Syracuse & Connecticut: Did You Know We've Met Before?

What a game yesterday as two teams battled for "New York's College Team" bragging rights inside Madison Square Garden. St. Johns, who plays their home games in MSG versus Syracuse, who plays their "home" games in MSG.

After forty minutes of battle on Thursday afternoon in the Quarter Finals of the Big East Tournament, the Syracuse Orangemen prevailed behind 22 points from Brandon Triche and 12 points from Fab Melo (a career high).

With the score tied 68-68 and 2:24 remaining in regulation, Fab Melo decided that now would be a good time to take over. Melo scored four of Syracuse's next six points, including a layup with 31 seconds left to put the Orangemen up by 4, and Brandon Triche continued to be money from the foul line to ice the win for Syracuse.

St. Johns was up 5 at halftime, however in the second half Triche and Joseph helped will the Syracuse squad to victory. Triche was a perfect 8/8 from the foul line, including 4/4 in the last 18 seconds of the game to seal the victory.

Rick Jackson just missed another double-double, finishing with 10 points and 9 rebounds, along with 4 assists, 3 steals and 4 blocks. Six of Jackson's ten points came in the last 7:13 of the game. Jackson came up big when Syracuse needed him most, just like you would expect your senior leader to do.

Earlier in the day, Kemba Walker sent UCONN into the semi-finals with a game winning buzzer beater as time expired to knock off #3 Pittsburgh 76-74. The bucket gave Walker 24 points in the game and put Syracuse and Connecticut on a collision coarse to meet tonight at 7PM in the Semi-Finals of the Big East Tournament.

Now, some of you may remember a little game that was played way back in 2009 that featured these two teams on the very same court. Eric Devendorf, the poster child for good behavior, drilled a three pointer as time expired to give Syracuse what appeared to be an epic, epic victory over the hated Huskies.

After a long review it was determined that Devo did not get his shot off in time and the bucket was wiped, sending both teams into overtime. Personally, I feel that if the game clock went to hundredths of a second (0.01) the shot would have counted. Be that as it may, that unbelievable shot set the stage for the greatest game in Big East Tournament history.

Now I'm not sure how many times ESPN will be flashing the highlights from that fateful night between now and the 10 hours that lead up to game time, but I'm sure that it's going to be often! Not to mention the number of times it will be referenced during the game! Any time the score is tied in the second half, the ESPN talking heads will surely say "better not walk away we may have another six overtime game here!"

After the third overtime, it was apparent that whoever lost that game was going to live with it for the rest of their lives. If you win, you're selling t-shirts, DVDs, hats, and going on David Letterman. If you lose, than every single time someone talks about the six overtime game you are going to hang your head and talk about what might have been.

Johnny Flynn declared for the draft shortly after and got himself into the NBA Lottery, mainly because of his performance on that night. The next few weeks all anyone could talk about was the epic six overtime finish in the Garden. Syracuse became the nations darling. Everyone was picking them for the Final Four and the country fell in love all over again with Jim Boeheim.

And now we meet again. Will it go to six overtimes? Most likely not. Will it be a nail-bitter down to the wire? Quite possibly. The only time these two teams met this year was in Hartford, CT when then #17 Syracuse was in the midst of a four game losing streak and Connecticut was ranked #7 in the country coming off a six game winning streak that was just ended by a double overtime loss to Louisville.

Today at 7PM in Madison Square Garden Syracuse and Connecticut will tip off at 7PM and then 30 minutes after whenever that game ends Notre Dame will meet Louisville in another game that's sure to be a classic. What a night we have coming up at Madison Square Garden!

Get your popcorn ready!

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Aaaaand We're Back!

Heading into last night's Big East showdown against the #6/#7 UCONN Huskies Jim Boeheim had never lost 5 straight games as head coach of the Syracuse Orangemen. Thankfully, he still hasn't. Syracuse went into Connecticut and walked out with a much needed 66-58 victory. The Orangemen hadn't won on the road against UCONN since the 1999 season.

Syracuse managed to overcome not scoring a single point in the game's opening 5:31 and managed to take their first halftime lead since January 15th against Cinci when Rick Jackson slipped home a shifty hook shot as time expired on the opening frame, giving SU a 26-25 halftime lead.

In the first half Syracuse's defense of Huskie star Kemba Walker was amazing. Walker was held to just 5 points in the first half. Syracuse had allowed opposing teams to score 40+ points in the first half three straight games heading into last night's contest, however UCONN scored just 25 points in the 1st half. Walker finished the game with a season low 8 points, a job well done by the Orangemen's guards at the top of the 2-3 zone.

Coming out of the halftime intermission, it appeared to be the Brandon Triche show. Triche scored the first 7 points for Syracuse in the first 2:17 out of the gate, and helped push Syracuse's lead to 33-27. As Connecticut mounted a valiant comeback, cutting Syracuse's lead which had ballooned to as many as 9 points down to a mere 1 point with 4:56 left to play, Brandon Triche swished a 3-point jumper from the corner to put the Orangemen back up 4 points and provide a much needed cushion against the #6/#7 team in the nation as Syracuse held on for the win.

Baye Moussa Keita played by far his best game in his very young Orangeman career. Despite fouling out (on an absolutely brutal call late in the game) Keita pulled down 11 rebounds, made a season high 6 steals, scored 4 points and added 2 blocks while playing a season high 27 minutes for the Cuse. Keita was changing shots in the lane, using his long arms to swat pass attempts into the center of the zone, and playing like a man possessed to help Syracuse knock off one of the best teams in the nation and putting an end to the Orangemen's 4 game losing streak.

At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Fab Melo played a mere 3 minutes and his only statistical achievement in the game was his 1 personal foul.

Rick Jackson recorded his 15th double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to lead the Orangemen. Kris Joseph began the game extremely off, however managed to make a few big plays down the stretch. Joseph, the Orangemen's leading scorer on the season, finished 3 of 11 from the floor for 11 points.

Once again Scoop Jardine's shooting woes continued to mount, as he shot 2 of 11 from the field, however Scoop made his foul shots in the final minutes of the game and grabbed a key rebound as the game clock wound down.

Brandon Triche lead Syracuse in scoring with 16 points, while shooting 2 of 7 from 3-point range. He made his shots when it counted though.

Up next for the Orangemen are the USF Bulls on Saturday at 2PM in Tampa, Fl. The game will be televised live on the home of the Big East Network, SNY. With eight games remaining on the Syracuse schedule, there's plenty of hard work left to do.

After a trip down to Tampa, Syracuse will play Georgetown, Louisville, and West Virginia, with the Louisville match up being played on the road. Syracuse (19-4, 6-4 Big East) can not afford to have a let down against the Bulls, as the schedule will not be easing up for the Cuse any time soon.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Is UCONN Just What the Doctor Ordered?

Four straight losses by an average of 11.75 points per game. Never before have the Orangemen lost five straight games under Jim Boeheim. Tonight, Syracuse will take on the #6/#7 Connecticut Huskies (17-3, 5-3 Big East) at the XL Center in Hartford, CT at 7PM on ESPN.

Maybe this level of competition will finally light a fire under the collective bottoms of the Syracuse Orangemen basketball team?

There's a lot of turmoil surrounding the team right now. Four game losing streak. Getting thumped at home by Seton Hall. Some idiots hiding behind a keyboard who thought they would start a point shaving rumor. Dion Waiters suspension rumors. None of this is going to matter when Syracuse takes the court in Connecticut. All that matters is fighting hard for 40 minutes and walking out with a HUGE conference win.

Just one win can turn around all the bad press, bad vibes, and negative energy circling the program. Who better to record that win against than Jim Calhoun and our old friends at UCONN?

Standing in the Cuse's path back to respectability is superstar Kemba Walker (6'1" 172 pounds). The junior is averaging a team high 24.2 points per game and is one of the most lethal players in the country. Walker's season low is 14 points, which came against Marquette on January 25th, and he registered a season high 31 points twice, most recently against Pittsburgh on the road. Walker is the real deal. Stop Kemba Walker, and we might just be able to stop the UCONN Huskies.

If Syracuse has a snowball's chance in hell at stopping Walker, it's going to have to be from the top of the zone. Unfortunately for Syracuse, the top of the 2-3 zone has been absolutely horrible during this 4 game losing streak. Maybe this kind of match up will help Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche elevate their game to the next level. Or, maybe they will fold and allow Walker to torch them for long 3-pointers and penetrate into the zone and get the easy mid-range jumpers. It's up to Scoop and Triche if Syracuse will be successful tonight.

The only other Huskie averaging in double digits is Alex Oriakhi (6'9" 240 pounds) who is averaging 10.7 points and 9 rebounds per game. Oriakhi had a season high 18 points against Kentucky way back on November 24th and a season high 21 rebounds against Texas on the road on January 8th. The past two games Oriakhi has found himself in foul trouble, however the rate at which fouls have been called against Syracuse versus called FOR Syracuse has been staggering of late, so I'm sure that will not be a factor.

In order for Syracuse to be successful they will need to channel the energy we saw in the zone defense the first 18 games of the season that carried the Cuse through bad shooting performances. If Connecticut scores 40+ first half points, it's safe to say our chances of winning this game are slim. The Orangemen have absolutely got to find a way to limit second chance rebounds and somehow manage to slow down Kemba Walker.

If Syracuse can do that, then we have a chance.

Former Syracuse Head Coach Paul Pasqualoni Back in Big East

Interesting developments in the Syracuse Orangemen football landscape.

Yesterday afternoon many onlookers believed that the University of Connecticut was going to announce the hire of Mark Whipple as new head football coach for the Huskies. Apparently the Connecticut High School Coaches Association sent a letter to the UCONN athletic director Jeff Hathaway, giving Paul Pasqualoni their full endorsement.

Perhaps that was enough, because late afternoon Thursday word came down that the next head coach at Connecticut is indeed our old friend Coach P.

Paul Pasqualoni was an assistant under Dick MacPherson from 1987 until 1991, at which time he was named head football coach at Syracuse University. Born in Cheshire, CT, Coach P led the Orangemen to a 107-59-1 record during his 14 year career and a bowl game record of 6-3.

The departure of Donovan McNabb and the inability to bring in another star quarterback signaled the downturn of Syracuse football under Paul Pasqualoni. While the team enjoyed a successful 2001 season, the Orangemen toiled away in mediocrity the following three seasons (4-8, 6-6, 6-6).

After getting blown out in the Champs Sports Bowl in 2004 51-14 at the hands of Georgia Tech there was a growing sentiment around campus that a change had to be made. Even though Chancellor Nancy Cantor said that Pasqualoni would be back for the 2005 season, newly hired athletic director Daryl Gross took just 12 days to fire Coach P and usher in Greg Robinson.

In Syracuse's first campaign without Coach P, Greg Robinson steered the Cuse to a 1-10 record, the worst season in the history of SU Football. [The Syracuse team that went 4-2 in the Big East in Pasqualoni's final season went 0-7 in the Big East under Greg Robinson his first season at the helm.]

Coach P went on to be a position coach in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys before being hired by Bill Parcells in 2008 as the defensive coordinator to help turn around the struggling Miami Dolphins.

Pasqualoni then returned to the Cowboys for the 2010 season and took over the defensive coordinator duties after Wade Phillips was fired mid-season.

Which leads us to today. Now Paul Pasqualoni is back in the Big East and coaching the Connecticut Huskies. I'm sure many of you out there are unsure how to respond to this news. Pasqualoni's career at Syracuse started 73-27-1 and had Syracuse in the nation's season ending Top-25 six of his first eight seasons. Over the next 66 games however, Syracuse was a mere 34-32.

So how do we react when Paul Pasqualoni returns to the Carrier Dome on the visitors sidelines?

I think the only respectable thing to do is give Coach P. the standing ovation he's earned during his 14 year stay in Syracuse, regardless of how his tenure ended, and then proceed to beat the PANTS off of the huskies!

As Syracuse fans we can not forget about the 10-win seasons, the 6-3 bowl record, and the top NFL talent he brought in over the years. Even when Syracuse football was at the lows under Coach P, there were always NFL players on our roster, which is something we can not say about GROB's tenure. There was always a chance for SU to pull an upset under Pasqualoni. In our darkest hours with Pasqualoni, you can bet Syracuse would have at least one win against a top-25 team.

Who can forget about the three straight Big East Conference Championships? Had Michael Vick not spurned the Orangemen there would have been a lot more of them. Also, had Daryl Gross not been so quick to pull the trigger on Coach P. Ray Rice would have been wearing orange and blue instead of running wild in Piscataway, NJ for Rutgers establishing their program when he could have been rejuvenating ours.

This Cuse fan wishes Paul Pasqualoni well, but not too well. Hopefully he doesn't spend the next ten years beating the crap out of Syracuse, and hopefully he never finishes with a better Big East record than we have. However, if we were looking for a new rivalry in the Big East, we just got one.

Connecticut Knocks off Syracuse in Big East Finale

Connecticut 23

Syracuse 6

It was a game like many other home Big East football games for the Orangemen this season. The student section didn't show up, the Orangemen's offense was flat, and the opposing team was running all over the place. Where were the students? 7PM on a Saturday night one would think they would be available for a few hours to root on their school, a week after clinching bowl eligibility. I guess there must have been an early showing of Harry Potter because clearly there was somewhere else they would rather be.

Connecticut got on the board first with a 1 yard touchdown run by Jordan Todman with 5:16 left in the first quarter. Todman, the 7th leading rusher in the country, picked up 44 yards on the drive to help give the Huskies the early lead.

Syracuse scored on the next drive, however the Cuse were unable to put the ball in the end zone after driving to the UCONN 32 yard line. The Orangemen were forced to settle for a 42 yard field goal by Ross Krautman, which cut the lead to 7-3. Connecticut would respond with a field goal of their own late in the first half.

Ryan Nassib got picked off at his own 38 yards line with just 3:10 remaining in the half. The Orangemen D allowed the Huskies to convert on a 4th and 6 from the 34 yard line, however ultimately held UCONN to a field goal with just 36 seconds remaining in the half. Connecticut entered the locker room at the break up 10-3.

Syracuse would cut the lead to 10-6 following a fumbled punt return by the Huskies early in the 3rd quarter. Syracuse recovered the botched punt at the Huskies 31 yards line, but were once again unable to punch the ball in. Ross Krautman connected on a 35 yard field goal. It was Krautman's 16th straight field goal made, and cut the lead to 10-6. Syracuse would not score again the rest of the game.

Jordan Todman would go on to score on another short touchdown run to give him two on the day late in the 3rd quarter. He finished the night with a game high 131 yards on 27 carries and 2 touchdowns. Syracuse's passing defense limited Zach Frazer to just 13 completions on 21 attempts for 97 yards and zero touchdowns. However, Syracuse's inability to stop Jordan Todman and their difficulty scoring touchdowns was the difference in the game.

Antwon Bailey had just 1 carry for 1 yard, however he did catch 4 passes for 24 yards. Delone Carter finished with just 61 yards on 18 carries for the Orangemen. He now has 1,005 yards on the season and 2,876 yards in his career. It's Carter's second straight 1,000 yard season and moves him into 4th place on Syracuse's All-Time rushing list, 7 yards more than James Mungro.

Ryan Nassib finished the evening with 20 completions in 36 attempts for 170 yards, zero touchdowns and 1 interception. It was Ryan Nassib's first game without a touchdown pass this season. He completed passes to a season high nine different receivers, with Marcus Sales leading all players with 6 catches for 56 yards. Van Chew grabbed 3 balls for 29 and injured Alec Lemon picked up 1 catch for 12 yards in limited action.

With the loss, Syracuse finishes the Big East season with a respectable 4-3 record. However, considering the Orangemen went 4-0 on the road this season with wins against West Virginia, Cincinnati, South Florida and Rutgers, its pretty shocking they couldn't manage 1 Big East win at home against Pittsburgh, Louisville and Connecticut. Syracuse is now 7-4 on the season and will host former Big East school Boston College this Saturday in the regular season finale at noon on either ESPN or ESPN2. UCONN improves to 6-4 this season, 3-2 in the Big East. The Huskies earned bowl eligibility in the win.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Faces Connecticut in Big East Finale

This Saturday the Syracuse Orangemen will host the Connecticut Huskies in the Carrier Dome at 7PM. Syracuse will look to improve to an improbable 5-2 record in the Big East with a win and the game will be televised nationally on ESPNU. Connecticut comes to the Dome with a 5-4 overall record, 2-2 in conference play. Good news for the Orangemen: Connecticut is 0-4 on the road this season in the Big East. In an interesting twist of fate, Syracuse's two conference losses both came at home, and they were undefeated in 2010 on the road in the conference.

Last week, Syracuse clinched bowl eligibility for the first time since 2004 with a 13-10 victory over the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Connecticut spent their Saturday pulling out a huge upset win against the Pittsburgh Panthers 30-28, behind 222 rushing yards by Jordan Todman. After the game Randy Edsall performed this little dance number in celebration.

Last season Syracuse traveled to East Hartford and were defeated by the Huskies 56-31, in a game many felt former Syracuse Football player and current Huskies head coach Randy Edsall ran up the score late in the game. This year Syracuse has a chance to return the favor and close out the Big East schedule in style with a victory against a head-to-head recruiting rival.

Connecticut is lead into the Dome Saturday by Jordan Todman, star running back. Todman currently has 1,176 yards in just eight games and 9 rushing touchdowns. Jordan Todman also has 15 catches for 97 yards and is currently the 7th leading rusher in the nation. He is definitely the biggest threat on this offense and needs to be stopped in order for Syracuse to prevail.

The Huskies passing attack starts with senior quarterback Zach Frazer, who hasn't exactly set the college football world on fire this season. He has completed 80 of 148 passes for 871 yards and 4 touchdowns (2 interceptions). With Syracuse paying obvious attention to Jordan Todman, they will be daring Frazer to beat them. Hopefully the secondary is ready. Todman has almost rushed for as many yards himself as the entire Huskies team has in receiving yards this season (1,176 to 1,410).

Leading wide receiver for the Huskies is Michael Smith (6'1" 202 pounds) who has 30 receptions for 470 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was held without a catch last week against Pittsburgh. Kashif Moore (5'9" 180 pounds) is the second leading receiver with 28 catches for 361 yards and 4 touchdown catches. Lastly, Syracuse needs to watch for tight end Ryan Griffin (6'6" 243 pounds) who has 19 catches for 135 yards and 1 score.

On defense the Connecticut Huskies have given up an average of 22.1 points per game, which ranks 43rd in the country. They allow 364.1 yards per game on average, which is 56th in the nation.

The Syracuse Orangemen defense allows just 297.1 yards per game, which is amazingly 9th best in the country. 17.8 points per game allowed is 12th best in the country and Syracuse's passing defense is a tremendous 12th best in the country as well, allowing just 168.3 yards per game. The most important facet of the defense on Saturday will be the run defense, which is 31st best in the nation right now, averaging 128.8 yards per game.

Ryan Nassib currently has 1,777 passing yards, completing 154 out of 277 attempts and 16 touchdowns. Nassib has throw at least 1 touchdown pass in each game this season and has thrown just 6 interceptions. Delone Carter and Antwon Bailey have continued to be a two headed monster for the Orangemen, with DC3 averaging 5.2 yards per carry and Bailey carrying a 4.9 yards per attempt average. Good news for the Orangemen, Prince-Tyson Gulley is back on the practice field this week, seemingly fully recovered from his bout with mono. His status for the game on Saturday isn't officially known, but it is a good sign to see him back out there.

After sitting out last weeks game, Alec Lemon is expected to play Saturday. Lemon has 29 catches for 365 yards and 4 touchdowns. Van Chew is leading the Cuse with 36 catches for 563 yards and 5 scores and tight end Nick Provo has emerged a viable receiving option, catching 29 balls for 322 yards and 1 touchdown this season. This past Saturday, Marcus Sales re-established himself as a weapon for the Orange passing attack, hauling in 5 balls for 73 yards against Rutgers.

With a win on Saturday, Syracuse can improve to 8-3 on the season and finish the conference schedule at 5-2. With a win they can finish no worse than 2nd in the Big East, a conference that many "experts" predicted Syracuse to finish in 7th place. Connecticut will look to keep their post-season hopes alive with a win and try to earn favorable positioning in the Big East standings with a win. Bud Tribbey, Syracuse nose tackle who sat out against Rutgers last week, is expected to play.

The game kicks off at 7PM and will be televised live on ESPNU. Tickets are still available and if you are in the area, find a way into the Carrier Dome! Be sure to check back with The Cuse Connection for a complete post game report and analysis following the game.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com