41 Games In 41 Days -- Game 34, Syracuse
Game 34: UConn 76, Syracuse 71 (OT), Big East tournament semifinal, Madison Square Garden, March 11, 2011
This had become a magical week, and this became a quite interesting game. UConn took control of their semifinal matchup against Syracuse but then were pushed into overtime. The last time these teams met in the City, it went six overtimes. Thanks to a couple of clutch plays by Kemba Walker and a couple of floaters by Jeremy Lamb, the Huskies needed only one overtime to end this one.
From the newspaper of March 12, 2011
By MIKE ANTHONY
NEW YORK -- The final moments of regulation didn't follow UConn's magical script for this breathless week of basketball theater.
Drawing on all their reserves of energy and answers and riding their transcendent star, Kemba Walker, the Huskies had taken hold of an electric Friday night at Madison Square Garden. They had only to protect a six-point lead with 25 seconds remaining and wait for a buzzer that, like an alarm clock, would signal another day of basketball dreams in a historic week.
And then this sure thing was gone. Poof. There was magic, sure. Black magic. Or, well, Orange magic. UConn committed three careless turnovers, Scoop Jardine made two desperation three-pointers and UConn and Syracuse went to overtime instead of to bed.
"You won the game,"
UConn coach Jim Calhoun told his team in the huddle. "Now go win it again."
So the Huskies did. Jeremy Lamb made two clutch floaters and ninth-seeded UConn held on to defeat No. 4 Syracuse 76-71 in a compelling Big East semifinal game before a split and delirious crowd of 19,375.
The Huskies (25-9) have won four games in four days and will suit up again Saturday night for the championship against third-seeded Louisville, which defeated Notre Dame 83-77, also in overtime, and swept the home-and-home regular season series with UConn.
UConn is seeking its seventh title, which would tie Georgetown's record. The Huskies are 6-3 in championship games, their last title coming in 2004.
"We did not want this to end,"
said Walker, now the leading scorer in a Big East tournament by a wide margin, with 111 points in four games. "We felt like we should have won it in regulation ... but we pulled it out."
Walker had 33 points, 12 rebounds, six steals and five assists in the latest show of will from one of the nation's most captivating players. When it was over, chants of "Kemba, Kemba"
rang through the Garden. Both Hall of Fame coaches, Calhoun and Jim Boeheim, spoke of his greatness. And then later, former president Bill Clinton put his hand on Walker's shoulder and showed appreciation.
"The most valuable player in the country, bar none"
Calhoun said. "You can't question it."
"We tried to double him every chance we could, but he's very difficult,"
Boeheim said. "He's as good a player as there is in college basketball."
The last time UConn and Syracuse met in the Big East tournament, in 2009, it went six overtimes, with Syracuse finally winning that epic, 127-117. When Calhoun and Boeheim met before the game, they struck a deal, Calhoun said, "No blankety-blank overtimes. We'll flip a coin."
But no. UConn had to work later than it hoped, finally ripping away a victory that was there for either team to take -- after nearly giving it away. The team that lost seven of 11 to close the regular season is flying high.
Alex Oriakhi had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lamb had 11 points. Little-used Tyler Olander tied a career-high with seven points in a career-high 27 minutes and had six rebounds. Jardine and Kris Joseph each had 20 for Syracuse (26-7).
Both teams shot nearly 52 percent in the second half after shooting 27 percent in the first half. The difference was that the Huskies had Walker, who scored 23 points after halftime and finished 9-for-18 from the field, but it took Lamb's soft touch to finish off Calhoun's 600th victory at UConn and the 300th loss of Boeheim's career.
Lamb made one floater to give UConn a 72-70 lead with 1:53 to go. He made another to make it 74-71 with 25.9 seconds to go. Both came in the middle of a zone that was focused on Walker.
"They left the lane open, so I just tried to get in there and make some plays,"
Lamb said. "Luckily I was able to knock down some shots."
Leading 65-62, Jamal Coombs-McDaniel was affected by Syracuse pressure and threw the ball away. With the score the same, Donnell Beverly threw away an inbounds pass with 58 seconds left. Brandon Triche missed a three and Walker pushed the lead to five on two free throws with 41 remaining. Dion Waiters missed a three and Oriakhi made one of two free throws, making it 68-62.
Lamb started to celebrate.
"But then I was like, 'Yo, it's not over,' "
he said. "They came down and hit some tough shots."
Jardine banked in a three-pointer with 21 seconds left. Shabazz Napier missed the front end of a one-and-one and Jardine made another three with 4.6 remaining. Beverly darted up the middle before throwing it out of bounds while looking for Walker on the right with six-tenths of a second remaining.
"I heard Kemba screaming my name, 'Bev! Bev!' "
Beverly said. "It was another bad pass by me."
But the Huskies would hold on.
"I was worried about getting into overtime,"
Jardine said. "I gave my team a chance to win the game and we didn't come through in overtime."
