This is for Gwen.
Last Wednesday, February 13, the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team traveled to Hartford to take on the Connecticut Huskies, in a should-win Big East match up. The game was to be the last the Orange would have against rival UConn as Big East opponents. With the Huskies in a transitional year, and the Orange poised for another big run in the NCAA tournament, plus the enormous size advantage Syracuse had, this should have been an easy win for the Orange. Not so much.
After going back and forth for much of the first half, the Huskies pulled away in the last minute of the first half, leaving the court with a five point lead. In the second half, the teams remained close, but Syracuse only had a lead twice. With just over 10 minutes left, it was all Huskies, who dominated down the stretch, even extending their lead to double digits a few times.
Syracuse did not play well. Their size should have given them an obvious advantage rebounding-wise, which the team has done admirably in throughout the season, but it was UConn who ended up out-rebounding the 'Cuse, 38-26. Syracuse got only 3-for-15 shooting from de facto captain Brandon Triche, and just six points from freshman starter Jerami Grant. However, it was not entirely Syracuse's fault that they lost. The Huskies' three-guard system did what it does best: destroy Jim Boeheim's famous 2-3 zone.
Omar Calhoun, Ryan Boatright and Shabazz Napier - the three guards- paced the Huskies with double digit points, each. Boatright led all scorers with 17, and added four assists and three steals. Napier scored 10 and added 7 assists, out-assisting the nation's leading set-up man (Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams) by SIX. Calhoun, a freshman, scored 15 points.
UConn's three guards were able to effectively penetrate the zone, and Syracuse's less-than-great performance led to the Orange's third loss in the Big East, and fourth loss on the season. Syracuse followed up the debilitating loss with a domination of Seton Hall on Saturday, winning 76-65.
The Orange take on Providence on Wednesday at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse.
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