Back in 2009, the Syracuse Orange and Connecticut Huskies met in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Nearly four hours and six overtime periods later, the Orange walked away with an epic 127-117 victory in what went down as one of the best games in college basketball history. Let’s take a look back at some of the incredible statistics generated from this game where the #3 UConn Huskies took on the #18 Syracuse Orange. Everyone including the people who make college basketball expert picks had this as an easy win for the Huskies, in what they thought may be a close, high scoring game. After all, a total of 244 points were scored, including 102 in the six overtime periods (we are still sorry if you took a look at a bunch of college basketball over under picks and decided to take the under in this one), 211 combined field goals were attempted, 93 free throws were attempted as a result of some of the 66 fouls that were committed and the three hour and 46 minute game is still the second-longest in history.
UConn’s starters accounted for 100 of their 117 points. Point guard A.J. Price led the way for the Huskies and dropped 33 points on 10-of-29 shooting along with 10 assists in 61 minutes. Forward Stanley Robinson had 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting and added 14 rebounds over 47 minutes. Legendary UConn Center Hasheem Thabeet played 53 minutes and recorded a double-double with 19 points and 14 boards. He also blocked six shots. Forward Jeff Adrien chipped in 12 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists over 56 minutes and surprisingly, Kemba Walker, who was a consensus pick to be the Big East tournament MVP, struggled and managed just eight points on 4-of-18 shooting in 52 minutes. Four different Huskies fouled out and the team shot 40.6 percent (43-of-106) overall, 20.0% from three (7-for-35) and just 57.1% from the free throw line (24-for-42). As a team, they pulled down 76 rebounds, dished out 27 assists, blocked 16 shots, committed 27 turnovers and 36 fouls.
Syracuse’s starters accounted for 103 of their 127 points. Forward Paul Harris had an insane stat line with 29 points on 8-of-23 shooting with 22 rebounds in 56 minutes. Point guard Jonny Flynn posted an incredible double-double with 34 points on 9-of-24 shooting with 11 assists. Flynn went 16-of-16 at the charity stripe and also added six steals over a game-high 67 minutes. Eric Devendorf chipped in with 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting in 61 minutes. Off the bench, Andy Rautins posted 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting in 50 minutes of action. As a team, the Orange shot just 37.9% (39-of-103) overall, but were solid from long-range, knocking down 39.1% of their attempts (9-of-23). ‘Cuse did damage from the free throw line and converted an impressive 40-of-51 (78.4%) of their attempts. As a team, they pulled down 67 rebounds, dished out 20 assists, blocked 10 shots, committed 16 turnovers (11 less than UConn) and 30 fouls (six fewer than the Huskies).
While the numbers are a spectacle of their own, it’s always fun to take a look at the highlights in what will live on as Syracuse’s best game (outside of their 2003 NCAA Championship)!