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UConn point guard A.J. Price was still pissed about being soundly beaten at home back in January by Providence. In that game, the Friars were brilliant on the perimeter. UConn was lousy in the second half. Providence was able to celebrate a rare road win this season. Apparently the way the Friars celebrated at the Hartford Civic Arena XL Center rubbed Price the wrong way.

"Real disrespectful," Price said of the Friars without a hint of sarcasm or hesitation. "They don't know how to win, and it showed. They were laughing, mocking. I usually have a lot of respect for other teams, but they showed a lack of respect last game. They beat up on us and made a mockery of it."
...
"We'll be ready to go. ... We want to blow them out. That's what we're going there to play for."

He said that yesterday. Tonight he couldn't match his words. Providence beat UConn 85-76 to sweep the Huskies this year.

Price could only manage 11 points on 4-13 shooting. He turned the ball over 6 times, and the rest of the Huskies added another 15. Outside of Hasheem Thabeet, UConn did not look like one of the top teams in the Big East. They were sloppy with the ball, out-muscled by the Friars and shot poorly. I don't think that qualifies for blowing them out. They definitely were "ready to go" -- somewhere else.

Providence didn't do it from the 3-point line. Instead they did it by attacking the basket and getting it inside. So, while they were blocked 6 times by Thabeet, they still found plenty of room for short jumpers and backdoor passes.