Andre Drummond has had a ton of dunks this season. Before the Feb. 25 game against Syracuse, I had him down for 63, so he’s probably hovering in that 75 range.
This one was the most impressive.
Notes/Quotes from Big East quarterfinal: “I would be shocked if Connecticut didn’t win two games in the NCAA tournament — at the minimum.”
UConn gave Syracuse all it could handle for a third time and, once again, fell short.
Five-minute spurts hurt the Huskies in the two regular season meetings (Cuse outscored them 31-1 in two big runs that took less than 10 minutes).
Andre Drummond and Shabazz Napier (AP)
Thursday’s Big East quarterfinal was no different: UConn went 7:08 without a field goal. In that span, the Huskies were outscored 10-2 and subsequently surrendered the lead. They never got it back.
“I think we let them get away with this game more than the game at Gampel,” said UConn point guard Shabazz Napier. “We didn’t do what we were supposed to do at the end of the game, which is what the great teams do.”
“We didn’t give ourselves a chance,” Napier said. “We were up, we acted like we had won the game. We should have played better on offense and dug down deeper on defense. We let up — pretty bad.”
* Syracuse seems to bring out the best in Andre Drummond. The big fella went for 14 and 10 Thursday and had a RIDICULOUS dunk that I will later find on YouTube. He also battled on the boards, which wasn’t the case against West Virginia in the second round.
“We were disappointed in him yesterday,” said coach Jim Calhoun. “….I really got into him privately about, I don’t care what he does, he has to compete. And he competed today.”
* UConn’s three-game winning streak was snapped, but it came away from the Big East tournament in a “good place,” Tyler Olander said.
“We’re starting to have fun,” Napier said. “Team chemistry comes from having fun and doing the things that friends do. We all finally started to have fun when coach came back and we started feeling like a big family.”
* Jim Boeheim had high praise for UConn for the third time this year.
“I would be shocked if Connecticut didn’t win two games in the NCAA tournament — at the minimum,” Boeheim said.
Also, he was asked about the drug-story that Yahoo! broke earlier in the week. Does it affect the team?
“This is a media thing, “Boeheim responded. “If we were bothered by (investigations), we wouldn’t be 31-1.”
* UConn now awaits its tourney fate. I think the Huskies will get an 8/9. We’ll find out Sunday.
Live Coverage: UConn vs. Syracuse in Big East Quarterfinals
For what could be the last time, old rivals Syracuse and UConn will tango at Madison Square Garden in the Big East tournament.
Whether you can watch the game or not, follow along below and chime in with your own insights as Hearst Connecticut Media Group UConn beat writer Kevin Duffy (from MSG) and friends live blog the proceedings starting 15 minutes before the noon tipoff.
Just click the “play” button below to join the chat and follow along as the Huskies try to improve their NCAA tournament standing and advance to the conference semifinals by knocking off the No. 2 Syracuse Orange.
Poll: Most memorable UConn Big East tournament game
There’s no doubt yesterday’s UConn-West Virginia thriller was one of the most memorable games in the Huskies’ Big East tournament history.
There wasn’t a conference title on the line, but in a rarity for a UConn program unaccustomed to being on the Bubble, there may have been something more important at stake — a spot in the Field of 68.
That got us thinking: Which UConn Big East tournament game was the most memorable?
Was it a Ray Allen-led UConn team, boosted by freshman Ricky Moore’s 20 points, beating Allen Iverson-led Georgetown for the 1996 title? Donyell Marshall scoring a tournament record 42 points in 1994 against St. John’s? UConn being on the losing end of a six-overtime epic against Syracuse?
We came up with 10 nominations. Read through them and vote in the poll to pick the top one:
* Yesterday.
* The six-overtime game: UConn falls to Syracuse in an epic battle in the 2009 quarterfinals.
* Kemba Walker buries a step-back jumper at the buzzer to beat Pitt in last year’s quarterfinal, providing the signature moment in UConn’s improbable title run.
* Ben Gordon finishes the 2004 tournament with a then-record 80 points, leading UConn to a 61-58 win over Pitt in the title game and setting the stags for the Huskies’ second national title.
* Taliek Brown hits a 30-footer at the shot-clock buzzer to help send UConn past Pitt in the 2002 title game.
* The 1996 title game: Moore and Kirk King led the scoring attack for most of the game, and Ray Allen shot a wild, off-balance leaner that bounced around the rim and through the net as UConn outlasted the Hoyas for its second Big East championship.
* Marshall goes off for a record 42 points in the 1994 quarterfinal against St. John’s.
* The Beginning of an Era: Bridgeport’s Chris Smith, now the head
coach at Kolbe Cathedral, led UConn to a 78-75 victory over Syracuse in the 1990 Big East title game. It was the first of seven conference titles.
* McNamara burns Huskies: Five years before Kemba Walker propelled UConn
to the title, Gerry McNamara led the ninth-seeded Syracuse to an unlikely conference title of its own. McNamara led the Orange past UConn, 86-84, in the quarterfinals.
* Freeman wins MVP – Always regarded as an unsung hero, junior forward Kevin Freeman, now a member of the UConn coaching staff, was named the 1999 Big East tournament most valuable player. The Huskies routed St. John’s, 82-63, in the final.
Big East Recap: Second Round
The bubble talk can finally be put to rest.
UConn (20-12) advanced to the Big East quarterfinal, and likely secured an NCAA tournament berth, with a dramatic overtime victory over West Virginia on Tuesday.
Here’s a recap of the second round games from Madison Square Garden:
UConn 71, West Virginia 67 (OT)
Connecticut Post — UConn rallies past West Virginia in OT thriller
WV Charleston — One and done in OT
Georgetown 64, Pittsburgh 52
Washington Post — Hoyas top Pitt in Big East tournament
Post-Gazette — Pitt gets G’Town
Louisville 61, Seton Hall 55
Courier-Journal — Louisville wants faster pace to get its ‘mojo’ back
Nj.com — Seton Hall’s comeback falls short as Pirates lose to Louisville
South Florida 56, Villanova 47
TampaBay.com – USF Bulls beat Villanova, 56-47
Poll: Where will UConn be seeded in NCAAs?
There’s little doubt that UConn, once on the bubble, has wrapped up a tournament bid.
Wednesday’s overtime victory over West Virginia did the trick. So, where do you see the Huskies on Selection Sunday?
Notes/Quotes from Big East Second Round: “Is it magical? No. It’s just us. It’s just us understanding eachother.”
If you want to jump to conclusions and talk about the uncanny parallels between this year and last, you won’t be alone.
UConn has won two straight games in the Big East tournament, the latest of which was a dramatic overtime thriller against West Virginia. The Huskies now have a date with top-seeded Syracuse, just like last season when they beat No. 1 Pittsburgh on Kemba’s Walker’s fallaway.
Last season was no doubt magical. That word applies and, truthfully, doesn’t really do the 11-game run justice.
But it’s a little much to start asking, “Have they recaptured the magic?”
Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier (AP)
“No doubt, you are 100 percent right, it took us much longer than I could ever anticipate — and I was gone for the last eight — to find it,” said coach Jim Calhoun. Is it magic? No, it’s just us. It’s just us understanding each other, how much we can benefit, okay, if we give each other all that we have, and I think we have.”
Indeed, what we’ve seen the past three games isn’t magic — it’s UConn playing together, playing hard and not getting rattled.
For the record, I’ve written my last “UConn on the Bubble” post. The Huskies are in the Big Dance. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.
Now, another question looms: How far can they go in the Big East tournament? How about the NCAAs?
Jim Calhoun’s return has helped wonders. Alex Oriakhi is playing his best ball of the season, and Jeremy Lamb has been especially assertive. Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright are co-existing in the backcourt, too.
There’s plenty of reason to believe a deep run is possible. There’s also reason to think UConn can lay an egg in an elimination game. After all, it has laid quite a few this season.
Some notes/quotes from Wednesday’s victory over West Virginia:
* The rebounding numbers were startling. For the most part, Kevin Jones and WVU pushed UConn around on the interior. The Huskies finally muscled up at the end.
“Yeah, they had 29 offensive rebounds,” Oriakhi said with a sigh.
“25,” a reporter interjected.
“Actually, 26,” another said.
Oriakhi quickly ended the debate.
“OK, it was a lot,” Oriakhi said with a laugh. “Twenty-whatever offensive rebounds, so for us to still win the game, that shows how much we really fought.”
* Roscoe Smith, the energizer in UConn’s past three games, was a non-factor Wednesday. ‘Scoe, as they call him, was scoreless with three rebounds in 19 minutes.
* The glass-half-full perspective for tomorrow: Aside from a five-minute stretch in each game, UConn actually outscored Syracuse, 135-126, this season.
The glass-half-empty side: Syracuse outscored the Huskies 31-1 in those two five minute runs.
Check back tomorrow for a live blog of the game. Tip is at noon.
Live coverage: UConn-West Virginia
Can’t watch today’s UConn-West Virginia game at work? Follow along below and chime in with your own insights as Hearst Connecticut Media Group beat writer Kevin Duffy blogs live from the Garden, starting 15 minutes before the noon tipoff.
Just click the “play” button below to join the chat and follow along as the Huskies try to solidify their NCAA tournament standing and advance to the conference quarterfinals.
