Big East Tournament Quarterfinals: Syracuse Orange at Connecticut Huskies

Syracuse Orange (11-7, 24-8) at Connecticut Huskies (15-3, 27-3)

Big East Tournament - Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 12 - 9:20 PM EST on ESPN

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Preview

The final game of the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals features No. 3 UConn hosting No. 6 Syracuse.

This will be the Huskies' first game after their double-bye, while the Orange began their journey on Wednesday with an 89-74 win over Seton Hall.

What the score doesn't tell you, though, is that Syracuse's starting five (who all average double-figure points per game) should all be fairly well rested. After being up by 20 with five minutes left, coach Boeheim rotated in all backups—considering they normally only play seven-to-eight players per game, 12 players seeing the floor is a pretty big deal.

Chalk that up to experience and quality coaching—fatigue is an issue for teams who have to play extra games, so resting your starters as much as possible is key to success. Syracuse has won the Big East Tournament two times in the past four years, so Boeheim has an idea of what he's doing.

The last time these two teams played was on February 11, when Connecticut won 63-49. In that game, the Huskies lost Jerome Dyson for the rest of the season to a knee injury. They suffered two of their three Big East losses after that—both to Pitt.

In Dyson's absence, freshman Kemba Walker has seen his playing time increase, and as he becomes more comfortable, the Huskies continue to become more dangerous.

Since winning the Big East Tournament in 2004, the Huskies have run into the Orange three times, losing on all three occasions. Is this the year that the Huskies bounce back and take down the Orange, or will Syracuse continue to see their stock rise with a big win?

By The Numbers

	Record	Conf	ATS	RPI	SOS	PF	PA
Syracuse	24-8	11-7	14-14	18	13	80.1	70.8
Connecticut	27-3	15-3	12-13	4	22	76.0	61.9

	FG%	D. FG%	3P%	D. 3P%	FT%	RPG	SPG	APG	TPG
Syracuse	43.8	42.7	32.6	31.1	72.5	36.7	8.8	12.9	12.3
Connecticut	47.4	37.7	36.0	31.0	68.3	44.1	5.6	15.0	12.2

Stat Leaders

	Syracuse	Connecticut
PPG	J. Flynn - 17.3	J. Adrien - 13.7
	E. Devendof - 15.2	H. Thabeet - 13.6
	P. Harris - 12.8	A. Price - 13.3
RPG	P. Harris - 7.8	H. Thabeet - 10.8
APG	J. Flynn - 6.4	A. Price - 4.6
SPG	J. Flynn - 1.5	K. Walker - 1.1
BPG	R. Jackson - 1.7	H. Thabeet - 4.5

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Prediction

To see Ryan's FREE Pick Against the Spread and final analysis, please head over to CBBPlace.com!