This may rank as one of the greatest college basketball games in history.
And I slept through it. For those of us here on the east coast, this game ended at 1:22 am.
It may be topped only by the 1992 Kentucky-Duke game, which was of much greater significance as it was the East Regional Final, and this was merely a Big East quarterfinal game.
Details here.
New York - Syracuse and Connecticut; the Big East's two standard-bearers for the past 20 years, staged a game for the ages on Thursday night and into Friday morning here at Madison Square Garden.Tonight I'll at least be awake for the late game when Syracuse takes on West Virginia.
Regulation wasn't enough for these two rivals as they played into overtime and well past midnight in a classic battle.
It took six overtimes; 30 extra minutes of incredible heart-pumping action, before Syracuse finally out-lasted UConn for a 127-117 victory.
Syracuse and UConn played the first triple-overtime game in Big East Tournament history since Syracuse beat Villanova in the 1981 tournament's championship game - and then the Huskies and Orange, including Syracuse junior Andy Rautins whose father, Leo, won that 1981 game with a last-second tip-in, doubled up on that 1981 classic.
"This is the best I've ever seen,'' Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who has worked for the conference since its inception in 1979, said. "Nothing comes close.''
Syracuse played from behind in every single overtime except the last one.
When Rautins hit a 3-pointer to give Syracuse a 113-110 lead just 10 seconds into the sixth overtime, it was Syracuse's first lead since the final minute of regulation.
"It was the first tip we got, I think,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We had Andy coming off that screen and, boom, he made it. That was pretty big.''
Boosted by Rautins' trey, the Orange scored the first eight points of the sixth overtime and held on from there.
The game ended at 1:22 a.m.; nearly four hours after it started. Not a soul had left the Garden. Well, maybe a few who had jobs to go this morning did. The fans that remained stood throughout the third, fourth, fifth and sixth overtimes.
The six-overtime contest was the longest game in Big East Tournament history. The NCAA record for most overtimes is seven, set by Cincinnati and Bradley in the 1981 season.
Syracuse and UConn's six-overtime drama is the longest game in the shot-clock era.
Syracuse guard Jonny Flynn played 67 out of a possible 70 minutes. He finished the game with 34 points and 11 assists. Paul Harris had 29 points and 22 rebounds in 61 minutes.
Will they have anything left?
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