This is the greatest sound of all: Nothing. Silence. For so much of the night, there were 10,299 bellicose believers inside Gampel Pavilion, working on the assumption that the two-time defending champion Connecticut Huskies would figure something out, provide a moment equal to their voices. They always seem to, after all. It usually works out well for the home team. 

It didn’t happen early, when the Huskies roared to a 14-point lead. It didn’t happen after Ben Gordon’s number was retired at halftime. Didn’t happen when the Johnnies surged to an eight-point lead late in the game, though the Huskies did finally awaken after that. Now, time was short. The Johnnies led by two. There were 12.3 seconds left in the game, three on the shot clock. The people here are used to things working out: Men’s game’s, women’s games, doesn’t matter. Storrs has been the capital of winning for a couple of decades. 

Surely the Huskies would figure it out. 

But a funny thing happened.