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No. 1 seed UConn snatched the national title from Syracuse in a 31-point thrashing in the 2016 championship game. In 2017, the No. 1 seed Huskies eliminated Syracuse again, this time by 30 points in the second round.

When UConn (26-1, 18-0 Big East) played the No. 8 seed Syracuse (15-9, 9-7 Atlantic Coast) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the similarities were eerie. Head coach Quentin Hillsman emphasized that all but personnel were different, but by the end of Tuesday night in San Antonio, the result was the same — a blowout loss, and a wrap on Syracuse’s season. Now, the Orange will head home yet again, still in search of the program’s first title.

Here are three takeaways from Syracuse’s season-ending 83-47 loss to No. 1 UConn:

Bricks, bricks and more bricks

Midway through the second quarter, Kiara Lewis pulled up for a jumper at the free-throw line and missed. She followed her shot, grabbed the board and put a layup back off the glass. That missed, too. The 6-foot-7 Kamilla Cardoso shifted to the left side, grabbed the board and missed yet again.

The Orange created solid shooting opportunities in the first half and won the battle on the offensive glass 17-7. But they didn’t convert their chances. Against the nation’s top team, Syracuse finished 28.1% from the field and had just two players in double-digits. Syracuse made 12 3-pointers in its victory over South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but converted just three on Tuesday night.

Emily Engstler started 0-of-8 from the floor, even airballing a 3-pointer that Maeva Djaldi-Tabdi and Cardoso bent down to grab. Both did, but neither secured it, and the ball went out of bounds for another turnover.

Digna Strautmane thought about a wide-open 3-pointer in the first half but pulled it down and cut inside to the baseline. She missed a layup, and the theme continued throughout the night for Syracuse.

Free throws galore

Tuesday night, UConn got to the line — and converted. The Huskies sank 12 of their 13 first-half free throws, compared to the Orange’s four. Syracuse’s defense held strong, but it ultimately committed 18 fouls.

In the dying minutes of the first half, Paige Bueckers got to the right corner and unleashed a 3-pointer that bricked. But Tiana Mangakahia was slow to close-out and got a piece of the freshman point guard’s hand. Bueckers hit the hardwood with a grin on her face, holding up three fingers to indicate the number of free throws she’d just earned, and the number of free throws she proceeded to swish.

Cardoso tried to block Aaliyah Edwards’ close-range jumper from the right side of the bucket in the second quarter but swatted the forward’s hand when she didn’t get there in time. The shot fell, and so did the and-1.

The same happened when Bueckers dished to Edwards after receiving a pass from Christyn Williams in the first half. Williams went up for the layup, converted it, along with the and-1 shot after drawing contact from Engstler, too.

To open the second half, Olivia Nelson-Ododa went to the line for two free throws and missed both. But a lane violation on an SU player who stepped in early gave Nelson-Ododa a second chance, which she converted. It was just one of the 24 points SU gave at the free-throw line.

Can’t stop Bueckers

At the beginning of the second half, Bueckers went up for a jump-ball against Lewis and took a strong elbow to the face. She winced in pain as she went to the sideline, cleaned up the nosebleed with a tissue and marked her return to the floor by continuing to facilitate UConn’s offense, finishing with a total 20 points and four assists.

Bueckers released a no-look pass in the third quarter, slicing SU’s zone apart when she found Nelson-Ododa cutting along the baseline for an easy lay-in. She charged into the paint from the sideline and caught a quick pass, which she flipped over her shoulder to Nelson-Ododa once again for an easy lay-in.

The freshman scored a quiet 16 points in the first half and paced the offense in the second half by helping move the ball quickly. The Huskies picked apart Hillsman’s zone, finding the open shots and taking advantage by converting almost all of their buckets in the paint during the third quarter.

After Bueckers flipped the ball over her shoulder on the no-look, she turned and watched the ball drop through the net. The freshman clenched both arms in celebration, let out a shout and jogged back toward the Huskies’ end.

In the final minutes, Bueckers tried to round Engstler under the bucket but airballed. It was one of a very limited number of second-half shots for the freshman, and the SU junior got the better of her on this play. But moments later, she charged back down the court, dished a sharp pass to Williams and grinned as her teammate made a wide-open 3-pointer.

Against the Orange and matched up against fifth-year point guard Mangakahia, Bueckers knew she got the better on Tuesday night.

Published on March 23, 2021 at 11:14 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16