Huskies At Syracuse: Once More, With Feeling

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – As the Huskies filed off their bus and into the lobby of the team hotel, all the buzz was about the possibility of tournament ineligibility in 2o13.

Of course, the current team’s biggest concern is tournament worthiness in 2012, so  it was wise of George Blaney to say nothing about the NCAA’s denial of the waiver. Players went straight to meetings.

This UConn season has been filled with distractions, or as I call them, disruptions. Jim Calhoun sat out a suspension, and now he is ailing, so he has been gone twice. Ryan Boatright was one twice. Now, the APR is an issue  that could easily sidetrack players who might have a decision to make as a result of it.

Distractions,  Blaney said, “are something a good team has to overcome. This team is still learning how to do that.”

The Huskies need to learn fast, with their tournament hopes beginning to fade. They need to wall them out.

A win at the Carrier Dome Saturday would put a whole new face on the season, but it may be just asking too much. If  UConn plays well, though, a loss isn’t fatal to their tournament hopes. They have enough games left. They have to play better.

It will be an emotional game. It could be UConn’s last in this building for a long while, if Syracuse completes its move to the ACC before another UConn game can be scheduled here. There will be 30,000 people and a national TV audience looking in – all that coming together when it looked like this would be a huge game.

Syracuse, 24-1, is the class of the league. They have had off-the-court problems that are far more serious, but have carried on effectively on the court.

“This may be one of the most talent teams [Jim Boeheim] has ever had,” Blaney said.

We know the basketball issues – UConn’s stagnant offense, seeming lack of chemistry, and Syracuse’s talent, experience and depth. What UConn needs to do to win today is more a mental game – the Huskies need to get out of their own way, and play like they have nothing to loose. Perhaps keep the Louisville humiliation in mind and play angry. If they can do that, cut themselves loose and play like big underdogs again, something they did so well last March, they can make this an interesting game, as Boeheim anticipates.

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Blaney said he has been talking to Jim Calhoun twice a day. “He sounds better,” Blaney said. But Calhoun is still experiencing back pain and having trouble getting around. Blaney said he and the doctors, though, are getting close to a decision.

Same lineup for UConn today – Ryan Boatright, Shabazz Napier, Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond and Tyler Olander.