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Connecticut 82, Providence 79 (OT) - The lead was never more than three the entire second half. Ryan Boatright scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half. Shabazz Napier scored eight of his 18 just in overtime. It sounds like a hell of a game, right? It almost wasn't. UConn jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first 4 minutes, and ballooned out to 25-10 with 11 minutes left in the first half. But Providence got four straight layups to cut the lead to seven, and UConn committed 7 turnovers the rest of the half to make it a game at the half.
If you ever wanted proof that rebounding margin does an ineffective job telling you how a game is going, look no further than this game. Total rebounds for Providence: 49. Total rebounds for Connecticut: 21. Not really a strong indicator there, huh? Is Providence grabbing 58% of their 43 missed shots impressive? Sure thing. Would they have won the game easily if they had 10 fewer offensive rebounds because they had 10 more made shots? You bet.