Last nights game went exactly as I had predicted. A.J. Price had the big bounce back game I said he would (Game high 17 points and 4 of 9 from 3 pt. range) and his timely 3 point shooting again helped our Huskies defeat a tired, if not totally exhausted Syracuse (Poor excuse) Orangemen by the score of 63 to 49. By the way, I also told you to lay the points and once again I was right. Now, it was a struggle to cover but, that was because “Jimbo” Calhoun, knowing how much UCONN may need another big man if and when Thabeet gets in any foul trouble, continued to give Stanley Robinson minutes he doesn’t deserve. His 4 turnovers during 26 minutes of playing time must be a mistake because it seemed like he made one bad play after another and until “Jimbo” was forced to finally sit him for the remainder of the game. The three guard offense, this time with Price, Austrie and Walker doing the hard work, played great defense, along with the staunch frontline force of Thabeet and Adrien and to the extent Syracuse scored a minuscule 22 points the entire 2nd half. Additionally, it was the first time the Orangemen scored below 50 points, this season (They average 80 for the season) and I told you they should expect that when going up against the best shot blocking and defensive team in the Big East, if not the entire country. Hasheem Thabeet, although scoring only 8 points, played a great game and while concentrating on defense and rebounding.(Game high 16 boards) While exiting the arena and talking with a close friend and big UCONN supporter, we made note of something that was missing early in the season. CONDITIONING! Seriously, I can remember Thabeet bent over at the waist and sucking wind as recently as the Georgetown game. Last night and when he said he went after everything on defense, he looked like he could have easily gone another 20 minutes, if not more. CONGRATS to Calhoun and his staff because this team, no doubt due to improved conditioning, is wearing teams down and always winning the second half. Jeff Adrien struggled with his rebounding against the bulky Syracuse big men (12 points yet only 6 rebounds) but, the guards, Walker (7 points and 6 rebounds) and Austrie (10 points and 5 rebounds) sufficiently picked up the slack. Unfortunately,  4 minutes into the game, Jerome Dyson went down with a knee injury and so we’ll have to hold our breaths and say some prayers that today’s tests support early claims that he’s just bruised and not broken. As for Jimmy “The Whiner” Boeheim, he was less noticeable and vocal than normal yet, that was no doubt due to the fact that even he knew his Orange Peels were in hostile territory and sure to get beat by the #1 team in the nation.

Next game is Saturday and it’s away against Seton Hall. In that one, I look to the improved Huskies beating them more easily than they did the last time and simply because of the defense. After that, it’s BIG MONDAY, the game we’ve all marked on our calendars, at home and against the PITT (Let’s hope Pussycats) Panthers.

I’m out of here! Sic Rick