61 $^{OT}$ | 11–1 (1–1) | XL Center (12,599) Hartford, CT |
| January 4 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 8 | at No. 14 Notre Dame | L 70–73 | 11–2 (1–2) | Joyce Center (7,291) South Bend, IN |
| January 8* 3:30 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | at No. 12 Texas | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 12–2 | Frank Erwin Center (16,734) Austin, TX |
| January 11 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 10 | Rutgers | W 67–53 | 13–2 (2–2) | XL Center (12,527) Hartford, CT |
| January 15 2:00 pm, SNY | No. 10 | at DePaul | W 82–62 | 14–2 (3–2) | Allstate Arena (9,581) Rosemont, IL |
| January 17 3:30 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 7 Villanova | W 61–59 | 15–2 (4–2) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| January 22* 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 8 | Tennessee | W 72–61 | 16–2 | XL Center (16,294) Hartford, CT |
| January 25 9:00 pm, SNY | No. 5 | at Marquette | W 76–68 | 17–2 (5–2) | Bradley Center (15,476) Milwaukee, WI |
| January 29 12:00 pm, SNY | No. 5 | No. 23 Louisville | L 78–79 $^{2OT}$ | 17–3 (5–3) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| February 2 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6 | No. 17 Syracuse Rivalry | L 58–66 | 17–4 (5–4) | XL Center (16,294) Hartford, CT |
| February 5 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | at Seton Hall | W 61–59 | 18–4 (6–4) | Prudential Center (10,001) Newark, NJ |
| February 10 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at St. John's | L 72–89 | 18–5 (6–5) | Madison Square Garden (13,652) New York, NY |
| February 13 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 10 | Providence | W 75–57 | 19–5 (7–5) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| February 16 7:00 pm, SNY | No. 13 | No. 9 Georgetown Rivalry | W 78–70 | 20–5 (8–5) | XL Center (16,294) Hartford, CT |
| February 18 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at No. 16 Louisville | L 58–71 | 20–6 (8–6) | KFC Yum! Center (22,776) Louisville, KY |
| February 24 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | Marquette | L 67–74 $^{OT}$ | 20–7 (8–7) | XL Center (14,622) Hartford, CT |
| February 27 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | at Cincinnati | W 67–59 | 21–7 (9–7) | Fifth Third Arena (11,246) Cincinnati, OH |
| March 2 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at West Virginia | L 56–65 | 21–8 (9–8) | WVU Coliseum (13,241) Morgantown, WV |
| March 5 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 16 | No. 8 Notre Dame | L 67–70 | 21–9 (9–9) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,167) Storrs, CT |
| 2011 Big East tournament ||||||
| March 8 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (9) No. 21 | vs. (16) DePaul Big East First round | W 97–71 | 22–9 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| March 9 12:00 pm, ESPN | (9) No. 21 | vs. (8) No. 22 Georgetown Big East Second round/Rivalry | W 79–62 | 23–9 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| March 10 12:00 pm, ESPN | (9) No. 21 | vs. (1) No. 3 Pittsburgh Big East Quarterfinals | W 76–74 | 24–9 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| March 11 7:00 pm, ESPN | (9) No. 21 | vs. (4) No. 11 Syracuse Big East Semifinals/Rivalry | W 76–71 $^{OT}$ | 25–9 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| March 12 9:00 pm, ESPN | (9) No. 21 | vs. (3) No. 14 Louisville Big East Championship Game | W 69–66 | 26–9 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| 2011 NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 17* 7:20 pm, TNT | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (14 W) Bucknell NCAA First Round | W 81–52 | 27–9 | Verizon Center (17,706) Washington, DC |
| March 19* 9:40 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (6 W) Cincinnati NCAA Second Round | W 69–58 | 28–9 | Verizon Center (18,684) Washington, DC |
| March 24* 7:15 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (2 W) No. 6 San Diego State NCAA Sweet Sixteen | W 74–67 | 29–9 | Honda Center (17,980) Anaheim, CA |
| March 26* 7:05 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (5 W) No. 17 Arizona NCAA Elite Eight | W 65–63 | 30–9 | Honda Center (17,856) Anaheim, CA |
| April 2* 6:49 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (4 E) No. 11 Kentucky NCAA Final Four | W 56–55 | 31–9 | Reliant Stadium (75,421) Houston, TX |
| April 4* 9:00 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (8 SE) Butler NCAA National Championship | W 53–41 | 32–9 | Reliant Stadium (70,376) Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#Rankings$ from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club (at time of draft) |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2011 | 1 | 9 | Kemba Walker | Charlotte Bobcats |
| 2012 | 1 | 12 | Jeremy Lamb | Oklahoma City Thunder (acquired via trade from the Houston Rockets) |
| 2013 | 2 | 57 | Alex Oriakhi | Phoenix Suns |
| 2014 | 1 | 24 | Shabazz Napier | Miami Heat (acquired via trade from the Charlotte Hornets) |
