HARTFORD, Connecticut (Ticker) -- Ben Gordon and Connecticut put forth a completely different effort than their last meeting with Massachusetts.

Gordon scored 20 of his 34 points in the first half as the top-ranked Huskies cruised to their seventh straight victory, a 91-67 triumph at the Hartford Civic Center.

Last season, Connecticut (10-1) fell into a 30-9 halftime hole and spotted Massachusetts the first four points of the second half before roaring back for a 59-48 victory.

In this one, the Huskies needed slightly more than two minutes to score the game's first 11 points and easily coasted to their 13th straight triumph over the Minutemen.

Gordon topped the 30-point plateau for the second time this season and helped Connecticut extend its winning streak in Hartford to 18 games. The Huskies also have won 86 straight contests against non-conference opponents from New England.

"I have been shooting really well lately," said Gordon, who made 7-of-8 3-pointers. "I've been spending extra time after practice getting shots off. I'm going to try to continue to do it."

Connecticut prevailed despite a relatively quiet night from All-American center Emeka Okafor, who fouled out in 20 minutes with a season-low six points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Okafor failed to reach double figures in points for the second time this season, scoring nine in a 77-61 loss to Georgia Tech on November 26.

Freshman sensation Charlie Villanueva had one of his better efforts with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Villanueva made 8-of-13 shots and notched his second double-double.

"He's still sloppy and lazy about a lot of things, but he's got things that he can do," Huskies coach Jim Calhoun said. "Maybe he has to be stronger protecting the ball. I don't know that, but I think he makes a terrific weapon at 6-10 to be able to drive from the top of the key."

The Huskies limited the Minutemen (5-5) to 34 percent (11-of-32) shooting in the first half. Freshman Art Bowers struggled in his matchup at point guard with UConn's Taliek Brown and was 1-of-8 for three points.

"Obviously, they are a really, really good team," Minutemen coach Steve Lappas said. "I told Jim before the game I thought this is the most talented team he's ever had because I don't think he's ever had that many big guys at one time."

Massachusetts had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 0-4 on the road. Jeff Viggiano led the Minutemen with 22 points.