Syracuse - Memphis Postgame Reactions OR I Guess Free Throws Don't Matter That Much
0 Comments Published on 12.22.2008 by Brian Harrison
You gotta be kidding me?!?Syracuse entered this Memphis game not in the best place. They knew they would be without Eric Devendorf, they had a heartbreaking loss earlier in the week, and they were facing the second best team in the nation from last season. Still a very good Memphis team mind you. However, the Orange battled and eventually took over the lead before half time and continued to mainly stay head of Memphis as they win a nice game in Memphis 72 to 65.
Jonny Flynn is the leading scorer for the Orange again. He ended up with 24 points and six assists, however this game did not seem to be dominated by Flynn. It just did not seem like Flynn took 17 shots. This was a good effort for Flynn however, and he played all 40 minutes ala last season.
Paul Harris had 15 points and had his mid-range jumper definitely working in this game. He also had a good baseline game working. He basically stunk the first half, because really his strategy on dribbling is just to put his head down, get low, and go fast. That makes it very easy to pick his pocket. However, the second half he was much more controlled and put in a good game.
The best player (and it pains me to say it) was Rick Jackson in this game. Although he still missed a two footer around the basket on a couple occasions, he played a nice game with 14 points and seven rebounds and seemed to be in the right place a lot of the time. I sort of am in love with this bigger line up as I think it made the 2-3 zone more effective that it has been with Kristof! and Devendorf in the game.
Andy Rautins got the call up for Eric Devendorf not being in. He delivered with nine points and two assists, one of which was a great up fake and a pass to Onuaku in an open lane. Speaking of Onuaku, he only had four points and five rebounds, but it was less a bad game, more other players doing the job.
Kris Joseph had six points off the bench. Mookie Jones and Kristof! only played one minute each and did no damage on the scoreboard.
Syracuse played the 2-3 Zone the entire game, and frankly, seeing as Memphis only made seven of 33 three point attempts, it was probably the correct move. Memphis only shot 34.3% from the floor, and because of the zone, they were mostly ineffective from inside the arc. I was overall pleased with the defense in this game, however it still is bothersome that Syracuse bites on every single head or ball fake that the other team makes.
Syracuse on the other hand, shot pretty well. They made 47.4% from the floor (27-57) and 42.9% from long range (6-14). What they did not do again was make free throws however. They only made 46.2% (12-26) from the charity stripe and frankly that is abysmal. Onuaku actually air balled a shot. What are these guys practicing?
Sadly Dick Vitale and Dan Schulman were the commentators in this game. I myself could not hear them because I watched in a bar, but I was told that Dan blasted Devendorf. Not that it was proven anywhere that he hit anyone. I heart the media.
The referees in this game were awful as well. Jim Burr made a traditional bad call, but the other referees were worse calling phantom fouls and calling blocks when they were supposed to be charges. Nice job folks.
Also, did anyone else love the handshake between Boeheim and John Calipari?
Overall, this was a sloppy first half, and a solid second half. Pretty much exactly what we’ve been seeing all year. Yet, without Eric, the team battled back and won the game on good inside game, and some nice shots from outside at the right times. Flynn hit some great shots in the game and Harris and Rick had the game from inside the arc working. Now Syracuse will face its final non-conference opponent in Coppin State. However, if we manage to have only lost one game in the non-conference you cannot help but feel good about the prospect that this team will return to the NCAA Tournament.
Jonny Flynn is the leading scorer for the Orange again. He ended up with 24 points and six assists, however this game did not seem to be dominated by Flynn. It just did not seem like Flynn took 17 shots. This was a good effort for Flynn however, and he played all 40 minutes ala last season.
Paul Harris had 15 points and had his mid-range jumper definitely working in this game. He also had a good baseline game working. He basically stunk the first half, because really his strategy on dribbling is just to put his head down, get low, and go fast. That makes it very easy to pick his pocket. However, the second half he was much more controlled and put in a good game.
The best player (and it pains me to say it) was Rick Jackson in this game. Although he still missed a two footer around the basket on a couple occasions, he played a nice game with 14 points and seven rebounds and seemed to be in the right place a lot of the time. I sort of am in love with this bigger line up as I think it made the 2-3 zone more effective that it has been with Kristof! and Devendorf in the game.
Andy Rautins got the call up for Eric Devendorf not being in. He delivered with nine points and two assists, one of which was a great up fake and a pass to Onuaku in an open lane. Speaking of Onuaku, he only had four points and five rebounds, but it was less a bad game, more other players doing the job.
Kris Joseph had six points off the bench. Mookie Jones and Kristof! only played one minute each and did no damage on the scoreboard.
Syracuse played the 2-3 Zone the entire game, and frankly, seeing as Memphis only made seven of 33 three point attempts, it was probably the correct move. Memphis only shot 34.3% from the floor, and because of the zone, they were mostly ineffective from inside the arc. I was overall pleased with the defense in this game, however it still is bothersome that Syracuse bites on every single head or ball fake that the other team makes.
Syracuse on the other hand, shot pretty well. They made 47.4% from the floor (27-57) and 42.9% from long range (6-14). What they did not do again was make free throws however. They only made 46.2% (12-26) from the charity stripe and frankly that is abysmal. Onuaku actually air balled a shot. What are these guys practicing?
Sadly Dick Vitale and Dan Schulman were the commentators in this game. I myself could not hear them because I watched in a bar, but I was told that Dan blasted Devendorf. Not that it was proven anywhere that he hit anyone. I heart the media.
The referees in this game were awful as well. Jim Burr made a traditional bad call, but the other referees were worse calling phantom fouls and calling blocks when they were supposed to be charges. Nice job folks.
Also, did anyone else love the handshake between Boeheim and John Calipari?
Overall, this was a sloppy first half, and a solid second half. Pretty much exactly what we’ve been seeing all year. Yet, without Eric, the team battled back and won the game on good inside game, and some nice shots from outside at the right times. Flynn hit some great shots in the game and Harris and Rick had the game from inside the arc working. Now Syracuse will face its final non-conference opponent in Coppin State. However, if we manage to have only lost one game in the non-conference you cannot help but feel good about the prospect that this team will return to the NCAA Tournament.
Labels: Basketball
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