Jim Boeheim has never lost five consecutive games in his illustrious Hall of Fame Career. On Wednesday night, he entered unfamiliar territory.Syracuse came into Connecticut on a four game losing streak and desperate for a win. After starting 18-0, the Cuse' hadn't won in 18 days. They did play well enough to snap that streak and beat (7) UConn 66-58. Rick Jackson lead the way for the Orange racking up 13 points and 13 rebounds to drop the Huskies to 17-4 (5-4).
The Orange have dropped from number three to 17 in a matter of two weeks in the polls. The saying "must win games" really came into play this time. Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche were also in double figures with 11 and 16 points. Freshman stud C.J. Fair had 6 points and 4 rebounds and another freshman Baye Moussa Keita had 4 points to go along with a more important 11 rebounds and 6 steals.
Leading player of the year candidate Kemba Walker definitely didn't bring his best effort to the floor last night as he had is lowest scoring output of the season with 8 points on 3-14 shooting. Freshman Jeremy Lamb kept Connecticut in the game as he had 22 points.
"This was a game we had to find a way to win," Boeheim said. "We made the plays we had to. We played well but we also played well at Marquette. That's the league. You have to do that every night. This league is very, very difficult." This is not an understatement from Coach Boeheim. The Big East is just a mess right now, and I mean mess in the best way possible. All but three teams in the conference have winning records and eleven teams have legitimate resumes to show the NCAA selection committee.
"We did a lot of dumb things," UConn Coach Jim Calhoun said. "It was a lack of mental effort more than physical effort." Kemba Walker, the nation's leading scorer at 24.2 points per knew he didn't have his best. "I was just off. I just can't make a shot. It happens. It happens to the best players in the world. I just have to get through it. "Tonight, I definitely didn't get any good shots. They did a great job taking away my opportunities."
There is no doubt Syracuse needed this win but it seems like every night, all the Big East teams need a win.
Next 5 Games
| SYR | CONN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 02/05 @USF 2:00pm 02/09 GTWN 7:00pm 02/12 @LOU 12:00pm 02/14 WVU 7:00pm 02/19 RUTG 4:00pm Big East Conference Standings
| 02/05 @HALL 7:00pm 02/10 @SJU 7:00pm 02/13 PROV 7:00pm 02/16 GTWN 7:00pm 02/18 @LOU 9:00pm |
Syracuse has to go at least 3-2 their next 5 games. I see them beating USF, RUT, and WVU. I'm concerned about Louisville. I think the Cardinals are good. And I think they should beat Georgetown.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't go 3-2 or 4-1 the next 5, i'll be kinda disappointed.
Agreed. I am honestly most concerned with Georgetown. I am every year they play each them. For some reason they scare me. I think Cuse should go 5-0 but HAS to go 4-1 minimum. They are way too talented and way too talented not to. Rick Jackson is playing extremly well and contributions from guys like C.J. Fair and Brandon Triche have been huge and then vets like K-Jo and Scoop just have to continue to have leadership and not make mistakes.
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