Jim Calhoun isn't ready to tiptoe into the night yet.
Responding to rumors of his imminent retirement, the 76-year-old Connecticut men's basketball coach said yesterday that he's still "capable of coaching," and the thought of retirement "never entered my mind."
Despite a recent medical leave and a frustrating season that included a 73-51 loss to St. John's yesterday in the first round of the Big East tournament, Calhoun maintained his commitment to the Huskies' program.
"Like everything else, I'm in the business of trying to recruit players to UConn," Calhoun said. "I love the school. And I still love coaching."
Men's highlights Cincinnati 69, Rutgers 68 - Lance Stephenson celebrated being selected Big East Rookie of the Year by making the deciding free throw with 1.8 seconds to play, leading Cincinnati (17-14) to an opening-round victory over Rutgers (15-17) in the Big East tournament in New York.
Dayton 70, George Washington 60 - Marcus Johnson scored 16 points and Dayton (20-11) used a late nine-point run to defeat George Washington (16-14) in the opening round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Brookhaven grad Chris Johnson and Rob Lowery scored 11 points apiece for the seventh-seeded Flyers, who will play No.2 seed Xavier in a quarterfinal Friday in Atlantic City, N.J.
No. 12 Butler 70, Wright State 45 - Shelvin Mack scored all 14 of his points in the first half, and Matt Howard had 14 points and nine rebounds to help Butler (28-4) rout second-seeded Wright State (20-12) in the Horizon League title game in Indianapolis.
North Texas 66, Troy 63 - Josh White's shot from near the free-throw line with 22 seconds remaining lifted North Texas (24-8) over Troy (20-12) in the Sun Belt tournament championship game.
Women's highlight
No. 1 Connecticut 60, No. 9 West Virginia 32 - Connecticut (33-0) ran its winning streak to 72 by routing West Virginia (28-5) in the Big East tournament championship game.
The Huskies stand six wins short of becoming the first team to go through consecutive seasons unbeaten.