COLLEGE BASKETBALL Connecticut picks apart Nevada

Utah beat Minnesota in a game which included two of the most heralded freshmen in the country.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STORRS, Conn. -- Ben Gordon scored a career-high 37 points and Emeka Okafor grabbed 14 rebounds Wednesday to lead No. 1 Connecticut to a 93-79 victory over Nevada and into the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
Denham Brown had a career-high 22 points for the Huskies (2-0), who will play the winner of tonight's Georgia Tech-Hofstra game. The semifinals are in Madison Square Garden Nov. 26.
Gordon was 12-of-20 from the field and hit all four of his 3-point attempts, rescuing the Huskies time and again from the stubborn Wolf Pack (1-1). With Gordon out after picking up his third foul, Nevada cut a 15-point deficit to nine on Todd Okeson's 3-pointer with three minutes to play in the game.
Gordon returned, hitting a 3-pointer and the Huskies had all the breathing room they would need. Brown converted a three-point play on the Huskies' next possession to cap the scoring.
Okafor finished with 13 points and had solid help in the post from freshman Josh Boone, who finished with eight points and 11 rebounds. The Huskies dominated inside, outscoring Nevada 42-28 in the paint and had a 42-29 rebounding edge.
Kirk Snyder led Nevada with 22 points and Okeson added 16.
Utah 66, Minnesota 54
SALT LAKE CITY -- Andrew Bogut had 19 points and 18 rebounds for Utah in the Preseason NIT.
In a matchup of two of the most heralded freshmen in the country, Bogut, a 6-foot-10 forward from Australia, was 8-for-9 from the field and helped hold Minnesota freshman Kris Humphries to just one basket in the final 16:41 of the game.
Humphries finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds but made just 3-of-9 shots in the second half. Michael Bauer scored 12 points for Minnesota (1-1).
Nick Jacobson scored 13 points while Justin Hawkins and Richard Chaney each had nine for the Utes (2-0), who overcame 20 turnovers with a 40-28 rebounding advantage and suffocating, man-to-man defense.
Women's top 25
PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Cappie Pondexter had 16 points to lead five Rutgers players in double figures and the 15th-ranked Scarlet Knights beat Michigan 65-50 in the semifinals of the women's Preseason NIT.
Dawn McCullouch scored 14 points, Michelle Campbell had 11 and Nikki Jett and Rebecca Richman each added 10 for the Scarlet Knights (3-0), who advanced to Sunday's championship game against the winner of tonight's semifinal between UC-Santa Barbara and Texas Tech.
The Scarlet Knights led 30-22 at halftime.
Michigan got within 36-31 with 14:50 to play, but Pondexter, a junior guard, hit two short jumpers and McCullouch added another to build the lead back to 11. Rutgers held a 35-31 edge on the boards, with Richman pulling down a team-high 12.
Jennifer Smith scored 14 of her team-high 16 points in the second half for Michigan, which was held to 8-of-28 shooting (28 percent) in the second half.