Games with Notre Dame usually go one of two ways with Syracuse. Either Syracuse’s 2-3 Zone defense works and Notre Dame shoots the ball lights out over it, or Syracuse 2-3 Zone works and Notre Dame can only make some of its shots and Syracuse wins. Sadly, the former happened this past Sunday. Notice how I never mentioned the penetrating offense of Notre Dame, or the true presence of the big man of Notre Dame, as they did not exist and Notre Dame cannot beat a 2-3 Zone. All they can do is shoot, shoot, shoot, and this time it worked.

“Do It All Paul” Harris had another great game. He had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and made seven of eight free throws. He also played all 40 minutes of the game. Paul Harris continues to be the player Syracuse needs to show up. When poor shooting plagues this team Paul still seems to find a way to score. Paul continues to be fast, powerful, and able to drive to the hoop on any given play. He also can make a three ball now and then. This kid remains the stud of the team.

The Arinze Onuaku we all know and love showed up in South Bend and he had 19 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, and then he fouled out. You have to be impressed with the big fellow though, as he fought hard, got rebounds, and continued to try to make put backs when nothing was falling for Syracuse.

Jonny Flynn played another 40 minutes and he continues to get my vote for Big East Rookie of the Year. He got 17 points, six assists, and even blocked a shot. I feel like a broken record but Flynn continues to make great decisions and take good shots. He has the ability to head to the hoop almost at any moment, and really is an energizing factor for the Orange. Kudos to the kid.

Kristof! was not as impressive this time around, but he still contributed. He had 11 points, six rebounds, and three assists. He still loves to shoot the reverse lay up and it usually goes in, although he missed a couple in this game. Kristof! hit a huge three in the game though, and for that Kristof! gets another pass from me for middle of the road numbers.

Donte Greene was my Zero of the Game. He finished with five points and seven rebounds only making two of seven attempts. Simply awful.

Scoop Jardine looked good out on the floor again. He earned eight points and three assists in 23 minutes of work. Rick Jackson also added five points and four rebounds in his 14 minutes on the floor. Jackson better work hard in the Gym next year to get some floor minutes.

Syracuse simply killed Notre Dame on the boards. Syracuse earned 47 rebounds and 21 offensive boards, compared to Notre Dame’s 32 and 4. Syracuse had plenty of second and third chance looks at the basket and not many of them seemed to fall.

Speaking of baskets not falling, Syracuse only shot 40% from the floor. To really put this in perspective and make it sound way worst that it actually may have been, that is only 33 baskets out of 82 tries. Yeah, that seems like a shit show right? Especially compared to Notre Dame’s 55% shooting, oh yeah and 56% from three point land, that makes Syracuse look foolish.

Syracuse did at least limit turnovers in this contest, which helped keep them in the game. Syracuse only committed 11 turnovers, which is even better than the 13 Notre Dame committed.

Syracuse debuted their all navy uniforms. I had only seen these in the stores and had only seen a few people wear them around the Dome. I have to say, I did not hate them in action as much as I thought I would. But need I remind the viewing audience that navy is not one of the university’s official colors. As a matter of fact, there is only one… orange. All things considered, like I said I did not hate them on the floor. I think I probably hated them more on a hanger in the store than actually on the players. Picture below, courtesy of the Post Standard.

This was the only game Syracuse has been showcased on CBS this season, and thank god. These guys were more biased to Notre Dame than any Duke game I had watched on ESPN this year. I think that says a lot about how much I hated these announcers. I thought they were going to get on the floor and personally pat Kyle McAlarney on the back. It is fine to give a little love to the team that is winning. It is fine to praise a kid having the kind of day that McAlarney was having. But honestly, it was like beating up on the fat kid. Is it really cool to be bashing Syracuse when they are only playing with seven players, unranked and playing #21 on the road, and not shooting very well?

Frankly, I consider this game a huge motivator for the team. Honestly, they only lost the game 87 to 94. When a kid made 9 three point shots, and the team combined for 14, and Syracuse only loses by seven, that is not bad at all. This is not a bad loss, it was not a blow out, and it was hardly awful. Hopefully Syracuse can not be motivated to turn this into a win against Pitt and/or Marquette at home. Oh yeah, and Seton Hall in Jersey.

This game was not bad to watch, but you knew they were not going to pull this one out. When you do not make easy put backs and lay ups, well it will not be a good night. Syracuse kept the game close, but really Syracuse had no business doing so. Thus, I chalk this one up to moral victory and we move on to Saturday versus Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome. Hopefully, Syracuse can take it to Dixon’s squad and get a desperately needed win for the NCAA Tournament resume. Tomorrow we have a new Nunes::44, as well as some other tid bits that you will surely enjoy mulling over. Until then, remember that Notre Dame cannot take over the college basketball world because God created whiskey. And honestly, whiskey is awesome.