It’s a matchup that has puzzled Syracuse for more than a decade. With Connecticut on the slate year after year, the burden to knock off the perennial powerhouse looms larger and larger each year.

Some players have downplayed the significance, simply taking it as another Big East contest, but guard Elashier Hall cautiously admitted what the contest and a win could potentially mean to Syracuse’s season.

‘It means a lot,’ Hall said. ‘UConn is one of the dominating teams in the country, so it would mean a lot for us as a program and as individuals.’

Syracuse (13-7, 2-4 Big East) will look to tackle that tall task when it squares off against No. 3 Connecticut (17-2, 6-1) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Carrier Dome. The Orange has lost 20 straight contests to the Huskies, with its most recent triumph coming more than a decade ago on Jan. 2, 1996, on SU’s home court.

A win would seemingly push SU back to the brink of NCAA tournament consideration, a feat that the Orange hasn’t accomplished since the 2007-08 season.

‘It’s a great opportunity,’ head coach Quentin Hillsman said. ‘Normally we have the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country, but right now they’re the No. 3 team in the country. It’s just a great opportunity to play against a great program and against a great team.’

The Huskies are undoubtedly the biggest test SU has faced all season. Although last season’s national player of the year, Maya Moore, has moved on to the WNBA, the Huskies haven’t skipped a beat.

This year’s UConn team features three players who average more than 14 points per game. The Huskies also have three returning starters from a team that pummeled the Orange 82-47 a season ago.

Tiffany Hayes, who scored 18 points in that contest, remains a catalyst in the Huskies’ four-guard lineup this season. Hayes is shooting an astonishing 53.3 percent from the field this season.

‘Now they’re a really guard-oriented team,’ Hall said. ‘They have a lot of good shooters, so of course we have to get out on their shooters and just be ready for rotations and penetrations.’

Hillsman will combat UConn’s strong guard play with the same consistent formula that he has used all season long. But it won’t come easy for Syracuse center Kayla Alexander and forward Iasia Hemingway. The Huskies are beating opponents by a nation-leading 37.1 points per game behind a defense that yields just 43.7 points per game.

SU’s inside duo will have to contend with 6-foot-5 center Stefanie Dolson and 6-foot freshman phenom Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis on the glass — an area of the game in which both teams excel.

‘We’re just going to continue to do the things we’ve been doing,’ Hillsman said. ‘Our scheme is throw the ball inside, and we’re going to continue to do that. That’s our best option right now, throwing the ball to Iasia and Kayla, and that’s what we’re going to do.’

The Orange leads the Big East in rebounding this season, averaging 49.1 boards per contest, but the Huskies sit just above SU at sixth in the nation in rebounding margin. Alexander said she knows the matchup will be a physical affair.

‘It’s going to be a battle,’ Alexander said. ‘We’re going to have to bang inside, especially in the post. … We’re going to have to go hard on the outside and get out there and contest shots.’

The Huskies are coming off a dominating effort over No. 23 DePaul, defeating the Blue Demons by 44 points. Hillsman said when he watches UConn, he sees the team’s capacity to get hot from anywhere on the floor.

‘They have a lot of balance, and we can’t key on one or two people because they have the tendency of having three or four going off against you,’ Hillsman said. ‘You just have to play your principles, do the things you’ve done all season, keep them in front of you and be able to contest shots.’

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on January 24, 2012 at 12:00 pm