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Live Chat Transcript | 2008-09 Season Stats

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Hasheem Thabeet had 21 points and nine rebounds as No. 1 Connecticut bounced back from its second loss of the season with a 64-50 victory over South Florida on Saturday.

The 7-foot-3 junior blocked six shots and showed no ill effects from a hyperextended shoulder when he was flipped by Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair in the Huskies' 76-68 loss on Monday.

A.J. Price had 11 points and Jeff Adrien had nine points and 15 rebounds for UConn (25-2, 13-2 Big East), which reached the 25-win mark for the 11th time in the last 20 years.

Augustus Gilchrist scored 15 points to lead South Florida (8-18, 3-11), while Dominique Jones added 14. The Bulls, who have never beaten UConn in seven tries, lost their fourth straight.

The Huskies, who were playing their third game without injured guard Jerome Dyson, their top outside threat, were just 1-of-7 from 3-point range.

But that 3-pointer, by Price, made it 51-40, and was part of a 14-4 run that put the game out of reach.

The Huskies held South Florida without a point for almost the game's first 6 minutes, and despite hitting just one of their first seven shots, led 9-0 early.

The Bulls made just one of their first 14 shots, but closed the gap to 9-6 when Jones dunked and was fouled by Adrien.

Thabeet had five blocks by halftime and UConn, despite shooting just 31 percent from the field, led 31-20.

The Huskies held South Florida to 32 percent shooting, 29 percent in the first half.

But South Florida was able to hang with the Huskies, getting as close as 46-40 in the second half before UConn made its run.

Adrien moved into 14th place on the school's all-time scoring list and needs just 16 points to reach the 1,500 mark for his career.

The win capped the Huskies' third week as the nation's top-ranked team, a streak that is likely to end when the new AP poll comes out Monday. The Huskies had won 13 straight before the loss to Pitt.

The Huskies are still battling for a top seed in both the Big East and NCAA tournaments, with games remaining against No. 10 Marquette and Notre Dame, before a rematch with No. 4 Pitt, in Pittsburgh.

The win was the 799th for UConn coach Jim Calhoun. He will get a chance for No. 800 on Wednesday at Marquette.

Post Game Notes

?    Up Next: The Bulls remain on the road to face Seton Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m. at the Prudential Center. The game is an ESPN regionally televised game and can be seen locally on Bright House Sports Network. The game can be heard on 1250 AM and GoUSFBulls.com. A live blog will also be ongoing during the game on GoUSFBulls.com.  

?    Senior guard Jesus Verdejo did not play due to injury. He has been playing on an injured right foot and has Plantar Fasciitis and Achilles Tendonitis.

?    The Bulls started two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen in the game.

?    Freshman forward Augustus Gilchrist led USF with 15 points.

?    Dominique Jones finished the game with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. He ended the day one point shy of his 1,000th career point, and will go over 1,000 on his first bucket at Seton Hall.

?    Junior guard Chris Howard flirted with a triple-double and ended the day with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. The rebounds and assists were team highs.

?    Jones continues to move up the all-time USF scoring list. With 14 points against UConn he sits 17th all-time with 999 points. He is 10 points behind Doug Wallace's 1,009 points for 16th all-time and just 25 points from moving into 15th all-time.

?   Jones is on pace to be the second fastest Bull in history to reach 1,000 career points and one of only three USF players to do it in two seasons. Jones will also be the quickest sophomore to reach 1,000. Jones currently sits at 999 career points and will eclipse 1,000 points at Seton Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 25. When he goes over 1,000 at Seton Hall he will have reached 1,000 in his 58th career game. Only Tony Grier reached 1,000 career points in fewer games. Grier, who spent one season at Polk Community College before coming to USF, surpassed 1,000 in his 51st career game during his junior season. USF's all-time leading scorer, Charley Bradley, went over 1,000 in his 59th career game during his sophomore season.

?    Junior guard Chris Howard picked up eight assists at UConn. He is currently in 9th place all-time on the USF career assist list with 330. Penny Greene sits in 8th with 364 assists.