Playing for the eighth time in 17 days, the Connecticut Huskies showed no signs of slowing down.

The Huskies’ improbable march through the college basketball postseason continued Thursday night in the NCAA tournament’s West region semifinals. Kemba Walker scored 36 points, sparking the Huskies to a 74-67 victory over San Diego State.

Jeremy Lamb scored a season-high 24 points, including a big 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining as the Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight. UConn will face Arizona, which knocked out top-seed Duke, in the regional final on Saturday.

A win there would send the Huskies on to Houston and next weekend’s Final Four, an amazing thought considering what the Huskies have accomplished the past two and a half weeks. UConn won five games in five days to win the Big East Conference tournament, assuring the Huskies of a berth in the NCAAs.

Now the Huskies are one of eight teams left in the field of 68. Walker is a huge reason why. Thursday he sparked the Huskies again, hitting four 3-pointers and shooting 12 of 25 from the field.

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When the Connecticut Huskies ended the regular season with a narrow loss to Notre Dame on March 5, there was no reason to think the Huskies would still be playing on March 24.

UConn had dropped four of its final five games, dropping to the ninth seed in the Big East Conference. While the top eight teams got a bye in the opening round, the Huskies found themselves on the court that Tuesday afternoon against DePaul.

The Huskies won big that afternoon and haven’t looked back since. UConn has become the story of the NCAAs, winning five games in five days to capture the Big East title, and winning its first two games in the NCAAs.

A 69-58 victory over fellow conference mate Cincinnati in the third round of the West regional in Washington, D.C., on Sunday sends the Huskies into the Sweet 16 on Thursday against San Diego State. A win there, and UConn will play Saturday for a trip to the Final Four.

The Huskies had beaten Cincinnati in the regular season, but the Bearcats finished two games better than UConn in conference play. Since losing four out of five to end the regular season, the Huskies have won seven in a row.

Kemba Walker scored 16 of his 33 points in the final 10 minutes as UConn locked down the victory.

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The Big East Conference tournament is over, but the Connecticut Huskies are rolling along.

The Huskies cruised in their NCAA tournament opener, riding a strong advantage on the backboard and three scorers in double figures to an 81-52 rout of Bucknell in the second round of the NCAAs at Washington, D.C.

Kemba Walker led the Huskies with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Roscoe Smith scored 17 points and Jeremy Lamb added 16. Alex Oriakhi pulled down 13 rebounds.

Connecticut, which won the Big East last week by winning five times in five days, had no trouble with the overmatched Bison. The Huskies outrebounded Bucknell 41-20, had 19 assists to Bucknell’s 4, and limited Bucknell to 31.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Huskies take on the Cincinnati/Missouri winner on Saturday in the third round, for a trip to the Sweet 16.

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Even if the Connecticut Huskies find a way to win their next six games and capture the national championship, nothing will be as difficult as what they just accomplished.

The Huskies became the first school to win five games in five days to take a tournament title. Kemba Walker put together a week to remember, and the Huskies beat four ranked teams in a row to win the Big East tournament championship.

Connecticut finished its unbelievable run with a 69-66 victory over Louisville on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Walker scored 130 points in the five games, the most by any player in any conference tournament in 15 years.

Not bad for a team that had lost three out of four coming into the postseason, dropping to the ninth seed and having to play on the opening day of the tournament on Tuesday.

The Huskies ran a gauntlet unlike anybody in the country will see in the NCAA tournament. UConn will open the NCAAs on Thursday against Bucknell in Washington, D.C.

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They lost four times in their final five regular-season games, and in a conference full of heavyweights, the Connecticut Huskies weren’t considered a big threat to navigate their way through the strong field assembled at Madison Square Garden.

But only four of the 16 teams in the Big East Tournament are left standing, and the Huskies are still in the Big Apple.

Kemba Walker came through yet again on Thursday, the point guard knocking down the game-winning jumper at the buzzer as the Huskies upended conference regular-season champion and No. 3-ranked Pittsburgh 76-74 in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

UConn is rolling after staggering into the postseason. The Huskies had lost four of their final five games of the regular season and entered the tournament as the ninth seed in the 16-team field.

Connecticut, ranked No. 19 in the nation, has beaten DePaul and No. 22 Georgetown so far in the tournament. Walker has been huge in all three victories. He scored 26 points in UConn’s victory over DePaul on Tuesday, and added 18 points as the Huskies toppled No. 22 Georgetown on Wednesday.

Thursday, Walker finished with 24 points, five assists and two steals, as the Huskies moved into the semifinals to face No. 11 Syracuse on Friday night.

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Whoever wins the Big East tournament will earn it, considering seven teams are ranked in the top 22 in the country this week are in the field.

The Connecticut Huskies are one of those squads carrying a national ranking into the fray, sitting at No. 19 this week. And the Huskies started their postseason in style in the Big East tournament opener on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, routing DePaul 97-71.

Kemba Walker scored 26 points to lead five players in double figures, and UConn shot 60 percent from the field.

Nothing figures to be that easy going forward, starting Wednesday in the next round against No. 22 Georgetown. UConn shook off a three-game losing streak to end the regular season in throttling DePaul, but the level of competition goes way up from here.

Should the Huskies get past Georgetown, UConn then would face conference regular-season champion and No. 3-ranked Pittsburgh in Thursday’s quarterfinals. A potential semifinal matchup could include No. 11 Syracuse or No. 18 St. John’s.

The Huskies lost four of their final five regular-season games, but had little trouble dispatching DePaul. But things will get a lot tougher, and quickly, as the Huskies pursue the conference title.

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Almost every game in the Big East Conference this season has been a matchup of teams capable of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

The Connecticut Huskies are definitely part of that group. But losses in three of its past four games have dropped UConn into a ninth-place tie in the Big East.

UConn is 21-8 overall on the season, and in most other conferences would be much higher than a three-way tie for ninth. The Huskies play host to No. 7 Notre Dame on Saturday in the regular-season finale. Ranked No. 16 this week in the national rankings, the struggles of late have dropped UConn into a tie with Marquette and Villanova for ninth in the Big East.

UConn comes in after losing 65-56 to West Virginia on Wednesday. The Huskies already have victories over three ranked teams this season, including consecutive wins in November over then No. 2 Michigan State and then No. 9 Kentucky.

The Big East tournament begins next week in New York City, and at least one victory for UConn in the conference tournament would give the Huskies a big boost heading into a likely trip to the NCAA tournament.

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It took a frantic five-game finishing winning streak, but the Connecticut Huskies got it done.

A remarkable turnaround from losing their first two Big East Conference games and starting the season 3-4 overall, the Huskies rode the winning streak to the conference title and a Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oklahoma on New Year’s night.

A pair of big offensive standouts will lead their teams into this BCS bowl matchup. For Connecticut, running back Jordan Todman topped 1,000 yards for the second year in a row, rushing for 1,574 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 143.1 rushing yards per game ranks second in the nation.

For Oklahoma, it’s quarterback Landry Jones who is the big attraction. Jones passed for 35 touchdowns and 4,289 yards, sparking a Sooners’ passing offense that ranks third in the nation at 351.7 yards per contest.

The two schools have never met, and could not be more opposite in their bowl history. Oklahoma has one of the richest traditions in college football, while UConn has only played in the FBS since 2001. But the Sooners have lost their past four BCS bowl appearances.

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An eight-point lead over Stony Brook at halftime of the season opener? That didn’t look like the Connecticut Huskies for the first 20 minutes Friday night.

But a big effort on the defensive end got the Huskies in gear, and a 12-0 run to open the second half restored order as UConn pulled away for a 79-52 victory over the Seahawks.

The Huskies held the Seahawks to only five field goals in the second half. UConn held Stony Brook to 27 percent shooting and outrebounded the Seahawks 59-33.

Kemba Walker led UConn in scoring with 18 points, and Alex Oriakhi added a double-doing, going for 11 points and 18 rebounds.

The Huskies play host to Vermont on Wednesday.

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After finishing fifth in the Big East Conference last season, the Connecticut Huskies hope to move further up in the conference in 2010.

UConn, which went 8-5 last season and 3-4 in conference play, was picked fourth in voting by the media covering the conference in the Big East annual preseason media poll.

Pittsburgh finished first in the voting, earning 22 of the 24 first-place votes. The Huskies earned a first-place vote, as did West Virginia. Cincinnati finished second in the poll overall, followed by West Virginia, the Huskies, Rutgers, South Florida, Syracuse and Louisville.

UConn will get the three teams picked ahead of it at home this season. The Huskies play host to West Virginia on Oct. 29, get a week off before welcoming in Pitt on Nov. 11, and play host to Cincinnati on Nov. 27.

UConn opens its season Sept. 4 at Michigan.

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