The Kevin Ollie era in Storrs started off with a bang on Friday night when the Connecticut Huskies defeated the Michigan St. Spartans 66-62 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The Huskies were led in scoring by Shabazz Napier, who put up 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting.
Armed Forces Classic: Connecticut opens Kevin Ollie era with win over No. 14 MSU
The Huskies upset the No. 14 Spartans, giving coach Kevin Ollie a victory in his first game at the UConn helm.
Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE
The Huskies streaked out to an early lead and went into the half up 40-33. They hung onto the lead in the second half thanks to stellar defense that they carried over from the opening period. On the night, the Spartans shot just 37 percent from the field and 4-of-17 from three point range.
Michigan State had three scorers in double-digits: Keith Appling with 17, Branden Dawson with 15 and Gary Harris with 11. But after that, no other player scored more than six points, and Aplling and Harris shot a combined 11-32 from the field.
For Ollie, it was a marquee win in his first game as head coach of Connecticut after taking over from the legendary Jim Calhoun.
