PHILADELPHIA — His postgame speech to Connecticut was over a speaker phone instead of in a locker room, though the message was still clear.

Coach Jim Calhoun, hospitalized earlier in the day, wanted the Huskies to know he was proud of how they went out and dominated in the third-largest victory in the NCAA Tournament.

A.J. Price and Hasheem Thabeet won this for their ailing coach, scoring 20 points apiece to lead top-seeded Connecticut to a 103-47 rout over Chattanooga yesterday for its first postseason win in three years.

Calhoun missed the game because he wasn't feeling well and was hospitalized for tests. He will be kept overnight for observation.

"He was upbeat about everything," Price said. "He told us he couldn't wait to join us again. We can't wait to have him back."

UConn will meet Texas A&M in tomorrow's second-round game of the West Regional.

Associate head coach George Blaney coached the Huskies (28-4) in Calhoun's absence. When Calhoun asked for stats, Blaney joked he knew Calhoun, "must be doing well."

Stanley Robinson topped the stat sheet and the Huskies with 24 points.

The 56-point difference was the third-largest margin of victory in the NCAA tournament. The scary part? The Huskies believe it could have been worse.

"We would've been more fired up if Coach was here," Price said. "Chattanooga got off easy without Coach here."

The Southern Conference champion Mocs (18-17) were pumped for their shot at becoming the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 in the tournament. They had a nice start, but were simply overmatched by one of the best teams in basketball.

"They didn't get our best shot," Chattanooga coach John Shulman said. "I'm not saying our best shot was good enough. But if I don't sell our team on (winning), then I'm not a very good coach. We dreamed it. It just wasn't meant to be."

MEMPHIS 81, CS-NORTHRIDGE 70

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Robert Sallie, averaging 4.5 points, hit 10 of 15 3-pointers and scored 35 to help the second-seeded Tigers (32-3) dodge the 15th-seeded Matadors (17-14), who overcame heartbreak and tragedy to get to this far.

"Coach said keep shooting," said Sallie, whose previous career high was 13. "None of my teammates would ever expect me to score 35 points. I never made 10 3-pointers before."

The Matadors lost one of their top players in a traffic accident during the season and another to a burglary charge. Northridge led 62-56 with 10:08 to play, but Sallie hit a 3 to start a 14-2 run and the Tigers never trailed again.

TEXAS A&M 79, BYU 66

PHILADELPHIA — Bryan Davis scored 21 points, Donald Sloan had 14 and the ninth-seeded Aggies (24-9) handed the eighth-seeded Cougars (25-8) their seventh straight opening-round loss in a rematch from last year. Both teams drew the same seeds last March when A&M won 67-62.

Looking for its first tournament win since 1993, BYU came out flat. Meanwhile, the Aggies couldn't miss, making their first 10 shots and building a 22-7 lead in less than eight minutes.

PURDUE 61, NORTHERN IOWA 56

PORTLAND, Ore. — E'Twaun Moore scored 17 points, JaJuan Johnson added 14 and the fifth-seeded Boilermakers (26-9) led by as many as 14 at the Rose Garden Arena before the 12th-seeded Panthers (23-11) made it interesting down the stretch.

Kwadzo Ahelegbe had 11 points for Northern Iowa, which closed to 56-54 on Kerwin Dunham's 3-pointer with 17.4 seconds left. But the Boilermakers hit 5 of 6 free throws to seal the victory.

MARYLAND 84, CALIFORNIA 71

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Grievis Vasquez had 27 points and the 10th-seeded Terrapins (21-13) shut down the nation's best 3-point shooting team, disrupting the Bears (22-11) with their pressure defense, rarely giving them a good look from the perimeter.

Vasquez controlled the offense and Dave Neal chipped in 15 points, helping the Terps advance past the first round in their ninth straight NCAA appearance. Cal, which shot a nation-best 43 percent from 3-point range during the regular season, was 7-for-24 in this one.

WASHINGTON 71, MISSISSIPPI STATE 58

PORTLAND, Ore. — Quincy Pondexter scored 23 points and Jon Brockman had 14 rebounds and 10 points as the fourth-seeded Huskies (26-8) took advantage of early foul trouble to the 13th-seeded Bulldogs' (23-13) menacing Jarvis Varnado.

Varnado, the national leader in blocked shots and MSU's leading scorer, finished with five, to go along with seven points, three rebounds — and four fouls — in 23 minutes.