If you’re going to beat the No. 1 UConn Huskies you have to find a way to get past the last line of defense in Hasheem Thabeet.
Thabeet had another monster game defensively as he had 8 points, 16 rebounds and 7 blocked shots to help the Huskies to a 63-49 Big East win over the Syracuse Orange in front of a sold-out Gampel Pavilion.
It was the 12th straight win for the Huskies who improve to 23-1 (11-1 Big East) while the Orange fall to 18-7 (6-6).
A.J. Price led the Huskies in scoring with 17 points while Jeff Adrien had 12 points and 5 rebounds. Freshman Kemba Walker had a good game off the bench with 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
The Huskies played most of the game down a man as they lost Jerome Dyson to a bruised knee when he bumped knees with Syracuse’s Kristof Ongenaet. Dyson intially stood up but had to be helped off the court and back to the locker room. Jim Calhoun said after the game that Dyson would have an MRI in the morning.
Syracuse was led by Jonny Flynn who had 16 points. Eric Devendorf added 12 points and Ongenat had a team-high 8 rebounds for the Orange in their lowest scoring game of the year.
It was an ugly game for the Huskies in the first half as they turned the ball over 14 times. The score went back and forth early on before Syracuse exploited the UConn turnovers and took a 21-16 lead. A Price three-pointer and 2 free throws by Stanley Robinson tied the game for the Huskies. The game stayed close before Walker put the Huskies up 3 at the half 30-27.
In the second half, the Huskies turned up their defensive pressure and got some timely 3-pointers. With the Huskies leading 44-40, they went on a 12-0 run to open up a 16 point lead. The Orange responded with a 9-2 run before Price put an end to that with a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 60-49 lead with 5:09 left in the game. UConn’s defense clamped down even harder keeping the Orange scoreless the rest of the way to pickup the win.
I really don’t think there is any better big man in the country right now than Thabeet. He literally changes the way that teams play. If you try to go inside on him, it’s almost impossible to get a clean shot off. During the game tonight besides the 7 blocks, he probably altered at least 10-15 other shots. If he can stay out of foul trouble like he did tonight and the Huskies can make their shots, they can go a long way this season.
The Huskies head out on to the road Saturday afternoon as they head to New Jersey for a matchup with the Seton Hall Pirates. Tip is scheduled for noon and the game will be broadcast locally on My-TV9.
Notes and musings:
Syracuse Orange @ UConn Huskies 2.11.09 men’s basketball box score
Jim Calhoun has now won 797 games in his career and 549 games at UConn.
Connecticut has a 39-7 record as a No. 1 team.
Jim Calhoun improved to 26-21 all-time vs. Jim Boeheim (26-20 at Connecticut).
UConn has won 15 of its last 18 meetings with Syracuse when both teams were ranked.
The Huskies shot 43.8% (21-of-48) from the floor while the Orange shot 31.7% (19-of-60).
UConn had 12 assists on their 21 made baskets.
The 20 turnovers by the Huskies were a season-high.
UConn finished with 11 blocks in the game.
The Huskies outrebounded the Orange 42-34 and outscored them 22-20 in the paint.
UConn shot 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the free throw line.
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