Monroe helps Hoyas topple UConn in Big East opener

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/29/2008 - Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Freshman Greg Monroe connected on 6-of-10 from the floor for 16 points to help pace No. 11 Georgetown to a wire-to-wire, 74-63 win over the second-ranked Connecticut Huskies, in a game that signaled the start of the much-anticipated Big East Conference schedule.

DaJuan Summers posted a game-high 18 points, while Chris Wright added 16 points for Georgetown (10-1, 1-0 Big East), which was thoroughly impressive in its seventh straight win since its lone loss, against Tennessee on November 28.

Austin Freeman logged 13 points and a team-high six rebounds for the Hoyas, who hit 6-of-13 from three-point range in handing Connecticut (11-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season.

A.J. Price scored 16 points, while Jeff Adrien and Kemba Walker chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Huskies, who have eight double-digit victories this season.

Hasheem Thabeet had seven blocks and seven boards but shot just 2-for-4 from the floor for four points, well below his 14.8 point-per-game average coming into Monday's contest.

The Hoyas, in their first true road game of the season, got off to a hot start, bursting out to a 15-1 lead. Summers hit two threes and Monroe added one of his own during the stretch, as UConn needed 5 1/2 minutes to sink its first field goal.

Back-to-back threes from Price got the Huskies' offense going, and an 8-2 run later on cut the UConn deficit to 26-22 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the half.

Two buckets by Wright at the end of the half -- one a rainbow over Thabeet -- gave Georgetown a 36-27 lead with 20 minutes to play.

Monroe made a three-ball coming out of the break, but picked up an early third foul, as the Huskies rattled off 10 of the next 11 points to get within 40-37 six minutes into the half.

The game proceeded to move at the Hoyas' preferred pace, however. Seven consecutive points pumped up their lead to 11, as two Summers free throws made it a 56-45 game with under 10 minutes to play.

The difference moved to 15 as Monroe dished to Wright in the lane for a basket. Summers then swished a deep jumper and threw down a two-handed dunk off a missed shot that pushed the score to 70-53 with four minutes remaining, and the Huskies never got within single digits the rest of the way.

Game Notes

Georgetown owns a 32-27 lead in the all-time series with Connecticut, including wins in the last three meetings with the Huskies...The Hoyas hit 18- of-21 from the free throw line, while the Huskies made 16-of-22 from the stripe...The Hoyas had 26 points off 17 UConn turnovers, compared to 13 points for the Huskies off 14 Georgetown giveaways.

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The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.

New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).

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Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.

The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.

Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.

The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.

Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.

However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).

The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.

Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.

In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.

Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.

Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.

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