There Used To Be Clocks Here

Sorry folks, your team just keeps on losing.
This was without question the most important game of the season. Everyone, from fans to the media, agreed that this game was make or break for both the Georgetown Hoyas and the Syracuse Orange. Thus, it was time to get some sweet redemption at home, or roll over and decide to be back on the dreaded bubble that Syracuse has made home the past two seasons. It went to overtime, but Syracuse ended up on top 98 to 94.

By now you have probably absorbed this win, so I will keep it brief. But we have to talk about some things in this game, starting with Kristof! being ejected. Frankly, I had no clue what happened in the Carrier Dome because of course Mike Veley did not tell the crowd the exact ruling of the referees. I have watched the video of him and I cannot believe that he elbowed the G’town player on purpose. From what I have heard, after the Big East saw the refereeing between Syracuse and UConn, they decided to call games tighter, especially over the back and elbows. Honestly, Devendorf and Kristof! caught more elbows in that UConn game than they probably have all season combined. So because Kristof! accidentally caught someone with an elbow on a bad swim move, he was tossed early on. Right off the bat some intensity was down because our raging Belgian was not around.

However, Flynn was cool under pressure. Except for that turnover at the end of regulation that almost ended my entire weekend prematurely mind you. He finished with 24 points, mostly off making 15 of 16 free throws. But he hit them when they mattered.

Devendorf played extremely well, hitting 5-9 from long range, earning 23 points overall. He also limited his turnovers to 1. Now that is what I’m talking about.

Arinze Onuaku looked “back” after genuinely sucking the last several games. He scored 15 points and banged down low with anyone that was unfortunate to guard him. More evidence of his return was 13 rebounds on a decent Georgetown team.

Rick Jackson, benefiting from Flynn’s expert passing, earned 13 points, most of which were easy buckets.

Harris had nine points and five rebounds in an alright game that was not to distinguished either way. At this point, not being a liability is good enough when your team gets a win. He also basically sealed the game after passing to Devendorf the length of the court to get those two easy points in overtime.

Andy Rautins had 13 points and was the show in the first half for Syracuse. He shot 5-9 overall before fouling out.

Overall the team played well on offense, but they only shot 3% better from the floor. The key difference that allowed Georgetown to get back into this game was soft perimeter defense. Georgetown started checking good threes and they went in, such as one with ten seconds left to tie the game. Syracuse won this game on free throws though. Syracuse made 26-34 (76.5%). That is about ten more than Syracuse had made in either of the last two games. And luckily Flynn was the one that too the most, only missing one.

A quick note about the fan behavior mentioned by compatriot Matt Glaude at Hoya Suxa. I have to echo his apology to the Georgetown fans that made the trip. That is not the kind of behavior that you should tolerate at a fine collegiate sporting event and I would like to apologize on behalf of the students and fans of Syracuse University. That being said, it helps that you do not instigate either.

Overall this was a good game to be at. While the place went silent when the game was tied, and I felt sheer terror when Flynn turned the ball over with four seconds left, the outcome was happy, and at this point in the year it was good enough. Syracuse has successfully bounced back at home, and avenged a loss to Georgetown, who has had quite the epic free fall and will probably not make the NCAA Tournament pending an equally epic run in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse is still on their way to getting even more revenge against Villanova this Sunday. Hopefully Syracuse will earn another revenge home win, and use that to propel them down the stretch. A stretch that could easily end 3-1 after Villanova.

I’d like to thank all my friends for coming out as it was Alumni Weekend. Special thanks to John, Erin, and Alex for being excellent roommates for the weekend. Also special congratulations go out to Chris and Abby, two of my dear friends who got engaged at Faegan’s this past weekend. I wish them nothing but the best. So ends my week of terrific Big East travels. I hope you enjoyed following the games and various goings ons like I did. Hopefully the future will bring more travels to chronicle right here at Orange::44.

Again stay tuned for the first lacrosse article of the season, and check back for coverage of the Villanova game this Sunday.

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