Digging a Grave: Same Old Story For UConn Against Syracuse

            Everyone, forget about the John Cahill timeout call. There is a much bigger issue at hand for the University of Connecticut Huskies.

            Was granting Jim Boeheim a timeout the wrong call? Yes.

There isn’t a person who can look at the reverse angle replay and say that the timeout should have been awarded to Syracuse. The ball was out of Scoop Jardine’s hand before Cahill granted Syracuse the timeout and as a result Syracuse should not have been able to call a timeout. UConn would have had the ball with 30 seconds left, in a 65-65 game and the shot clock was off. At the very least the game would have gone into overtime.

But I’m not here to argue the call. Nor am I here to complain about that call being why UConn lost the game. The call was made and it was a crushing break for UConn Country-- end of story. In a game that dropped the Huskies to 14-10, a more serious trend has come to light that is a far bigger issue than any single call from any single game: UConn keeps falling too far behind their opponents.

All things considered, the Connecticut-Syracuse game last night was tremendous comeback for the Huskies; wildly entertaining if nothing else. Trailing 50-34 in the second half, it would have been pretty easy for George Blaney’s troops to mail it in on the road against the No. 2/No. 3 Syracuse Orange. They didn’t, and ultimately went on a 31-15 run to tie the score 65-65 with a minute to play.

The fact that a 31-15 run is even necessary to get back into a game is troubling for Connecticut, but more troubling is that it hasn’t been a one-time occurrence. Falling behind their opponents is something that has plagued the Huskies this season.

In their 10 losses in 2009-2010, UConn has gone on extended runs against a number of quality opponents, including four currently ranked in the top-10. The problem is that in eight of those 10 games, UConn was already down 10-plus points when they made their runs. In six of those eight games in which they were down at least 10 points, UConn came back to at least tie the game.

Opponent	Prior to Run	The Run	Final Score
Duke	Down 20	16-4	68-59 L
Kentucky	Down 12	26-6	64-61 L
Cincinnati	Down 12	18-6	71-69 L
Georgetown	Down 1	22-2	72-69 L
Pittsburgh	Down 10	16-5	67-57 L
Michigan	Down 10	19-8	68-63 L
Providence	Tied	22-12	81-66 L
Marquette	Down 13	25-9	70-68 L
Louisville	Down 19	19-7	82-69 L
Syracuse	Down 16	31-15	72-67 L

Consider that if UConn hadn’t allowed themselves to get down by such a margin in the first place, they could have used a run to build a multi-possession lead instead of using all of their energy to tie up the ballgame.

This is a Connecticut team that is still one of the most 16 talented teams in the country and it would be a shame to not see their talents on display in front of a national audience come March.

Plain and simple, UConn needs to go on a run to close out the season. They have seven games left before heading to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament, but with only 14 wins on the season, time is truly becoming of the essence. At this point even a 5-2 streak to end the regular season might not be enough for this year’s Huskies. With a loss to Cincinnati Saturday, the dream of making the NCAA Tournament would be all but dead.

Connecticut might be a team destined for the NIT in 2010, but when it comes time to discuss where this season went wrong in Storrs, CT, each player should look no further than one another for answers.

One thing is for sure-- John Cahill better not be part of the discussion.