GAME NOTES: The 17th-ranked Connecticut Huskies head to the Sunshine State this weekend, for a Saturday afternoon showdown with the South Florida Bulls. The Huskies have thrown their name in the mix among the Big East contenders this season, thanks to their current eight-game win streak. Jim Calhoun's squad kept the winning ways going with Wednesday's 84-78 victory over nationally-ranked Notre Dame. With the win, UConn moved to 8-3 in league play, good for a tie with the Irish for third place in the standings, behind only Georgetown (10-2) and Louisville (9-3). The Bulls have long abandoned any idea of being mentioned among the Big East elite. They have struggled to even be competitive, having lost eight of their 10 league affairs thus far. However, USF was finally able to get in the win column this week, halting an ugly 10-game losing streak with a shocking 89-78 win over Syracuse. This is just the sixth all-time meeting between these two teams and Connecticut has won each of the previous five matchups.

The Huskies were unable to contain Notre Dame's Luke Harangody (32 points, 16 rebounds), but got their own supreme effort from point guard A.J. Price, who erupted for 26 points and nine assists, in a six-point win in Storrs this week. Fellow guard Craig Austrie poured in 14 points, followed by Jeff Adrien and Doug Wiggins with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Like Price, Adrien just missed a double-double, hauling in nine rebounds in the game. Most teams would struggle after losing a key starter like Jerome Dyson (14.3 ppg). However, since the guard was suspended on January 25th, the Huskies have yet to lose. The team is now averaging a steady 78.4 ppg, as others have stepped up their games. Price is certainly one of them, as he has proved to be both an explosive scorer (15.0 ppg) and prolific distributor (147 assists). Adrien has been a dominant frontcourt player, averaging 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He gets plenty of help in the paint from 7-3 Hasheem Thabeet (10.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 99 blocks).

The Bulls have struggled in terms of consistency in conference play, but like the Orange now know, USF cannot be overlooked. The team is not void of talent by any stretch of the imagination and in fact, has one of the premier frontcourt players in the conference in center Kentrell Gransberry. The 6-9 senior is shooting .535 from the floor this year and paces the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and the entire Big East in rebounding (10.8 rpg). Freshman guard Dominique Jones gives the team balance with his perimeter game, averaging 16.1 ppg, while shooting 40 percent from behind the arc. Junior guard Jesus Verdejo (10.0 ppg) rounds out the double-digit threats. Sophomore guard Chris Howard has the ability to score (9.2 ppg), but is much better when getting others involved in the offense (team-high 123 assists). The Bulls finally ended a 10- game losing streak with a great effort on Wednesday against Syracuse. Jones and Gransberry led the way to victory, combining for 52 points. Jones was 7-of-12 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line to finish with 29 points. Gransberry just missed a double-double with 23 points and nine rebounds. Verdejo was instrumental in the victory as well, pouring in 19 points.

The Bulls really got after the Orange this week at the offensive end. Pulling off an upset against UConn is a different story though. Gransberry is a dynamic player that will obviously be difficult to contain, but another balanced effort from the Huskies should get the job done in Tampa.