NEW YORK — Backed by a size advantage and fast start, Syracuse downed Connecticut Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic, winning 72-63. The Orange (7-1) got revenge on UConn (6-3) after it lost last year, 52-50, at the same venue.

Sophomore guard Tyus Battle scored a game-high 22 points and freshman forward Oshae Brissett had his fourth double-double of the season (16 points, 10 rebounds), while Matthew Moyer added a career-high 18 points, including a trio of dunks.

The Huskies, the 2014 national champions, committed 13 turnovers and shot just 40.9 percent from the field in the first half. Meanwhile, SU controlled a lead for nearly the entire game and kept UConn just out of striking distance en route to its seventh victory of the season, despite a late scare during which the Huskies pulled to within seven with 1:14 to play.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Fast start

For three seconds, Antwoine Anderson and Jalen Adams locked eyes. Battle had just broken the crease of Connecticut’s 2-3 zone, which the Huskies played all night, and jump-stopped into the paint for a wide-open layup out of a halfcourt offensive set. Huskies head coach Kevin Ollie called a timeout as the Orange took a nine-point lead about 10 minutes into the game. More important, though, the Orange had reached 24 points midway through the first half — meaning SU had gotten off to its fastest start of the season.

Shortly after the timeout, junior point guard Frank Howard easily snuck into the lane and floated a right-handed layup off the glass. Syracuse scored a season-high 40 first-half points, backed by strong takes to the basket and a size advantage over the Huskies. The Orange checks in as the tallest team in the country, while UConn ranks only 183rd. That size difference became apparent early and often Tuesday, keying the Orange to its best start of the year.  Syracuse won the rebound battle, 35-25.

Matthew who?

Moyer’s last two games: zero points over 26 minutes. He entered Tuesday with four games this season during which he did not score a single bucket. Yet against the Huskies the redshirt freshman starter broke out for 10 points in the first half alone and finished with a career-high 18 overall. Early on, the 6-foot-8 forward took a powerful pound dribble inside to gain separation from an opponent and lay in the ball off the glass for two points. On Syracuse’s next possession, he didn’t hesitate and knocked down a corner 3-pointer.

The highlight came around the 12-minute mark, when Moyer came swarming in with his right hand and slammed a put-back dunk. Syracuse bench players pulled one another back. Moyer had gotten his seventh and eighth points, extending the Syracuse lead to five. He nearly did the same with about 2:30 on the clock, a tip-dunk to bump Syracuse’s lead back to 10 that sent Syracuse fans into a frenzy.

In the second half, Moyer did not get much going until near the halfway mark. He made one of two free throws after he was fouled on an aggressive dunk attempt. Later, he threw down his second dunk of the game off a dribble-drive and dish from Battle. Moyer grabbed eight rebounds, second to only Brissett.

Momentum builder

In the broader picture, the Connecticut win could pave the way for a strong month of December for the Orange. The victory could rejuvenate a Syracuse team coming off a double-digit loss to No. 2 Kansas, since Kenpom.com gives the Orange a greater-than-50-percent-chance to win five of its next six games. Save for the Georgetown contest in Washington on Dec. 16, Syracuse is predicted to win five of its next six, including the conference opener Dec. 31 in the Carrier Dome against Virginia Tech.

The Orange faces Patriot League foe Colgate on Saturday, then visits Georgetown before hosting three non-Power 5 schools consecutively in Buffalo, St. Bonaventure and Eastern Michigan. Virginia Tech rounds out the month, which could put SU at 12-2 headed into the thick of the Atlantic Coast Conference schedule come the new year. That contrasts with last year’s nonconference slate, when the Orange went just 8-5 before ACC play.

A strong month of December for Syracuse, starting with the UConn win Tuesday, could have significant implications come Selection Sunday.

Published on December 5, 2017 at 11:58 pm

Contact Matthew: [email protected] | @MatthewGut21