The C in CJ is for Consistent

• It's been an up-and-down February for the Orange, and especially after this recent stretch with losses against UConn, Georgetown, and now Marquette, one has to take a step back and figure out where this team is going; what's wrong; and how to fix it.
• Let's start with what's going right for Syracuse. His name is CJ Fair. He's been what's right for the Orange all season. He's a consistent scorer, he's a smart player, and he's the model for what the rest of the team needs to be. Monday night he put in a team-leading scoring effort of 20 points on 8-11 shooting (1-2 from three, 3-4 from the line). He also pulled down seven rebounds in playing the entire 40 minutes.
• The rest of the team will have one or two other contributors step up for any given game, but it's always CJ there leading the way. And so, does this make him the vaunted go-to guy? Hard to say. Fair is good because he knows when to shoot and when to pass off to someone else. So if the go-to guy is expected to get the ball and score no matter what, then CJ isn't him. But who says Syracuse needs a go-to guy?
• What Syracuse needs is smart players who can execute.
• I do want to point out the good play of Baye Moussa Keita and Trevor Cooney from the Marquette game. Keita not only impressed on offense (seven points, four offensive rebounds), but he was solid on defense with four defensive rebounds, a block, and a steal. Cooney was only used for six minutes, but he was active with three points, an offensive rebound, and a couple assists.
• Keita's game was possibly the best of his career in terms of overall performance. The box score isn't screaming great game, but his play under the basket on both ends of the court was quite good (Davante Gardner's play aside).
• Cooney showed some other aspects of his game in rebounding and assisting that we usually don't see from him. With Brandon Triche playing as poorly as he was and Cooney looking good in those six minutes, I was hoping Jim Boeheim would swap them, but never did.
• Triche continues his offensive woes. He's taking good shots and missing them, he's taking bad shots and missing them, and at the end of the day Syracuse just gets empty possessions. Triche had eight points and eight assists in 37 minutes. When you're going to get those minutes and you're the senior leader of the team, you gotta do better than that.
• For Marquette, their big man Gardner killed Syracuse. He was their offensive go-to guy, knocking down a career-high 26 points on 7-7 shooting, and 12-13 from the line. This guy is a beast, plain and simple. Even when Syracuse tried to prevent him from getting good looks, he still hit his shots.
• Much has been made about Boeheim keeping DaJuan Coleman on the bench in this game, despite him being medically cleared to play. The dominance of Gardner is Exhibit A there. Boeheim's response, to all us non-coaches, is that his two best defensive players were on the court. So for us non-coaches who wanted to see Coleman, who do you remove from the lineup? Keita stays in as far as I'm concerned; he was playing well. Southerland was trouble on defense, but does that outweigh the difference in offense with Coleman? Christmas? Bottom line is I tend to believe Boeheim; Coleman being in that game probably wasn't going to change the outcome.
• But this all highlights a great point I saw in Brent Axe's recap that I've been noticing myself: Syracuse keeps letting one guy beat them. In four of Syracuse's losses, an opposing player has had a career day: Khalif Wyatt for Temple, Durran Hilliard for Villanova, Otto Porter for Georgetown, and Gardner for Marquette. It's gonna happen from time to time, but when you see the correlation with losses, it shows a team in Syracuse that can't make adjustments.
• This game was Syracuse's final appearance on ESPN's Big Monday, unless the landscape is reconfigured in the future and ACC games enter that lineup.

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Farewell Big Monday

• Syracuse had their lowest point total in the Dome ever with 46.
• Syracuse's defense did enough of a job, holding Georgetown to 57 points which usually would be enough to win the game.
• Both CJ Fair and James Southerland led the scoring for Syracuse with 13 points each. Fair the most consistent on 5-10 shooting. Both also had eight rebounds.
• Rakeem Christmas, finishing only with two points, at least led in rebounding with eight.
• MCW had only seven points and five assists on 2-6 shooting.
• Brandon Triche had ten points shooting 4-13 and 1-7 from behind the arc. Easily his worst performance on the floor since the UConn game.
• Baye Moussa Keita produced no points and only three rebounds in 12 minutes of play.
• Syracuse was 17-50 from the floor (34%) and 4-20 (20%) from deep. While the Georgetown statistics were similar, the turnovers and fouls were the difference for Syracuse.
• Despite out rebounding Georgetown by two, Syracuse had far too many empty possessions and missed layups to stay in the game in the second half.
• While officiating wasn't the reason Syracuse lost, every game Jim Burr does is a highlight reel of why he should be retired.
• Syracuse had the largest on campus crowd ever in this game of 35, 012. Unfortunately they lost. Syracuse has lost 2/3 of the last 3 record breaking games.
• Syracuse played with major intensity in the first half, but as the second half ticked away you could see that intensity and defensive energy dwindle as Georgetown hit key three point baskets to take the lead and give them a 6-8 point cushion.
• Syracuse had 16 turnovers to Georgetown's 11. A big part of the outcome of this game, and preventing them from getting the defect down to a manageable one or two possessions.

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Georgetown, Georgetown Still Sucks

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[Insert your own caption here]

• For the first ten minutes of this game, neither Syracuse nor Providence looked impressive. And then Syracuse went on a huge offensive run: they were hitting shots -- including threes -- the defense shutting down Providence, and creating turnovers which led to more Orange points. By the time the Friars picked themselves up off the floor, they were losing 43-16 and walking back to the locker room for halftime.
• CJ Fair and James Southerland led the way for Syracuse with 20 points each. CJ was 6-10, 1-1 from three, and 7-8 from the free throw line. He also pulled down ten defensive rebounds for another double-double. James was 7-8, 3-3 from three, and 3-4 from the line. When you get players like CJ & James shooting that well, you know Syracuse will have a great game.
• Michael Carter-Williams also had a fantastic game: 15 points on 5-8 shooting, 5-6 from the line, 12 assists, and only two turnovers.
• Brandon Triche didn't have the monster game he had against Seton Hall the other night, but he still had a solid performance against the Friars: 14 points on 5-11 shooting, 1-3 from three.
• The other scholarship players weren't huge contributors on offense, but don't question their contributions to this win. In particular, Baye Moussa Keita's 19 minutes hardly scratched the box score, but he was active on defense. Keita seems to be the better defensive player over Rakeem Christmas, but each was a presence under the basket and often times left the Providence offense wondering what happened to the ball.
• Jerami Grant & Trevor Cooney both saw decent minutes, but this just wasn't their game. But that's fine, as this was a total team effort and everyone contributed in some way.
• Speaking of everyone, Boeheim was able to insert the walk-ons with just over a minute to go; once Taco Time had been reached, of course.
• That all said, Providence is a good team. They have good players and have won some games over some tough opponents this season. Wednesday night, four Friars scored in double digits. Of note, Vincent Council recorded seven assists and became the Big East's all-time assists leader. Not that Jim Boeheim cares, though...
• This was another game where we heard the whistle more often that anyone ever wanted. It was a very inconsistently called game, varying from half to half. I guess that's what to expect in a Karl Hess game these days. Tim Higgins retires, and someone has to take over I guess.
• The Carrier Dome crowd was rather small and rather quiet. Sure, they got loud and into the game during that first-half surge, and at the end when the walk-ons came in. It is what it is, but you'd like to see more than "23,717" at a Big East game.
• It really wasn't 23,717.

Labels: Basketball, Big East

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview

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• Obviously the star of the day ended up being Brandon Triche with a new career high 29 points on 10-18, 4-7 shooting, while being on the floor all 40 minutes. He recovered from several early missed shots to end u with a career day and keep Syracuse in the game when Seton Hall seemed to have momentum and close the first half defect Syracuse faced early.
• CJ Fair came in second with 19 points and leading the team with 11 rebounds for another double-double. Still the glue guy.
• MCW added 14 points, most of which came from the free throw line. He was 3-10 from the floor but 8-10 from the stripe. He also had nine rebounds but only three assists.
• James Southerland had 11 points off the bench on 3-9 shooting from behind the arc and 4-12 overall. Not the worst day, but he hit the big shots in the second half when Syracuse needed them.
• Keita, Grant, and Christmas might as well not have come off the bench. None of them really contributed that much, but Christmas added three points.
• Syracuse had a spectacular game in terms of turnovers. They only had four in the game and only one in the second half. Brilliant. Seton Hall had nine.
• While Syracuse was outshot from the floor by Seton Hall (43.2% to 38.7%), Syracuse did hit a better percentage from both the free throw line 69% to 58.6%) and the three point line (40% [8-20] to 28.5% [10-26]). Hall's three point shooting kept them in the game and gave them a nice early lead but Syracuse battled back.
• Seton Hall actually had more assists (14) than Syracuse (13). Syracuse had not won a game on the road when MCW had four or less assists. He had three but Syracuse won the game.

Labels: Basketball, Big East

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You kinda wish Calhoun was at the helm for this one last game

• Michael Carter-Williams was the offensive leader for Syracuse, scoring 15 points on 6-13 shooting, 3-4 from the line, but an 0-for from three. Though he had five rebounds and four steals, MCW only had one assist and turned the ball over four times.
• James Southerland continued his good shooting from the St. John's game, scoring 14 points off four three-pointers. That was basically the extent of Southie's contribution, stat-wise. From a defensive standpoint, James adds the length on the wing that we unfortunately don't get from Jerami Grant or CJ Fair. Not to say they're not great defensive players, but the zone works the best when it's long and athletic.
• Speaking of CJ, he had another 10-point game with five rebounds.
• The rest of the team? Well, big goose egg pretty much. Brandon Triche I think gets the biggest glare from me, shooting 3-15 for a pitiful 20%. He kept on chucking up shots, including seven from 3, and they weren't going in (none of the 3s).
• The team as a whole shot 35.4% from the floor, and 17.4% from three (23 attempts). The game was marked by a bunch of rushed, ill-advised shots. There were very few attempts to get the ball inside, which boggled my mind since Syracuse was the bigger team on the floor.
• Officially, SU Athletics says Syracuse scored 26 points in the paint. That's either a flat out lie, or it just didn't seem that way. Either way, the game plan clearly turned into "shoot from the outside" first, instead of "drive the ball inside" first.
• Ryan Boatright, Omar Calhoun, and Shabazz Napier all played well for UConn. As did the rest of the team, really. We all thought that the absence of suspended center Enosch Wolf would be devastating for UConn, but they rose above it and clearly played better than Syracuse.
• Rebounds were pretty even (UConn 38, Syracuse 36), and many other categories were either close or tied. I think the key was just the number of times Syracuse had empty possessions. They dug themselves into a hole they couldn't climb out of.

Labels: Basketball, UConn USuck

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• Once again, the leading scorer for Syracuse was CJ Fair who had 17 points on 7-13 shooting and 2-3 from beyond the arc, both from the corner. He also pulled down nine rebounds while playing 39 minutes. He also had a pretty serious dunk that was called an offensive foul.
• MCW also had 17 points on 6-9 shooting and 3-5 from behind the line. He had a really solid game overall including eight assists and six steals. It seems he has again struck a nice balance between scoring and assisting on scores. It helps with Southerland back in the lineup to take the pressure off him as well. He was also 2-2 from the free throw line.
• Brandon Triche also had a nice day with 16 points on 5-10 shooting (2-6 long range). Additionally, he added five rebounds, seven assists, and was 4-4 from the free throw line.
• James Southerland was a little shaky in his first half back after missing six games, but he made up for it in the second half and found his rhythm. He was 4-10 from the floor and 3-7 from behind the arc for a total of 13 points in 26 minutes of work. He also had two rebounds, assists, steals, and one block. Not a bad return for the team's leading scorer.
• Baye Moussa Keita had the game Syracuse fans were yearning for while Southerland was out. He was 4-4 from the floor in 22 minutes, earning eight points, four rebounds, and two blocks.
• Trevor Cooney was great defensively, but he still looks terrible on the offensive end. He played seven minutes and was 0-1 but had one steal.
• Jerami Grant took a step back from his last game's big performance but still had a solid day, yielding minutes in favor of Southerland. He had four points, shooting 2-5 from the floor in 15 minutes.
• Rakeem Christmas is still one of the best athletes on the floor but he also took a step back from his play in the Notre Dame game. He was 1-2 in 18 minutes, picking up two points, a rebound, steal, and block.
• Syracuse shot a gaudy 53.7% from the floor, 45.5% (10-22) from long range. They also shot 9-10 (90%) from the free throw line. St. John's only shot 41.8%, 22.7% (5-22), and 7-10 (70%) respectively.
• The referees let the kids play in this one, not calling anything ticky tacky or touch fouls. They only called actual body contact or charges. In reference to the charge on the Fair dunk, I do think CJ got beat to the position, but officials have to be weary of calling offensive fouls on players that are already in the air for a dunk. A defender should not be able to slip in and establish position when a player is going for a dunk already in the air to get a foul. Of course, this is the hardest call in basketball.
• Southerland had one of the prettiest plays on the day getting a long pass from MCW, then dishing it with no look to Triche to finished with a dunk at the other end to really put away any momentum St. John's had built.
• Syracuse had 12 turnovers in this game. That's a little high, led by three from Brandon Triche, but it is close to their average. St. John's had 16.

Labels: Basketball, Big East

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• Once again CJ Fair led all scorers with 18 points. He also earned a double-double with ten rebounds. He was 5-10 from the floor and 7-8 from the free throw line. Again, he had a great game and is the most dependable player on offense.
• Jereami Grant earned a career high 14 points on 6-8 shooting in 40 minutes of work. He also pulled down six rebounds and had one ridiculous block on ND's Jack Cooley to cap off his game.
• Rakeem Christmas also had a nice break out game. He had 12 points on 6-9 shooting in the kind of performance Syracuse has needed the past two games. He also had five rebounds and four blocks.
• MCW earned five points, making one of three attempted baskets. Because he didn't attempt as many shots he assisted on eight and only committed one turnover. He finally didn't force any ridiculous shots and he didn't have any mindboggling turnovers in this one. A very solid game for MCW.
• Brandon Triche had the worst game of the starters only earning seven points, shooting 2-9 from the floor and 0-5 from behind the arc. He did have six assists and five rebounds however.
• Trevor Cooney earned six points, going 2-6 from the floor and 2-5 from behind the arc. Just a standard game from Cooney, hitting a couple shots and that's it. He also played good defense for most of his time on the floor, only really getting beat once.
• Baye Moussa Keita played four minutes and earned one point on a made free throw. He has yet to dominate a game this season, or even show a flash of offensive brilliance.
• Syracuse shot 48.9% from the floor, far better than their previous two games. Dome sweet Dome. They also held the best shooting team in the Big East to just 34.6% from the floor. Syracuse shot 4-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc, but it would look better if you remove the five misses from Triche. Notre Dame shot 6-20 (30%) from behind the arc.
• Syracuse caused 11 turnovers in Notre Dame, a team that averages a low nine a game. Syracuse had nine themselves.
• Notre Dame only made 5-10 free throws. Syracuse did better, making 15-17 (88.2%), taking advantage of the charity stripe like they have most of the season, save for those Villanova and Temple losses.

Labels: Basketball, Big East

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview

• CJ Fair again led all scorers in this game with 20 points on 9-13 shooting, and 2-4 from long range. He also had three rebounds, three steals, and a block. He was again the best player overall on the floor for Syracuse and the most dependable offensive threat for the Orange.
• Brandon Triche added 14 points on the day shooting 4-14 from the floor, and 0-5 from three. He was also 6-7 from the free throw line, his biggest asset. Triche was actually good in the last ten minutes of the game trying to get Syracuse back in the game, but it was really too little to late then. He lead the team with six turnovers.
• MCW had 13 points on the floor on 3-12 shooting and 1-5 from the floor. He was also 6-7 from the free throw line. He only had three turnovers but it seemed like way more. He eventually fouled out. He had demonstrated over the last few games that he is more interested in trying to force shots and offense than distributing the ball and being a great passer and point guard. While it hasn't really cost Syracuse too much, it doesn't help when playing from behind.
• Rakeem Christmas didn't attempt a shot in this game in 21 minutes on the floor. He had three rebounds and three blocks. At least he didn't hurt the effort.
• Jeremi Grant started his first game of the season and it didn't go well. He was 1-8 from the floor, seeming to miss everything within three feet of the bucket. He had five points and five rebounds. He really forced several bad shots in this game and definitely didn't look confident like he has at earlier points in the year.
• Baye Moussa Keita played 19 minutes and was 1-2 on offense. He head three points, three rebounds, and two steals.
• The only other player to get into the game was Trevor Cooney. He also didn't attempt a shot but did play well on defense. He had one rebound and two assists. However, he foolishly ran into a defender for a foul instead of passing to Triche on a two on one fast break. He has to learn that making the pass is the better play there.
• Syracuse shot 36.7% from the floor. Pittsburgh shot 48%. A stark difference there. The main reason Syracuse lost the game. Both teams only hit three long range shots, so the long ball was no effect on this game.
• On the bright side, Syracuse hit 16-20 from the free throw line. MCW hit 6-7. Amazing how he hits the ones that don't directly affect winning a game.
• Syracuse forced 19 turnovers from Pittsburgh, a team generally not prone to turnovers. Additionally, they only had 14.
• Much hooplah was made from the media (read: Mike Patrick and Len Elmore) on the fact that Syracuse only played seven players. In general, that's all Boeheim has played this year. It was just Southerland instead of Grant or Christmas essentially. Only playing seven didn't affect the outcome of the game.

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Pittsburgh

Labels: Basketball, Big East, Pittsburgh, Preview