NEW YORK – Jim Boeheim wouldn’t admit it after the game, but this one seemed easier – at least compared to last season.

Syracuse returned to Madison Square Garden for the Big East tournament, the site where the Orange’s best heroics from the past two seasons have taken place. The 2007 edition did not bring the same flair for the dramatic as the 2006 team, which won four games by a combined eight points, although it did deliver the same result – a win over Connecticut.

SU topped rival Connecticut, 78-65, in front of 19,594 at the Garden in the first round of the Big East tournament Wednesday, quieting any residual suspicion the Orange might find itself on the other side of the NCAA Tournament if it didn’t win at least one game in New York.

Wednesday was SU’s eighth-straight Big East tournament win and sets up a quarterfinal matchup with Notre Dame today. The Irish dominated the Orange, 103-91, when the teams met Jan. 30. The Big East tournament record for consecutive wins is nine.

Unlike the prior four Big East tournament wins, Syracuse won this one handedly. The 13-point victory margin was SU’s second largest of the Big East season.

‘This may have looked easy, but it certainly wasn’t,’ Boeheim said. ‘We didn’t need a miracle at the end of it, but we played better.’

The better play came in the second half, when SU went from a two-point halftime deficit to a 19-point second-half lead. The Orange let UConn go on a 9-0 run late in the game, but it was too late for anything significant.

SU’s second-half spurt was the product of senior Demetris Nichols, the Big East’s leading scorer, who was playing his first game since losing out on the Big East Player of the Year. Nichols played a productive first half, although the Orange was really carried by sophomore Eric Devendorf, who had 15 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes. The second half belonged to Nichols.

Nichols scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half. He finished the game 8-for-17 from the field and a mind-blowing 7-of-11 from 3-point range. The performance came one game after Nichols was 2-of-13 (2-of-10 from 3-point range) in Saturday’s loss to Villanova.

‘Guys have bad games, but I think it’s how you react to it,’ Nichols said. ‘If you have confidence in yourself, the next shot would go down, and that’s what I continue to do.’

Nichols’ 3-point shooting was practically the only perimeter presence for the Orange. Sophomore Andy Rautins had his second-straight tough shooting day, connecting on only 2-of-8 3-pointers and finishing with seven points. Devendorf, who is never shy to shoot from the outside, took only one of his 16 attempts from beyond the arc. He was 9-of-16, including 7-of-10 in the first half.

‘Eric saved us in the first half,’ Boeheim said. ‘He was the only guy.’

Devendorf consistently beat UConn off the dribble and the Huskies didn’t do much to stop him. Devendorf noticed he was having an easy time reaching the lane, and didn’t even bother shooting jumpers.

‘One-on-one, I don’t really think there’s anyone who can defend me,’ Devendorf said. ‘If the jump shot was open, I would have took it, but today the lane was there.’

Devendorf and Nichols both played well in two previous games against UConn this season. SU lost the first one, 67-60, on Feb. 5, and won the second one, 73-63, on Feb. 17. In the loss, both Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins fouled out. But in the wins, Roberts and Watkins stayed in the game and kept SU tough on the boards. The Orange out-rebounded UConn, 48-40, on Wednesday. When it lost to the Huskies, UConn out-rebounded the Orange, 49-32.

‘I thought that was the difference,’ Boeheim said. ‘The first time we played in Connecticut, Mookie played eight [sic] minutes and he had five fouls. Without him in there, we’re a different team.’

In both wins, SU went into the tunnel at halftime squeezed in a tight game and returned to the locker room after the game with sizable wins. The rebounding helps. So do Nichols and Devendorf. All the factors combined made the win look easy.

Boeheim insisted the win wasn’t easy. But it certainly didn’t come down to an improbable, running 3-pointer between two defenders – although Syracuse isn’t complaining.

‘I like it like this,’ Watkins said. ‘It’s better to coast through and know that you’re winning rather than go down to the wire.’

Published on March 9, 2007 at 12:00 pm