Three thoughts from SU vs. UConn

1. Syracuse knows how to close out games…

Even though Syracuse led pretty much the entire game, Connecticut still kept coming back. Give the Huskies credit, they may have had a dismal season, but they all still played like they had a shot to win it. But, when it mattered most, the Orange did exactly what they needed to do to win. This is a pattern that has been going on all season: finding ways to win games. Add the UConn game to the wins at Louisville, Rutgers, and against Georgetown and UConn at home. Luckily for the Orange, they haven’t had to make any shots to win the game in final seconds. Every narrow victory has been a result of great defense and the inability of the opposing team to score the equalizer or the game-winner. It will be interesting to see if the Orange will have to do just that during the postseason.

2. Kris Joseph can take over any game…

Early on, it did not look like any Syracuse player could score, until Joseph started making shots. As soon as he was feeling it from the floor, everybody knew what was coming next: a team-high 21 points, 7 rebounds, and two steals. Joseph came back from his pitiful performance against USF at home and proved once again that he is SU’s go-to guy.

3. Fab Melo has trouble against good bigmen…

It has been a trend this year that Melo has not played particularly well defensively against legitimate bigmen who can score in the post. Melo is great against shorter players who he can easily defend and block, but when it comes to players like UConn’s Andre Drummond, Melo struggles. During the last meeting, Melo played well on Drummond because Drummond took himself out of the game and was injured. On Saturday, the Connecticut freshman lit up Melo for 17 points and 14 rebounds. Melo struggled defending the alley-oop pass and dunk, which was used on multiple occasions by the UConn guards.