Bridgeport — When practice ended Friday afternoon, several Huskies remained on the Webster Bank Arena court for some extra shooting.

It's part of their post-practice routine.

It also provided UConn more time to warm up to its new surroundings.

For the first time in nearly 27 years, UConn will play a home game somewhere other than Storrs or Hartford, hosting Eastern Washington at 1 p.m. today in Bridgeport. The Huskies lost to Syracuse at the New Haven Coliseum on Jan. 3, 1987.

As of Thursday, the game was almost sold-out.

"This is our first time we're here but we're going to have (9,500) screaming Husky fans, so it's going to feel like home court for us," coach Kevin Ollie said. "It's good to get down to Fairfield County. Our guys are excited. ... And our fans are really excited, so I'm happy for them.

"Some people that can't get up to Storrs and can't get up to the XL Center, we're right here in Bridgeport, so we're going to make this our home."

No. 15 UConn (10-1) is eager to build off of a come-from-behind 82-70 win at Washington on Sunday in its first true road game this season. The Huskies trailed by 14 points in the first half.

Ollie pointed to UConn's speed as an overwhelming factor in the comeback. The backcourt duo of Ryan Boatright and Shabazz Napier attacked to the basket and the Huskies piled up trips to the foul line, sinking 22 of 25 attempts.

"We started putting our foot on the gas pedal and we didn't let off, so that's a good sign for our team going forward," Ollie said.

The impressive road performance came on the heels of a disappointing home loss to Stanford and restored UConn's confidence.

"Having a tough road win like that and being down 14 and coming through adversity is always good for a team, especially the first road win," Boatright said. "Our confidence went back up. We came back off a terrible loss... We're looking to get back rolling right now."

Today's game is the final tune-up before UConn opens American Athletic Conference play with a two-game road trip to Houston Tuesday and SMU on Jan. 4.

When asked if there's anything in particular that UConn needs to improve on before starting conference play, Ollie answered, "everything."

"Tiger Woods still has his swing coach," Ollie said. "We're going to still try to improve on our rebounding. That's one area that I don't like. ... A coach is never satisfied. I want us to get better in every area.

"I do like the different things that we're doing. We're sharing the basketball. I do like us getting out on the fast break and using our speed. Speed kills in this game."

Eastern Washington (5-5) is completing an East Coast road swing that started with a 92-70 loss at Seton Hall on Sunday.

The 3-point shot is a prominent part of Eastern's game plan. The Eagles convert an average of 8.4 per game from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Tyler Harvey (19.3 points per game) is the team's top 3-point threat, sinking 47 percent of his attempts.

"They take a lot of threes," Ollie said. "Their goal is to make 10 a game. We want to run them off the 3-point line. We've been actually guarding the 3-point line very, very well this year. We've been exploiting mismatches and we've been shooting our threes.

"We want to keep that trend going."

Today's game will be special for another reason besides UConn playing for the first time at Webster Bank Arena.

Ollie's wife Stephanie is from Bridgeport and several family members will be in attendance.

Both Ollie and Boatright celebrated birthdays on Thursday. Ollie turned 41.

"The only thing that they've got to do is get a win and keep getting better," Ollie said of his team. "That would be a great birthday gift for me."

g.keefe@theday.com

EASTERN WASHINGTON at No. 15 UCONN

Location: Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport

Tip-off time: 1 p.m. (SNY)

Records: Eastern Washington 5-5, UConn 10-1

Last game: Eastern Washington lost at Seton Hall, 92-70, Sunday; UConn won at Washington, 82-70, Sunday

Probable starters: UConn, 6-0 jr. guard Ryan Boatright (11.9, 3.8 rebs, 3.6 assists), 6-1 sr. guard Shabazz Napier (15.5 pts, 5.6 assists, 6.7 rebs), 6-5 so. guard Omar Calhoun (8.2 pts), 6-8 jr. forward DeAndre Daniels (13.5 pts, 4.5 rebs), 7-0 fr. center Amida Brimah (3.0 pts, 1.9 rebs, 3 blks)

Eastern Washington, 6-4 jr. guard Drew Brandon (11.3 pts, 5.1 assists), 6-4 so. guard Tyler Harvey (19.3 pts, 4.3 rebs), 6-4 jr. guard Parker Kelly (10.4 pts), 6-7 so. forward Venky Jois (13.4 pts, 8.1 rebs), 6-10 jr. forward Martin Seiferth (7.1 pts, 4.3 rebs)

Noteworthy, First home game outside of Hartford/Storrs since Jan. 3, 1987 when UConn lost to Syracuse (88-71) at New Haven Coliseum. … First meeting between schools and against a Big Sky Conference program. … Common foes: Washington (UConn won, EW lost, 92-80), Boston University (UConn won, 77-60, EW won 80-68). … Top reserve: 6-7 fr. forward Ognjen Miljkovic (6.9 pts, 3.4 rebs). … EW has seven foreign players on roster, tying for the most in Division I. … Eagles convert 8.4 3-pointers per game, led by Havery's 3.7. … Hot: Daniels shooting 64 percent (29-for-45) in last five games. Cold: Calhoun shooting 28 percent (10-for-36) in last five games. … As of Thursday, Huskies 28th in RPI. ... Up next: UConn opens American Athletic Conference season Tuesday at Houston.

- Gavin Keefe