The Syracuse Orange once again had fans on the edge of their seats, but once again did not let them down as they downed Connecticut 71-69 in Storrs on Saturday night.
In the process, Syracuse clinched the outright Big East Regular Season Championship.
It was the first time Syracuse beat UConn in their on-campus facility, Gampel Pavilion.
The Orange raced to a 14 point halftime lead behind 17 first half points from Kris Joseph before the Huskies staged a furious rally in the 2nd half. Andre Drummond tipped in a missed shot to tie the game at 69 with under minute to play in the game.
On the ensuing posession for Syracuse, CJ Fair couldn't convert inside but Fab Melo was there for the putback slam to give the Orange a 71-69 advantage.
UConn could not score in the final 25 seconds and Syracuse survived for the 2-point win and the #1 seed in the Big East Tournament.
Joseph finished with 21 points and 7 rebounds, while Fab Melo scored 11 with 9 rebounds.
The Orange plays in its season and home finale on Saturday when they host Louisville. Before the 4 p.m. start will be Senior Day festivities for Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph among others. After that, Syracuse will definitely be the top seed in the Big East Tournament, playing at 12:00 on Thursday, March 8th.
