STORRS, Conn. — Hasheem Thabeet believes that if his teammates get him the ball down low this season, nobody will be able to stop him.

The 7-foot-3 junior from Tanzania scored 23 points and had a career-high 17 rebounds to lead No. 2 Connecticut to a season-opening 81-55 win yesterday over Western Carolina.

Thabeet, who towered 7 inches over any defender the Catamounts sent at him, also blocked five shots. He was 7-of-11 from the field, with most of his attempts from inside 5 feet.

After two years as the Huskies' defensive stopper, Thabeet says he is ready to step it up on offense.

"The way I'm getting better, it's going to be hard to stop somebody 7-3, 272 pounds in the blocks," he said. "I've got an idea what to do with the basketball now."

Jerome Dyson also scored 23 points for UConn, and Jeff Adrien added 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Huskies extended their winning streak at Gampel Pavilion to 46 games in November and December, dating to the opening of the arena in 1990. UConn is 19-4 in season openers under coach Jim Calhoun.

Brandon Giles led Western Carolina with 16 points. Harouna Mutombo, nephew of NBA star Dikembe Mutombo, added 11 points and Jake Robinson had 10.

Connecticut opened the game on a 13-0 run. It included a tomahawk dunk from Dyson, who took a steal and went the length of the court, drawing a foul. The Catamounts didn't score until Jake Robinson hit a 3-pointer just over 5 minutes into the game.

"I thought the first six or seven minutes we were really, really good defensively," Calhoun said. "I think it set a good tone for the game."

The Huskies, who led 40-25 at the break, shot 51 percent from the field, while holding Western Carolina to just 34 percent.

"There was about a 20-minute period there where we played right with them," said Catamounts coach Larry Hunter. "We just got down early, and late in the ballgame, we got down a bit more."

NO. 5 PITTSBURGH 86, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 63

PITTSBURGH — DeJuan Blair was overpowering inside with 17 points and 13 rebounds in slightly more than a half, and scored eight points during a 16-2 surge in the first 6 1/2 minutes as the Panthers routed the Knights to win their 12th consecutive season opener.

NO. 7 TEXAS 68, STETSON 38

AUSTIN, Texas — A.J. Abrams scored 21 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and the Longhorns, which returns four starters and nine of the top 10 scorers from the squad won a school-record 31 games last season, took a 29-18 halftime lead and were never threatened in cruising past the Hatters in the season opener for both teams.

NO. 11 PURDUE 82, DETROIT MERCY 50

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — E'Twaun Moore scored 18 points, JaJuan Johnson added 17 points, and the Boilermakers forced 20 turnovers, while committing just three in romping past the Titans in the season opener for both teams.

NO. 12 OKLAHOMA 83, AMERICAN 54

NORMAN, Okla. — Sophomore Blake Griffin had 24 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Cade Davis finished with 11 points, and the Sooners raced to a 47-24 halftime and never looked back in routing the Eagles, who missed their first 10 shots and 16 of their first 18.

NO. 15 ARIZONA STATE 80, MISS. VALLEY ST. 64

TEMPE, Ariz. — James Harden had 24 points and 10 assists, and the Sun Devils hit seven of their first nine shots from the floor en route to a 39-23 halftime lead to beat the Delta Devils to win their opener for the first time in coach Herb Sendek's three seasons.

NO. 16 MARQUETTE 95, HOUSTON BAPTIST 64

MILWAUKEE — Wesley Matthews scored a career-high 27 points, Jerel McNeal had 20 points and Lazar Hayward added 19 points and 12 rebounds as the Golden Eagles won the debut of coach Buzz Williams with a rout of the Huskies.

WAC TEAMS

BOISE STATE 100, PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 68

BOISE, Idaho — Mark Sanchez scored 21 points to lead four teammates in double figures, as the Broncos, who won their first Western Athletic Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 14 years last year, routed the Division III Boxers.

SAN JOSE STATE 70, SOUTH DAKOTA ST. 62

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Tim Pierce scored 23 points, Chris Oakes added 12 points and 13 rebounds, Justin Graham chipped in 11 points, and the Spartans make their 31-26 halftime lead stand up in beating the Jackrabbits in the season opener for both.

FRESNO STATE 77, SACRAMENTO STATE 65

FRESNO, Calif. — Sylvester Seay, a transfer from Arizona State, scored 17 points in his debut, and the Bulldogs opened the second half with a 13-0 run to open a 50-31 lead the Hornets could not overcome in the season opener for both teams.

UTAH STATE 71, MSU-NORTHERN 50

LOGAN, Utah — Gary Wilkinson scored 24 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, and the Aggies raced to a 35-25 halftime lead, which grew to as many as 28 points in beating the Lights (6-1) in their season opener.

IDAHO 91, EVERGREEN STATE 69

MOSCOW, Idaho - Mac Hopson scored 19 points, Kashif Watson added 17, and the host Vandals, who led 44-38 at intermission, used a 23-10 run midway through the second half to pull away from the NAIA Geoducks (3-1) to win their season opener.

RANKED WOMEN

NO. 2 STANFORD 68, MINNESOTA 55

STANFORD, Calif. — Jayne Appel had 14 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots, and Kayla Pedersen, last season's Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Cardinal past the Gophers.

TCU 80, NO. 3 MARYLAND 68

FORT WORTH, Texas — TK LaFleur, who sat out last season after transferring from Nebraska, scored 28 points, Helen Sverrisdottir added 18 points and the Lady Frogs opened the game with an 11-0 run, then started the second half with a 9-0 surge for a 44-28 lead to upset the Terrapins.

NO. 5 RUTGERS 86, SAINT JOSEPH'S 59

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Epiphanny Prince scored 26 points and had a career-high seven steals, Kia Vaughn added 11 points, and the Scarlet Knights ran off to a 23-7 lead and never looked back in beating the Hawks for their 15th straight home victory since a season-opening loss to Stanford last year.

NO. 6 NORTH CAROLINA 90, WESTERN CAROLINA 56

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Cetera DeGraffenreid and Italee Lucas each scored 14 points, Jessica Breland added 12 points, and the Tar Heels opened with a 23-2 run and led 57-32 at halftime to rout the Lady Catamounts in the opening round of the Women's Preseason National Invitation Tournament.

NO. 8 DUKE 77, NO. 14 OKLAHOMA ST. 68

DURHAM, N.C. — Chante Black had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Carrem Gay added 10 points and 11 rebounds, and the Blue Devils used a 20-0 second-half run to rally from a 44-35 halftime deficit and beat the Cowgirls to win their 18th straight home opener.

NO. 9 CALIFORNIA 63, ALBANY 39

BERKELEY, Calif. — Ashley Walker had 23 points, eight rebounds, four steals, and scored the first eight points of a 22-4 run to start the game as the Lady Golden Bears extended their nonconference home winning streak to 30 games with a victory over the Lady Danes in the season opener for both.

NO. 11 TEXAS A&M 73, MERCER 45

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Tyra White scored 13 points, Danielle Gant added 12 and the Aggies, who received their Big 12 tournament champion and NCAA regional final rings before the game, led 20-2 eight minutes in and never looked back in beating the Bears.