Orange diverts from run-and-gun, plays size advantage in frontcourt
Syracuse didn’t want to slow the game down, per se. The Orange does have the horses to run, after all. It’s a team that looks to push the ball offensively whenever it can.
But on this night, it was important to establish an inside presence.
‘Definitely,’ senior guard Andy Rautins said. ‘We can kick it down to those guys any time of the game.’
Against a frail Connecticut interior, Syracuse (24-1, 11-1 Big East) controlled the paint. Rick Jackson scored 15 points and recorded seven rebounds, while Arinze Onuaku tallied seven points, nine rebounds and six blocks. With Jackson and Onuaku standing beside him in the locker room after SU’s 72-67 win, Rautins added that the Orange looks to seize its size advantage whenever it can.
‘They were overpowering those guys down there,’ Rautins said. ‘They have bigger frames, so we had to take advantage on the post.’
Onuaku struggled to finish around the rim, shooting 3-of-7. But with 4:26 to go in the first half, he had already blocked four shots. Though UConn (14-10, 4-7 Big East) was able to penetrate, it came at a price, as at times Husky players fell to the hardwood.
‘I couldn’t find the rim tonight, but I just had to play good defense and block shots,’ Onuaku said. ‘They tried to attack the basket, so I had to deny them. We have to dominate the inside and take it away from them. That stretch kind of got us going.’
Jackson did the damage offensively. In the right place at the right time, Jackson provided SU’s offensive punch early. He drew lighter defenders most of the night.
‘Tonight was his night, and he really pounded it in,’ Onuaku said. ‘He looked good out there.’
Boeheim sings Calhoun’s praises
Though Wednesday night’s win will go down as a victory for Jim Boeheim over his buddy and fellow Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, in reality, it was a victory against Connecticut assistant coach George Blaney.
Calhoun did not come back from medical leave for Syracuse’s 72-67 win. Blaney coached his seventh game since Calhoun took a leave of absence Jan. 19. The team is 3-4 with Blaney as head coach this season.
The last time Syracuse played against a non-Calhoun team was in 2003, a 75-61 win for the Huskies at the Hartford Civic Center. In 2006, Calhoun left an 88-80 UConn win early due to dehydration.
After the game, Boeheim spoke highly of Calhoun, who Boeheim is now 23-26 against in his career.
‘Jim Calhoun is one of the best coaches who ever coached college basketball,’ Boeheim said. ‘I don’t mean now, I mean period. And for him not being there is a tremendous loss. I thought their kids just played great, but they were missing a coach the caliber of Jim Calhoun.
‘People don’t mention him that much when they talk about great coaches. He’s done more taking a program from the Yankee conference to the top of college basketball than anybody else has ever done at any school because if you look at the other great programs, they were great before the coaches got there. This guy has done an unbelievable job at Connecticut.’
This and that
Wednesday’s battle between Wes Johnson and Stanley Robinson can be considered a tie. Robinson won the points battle, 16 to 13, but Johnson edged him in rebounds, nine to seven….UConn guards Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson outscored Syracuse’s trio of Scoop Jardine, Andy Rautins and Brandon Triche 33 to 23….Syracuse played seven players again….Syracuse held Ater Majok, Charles Okwandu and Alex Oriakhi, who combined for four points and 14 rebounds….Syracuse hit 23-of-28 free throws (82.1 percent), while Connecticut hit 11-of-17 (64.7 percent).
Published on February 10, 2010 at 12:00 pm
