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Vanderbilt’s Season Comes to a Close with 73-53 Loss to UConn in Sweet 16 3/25/2004
Vanderbilt’s Season Comes to a Close with 73-53 Loss to UConn in Sweet 16 PHOENIX (AP) — Connecticut shot 52.9 percent and outscored Vanderbilt 19-2 on second chance points as the Huskies advanced to the Phoenix Regional final with a 73-53 victory over Vanderbilt at America West Arena Thursday night. Now the Huskies are a win from becoming the Final Four team they were expected to be. Ben Gordon had 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists and UConn beat the cold-shooting Commodores 73-53 in the semifinals of the Phoenix Regional on Thursday night. The second-seeded Huskies (30-6) advanced to Saturday’s regional final against the winner of Thursday’s late game between defending NCAA champion Syracuse and Alabama. Rashad Anderson had 15 points and Emeka Okafor added 12 points and 11 boards for the Huskies, who staved off a 16-3 second-half spurt by Vandy that cut the lead to 52-45 on Corey Smith’s jumper with 12:07 to play. Anderson then sank a 3-pointer on his first shot of the half to start an 8-0 run that put UConn up 60-45 with 8:35 left. The Commodores (23-10), outrebounded 44-21, never got closer than 13 again. Matt Freije, the Commodores’ career scoring leader, shot 3-of-18 for eight points after scoring 31 points to help his team rally for a 75-73 second-round victory over North Carolina State in Orlando, Fla. Smith and Mario Moore each scored 12 for Vandy, which shot 35 percent. Leading up to the game, Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings called UConn “probably the most talented team in the tournament” and he might just be right. Sixth-seeded Vanderbilt, in the final 16 for the first time in 11 years, declared itself the underdog Wednesday and was overmatched athletically on Thursday. Taliek Brown added 12 points as four Huskies starters reached double figures. Brown, the pesky UConn point guard who’s been inconsistent this season, has scored in double digits in all three tournament games. The four-year starter scored 14 and 11 points in the first two rounds – the only time this season he’s had double digits in consecutive games. Anderson keyed a 17-1 run in the first half, scoring seven straight including two 3-pointers, as UConn built a 25-8 lead and quickly established the up-tempo game it wanted – and Vanderbilt hoped to avoid. When Smith ended the Commodores’ drought of nearly 7 minutes without a field goal by making a 3 8:11 before halftime, Okafor dunked seconds later to make it 27-11. Vandy knew it would have a difficult time if it didn’t play a near-perfect game, and the Nashville, Tenn., school couldn’t even make up ground when Okafor watched from the bench with two fouls for the final 7:02 of the first half. UConn had an answer for the few runs Vandy mustered, crashing the offensive glass to get easy putbacks and demoralizing dunks. Okafor showed no signs of trouble from an ailing back that has bothered him all season. He sat out two games during the Big East tournament before returning for the championship game against Pittsburgh. Stallings wanted to limit the minutes for Freije to keep him fresh, but it didn’t seem to matter that he played 33 minutes – he looked nothing like the player he’d been only four days earlier. Against NC State, Freije made four 3-pointers and shot 11-for-11 at the free-throw line for the overachieving Commodores, who reached the tournament for the first time since 1997. Anderson, a feisty 6-5 sophomore averaging 10.4 points coming in, did not start until Feb. 24 at St. John’s. The Huskies are 9-0 with him as a starter. Their only loss in their last 10 was the one he didn’t start – at Syracuse on March 7 in the regular-season finale. UConn beat Vanderbilt 76-70 on Dec. 1, 2002, and 84-71 on Nov. 19, 2001. |
