Syracuse - Villanova Postgame Reactions OR The Worst Kind
0 Comments Published on 12.22.2014 by Brian Harrison
Sad GMac is the worst GMac.
And just like that, Syracuse lost. Syracuse played their best game of the year, and was by far the better team for most of the game, but they ended up on the losing end. In probably the most frustrating game to watch since March 24, 2012 against Ohio State in terms of officiating, Syracuse ended up losing to #7 Villanova in Overtime 82-77.
- Kaleb Joseph played his best game at point guard. He ended his day with only 4 turnovers and ten assists, also adding ten points for his first career double-double.
- Both Michael Gbinije and Rakeem Christmas each had 18 points in the game, leading the Orange. Gbinije also led the Orange in rebounding with 8.
- Trevor Cooney busted out of his shooting slump, hitting a few huge shots. He was 4-12 overall and 3-5 from behind the arc. He was also 6-7 from the charity stripe. Cooney finished with 17 points.
- Tyler Roberson had an excellent day off the bench, going 5-5 from the floor, earning 11 points.
- Syracuse shot 49.2% (30-61) from the floor and 33.3% (4-12) from behind the arc.
- Syracuse blew a 5 point lead in 17 seconds to allow Villanova to go to overtime, of which they won.
- The officiating was dreadful in this game, for both teams, but mostly Syracuse. I've said my peace on Twitter about this, but needless to say I thought it was the worst officiated game I've seen since the aforementioned game above.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, RIP Big East, Villanofun
Syracuse students agree: Winning this game would be astounding.
Syracuse and Villanova meet again, for the second time as non-conference opponents since Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC. Syracuse won the match up in the Dome last year 78-62. Unfortunately, this season is, at best, the reversal of fortune for both teams. Villanova is ranked #7, undefeated on the year. Syracuse had to scrape out a bucket on their final possession last game to beat Louisiana Tech at home. Rough goings for the Orange, who turn the ball over an awful lot. 13.5 times per game on average. To put that into perspective, Syracuse only turned the ball over an average of 9.0 times a game last season. And that was with Ennis at the helm, who almost never turned the ball over. Villanova is forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers per game. You should be very alarmed at those numbers if you are a Syracuse fan. Additionally, they should the ball from behind the arc at a clip of 35% as a team. That makes this game very dangerous for Syracuse. In typical Jay Wright fashion, he recruits players that can shoot, and will not hesitate to throw out 3 or 4 guards and let them go crazy from behind the arc. The only advantage Syracuse has in this game is rebounding. Syracuse could keep it close by earning second chance points, and possibly getting runouts off missed Villanova 3s. If Syracuse can keep their perimeter defense solid in the second half, instead of letting Villanova go bonkers in the final 20 minutes like other teams this year, Syracuse has a shot to keep it close and even win. But it will probably be too much Wildcat for the Orange to handle. Villanova stays undefeated and makes the post-Big East series 1-1. 'Nova by 16. This game is available nationally on your local Fox station and also on Fox Sports Go at 1:00pm. We'll see you around the Tweets as always.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
I feel the same way.
The folks at ESPN sent me a screener of the new 30 For 30 documentary Requiem for the Big East. I poured over it a couple of times now. And while it is incomplete, it is fantastic. Some thoughts on the documentary below.
- It was great seeing it put down on video and told from some of the people that were there the origins of the conference and how it was Gavitt's ideas and hard work that got the whole thing going.
- If you're a Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John's, or Villanova fan, you'll probably really enjoy seeing the various highlights and attention to those teams paid in the film. They book end the movie with shots from the Syracuse/Georgetown 2013 BET game, and they give a good chunk of time to Georgetown's early dominance, Villanova's surprise National Championship over Georgetown, lots of Lou Carnesecca old and current, and Chris Mullins.
- Lou Carnesecca looks old as all hell. But he's clearly sharp and still with it. It broke my heart when he said he wasn't that hurt about teams leaving the Big East except for Syracuse.
- A few talking heads, specifically Michael Wilbon, contradicts the main point in the documentary that football, capitalism, and the league's own success is what broke up the Big East. Wilbon, over a shot of Nancy Cantor, says it was greedy and weak minded school presidents. Judge for yourself.
- The documentary does a really great job of highlighting the important, as it turned out, of the league denying an invitation to Penn State to join. It was probably the first domino falling in terms of the conference breaking up. It just took a while for it to matter.
- It does a great job of showing all the big personalities that dominated the coaching ranks of the early days of the Big East.
- Sorry, no 6 OT talk. No real mention of UConn either to be fair. Despite the fact they won a few National Championships as a member. Jim Calhoun has a few talking head moments, but that's all from UConn. Same for Rick Pitino.
- They talk about the BET but they only talk about some from the early 80's. Obviously there have been some pretty good ones since then.
- There was one moment that really got me. They talk about the death of Dave Gavitt and how the day Mike Tranghese found out about Syracuse and Pittsburgh leaving was the day that he found out Gavitt had passed away. They then cut to Jim Boeheim talking about that and about how it's been his whole life. He clearly fights back a tear. The room I viewed the movie may have been very dusty that day.
- No real talk about Notre Dame, or Tranghese, or especially John Marinatto being competent enough to stop any of the expansion/raiding of the league. No one deserves a ton of blame but Marinatto was totally inept and Tranghese could have taken some other steps.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Big East memories, Big East Tournament, Farewell Big East, Goodbye Old Friend, Preview
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| Maybe the best part of this picture is Donna & Mike's faces |
It started March 12, 2009. It ended March 13, 2009. It spawned Marathon Men t-shirts, a website, and brought the rivalry of Syracuse and Connecticut to a new level. The 2009 Big East Tournament quarterfinal between Syracuse and UConn was a six overtime epic battle that will forever be etched into the memories of all who experienced it: whether in person, on TV, or on twitter.
March 2009 was around the time twitter was taking off. I finally bowed to the pressure on March 11, 2009, of course not knowing that my decision to register @jbren would so greatly enhance my 6OT experience. My first tweet was so i just joined twitter. i wonder if i'll actually use this thing. I can't remember how many people I started following, or who, or even who was following me. But I had my twitter all ready to use the next night.
March 12, a coworker was turning 50, so we went out that night for drinks. I was in Simon's in Horseheads, where there are no TVs. Luckily, the 7pm game ran late, so the SU-UConn game wouldn't start till approx 9:45pm. I ducked out of the celebration to head across the street to Hanover's Grille -- I knew they had TVs. I got a prime seat at the bar, ordered a drink, and got through the first half. UConn had a 37-34 lead at the half, and I decided I wanted to watch the rest of the game back at my apartment, so I left. In retrospect, great call.
Once home, I poured myself a drink. I'm sure it was either Jameson or Vanilla Vodka. For whatever reason, I didn't tweet at all during regulation. I think I was still trying to get the hang of it. I didn't have an app for my phone (a Blackberry Storm at the time) so I was literally using the mobile twitter website. The score was tied with mere seconds left in regulation, and Syracuse was to inbound the ball.
holy shit eric
That was my first tweet of the game. We all thought he had hit a three at the buzzer. He jumped on the media table and punched his chest as if to say he was king of the world. And then, that amazing midcourt floor camera from ESPN had caught the shot -- with the basket and clock -- from the perfect angle to show that the ball was still sitting on Eric's fingertips when time reached 0.0. So onto overtime we go.
this is what BET is all about!
I must've tweeted that at the end of the first overtime. I had gotten at least one more drink in since the first. I was thoroughly enjoying the game at this point.
do i have enough alcohol for this?
A tweet probably around the end of the second overtime. Things were happening fast and furious, and I was worried that I'd run dry before the game ended.
great guts shown if that means anything
That may have been a comment I picked up on from Sean McDonough, Jay Bilas, or Bill Raftery. Or it may have been some nonsense gibberish fueled by booze. Or maybe both.
this may be the best game ive ever seen
Easy to say this around the end of three overtimes. Plus some booze. You can tell I didn't much appreciate punctuation at that point.
5 overtimes? i want money or something
Well, the good news is this tweet actually mentions an event, so I can place this at the end of four OTs. If my memory serves me correctly, I think I had made a bet with myself that this game would go five overtimes. I won that bet, but I don't know if I ever paid myself.
6 is my lucky number. don't even know what to say at this point.
Obviously at this point, the game was tied at the end of five overtimes, and so onto the sixth we go. It is true that six is and always has been my lucky number, so I guess I felt pretty good about Syracuse's chances at this point.
And that would actually be my final tweet of the game, and of the night. By the time Syracuse had outlasted Connecticut 127-117, I think I was so exhausted that I didn't want to deal with that weird "SurePress" touchscreen on my Storm. I do remember at some point during one of the overtime periods, I decided to stand up. Right there. In my apartment living room. By myself. I think it was early -- may have even been at the end of regulation when Eric almost got that shot off in time.
Going to bed after that game was interesting. On the one hand, it's late, and I had been drinking, so you'd think falling asleep would be easy. But on the other hand, that was like 3+ hours of adrenaline pumping through my veins. Suffice to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.
But I still had to get up and go to work in the morning. Luckily when I had found out Syracuse would have the late Thursday game, I had blocked off my Friday morning as "KEEP OPEN FOR DESK TIME," because I didn't already have any court appearances scheduled. And it's a good thing I didn't have anything going on that morning. I was worthless. I was tired, and quite frankly, I was still shaking from the night before -- the adrenaline I think was still pumping through me.
Syracuse won the next night in the semifinals. A found a few tweets from that one:
anyone else having a hard time getting excited over this game?
OT? we've played this game before.
shut up jay bilas
But at any rate, 6OT is something I'll never forget. It was one of those experiences that, as a Syracuse fan, you remember exactly where you were and how things went down. You can close your eyes and immediately bring yourself back. You can maybe even smell the same smells. As we are now about to watch our beloved team embark on a new conference tournament, the ACC Tournament, we can only hope that someday that will provide us with another great memory.
Labels: 6 OTs, ACC Tournament, Big East, Big East Tournament, Syracuse Basketball, UConn USuck
Syracuse students agree: Basketball > Hockey.
The Orange of Syracuse have made the trip back to "Boston" to take on the Eagles in an ACC Conference game. This game, if you recall, was a conference game in the Big East way back when. I may still grimace if someone mentions Troy Bell. But this game has lost some meaning in the several years we didn't play BC in conference play, and for the most part BC/SU was more of a rivalry on the gridiron. However, in a new conference without much to grab on to in terms of rivalries for basketball other than the obvious, BC will definitely do for this blogger.
Syracuse enters this game atop the ACC standings and still has an unblemished record on the 2013-2014 campaign. Boston College... well they are not having a good go of it so far. They are 1-2 in the ACC and 5-11 overall, losing seven of the last ten. Not good for a team that only about ten years ago was in the top ten. But that was a conference and a head coach and a golden age ago. BC now looks like a bottom barrel program with an RPI (I know, stupid people math, but still...) in the high hundreds. Students and locals don't even come out to games, not even achieving 6k in an arena that only holds 8,606 for basketball. They are lucky if they fill half capacity for a basketball game in Chestnut Hill. But the place will be packed tonight with a fair amount of Syracuse fans. While not the biggest alumni area, the greater Boston area has a TON of Orange alums and fans. The place will be full of them, hoping to see the #2 Orange take BC to the woodshed. And they probably will. BC averages 70.8ppg, while allowing 75.2. Contrast that with Syracuse that only allows 58.4ppg and scoring 73ppg and you see why BC is not looking good on paper to win this game. About the only shots BC is likely to make from the floor are free throws. They are not a great three point threat, only scoring 32.7% from behind the arc, and they don't rebound the ball particularly well. They have lost to the likes of Harvard, Clemson, Providence, and Toledo. I'm not saying they won't hang around in the first half of this game, but the second half should be all Orange. With a pro-SU crowd, only a few students on hand, and a team that is begging for improvement on both offense and defense, this spells an Orange route by all accounts. Look for Orange::44 favorite Eddie Odio, the Nate Lubick of BC, to make some terrible choices when handling the ball. I once saw him get hit in the face and the foul was called on him. And it was a good call. That tells you the kind of talent that kid possesses. Either way, if Syracuse rebounds the ball and doesn't allow BC easy put back points, this game will be over quickly. If not, Syracuse will allow BC to hang around and the crowd might start to believe. But you have to think that Trevor Cooney will bounce back from his not so great game against UNC and hit a couple big shots to make up for his last game. I like Syracuse to roll in this one. I'll take the Orange by 22.
This game is available nation wide on ESPN U / Watch ESPN at 9:00pm. Even though I live close, I'll be in the home office watching this one, and John will be at his, so feel free to hit is up on the Twitter. And rest assured we'll be singing the BC "Fight Song" if/when they lose. For Boston...
Labels: ACC, Basketball, BC Sucks, Big East
Syracuse students agree: It's best to win on the floor of MSG.
Syracuse is back in the World's Most Famous Arena, also known as Carrier Dome South. That's right, Madison Square Garden. Syracuse always plays well in the Garden, considering they've beaten St. John's there the last five trips. This will again be a matchup of great guards. D'Angelo Harrison will be battling against Tyler Ennis and whichever player limits turnovers should put their team in the best position to win. The X-Factor is if CJ Fair can get off to a hot start. The last couple of games in last year's Big East Tournament saw CJ Fair never really get going until a big time dunk over Otto Porter to get Syracuse to the championship game. CJ this time will have to score early and get Syracuse into a position at half time to put the game away early. St. John's suffers from typically slow starts but then explodes in the second half. If Syracuse can get a big lead at the half they should be able to cruise in the second half. Any contribution from DeJuan Coleman and Rakeem Christmas will be a bonus. I do like Syracuse against this scrappy St. John's team. I'll take the Orange by 14. This game is available nationwide on the new Fox Sports 1. Gus and Raf on the call. Should be magical, like the old Big East days.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview, Rivalries
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| We hated being there as much as you hated how Syracuse has been playing |
Syracuse has sputtered the second half of its final Big East season. Offensive woes. That's the bottom line. So you can imagine why we haven't been quick or excited to do game recaps around here. But, for the sake of posterity, I'll share a few words about each of the final three regular season games here on the cusp of Syracuse's final run through the Big East Tournament.
Louisville
Exactly a week after the big record-setting game in the Dome against Georgetown, the Louisville Cardinals came in for another important late-season game. The Orange was looking for a season sweep of Louisville, while the Cardinals wanted to steal a game. While not quite as bad as the Orange offensive effort from the week before, Syracuse still had a hard time scoring in this one. The victory goes to Louisville, 58-53.
- The Syracuse offense was three players: CJ Fair (19), James Southerland (13), and Michael Carter-Williams (11).
- Syracuse shot 20-56 (35.7%) from the field, and 5-13 (38.5%) from three.
- Brandon Triche had another Brandon Triche game, 2-11 including 0-3 from three.
- Syracuse turned the ball over 16 times, leading to 16 Louisville points.
- To be fair, Louisville didn't shoot or play any better than Syracuse. This was actually a gritty, back and forth game for much of the time. Unfortuately Louisville grabbed the lead near the end and kept it just out of reach for Syracuse.
DePaul
The final Big East game in the Carrier Dome, and we get DePaul? Not a thrilling match-up, for sure, but the way things have been going for Syracuse, it was nice to see this caliber opponent round out the home schedule. Not a guaranteed win, of course. And that was evident at the start of the game, as Syracuse was slow out of the gate. Slow to the point where we started thinking "Oh know, could this really be happening?" But the Orange picked things up, brought a lead into halftime, and never looked back. Syracuse wins its regular season home finale 78-57.
- As the final score indicates, the Orange offense woke up a bit in this one, compared to recent games. Four Orangemen were in double-digit scoring: James Southerland (22), CJ Fair (16), Brandon Triche (15), and Michael Carter-Williams (10).
- But to say the offense was better is a little misleading; Syracuse still only shot 26-67 (38.8%), and an abysmal 2-18 (11.1%) from three. Credit the 22 offensive rebounds leading to 21 Syracuse second chance points to really reflect how Syracuse was able to get 78 points on the board.
- Syracuse also dominated in the paint, 40-26.
- Bottom line is, DePaul just isn't very good.
- James Southerland had a double double and a start on Senior Night. So, good for him.
Georgetown
This was possibly one of the most anticipated games of the season. Possibly the last game between two long-time rivals as Big East members (unless they meet again in the Big East Tournament); final game of the regular season; ESPN's College Gameday. This game looked really good when the schedule was released. But as Syracuse's season went on and fell into this sinkhole (see what I did there with the recent news reference?), this game started looking scary. The Hoyas have been playing at the top of their game, and with a win over Syracuse would earn the Big East regular season title. And so, on such a big stage where Syracuse just had to step up, they didn't. Georgetown won 61-39.
- Neither team got off to a great start in this one. Offense was pretty slow-going and hard to find. At 11-11 with 10:58 to go in the first half, that's just as close as Syracuse would ever come in this one. Georgetown scored at 9:49 to make it 14-11 and never relinquished the lead.
- Even so, Syracuse kept scratching back throughout the first half. The Hoyas might go on a bit of a run, but Syracuse would find itself right back in the game. It was just never enough.
- Eventually, in the second half, Georgetown built such a lead in the game that you knew there just wasn't enough time left for Syracuse to come back, especially with the way they had been playing.
- Michael Carter-Williams had 17 points to lead the Orange in scoring, which is nearly half of the 39 points Syracuse managed to score. No other Syracuse players had double digit scores.
- Syracuse only made 15 shots on 41 attempts (31.9%) and went a horribly cold 1-11 (9.1%) from three. Meanwhile, Georgetown shot 42%, 40.9% from three, knocking down nine threes.
- Those threes by Georgetown seemed to come at times when Syracuse was trying to crawl back into the game or gain momentum. So really, it was like nine daggers.
- Syracuse did a number on Otto Porter this time around, especially in the first half, but it was at the expense of players like Markel Starks, who hit five of the nine threes.
- Syracuse only had three second-chance points.
- Showing zone and man defenses, the Hoya effort was just as effective -- if not more so --- than they were in the Carrier Dome a couple weeks ago. The best stat to show this (besides the 39 points allowed): Syracuse had one four assists. Four.
- It also didn't help that Syracuse coughed up the ball 14 times.
And so, Syracuse ends the regular season with an overall record of 23-8, a Big East record of 11-7, and a five seed in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse will face the winner of the BET's opening round game between South Florida and Seton Hall. At this point, the Orange is playing for NCAA Tournament seeding, as well as getting in some good game experience before the do-or-die games. Clearly, shooting needs to improve. I'm not sure how that gets better now at this point in the season, but if anyone can squeeze talent out of a player, it's Jim Boeheim. So sit back, enjoy the final Big East Tournament (as we know it or care to know it), and see what Syracuse can put together. Keep it here for ongoing and more up-to-date BET coverage. I promise, we'll be on top of it!
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Hoya Hate
Syracuse students agree: Your mother will always be a Hoya.
Syracuse played terrible the last four minutes of the last game a couple of weeks ago against Georgetown. In terms of offense that is. Syracuse did just enough to be able to win the game, limiting the Hoyas to 57 points. But Otto Porter clearly was just having A DAY. A career high 33 points while no one else was in double digit scoring. Nate Lubick still is terrible by the way. Syracuse has the ability to win this game. You saw Villanova take them down. Syracuse could have beaten them at home but Otto Porter couldn't miss in that one and Syracuse couldn't make a basket. If Syracuse manages to find Otto Porter and play with a little more intensity on both ends of the floor Syracuse can win this game. If Syracuse goes into DC and just chucks a bunch of threes well they will be blown out of the building. College Gameday is in DC for this rare nooner / double dip to show proper respect to the rivalry that built the Big East. It's only fitting it's the last game on the schedule for both of these teams. The stakes are higher for Georgetown as if they win they basically win the league. If they lose, they probably don't. Syracuse, meanwhile will probably be the 5 or 6 seed win or lose. While Georgetown is playing for more, no player will be thinking about any of that. If Syracuse shows up, gets off the bus, and plays with focus and intensity they will win. If not, the same thing that happened in the Dome will happen again. This is the one game this season where I really have no clue what will happen. Total coin flip. The odds say that the home team will win this one and Syracuse leaves sad. So I'll go with that and be ecstatic when I'm wrong because it's OK to be wrong when your team earns the upset win on the road over your rival for the last time in conference play. So for that reason, I'm picking Georgetown by five. This game is on ESPN nationally televised at noon. One mega recap of L'ville/DePaul/Georgetown will be out early next week to prime you for the BET. The last great BET. And to the folks of Georgetown... you still suck!
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Georgetown, Georgetown Still Sucks, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Above all else, you must beat DePaul at home.
I'm typically not one to check the betting lines (for entertainment purposes only) but Syracuse opened as a 20 point favorite. Sounds about right. DePaul is again in last place in the league heading into this league game. Not a great 3 point shooting team, DePaul will rely on star Cleveland Melvin (16.5ppg) to do some damage in the lane. He is talented and has burned Syracuse before (despite not earning the win for the Blue Demons). Really, Syracuse should win if Brandon Triche even gets five points. His shooting has been dreadful of late, but managing even a couple of baskets would help the cause. James Southerland has been itching to go off and this game might provide some big shots in transition again for him. The game plan against DePaul should be simple. Just go out there and take good shots and make good passes and it will work itself out. The zone should be tighter tonight to stop Melvin and unless DePaul manages to make a few shots from outside they will not have any success tonight. DePaul is not a team that can dominate rebounding so Syracuse just needs to put in a solid effort and they will walk away victorious on Senior Day. Syracuse over DePaul for the last time by 18. This game is available locally on TWCS / SNY / and on ESPN 3 if it's not on your television at 6:00pm tonight.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, DePaul Must Go, Preview
Syracuse students agree: We beat them on the road so we need to win at home.
Louisville was #1 in the nation when Syracuse went down to Kentucky and beat the Cards by two points on their own court. Since then they had a little bit of a skid. Then again, so has Syracuse. However, I think we've learned a few things since that Louisville game. With Syracuse, CJ Fair will be solid and the team rises and falls with Brandon Triche. If he is having a poor shooting day, Syracuse has a rough go on offense. If Triche is hitting shots, then Syracuse has a much higher likelihood of the team being successful. With Louisville, Russ Smith will be solid on the scoring end. The question is will someone else step up to help him with the scoring? Smith (18.4ppg) was easily considered in the conversation for Big East POY before Otto Porter has clearly established himself as the frontrunner. He will score, as he did against Syracuse in the last game. What Syracuse did extremely well in that game is limit Gorgui Dieng (as Syracuse always has) and keep Chane Behanan to single digit scoring. The Syracuse defense worked hard and, as we all know, the defense is not losing games for this year's team. Syracuse basically stole the game down in KY by a couple timely steals and a dunk. Syracuse will again have a close game with Louisville. James Southerland is back and will be able to shoot some 3s from outside, which Syracuse missed in the last game. If this game was again at Louisville I'd pick the Cardinals again, but this is in the Carrier Dome. James Southerland is back and you have to assume that Triche will again find success against Louisville. The Louisville press defense really wasn't effective in stopping the Orange. If MCW limits turnovers Syracuse should get a nice lead and hold it, even if Louisville makes a run to close out the game. Syracuse also outrebounded Louisville so if they do that again and keep Louisville off the offensive glass, this should be another nice Syracuse win. I'm picking the Orange by 12. This game will be available nationally on CBS at 12:00pm ET.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Louisville Sucks, Preview
Syracuse - Marquette Postgame Reactions OR Downward Spiral
0 Comments Published on 2.26.2013 by John Brennan
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| The C in CJ is for Consistent |
Coming off that tough loss against Georgetown on Saturday, Syracuse traveled to Milwaukee on Monday to battle Marquette and try to right the ship. And largely, they did. The Orange looked better on offense in shooting better, looked better on defense by largely not giving up easy baskets and creating turnovers, and just looked way better than the effort we saw on Saturday. Yet, Syracuse still lost. The Orange carried a small lead into halftime and led for a good portion of the second half, but once they ceded the lead to Marquette with 5:05 to go, Syracuse would never again lead. The Golden Eagles go on to take this one 74-71.
- 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.
With the loss against Georgetown and at Marquette, it seems Syracuse can't win the regular season Big East title. Just as well, I don't like that Thursday noon game during the Big East Tourney. So now Syracuse has a few days to recover, regroup, and try to find that magic they took with them to #1 Louisville to beat them. The Cardinals aren't #1 anymore, but they're coming into the Dome on Saturday for a big game that will have repercussions for each team's postseason positioning.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Farewell Big Monday
Georgetown - Syracuse Postgame Reactions OR Georgetown Ruins Things
0 Comments Published on by Brian Harrison
I'm guessing I felt worse than this.
Georgetown just ruins things. At least that's part of what makes a rivalry great. It can't be all one sided. It was in this game though in that Otto Porter was all Georgetown needed to beat the Orange.
- 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
Syracuse students agree: Syracuse isn't looking good lately.
Syracuse had a short turnaround between a dreadful offensive performance for a Big Monday match against another leading team in Marquette. And yeah, Syracuse is going to be playing against a great defense in Marquette who is active and grinds other teams down by their pace of play and outside shooting. Syracuse must dominate the offensive and defensive glass to have a chance of beating Marquette in their building. All the guards will attack off the bounce and find gaps in the zone to not only shoot from, but also kick out to more than capable shooters. Honestly, I wish I had even a small bit of confidence for the Orange's offense lately, but how can you after you've seen not only how they performed in their last game, but on the road overall this season. Brandon Triche bouncing back will be the key to the game. If Syracuse can get production from him they have a chance. But right now the smart pick is Marquette by 12. This game is available nationally on ESPN at 7:00pm ET.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
Syracuse students agree: We're gonna be packed in for a great college basketball game.
Georgetown versus Syracuse. 35,000 plus. Last conference game in the Carrier Dome. #11 versus #8. This has the makings of a classic. For 33 years these teams have hated each other. Tomorrow afternoon will be no different. Syracuse is coming off an impressive win over Providence, blowing them out at the Carrier Dome. Georgetown blew out Providence in DC. Something that isn't exactly impressive as it was against DePaul, but in the Big East any blowout is noteworthy. Syracuse will play zone and need to keep scoring against the Hoyas, who have some pretty tough defense. Syracuse will need steals and transition points to keep ahead of Georgetown. Since Syracuse is at home I anticipate a good shooting night for all involved in Orange, especially James Southerland, CJ Fair, and Brandon Triche. CJ Fair was again a solid scoring leader in the last game, Southerland was great shooting off the bench from way back, and MCW dished out the ball enough to earn a double-double. The real X-Factor in this game is Otto Porter. The leading scorer (15.1ppg) and rebounder (7.7rpg) for the Hoyas, he banged his knee recently. If he is 100% Syracuse could have trouble containing him. He can be a zone buster hitting mid-range shots in the gaps, or even drilling some big outside shots. If he is off however, Georgetown could have a very long day. Not like Nate Lubick is going to set the world on fire. That guy sucks. If he is playing well we should have a good game on our hands. If Porter is off, Georgetown will struggle late in the game and Syracuse will cruise to victory. Either way this should be a fun atmosphere, and electric crowd, and a very loud Dome. No way I'm picking against the Orange in this game, all things considered. Syracuse over the Hoyas by 14. This game will be available nationally on CBS at 4:00pm. If you're going to the game good luck with your phone and/or internet. Do some good and donate a caned good on your way to the game. This place is going to be bonkers. ... And Georgetown stills sucks!
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Georgetown, Hoya Hate, Preview, Rivalries
Providence - Syracuse Postgame Reactions OR Farewell Friars
0 Comments Published on 2.21.2013 by John Brennan
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Wednesday night's game in the Carrier Dome between the visiting Providence Friars and the home Syracuse Orange had all the makings of a trap game. Providence is an annual cellar-dweller; Syracuse had already beaten the Friars on their home court; Providence has been playing well lately; all of Orange Nation was focused on the record-breaking crowd for the huge matchup Saturday against long-time rival Georgetown. Well luckily, not all of Orange Nation. You see, Jim Boeheim operates a game at a time, and he instills that in his coaching and the approach his players take. Boeheim I think did a great job coaching his squad for the Providence game, and it showed on the court. The Orange takes this one 84-59.
- 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.
Top to bottom, Syracuse played one of its best games in a while. All aspects of the game were hitting on all cylinders and against a Big East team, you can never let your guard down. Especially with the epic tilt against the Hoyas looming. The Orange::44 staff will be among Saturday's 35,012, and we hope you will be as well.
Labels: Basketball, Big East
Syracuse students agree: We beat them once on the road, so we have to at home.
Providence is a team, like UConn, with a pair of talented guards that can shoot the ball. They will be able to rotate the ball, drive and kick and get open looks. Bryce Cotton (20.4ppg) leads the league in scoring, and Vincent Council (9.5ppg) just set Providence's all time mark for assists. Both of these guards were able to score against Syracuse in the Dunk and they should be able to do it against Syracuse in the Dome. However, Syracuse was able to score to keep ahead in the second half at Providence. Syracuse should be able to do that in the Dome as they are scoring about 11% more at home than on the road. Syracuse will be able to dominate in the paint if Christmas and Keita can get aggressive. However, CJ Fair will be the star again for Syracuse. Southerland off the bench will also contribute several threes to balance out the scoring of Providence. While this will be another tighter than desired game, and Syracuse will have a few scoring droughts due to Providence's impressive and improved defense, Syracuse should keep the streak in tact, to have momentum rolling into the Georgetown game. The Orange will win by nine. This game is available nationally on ESPN 2 at 7:00pm.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
Syracuse - Seton Hall Postgame Reactions OR The Hall is Closed
0 Comments Published on by Brian Harrison
A lot of fans looked like this during the last 10 minutes of this game.
Syracuse, as expected, handled the Seton Hall Pirates, probably for the last time. It was even the biggest crowd Seton Hall has had at the Prudential Center all time (mostly due to Syracuse fans). And while The Hall gave it a good college try, Syracuse was just the better team.
- 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
Syracuse students agree: Seton Hall is not good.
Syracuse looks to end a three game road skid against 14th place Seton Hall in Newark. It should happen. I could end the preview here and just guess the margin but I'll give you your money's worth here. Fuquan Edwin (17.0ppg) is a big time player on a not very good team. So he clearly shines. After that, the talent level drops dramatically. Seton Hall leads the league in turnovers. Syracuse can really open this game up in transition, which is good because the long ball has not exactly come on the bus on the road for Syracuse. They should get a decent lead just from transition offense. James Southerland has been shooting well since returning, however no other player hit a long ball at Connecticut, and Triche was abysmal. Either way, Syracuse should rebound better as Seton Hall doesn't push the pace or have the talent to grind down Syracuse like UConn did. The Orange should win this one pretty easily in theory. On paper at least. This is the Big East so anything can happen, but Newark should have a ton of orange in the building and frankly may have the edge over Pirate fans. Either way, Syracuse will win this one by 17. This game will be available regionally on TWCS/SNY and on the internet at ESPN 3 if you aren't blacked out. It's at 8:00pm.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
Syracuse students agree: It would be nice to win the last one.
Syracuse travels to Hartford to take on the University of Connecticut for the last time as a member of the Big East Conference. While the XL Center is certainly not the best arena, it's as good a place as any (except for maybe Madison Square Garden where Syracuse has played UConn more than any other team in the league) to end this thing. Connecticut isn't eligible to be in NYC this year for the BET so this is guaranteed to be the final conference meeting between the two. And it should be a fun one. Syracuse has James Southerland heading on the road again, where Syracuse, on average, scores 14 more points with Southerland in the lineup. Syracuse desperately needed a more consistent outside shooting threat to not only pull defenders out, but keep Syracuse scoring when other teams gain momentum. What also bodes well for Syracuse is they are a better rebounding team. If Syracuse can get rebounds then they should win the game. UConn is 4-0 in Big East games when they outrebound their opponent. Attacking the glass is the key for Syracuse in this game. UConn is led by guards Shabazz Napier (17.2ppg) and Ryan Boatright (15.8ppg). While both players are good, and both are playing well lately, those caliber players should score a ton against Seton Hall, which they did. What is more telling is the fact that both players have struggled against Syracuse in the past, including all three games they lost to Syracuse last season. Moral of the story is that they will make shots, and rotate the ball to get open looks, making Syracuse defenders run all over the court to try and cover them. They will shoot a lot of 3s and if they make them it will be a tougher game for Syracuse than if they miss a whole bunch like they did last season. Syracuse allows 0.68 points per play, the lowest in Division 1. That will put the onus on Connecticut to score and keep scoring. What also bodes well for Syracuse is the Connecticut loss of Enosch Wolf who is suspended indefinitely with legal issues. That makes a thin bench for the Huskies. While I think UConn will be in this game in the first half, and maybe even take a lead into the locker room, I don't think they can sustain the continued outside shooting to be able to open the zone up and get easy inside looks. Syracuse should come ready to play and has the talent back on the court to put this game away in the second half. Initially I would have picked the home team in this one, but now that Southerland is back in the lineup and we have seen what Syracuse is done in the past two games in getting back to strong defense and, more importantly, good offensive shooting performances, I a picking the Orange. Syracuse wins this last conference match in Hartford by 13. This game is available nationally on ESPN at 7:00pm. While I don't think this game will go into overtime I kind of want to see it not only for old time sake, but to piss off the Carolina and Duke fans waiting for their game to start at 9. For one last time... UConn... U SUCK!
Also, check out my contribution to The UConn Blog's annual Syracuse Hate Week here. It's been a tradition so it's fitting that I'm there until the end.
Also, check out my contribution to The UConn Blog's annual Syracuse Hate Week here. It's been a tradition so it's fitting that I'm there until the end.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Goodbye Old Friend, Preview, UConn, UConn USuck
St. John's - Syracuse Postgame Reactions OR Still The Best in New York
0 Comments Published on 2.12.2013 by Brian Harrison
There were only a few puzzling moments from Syracuse in this one.
St. John's was in a tough position. They were playing a top ten opponent on the road in the Big East and without Steve Lavin on the bench. They gave it a good effort, but Syracuse could not be denied, especially with the return of key reserve player James Southerland, having had his eligibility restored. It was too much for the scrappy upstarts from Downstate. Syracuse beats the Red Storm 77 to 58.
- 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