HARTFORD, Conn. – Connecticut’s frontcourt oppressed its Syracuse counterpart in the first meeting between the teams last month. So SU head coach Jim Boeheim tried a new tactic in the rematch – he didn’t give the Huskies more than one Orange big man to dominate.

Talk about desperation.

Easily taking advantage of an ever-changing Syracuse lineup that often featured four shooters, No. 1 Connecticut manhandled Syracuse, 73-50, in front of 16,294 at the Hartford Civic Center on Wednesday night. The fifth loss in six games for the Orange (16-7, 4-5 Big East) showed just how large the gap is between those at the top of the conference and those in the middle.

The game was eerily reminiscent of the teams’ first meeting as UConn (21-1, 8-1 Big East) made fans all but forget the game was close for the first 10 minutes. Similar to the 24-4 run that ended the first half of the Jan. 16 contest, a 28-8 run did the damage this time around. UConn led 37-19 at halftime, and Syracuse never got closer than 13 as the teams traded baskets in the second half.

The decision to play nearly all shooters completely backfired on both ends of the court. On offense, Syracuse’s primary weapons went ice cold. Gerry McNamara, Demetris Nichols and Eric Devendorf shot a combined 4-of-31 from the field.

‘For us to be effective … in our losses, we just haven’t been good on offense,’ Boeheim said. ‘We’ve got to get our offense going if we’re going to have any chance to do what we’d like to do at the end of the year. Offensively, we just have not played well all year.’

With the shooters struggling, SU turned to Darryl Watkins as the primary option on multiple occasions. The center finished with a team-high 12 points. Syracuse’s 50 points and 31.9 percent shooting from the field was its worst of the season.

‘We had a game plan and it was definitely not to play that small,’ said SU forward Terrence Roberts, who was the only other Orange player in double digits with 10 points. ‘The game plan was to come out there and play as hard as we can to win. When things weren’t going our way, Coach switched up the lineup.’

Defensively, Syracuse had no answer for UConn’s height and athleticism. The Huskies’ Rudy Gay, who led all players with 22 points and 13 rebounds, displayed the skills that many think could make him the first pick in April’s NBA draft. On one occasion he soared over Syracuse rebounders to slam home a Craig Austrie missed 3-pointer.

The other members of the frontcourt – Hilton Armstrong and Josh Boone – added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Along with Gay, many of their points came on second chances. With only one big man on the floor for the Orange, UConn out-rebounded Syracuse, 50-35.

Syracuse went with a small lineup despite being short guard Louie McCroskey, who hasn’t practiced with the team since Thursday because of an issue with Boeheim, for the whole game and McNamara for much of the second half. Boeheim said the senior injured his Achilles in the middle of the second half.

At one point in the second half, Boeheim sent out Devendorf, Josh Wright, Matt Gorman and Andy Rautins on to the floor with Watkins. Not exactly what the coach is looking for.

‘When you’re not scoring you try to do what you can do,’ Boeheim said of playing a smaller lineup. ‘We tried Andy (Rautins) – he’s a good offensive player. We think he can able us on offense. So we’re trying to find a way to score.’

McNamara scored seven points before leaving the game. Nichols and Devendorf finished with two apiece.

It appeared early on like Syracuse would hang with the No. 1 team in the nation. UConn didn’t manage a field goal for the first six minutes, seemingly turning the ball over on every other trip. But eventually the Huskies took command. With the game tied at 11-11, UConn went on a 12-0 run and didn’t look back. Syracuse had no answer on either side of the ball.

‘It’s not just tonight, but it’s the way we’ve been playing for the last few weeks,’ McNamara said. ‘We’re better defensively, and we’re a ton better offensively. We better get back on track, or else it’s going to be a quick year.’

Published on February 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm