Cardinals Vie For Fifth Place At Maui Invitational
November 21, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2000
AP WIRE
Connecticut and Louisville try to build momentum for the rest of their respective non-conference schedules as the two schools meet Wednesday for fifth place at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii.
Both teams suffered disheartening first-round losses but recovered with wins on the second day of play. The 12th-ranked Huskies (2-1) beat up the host school Tuesday, rolling to a 77-61 victory over Division II Chaminade.
Albert Mouring scored 20 points and Johnnie Salvie added 18 to lead Connecticut, which shot 57 percent from the field despite the absence of center Souleymane Wane, who completed his three-game suspension for NCAA rules violations along with fellow starter Caron Butler.
The 6-foot-11 Wane is expected to play Wednesday, but Butler's status is uncertain because of an ankle injury.
"Time will tell about the addition of Caron and Souleymane," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. "I know Souleymane will give us legitimate size in the paint and we need that. We're not defending in the post and we're not playing with confidence. We haven't played like a good team and we should be because we are a good team."
Freshman point guard Taliek Brown continues to have his ups and downs. He had nine points and nine assists in Tuesday's victory, but shot 1-for-8 from the foul line and is a horrid 4-for-20 through three games.
Connecticut plays most of its non-conference games at home, highlighted by a home game against No. 1 Arizona on Dec. 9. The Huskies had the potential to meet the Wildcats in the championship of this tournament.
Louisville (2-1) avoided the seventh-place game with a wild 86-85 overtime victory over UNLV on Tuesday. Marques Maybin scored 10 of his 21 points in the overtime - including a four-point play - for the Cardinals, who won despite blowing a nine-point lead over the final 5:06 of regulation and allowing the Runnin' Rebels to score the final seven points to force overtime.
Reece Gaines added 18 points and Luke Whitehead 12 for Louisville, which has marquee home games against NCAA tournament opponents Dayton, Oregon and Kentucky before entering Conference USA play.
The win also pushed coach Denny Crum into 14th place on the all-time wins list with 665, ahead of his mentor and UCLA legend John Wooden.
