No. 12 UConn is headed to New York next week for the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals Nov. 25 at Madison Square Garden.

That's good news for the Huskies (3-0) who rallied from a nine point second-half deficit to beat Hofstra, 76-67, Tuesday.

They have a chance to strengthen their resume with two games against quality opponents in New York. They face LSU (3-0) in the semifinals. Duke plays Arizona State in the other semifinal. Consolation and championship games will be held Friday, Nov. 27.

UConn has a lot of work to do in practice before making the trip.

Some observations and facts from Tuesday's win:

-- UConn's defense on Hofstra star Charles Jenkins late in the game made the difference between winning and losing. Jenkins, who finished with 25 points, went without field goal for the final 4:36. Senior Stanley Robinson struggled to contain Jenkins, so Calhoun tried both Jerome Dyson and Kemba Walker who did a good job fighting through picks and both drew charging calls in the final two minutes.

-- When Dyson plays under control, he's a lethal offensive weapon. When he's out of control, he's a turnover waiting to happen. He regained control just in time against Hofstra, scoring 15 of his 23 points in the second half to spark UConn's comeback.

Dyson also made 14 straight free throws before missing his last one.

"Once I get into a rhythm, I like just to keep it going," Dyson said.

-- Freshman center Alex Oriakhi is averaging an impressive 10.7 rebounds through three games. He has 18 more than the next Husky, forward Stanley Robinson.

Oriakhi had a game-high 14 rebounds Tuesday.

Former UConn standout Emeka Okafor averaged 7.3 rebounds in his first three games as a Husky.

"Alex rebounded well," coach Jim Calhoun said. "He's still a freshman. He plays like a freshman. But he doesn't rebound like a freshman."

-- Calhoun thought 6-10 power forward Gavin Edwards had a good game until looking at his rebound total. Edwards had three in 27 minutes.

"That can't happen," Calhoun said.

Walker, a 6-foot-1 point guard, had seven rebounds.

Hofstra out-rebounded UConn, 43-39. Opponents are out-rebounding the Huskies, 104-102, in three games.

-- Calhoun praised the contribution of junior Donnell Beverly. Moving up in the rotation Tuesday, Beverly was the first guard off the bench. He had two points and no turnovers in nine minutes.

"He gave us some good minutes," Calhoun said.

Calhoun considers Beverly one of the team leaders.

"I'm out there knowing my role and being a leader," said Beverly who saw limited action over 38 games in his first two years.

-- UConn has scored 75, 77 and 76 points in its first three games.

-- With the departure of Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, it appeared that UConn's streak of leading the country in blocks would end at eight straight seasons. Well, the Huskies have 28 blocks so far compared to 18 at this point in 2008-09. Edwards leads the way with 10 and Robinson has seven.

-- Calhoun bolted onto the court and bumped into Hofstra's Cornelius Vines after calling a timeout early in the second half. Calhoun was attempting to confront Robinson before he reached the sidelines.

In the confusion, an official called a technical foul on Calhoun for being out of the coach's box before realizing the UConn coach had called time. The technical foul was wavered off.

-- UConn failed to sellout any of its first three home games at Gampel Pavilion. Announced attendance for Tuesday's game was 8,713.

Where are all the dedicated Husky fans?