Fresh off a win against its archrival, Georgetown, Syracuse will host another rival, Connecticut, at the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
HUSKIE WOES: When Connecticut takes the floor against Syracuse on Saturday, they will be without Jim Calhoun, their hall-of-fame coach. He has taken an indefinite medical leave because of spinal stenosis, a painful back condition. Calhoun has missed the last two games against Seton Hall and Louisville and may miss even more of his coaching duties under a Connecticut proposal to allow the Huskies to play in the 2013 NCAA tournament. UConn has been below par on academic standards and would face a postseason ban. Under that threat, Connecticut has offered to reduce the number of games it plays along with not allowing Calhoun to recruit in the fall. It was more bad news for the Huskies, who has lost five of its last six games, and is currently 15-8 (5-6 Big East).
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SCOUTING THE HUSKIES: Guard Jeremy Lamb leads the Huskies in scoring at 17.2 points per game. Center Andre Drummond is one of the top defensive players in the Big East, averaging 9.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks a game.
IN CONNECTICUT’S LAST GAME: Chris Smith scored 16 points and added six rebounds as Louisville routed Connecticut 80-79. The Huskies couldn’t get it going on offense, as they shot 35.1 percent from the field and 3-for-14 from downtown.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Syracuse leads the all-time series between these two games 51-36. The last time these two teams met, Kemba Walker scored 33 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Huskies to a 76-71 win in the semifinals of the Big East Tournament.
GAME INFORMATION: Sat, Feb. 11, 1:00 p.m. Syracuse, NY. TV: CBS. Follow us on Twitter @thejuiceonline for live game updates.