Big East Tournament 2012 Bracket and Schedule: Desperate UConn Scary to Play

Sometimes you have to be placed on the edge of the cliff before you truly get your act together.

The UConn Huskies are very familiar with the Big East tournament and are suddenly the most dangerous team at Madison Square Garden (Click here for Big East tournament schedule and bracket.)

As the No. 9 seed in this week’s festivities, the defending conference and NCAA champs kicked off the event with a bang in their 81-67 win over No. 16 DePaul. The Huskies are now 19-12 (8-10 Big East) with the 34th-best RPI.

Sure, it was only the Blue Demons, but the Huskies looked like the team that jumped out to a 12-1 start to begin the year. Sophomore Jeremy Lamb scored 25 on an efficient 10-of-18 from the floor, and Ryan Boatright had 19 off the bench.

The Huskies won by 14 despite shooting 11-of-24 from the foul line. That’s not going to happen again.

Little sleep for the weary, as a high-noon date with No. 8 West Virginia awaits on Wednesday. The good news is that UConn has already beaten its fellow bubble buddy, 64-57, and should match up well once again.

It’s not going to be easy, but as long as UConn keeps up its recent aggressiveness and actually makes its free throws, it should emerge victorious.

If UConn wins, it’s yet another noon date, this time with No. 1 Syracuse.

The Orangemen have been nothing short of dominant this season, and that includes two wins over the Huskies. Yet, the last meeting on Feb. 25 was a two-point game in which UConn almost pulled off an epic comeback by erasing a 17-point deficit to tie the game with under a minute to play.

The team’s confidence in beating the bully of the conference is present, and there are numerous other reasons to like the Huskies as well.

UConn was an abysmal 6-of-20 from three-point range, and Kris Joseph went off for 21. As long as Alex Oriakhi can limit Joseph, the Syracuse offense is going to struggle. Lamb had 19, as it seemed nobody could stay in front of him.

And that’s the biggest key in all of this: Lamb is a potential top-10 pick, and few players can stay in front of his lighting-fast first step. He was the biggest reason the team won the title last year aside from Kemba Walker and has the ability to put UConn on his back.

With championship experience, one of the best coaches in the sport and winnable games in front of them, the Huskies not only have the potential to make the tournament with another two wins; they have the potential to do some serious damage.

While predicting a Big East tournament championship is incredibly far-fetched, considering they would have to win five games in five days, all of a sudden the Huskies have been resurrected from the dead.

UConn is still on the edge of that proverbial cliff…but it hasn't fallen off just yet. 

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