NCAA: SU Beats UConn in the Best Game Ever?

Posted on | March 13, 2009 | No Comments

Last night an absolutely epic battle occurred on the basketball court. The Connecticut Huskies and the Syracuse Orange battled for 6 overtime periods before the Orange finally outlasted the Huskies to win 127-117. There was much that could be said when it was all over. No words could do it justice. That’s partially why even the announcers from ESPN stood and applauded the players when this one was all over.

So excuse Connecticut Huskies coach, Jim Calhoun, if he didn’t exactly say all the right things in his post game presser. But he could’ve handled it a little better.

Sure, Calhoun gave Syracuse credit for playing well and being a good team. But he quickly followed that up with the fact that UConn could’ve and should’ve won the game. If only UConn could’ve made free throws and didn’t turn the ball over so much. Calhoun made it abundantly clear that his team lost a game that they could’ve easily won.

Did Calhoun forget about the end of regulation? Did he forget about SU leading by 2 points with less than 10 second left? Did he forget that Devendorf hit a three at the buzzer that was actually about 1/20th of a second late. And Calhoun also must’ve forgotten about Thebeet leveling Flynn on that inbound pass when Flynn set a pick. That should’ve given Flynn two free throws and Syracuse the win.

Calhoun is right that his team really should’ve blown out SU in the 1st overtime. They had the momentum after Devendorf’s shot (the shot that didn’t actually happen) was disallowed. They also had the advantage of being fresher than SU. But UConn didn’t get the job done.

UConn would lead in every OT until the 6th OT. SU never led until the 6th OT. But that’s when the game finally tipped in one team’s favor.

Now, will Syracuse even be able to stay on the court for 40 minutes against West Virginia in the Big East semis? We will soon see.

Related posts:

1. NCAA: UConn and UNC are the Clear Favorites
2. NCAA: Huge Match-Ups This Weekend
3. NCAA: Bubbles Bursting in the Big East
4. NCAA: Looking at the West Bracket
5. NCAA: Reacapping the 1st 2 Rounds of the NCAA Tournament

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