Connecticut beat DePaul in the first round of the Big East tournament last season en route to the national championship.
The Huskies’ first-round draw this year? DePaul. But this is 2012, they said, not 2011.
“It’s a coincidence, but this is a whole new year,” said Jeremy Lamb, UConn’s superb sophomore guard. “We didn’t go into it like, ‘Oh, here we go again.’
“But we were like, ‘We’re playing DePaul, OK, we need a win and let’s do our thing as a team.’ ”
UConn’s thing yesterday was to lead almost the entire game in an easy 81-67 win at the Garden. The Huskies opened their Big East tournament run last year with a 97-71 rout over DePaul as Kemba Walker and Co. went on to win the title thanks to 11 straight tournament victories.
UConn, again seeded ninth, captured its sixth consecutive Big East tourney win, the fourth-best run in conference history. The Huskies go for their 13th straight tournament win today when they face eighth-seeded West Virginia at noon.
They will have coach Jim Calhoun back on the bench after Calhoun yesterday worked his second game since recovering from back surgery.
“I’m trying to coach this basketball team and that’s my job, but it’s also my love,” Calhoun said. “And that’s why I came back to my basketball team — because I felt I owed them something.”
Lamb was the best player on the court, pouring in 25 points on an efficient 10-for-18 shooting, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. It’s hard to think of a poor shot he took.
“I’m not trying to be Kemba,” Lamb said. “Of course everybody wants to lead their team to championships, but I’m just trying to do what’s best for this team.”
Lamb, who weighs just 185 pounds with a Reggie Miller-esque physique, scored 15 of UConn’s 30 points in the opening 10:19 and nearly matched his team-leading scoring average of 17.6 with 17 in the first half.
“I think now he’s figuring out how much of a scorer he can be,” forward Alex Oriakhi said. “Now he knows he’s our go-to guy.”
Freshman guard Ryan Boatright was stellar in his first Big East tournament game, scoring 19 points, dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds.
“It definitely feels like [we can go on a run], but we’re not sitting here saying, ‘Five games in five days,’ ” Oriakhi said. “We’re taking it one day at a time.”