Associated Press
The national notebook …
PHILADELPHIA ó Jim Calhoun kept track of his top-seeded Connecticut Huskies from a hospital instead of a sideline bench.
All he missed on his sick day was one of the biggest routs in NCAA tournament history, a 103-47 win against Chattanooga in Thursday’s opening round.
Calhoun was admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Thursday for tests and will be kept overnight for observation.
An unnamed source told ESPN.com that the 66-year-old Calhoun was treated for dehydration and received IV fluids at the hospital. The school did not say what was wrong with the coach.
“They took me in. They did everything from soup to nuts, and they find out it’s dehydration,” the 66-year-old Calhoun said as he arrived at the Wachovia Center, where the Huskies held a news conference Friday.
RATINGS UP
NEW YORK ó More viewers are tuning into the NCAA tournament.
CBS executives believed fans would turn to the games as welcome distraction from the floundering economy. Television ratings from the first day Thursday may be proving that true.
Despite a dearth of wild finishes and big upsets, the games’ average rating was 9 percent higher than last year.
NIT
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Nick Calathes scored 21 points, Alex Tyus added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Florida beat in-state rival Miami 74-60 in the second round of the NIT on Friday night.
Florida (25-10) improved to 18-1 at the O’Connell Center. Miami (19-13) got way behind early, trailing by 22 points in the first half.
The top-seeded Gators will host No. 2 seed Penn State on Tuesday night.
Auburn 74, Tulsa 55
AUBURN, Ala. ó Rasheem Barrett scored 17 points to lead Auburn to a 74-55 victory over Tulsa.
DeWayne Reed added 12 points for the Tigers (24-11), who matched the 1999-2000 team for the second-most wins in school history.
Auburn will face the Baylor-Virginia Tech winner in next week’s quarterfinals. The Tigers hadn’t made it this far in five previous NIT trips, winning only two games in all.