In 2009 with a birth in the Big East Semifinals at stake, the 20th ranked Orangemen defeated the Huskies in a game that went into SIX, count them, SIX over times (a game sports managers dream of). The only time a game had gone into three overtimes in the Big East Championship before this one, was a 1981 matchup between Syracuse and Villanova (Syracuse was victorious in that one as well). Not only was this game the longest in the history of the Big East Tournament, but one of only four to go that long in the history of the NCAA!
The game lasted nearly four hours (three hours and 46 minutes) and ended at 1:22 in the morning. When it was all said and done, six players finished with double doubles (meaning they accumulated double digits in two different statistical categories), eight players fouled out, and a whopping 102 points were scored in overtime (underscored by 103 field goal attempts in overtime).
At the free throw line Syracuse netted 23 of 26 attempts and Connecticut snagged 11 of 22 for a combined total of 48 free throw attempts. Most telling of all, however, was the fact that Syracuse never took a lead in overtime until Andy Rautins drained a three pointer 10 seconds into the sixth (and final) overtime period. Had the game gone into another overtime period, it would have tied the record for the most overtime periods in a game (a record that was set on Dec. 21 1981 when Cincinnati downed Bradley 75-73). This matchup will forever be memorialized in the hearts of every die-hard Syracuse fan as well as basketball blogs around the “Internetz”. Take a trip back with some highlights of this historic game below!
Via
