GAME NOTES: Sitting just a game and a half out of first-place in the Big East, the 15th-ranked Connecticut Huskies begin a final effort at the conference title, as they welcome the West Virginia Mountaineers to Hartford this afternoon for a key Big East tilt at the XL Center. Jim Calhoun's Huskies will need some help in the next week to catch league leaders Georgetown and Louisville (both 13-3), but the team brings plenty of momentum into the last week of the regular season, with wins in 11 of the last 12 games. The lone loss during that stretch came last weekend at Villanova (67-65), but UConn responded with a 79-61 drubbing of Rutgers on Tuesday. Bob Huggins' Mountaineers (9-6) are two games behind Connecticut in the standings and have won two straight games and four of their last five overall. The team was on the road at DePaul this past Wednesday, where WVU posted an 85-73 victory. Connecticut has won 11 of the 14 all-time meetings with West Virginia, but it was the Mountaineers that got the win in the last matchup, an 81-71 decision in Morgantown in 2006.

The Blue Demons can surely attest to West Virginia's offensive capabilities. The Mountaineers shot 52.6 percent from the floor at Allstate Arena this week, including 58.3 percent in the second half. Explosive guard Alex Ruoff hit four three-pointers and led the team with 22 points. Forwards Joe Alexander and Da'Sean Butler did the rest, as Alexander poured in 17 points, while Butler finished with a double-double consisting of 14 points and 13 rebounds. West Virginia put the game out of reach early on, with a back-breaking 22-0 run in the first half, taking a 44-29 lead into halftime. The offensive display was certainly no fluke, as West Virginia has gotten the job done at that end of the floor all season long. The team is shooting a steady .454 overall, leading to 75.9 ppg. Alexander is one of four Mountaineers in double figures with a team- high 14.5 ppg. Ruoff is not far behind at 14.1 ppg and has amassed an impressive 78 three-pointers on the year. Butler (12.5 ppg) adds depth up front, while Darris Nichols (11.3 ppg) does the same in the backcourt.

The Huskies were able to deliver on 51.8 percent of their shots and outrebounded Rutgers 41-24 this week, leading to a convincing 18-point victory. The play in the paint was the real difference in the game, as forwards Jeff Adrien and Stanley Robinson and center Hasheem Thabeet dominated. Adrien led the way with a double-double consisting of 27 points and 11 rebounds. Robinson completed the feat as well, adding 18 points and 13 boards. Thabeet missed all seven of his shots and finished with just two points, but he did amass 10 rebounds and blocked an impressive six shots. Guard Craig Austrie hit four three-pointers and tacked on 18 points of his own for UConn. It has been the strong play in the frontcourt that has led the team of late. Adrien is one of the top performers in the paint in the Big East, averaging a near double-double with team-highs of 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The 7-2 Thabeet adds 10.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per outing and is the Big East's top shot blocker with 124 (4.4 per game, third nationally). Robinson (10.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) completes a potent trio up front. Point guard A.J. Price has proven to be a steady scoring threat (14.7 ppg) as well as the Big East's top distributor (6.2 apg).

The Mountaineers have some solid frontcourt performers, but will play right into UConn's gameplan if they attempt to mix it up down low. The Huskies still have an outside shot at the Big East title, and that won't be jeopardized in Hartford this afternoon.