Old rivals get together in New York

UConn will use game against No. 15 Syracuse as a measuring stick

It will never be just another game on the UConn basketball schedule.

There's too much storied history, intensity and passion in the rivalry with Syracuse for a regular season meeting at Madison Square Garden, the World's Most Famous Arena, to be considering anything but a special occasion.

The two former Big East competitors meet on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN2) in the semifinals of 2K Empire Classic, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. No. 13 Oregon and Iowa play in the second game of the doubleheader. The consolation and championship games are Friday.

"I think it's going to be a bigtime game," graduate transfer Tarin Smith said. "If you're a competitor, this is the type of game that you want. You don't go into the game saying it's just like any other game. It's UConn versus Syracuse. There's definitely a little more importance to it."

The 95th meeting in the series is especially meaningful to the Huskies, who are eager to prove themselves against a ranked team. They're trying to climb out of the shadows and into the national spotlight. And beating No. 15 Syracuse (2-0) would garner them some attention and end a 15-game losing to top 25 programs.

The Huskies showed signs of progress while winning their first two regular season games against weaker foes. But they'll have to be even better and play even harder to upset Syracuse, which is returning all five starters from a NCAA Sweet

16 team.

"We can't afford many lulls in this game," coach Dan Hurley said. "We've got to be locked in for 40 minutes if we want to have a chance late in the game."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has noticed an improvement in the Huskies under Hurley.

"They're playing hard," Boeheim said. "They're playing really aggressive man-to-man, which is what Danny does. I think they're just playing at a high level. You just can't underestimate the guard play they have. I don't think people are giving them enough credit right now."

Plenty of people will give UConn credit if it beats Syracuse.

A major hurdle to clear in any game versus the Orange is solving their paralyzing, long and athletic 2-3 zone. Their opponents are shooting a frosty 31.8 percent from the field.

UConn's game plan will include increasing the tempo so the Huskies attack the basket before Syracuse sets up its defense. They'll need to make their share of 3-pointers to loose things up but want to avoid camping out beyond the arc.

"This early in the season to see a zone of that caliber is a heck of a challenge," Hurley said.

On defense, UConn will apply pressure to a backcourt that has struggled without starting point guard Frank Howard who's yet to play this season due to an ankle injury. He just recently returned to practice.

"We've got to really pressure and make them exert a lot of energy," Hurley said. "We've got to try to weaken their zone by getting into their legs at the offensive end with our pressure. I think that's a big, big part of the game. Playing against their zone is probably 30-35 percent of what the game is. There's rebounding, there's getting stops and getting out in transition."

Rebounding is at the top of Hurley's list of concerns.

Syracuse has a significant edge in the frontcourt. The Orange trio of 6-foot-8 Oshae Brissett, 7-2 Paschal Chukwu and 6-6 Elijah Hughes combine to average 25.5 boards per game. Tyus Battle, a talented 6-6 guard averaging 15.5 points, is capable of going on a scoring spree.

Faced with combating a physical frontcourt, Hurley is expected to rely more on his veteran frontcourt players in senior Eric Cobb and graduate transfer Kassoum Yakwe, who played in big games at Madison Square Garden during his St. John's days.

"That's probably the scariest thing for me," Hurley said of rebounding. "This is going to be a grown-man game when the ball goes up. That's where I think you may see maybe a little bit more Eric, a little bit more Kassoum, their maturity and their physicality.

"But we're also going to need Tyler (Polley's) shooting and we're going to need contributions from Josh (Carlton) as well."

The outcome just might come down to desire and determination as well as which team keeps its poise playing against a fierce rival on the grand Madison Square Garden stage in front of a rabid crowd.

Junior Christian Vital, who's from nearby Queens Village, knows about performing under pressure against Syracuse.

He hit two clutch free throws with two seconds left in a 52-50 win at MSG in 2016.

"It's going to be loud in there," Vital said. "There's going to be a lot of emotions from both sides. We've just got to fight for a full 40 minutes and stay with each other." g.keefe@theday.com