After it was over, his Syracuse team having been demolished at the Hartford Civic Center, all Jim Boeheim could do was sit back and admire the might and precision of UConn. Even a losing coach can appreciate a virtuoso performance from a very good team.
Connecticut trounced Syracuse, 84-56, Monday night, convincing Boeheim, the coach of the defending national champions, that the Huskies will be the team to beat in the NCAA tournament this season.
"They have the best team in the country, by far," Boeheim said. "I don't think it's even close, talentwise. They've got some new guys, and fitting guys in like that takes time. I never expected them to be undefeated. At the end of the year, they've got all the ingredients that you need to have."
It can be argued that one game in early February may not wind up meaning that much later on, or that there will be far tougher opponents this season for Connecticut than Syracuse. But when a team plays this well against a quality, high-profile opponent, it has to mean something. Is Connecticut, which has experienced a few bumps in the road this season while losing three times and dropping out of the top spot in the polls, putting it all together at a good time?
"We are starting to jell," said UConn forward Denham Brown, who scored 15 points.
This was a night when just about everything worked for No. 5 Connecticut (18-3, 6-1 Big East). Center Emeka Okafor was dominant, scoring 25 points and shooting nine of 11. He also had 11 rebounds and blocked four shots. Defensively, the Huskies seemed to have all the answers. They held No. 18 Syracuse (14-4, 4-3) to its second-lowest scoring total of the season and 31.3 percent shooting.
"Tonight, we played good defense, we ran, we were aggressive and we rebounded well," UConn guard Ben Gordon said. "When we do all those things, its going to be tough to beat us."
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