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Gonzaga meets UConn in Hall of Fame Challenge

Dec 1, 2007 - 3:01 PM No. 19 Gonzaga (6-1) at Connecticut (5-1) 3:30 pm EST

BOSTON (Ticker) - After a tough victory in its first road game of the season, Gonzaga looks to step up the challenge against a perennial basketball power.

The 19th-ranked Bulldogs will meet Connecticut in TD Banknorth Garden in the second annual Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge on Saturday.

Providence will face Boston College in the other half of the doubleheader. Gonzaga, the lone non-New England school involved, was in last year's inaugural event, beating Texas in Phoenix.

The Connecticut-Gonzaga game is the first of a neutral-court series between the schools. In December 2008, Connecticut will return the favor and travel to Key Arena in Seattle to play Gonzaga.

The Bulldogs have only played the Huskies twice, but both games went right down to the wire.

In the 1999 NCAA tournament, Gonzaga lost 67-62 to eventual national champion UConn in the West Regional final. The teams met again in 2005 at the Maui Invitational final, with the Huskies needing a late jumper from Denham Brown to escape with a 65-63 win.

The Bulldogs hope to be sufficiently recovered from Wednesday's close call - a 70-65 overtime win over St. Josephs's on Wednesday. Sophomore guard Matt Bouldin scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer late in regulation to spur a comeback and the go-ahead free throws in overtime to help Gonzaga pull out a victory.

UConn is coming off a pair of blowout wins over Gardner-Webb and Florida A&M. Guards Jerome Dyson and A.J. Price lead four Huskies in double figures.

Despite the double-digit victories, UConn will need Price to snap his recent shooting slump, as he has hit only three of his 14 field goal attempts over the last two games.