University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Connecticut
Tar Heels Can't Solve Huskies In 86-54 Loss
January 19, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Jan 19, 2002
By DONNA TOMMELLEO
AP Sports Writer
STORRS, Conn. - Caron Butler turned an ordinary start into an extraordinary finish.
utler matched his career-high with 29 points to lead Connecticut to an 86-54 victory over NORTH CAROLINA on Saturday. The sophomore forward, UConn's leading scorer, started off cold and was pulled after two minutes. Coach Jim Calhoun told him he was playing just "ordinary."
"What you do, we follow," Calhoun told him.
The Huskies (12-3) followed Butler to their fourth straight win and handed the struggling Tar Heels (5-10) their second worst loss of the season and fifth straight defeat, their longest losing streak in 50 years.
"We have to keep our heads up and regroup," Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty said. "But when you invest emotionally and don't get the rewards, that's tough."
NORTH CAROLINA was without leading scorer and rebounder Jason Capel for the second straight game. The senior swingman, who averages 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, suffered a concussion during practice on Tuesday.
The Tar Heels had few answers for Butler or UConn's speed and dominating inside game.
The Huskies righted themselves early in the first half after missing six of their first seven shots in the opening six minutes of the game. CAROLINA took advantage to build an 11-2 lead.
utler then took over with strong offensive rebounding and scored 12 points in a 20-9 UConn run. The six-minute spurt, capped by Taliek Brown's jumper, gave UConn a 22-20 lead with 8:08 remaining in the first half.
"That's my bread and butter, those offensive rebounds," Butler said.
The Huskies outscored NORTH CAROLINA 22-4 in the closing minutes of the half and led 44-26 at halftime.
UConn, which shot 52 percent from the field (34-for-65), led by as many as 41 points in the second half before NORTH CAROLINA closed the game with an 11-2 run.
Freshman guard Ben Gordon had 17 points for the Huskies, who won the battle of the boards 43-31, led by freshman Emeka Okafor's 13 rebounds.
"We're a good team. That's our objective every game, to go out and blow every team out," Okafor said.
Kris Lang led the Tar Heels with 15 points on 6-of-21 shooting, while Jawad Williams added 14 points.
The Tar Heels' worst loss of the season was 112-79 at Maryland.
It was UConn's first win in three tries against CAROLINA, a program far removed this season from its storied past.
"Probably what they did over the years won't be duplicated again," Calhoun said. "My respect for them hasn't changed one bit."
The Huskies, unbeaten in Big East play, appear poised to return to the Top 25 for the first since January 2001.
"It's easy to stay, but it's hard to get in," Calhoun said.
