Sportsbooks Expect No. 2 Syracuse To Blow Out Struggling UConn

Sports News - February 10th, 2010 - Written By John Ritter

The last time Connecticut and Syracuse appeared on the same court together, they provided one of the most memorable basketball games in history -- a six-overtime thriller that sent the Orange into the Big East semifinals.

Their meeting Wednesday night comes will slightly less drama as the Huskies have fallen by the wayside and cling to fading hopes of making the NCAA Tournament.

Syracuse has won 11 in a row against and look to stretch that streak even further as the perennial powerhouses meet at the Carrier Dome.

UConn hasn't won all year on the road against a ranked team, but has taken five of it's last six against the Orange. It's won three of it's last four at Syracuse, making College Basketball Betting Lines 11-point spread favoring the Orange an intriguing one, according to Bodog.

"It appears sometimes that we play to the competition," Huskies coach George Blaney, who is filling in for Jim Calhoun, said. "That's what it's starting to look like. So, hopefully, we'll be jacked up and ready to play against Syracuse. We're going up there with our destiny in our hands rather than in anybody else's hands."

The last meeting became the second-longest game in Division I history and had eight total players foul out because of it's length. Most of those players are now gone, and the teams have taken dramatically different routes this season. Syracuse is the second-ranked team in the country with a 23-1 record, while the Huskies have plummeted to a 14-9 ranking. They started 12th in the country and won six of their first six games. But since then, they're just 7-9 and out of the polls.

UConn's only big win of the year against then-no. 1 Texas looks a lot less appealing now that the Longhorns have lost five of seven. It barely edged out last-place DePaul last weekend, getting 20 points out of leading-scorer Jerome Dyson, to snap a three-game losing streak.

"We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a Big East win," guard Kemba Walker said. "We'll just take it and build from this."

The Orange leads the nation in field goal percentage (53.1) and are led by high-scoring forward Wesley Johnson. He leads the team in points and rebounds, and also adds 2.3 rebounds and nearly two blocks a game.

"There was a lot of individual play last year, a lot of isolation," guard Andy Rautins said. "This team really moves the ball and we enjoy playing defense."

But Johnson may have a bit of trouble against the Huskies, who are the top defensive team in the Big East, allowing opponents to shot only 38.2 from the field. That impressive number has been neutralized by the fact that they haven't gotten to 70 points in any of their last four games.