UConn men seek fresh start in second-tier tourney

Storrs - UConn begins what it hopes will be a Redemption Tour tonight.

The Huskies, especially seniors Gavin Edwards, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson, are determined to wash away the bitter taste still lingering from a dismal effort down the stretch with a strong run in the National Invitation Tournament.

"It's going to be really big for us, because we definitely didn't end the season the way we wanted to," Edwards said. "It's kind of redemption for us. We're going to go out and try to win it."

The Redemption Tour starts with fourth-seeded UConn (17-15) hosting No. 5 Northeastern (20-12) in first-round action at Gampel Pavilion (7 p.m., ESPN2).

"All of us are going to come out with the mentally that we just want to prove something and get a win," Dyson said.

The Huskies are not completely over failing to reach the NCAA tournament and still are hurting from a Big East tournament loss to St. John's last week. Instead of watching college basketball over the weekend, Dyson played video games.

Edwards skipped the Selection Sunday show.

"I personally couldn't watch it," he said.

Coach Jim Calhoun, who spent his first 14 years as a Division I coach at Northeastern, is selling the NIT as a fresh start.

The Huskies appear to be buying it, responding with a competitive effort in practice Monday.

"It's a tournament," Calhoun said. "It's a chance to win more games. … Is this the prize that we want? No. But we did that to ourselves. … We've played some very good basketball this year and we've played some not so good basketball this year.

"It's a chance to hopefully get a fresh start and to play well."

Motivation is on Northeastern's side, too.

It's a big deal for the NU Huskies to qualify for postseason, reaching the NIT for only the second time. They've improved tremendously under the direction of Bill Coen, a former Boston College assistant. They benefited from playing a challenging nonconference schedule and finished second in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Forget about any fear factor.

In December 2007, Northeastern pushed UConn to the finish before losing, 69-60, at Gampel.

Four members of NU's starting lineup tonight started that game, including All-CAA first-team selection Matt Janning, who scored 29 points.

Calhoun's game plan includes trying to speed up the pace by extending pressure defense and leaning more on his younger players to give them experience for next season. With top reserve guard Donnell Beverly, who suffered a bone bruise on his right knee vs. St. John's, out, freshman Darius Smith will serve as backup point guard.

Make no mistake, though. Calhoun will play to win, meaning his seniors will play a significant role. Tonight's winner plays the winner of No. 1 Virginia Tech and No. 8 Quinnipiac. The date and location of the second-round game has yet to be determined.

"We're trying to get to Virginia Tech," Calhoun said. "We've got a really good Northeastern team. … They're a good team, so hopefully we're going to be prepared, play well and beat them. They're capable of beating us. If we give a C or C-plus game, they'll beat us."

Calhoun realizes he's taking a bit of a gamble by accepting an NIT bid, but he's willing to take that chance even though UConn hasn't played well in a couple of weeks, losing four straight.

"There's no sense of running away," he said. "Someone wrote that you take a chance that you'll play like that again. They're 100 percent right. But that's never stopped me before and didn't stop me from taking this job when they had five straight losing seasons.

"It's not how I'm wired. It's not what I think like. Do we have to play better? Without question. … The St. John's game was tough. One here (at home) would be even tougher if we don't play well."

g.keefe@theday.com