Three months ago coaches and players from around the Big East made the trek to Madison Square Garden for the conference’s women’s basketball media day.

The preseason standings were unveiled. Connecticut, not surprisingly, was picked by the coaches to finish first, and Syracuse was picked 13th. But while the Huskies have stayed true to form atop the conference and the nation with a No. 1 ranking, the Orange has so far proved the coaches dead wrong.

If UConn head coach Geno Auriemma had seen this coming, he may not have said what he did back in October.

‘A team like Syracuse, they got to beat all the teams they are supposed to beat,’ Auriemma said then. ‘Some games they are just not going to win.’

Most would classify tonight’s game between the Orange and the No. 1 Huskies in the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. as one of those games. But Syracuse is off to the best start in school history, having won 13 of its last 14, and sits just outside the top 25 coming into tonight’s match-up.

For Chandrea Jones, Syracuse’s leading scorer, Auriemma’s comments still sting.

‘You win some, and you lose some, so we just have to prove him wrong,’ Jones said.

Trying to prove him wrong won’t be easy as the Huskies not only have the unanimous No. 1 ranking on their side, but history favors them as well. UConn is 29-12 against the Orange all time and have won 15 straight contests.

Don’t tell Syracuse University head coach Quentin Hillsman about history, though. When asked if he has confronted his team about losing 15 straight, it was news to him.

‘No, you’re giving me some news here. I haven’t. I haven’t talked about it at all,’ Hillsman said. ‘But I will now, thanks.’

One thing that he said he won’t be talking about was his counterpart’s remarks. While Auriemma has won five championships since 1995, he’s been known to speak his mind aloud, and this fall was no exception.

‘He always has the best quotes,’ Hillsman said. ‘And you know what’s even better, is that everyone prints them and takes it as law. If he says that, he has a right to say that. All I know is what we are going to do.’

Auriemma has also not been the biggest fan of the Carrier Dome, as evidenced in a recent interview. He has said it is extremely difficult to get used to because his team isn’t used to playing in such large spacious arenas, and it takes time to get accustomed to.

Two years ago, UConn came into the Dome ranked No. 6 in the nation, and at the end of the first half only scored 20 points and trailed the Orange by three. The Huskies adjusted and went on to score 45 in the second half in a 65-36 win, but still shot just 26 percent for the game.

Hillsman has so far stuck to his word in not telling his team about Auriemma’s feelings. Erica Morrow, Nicole Michael and Jones, all had not heard the comments until they were told by the media. After hearing them, just like their coach, the three shrugged them off, but did disagree.

‘I think we have come out and we’ve proven that we can beat good teams,’ Morrow said. ‘We had a tough non-conference schedule, and we’ve proved that we can compete at the highest level. We’re just going to come out and play hard.’

Syracuse played an elite team when it traveled to North Carolina earlier this season. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 6 in the nation and beat the Orange by 25. UNC is also averaging about 30 points more than its opponents, and is second only to UConn, which is averaging a margin of victory is 41.1 points.

Michael looks to be a big part in Hillsman’s game plan in trying to combat UConn’s scoring. However, she said, she’s feeling a little under the weather, and it has affected how much energy she has.

‘I’m sure I’ll find some type of energy tomorrow,’ Michael said. ‘I’ll be good.’

Like her coach, Michael won’t be turning to the bulletin board for that extra boost of energy or confidence though.

‘Coach Auriemma can say whatever he wants to say,’ Michael said. ‘He’s coach Auriemma. He’s been around for so long, and he has a great program. It doesn’t faze us really. We’re two different programs; whatever he says about our program, it doesn’t mean anything to us.’

Published on January 14, 2008 at 12:00 pm