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Syracuse at Connecticut

The Syracuse Orange will try to avoid their longest losing streak in 42 years when they travel to face the Connecticut Huskies Wednesday. After opening the season 18-0, the Orange have went on to drop four straight games. Their previous worst stretch of futility was a 6-game losing streak back in 1969. Syracuse has watched their ranking drop a whopping 14 spots, where they sit as the 17th-ranked team in the land. The seventh-ranked Huskies are looking to bounce back from their first home loss this season. The spreads for this contest show us a line of Connecticut -3 over Syracuse with a total set of 139.5 points.

Syracuse (18-4, 5-4) is yielding 80.8 points per game on 51.2 percent shooting during their 4-game skid. Opposing teams are also hitting 47.8 percent from 3-point range over this stretch, picking apart head coach Jim Boeheim’s patented zone defense. En route to winning their first 18 games, the Orange limited opponents to 59.3 points and 36.8 percent shooting. During the first three games of this losing streak, the Orange shot a woeful 39.4 percent. They did connect on 57.1 percent from the floor in their most recent loss, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 76-70 at Marquette.

The Orange are 2-2 in conference road games this season, and will have to overcome some rough history if they are to get by the Huskies. Syracuse has lost seven straight games at Connecticut with their last win coming in 1999. Not only are they losing, the Orange are getting outscored by a whopping 17.0 points per game during this stretch. The Orange did beat the Huskies at home last season by a final of 72-67. Syracuse is led by Kris Joseph who is tops on the team at 15.2 points per game, while Rick Jackson does the dirty work inside, grabbing 11.5 rebounds per contest. Point guard Scoop Jardine leads the team with 6.0 assists per game.

Connecticut (17-3, 5-3) lost in double-overtime to then-No. 23 Louisville Saturday. This team has been overcoming expectations all season after having to settle for an NIT berth last year. A big reason for their surprise season is the efforts from Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker. He leads the team in points (24.2) assists (4.3) and steals (2.1) per game. He did not play well against the Cardinals, going just 7-of-23 from the field for 20 points. The Huskies blew a nine-point lead in the second half and also another lead in the first overtime.

Walker’s season average ranks him second in the nation behind BYU’s Jimmer Fredette. He poured in 14 points in their loss to the Orange last season. Joseph put up 14 off the bench for Syracuse to help his team get a victory. Though the team is not playing well, Joseph has averaged 19.3 points per game in his last three outings. This game is strength vs. strength. Connecticut leads the Big East in field goal percentage defense (39.0), and they are even more stingy at home where they limit opponents to 36.9 percent shooting. Syracuse is converting on 48.4 percent from the floor this season.

Projected Score at Sports Interaction: Connecticut 71 – Syracuse 68