There Used To Be Clocks Here

The 2022 Orange::44 NCAA Tournament Bracket Bonanza!

0 Comments Published on 3.17.2022 by Brian Harrison

I will still watch an awful lot of basketball this month.

It's that time of year again. And while Syracuse will be watching from home, the love of college basketball permeates everything in the month of March. As per tradition, both JBren and I have posted our brackets (yes, our ONE bracket each) for all to ridicule or exhault. We each have a different champ again this year. John is going with Baylor (who I correctly picked last year), while I'm taking Arizona. May the best and drunkest man win.


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Syracuse - San Diego State NCAA Tournament Round 1 Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.19.2021 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Winning an NCAA Tournament game is the best win of the year. 
Finally March Madness is back. And Syracuse made the Big Dance. Apparently fairly easily as they avoided a play in game unlike Michigan State. Syracuse takes on SDSU, who has won a huge streak of games and their conference tournament. Can Syracuse survive and advance?
Syracuse needs to do one thing above all to win the game. That is play good defense. Jordan Schakel shoots 46.7% from three. Syracuse must contest and basically never leave him open to force others to make plays, but they need to contest threes overall. SDSU doesn't get much production from the post, so if Syracuse can force the Aztec Frontcourt to have to score, they should be able to contest well and get some steals in the paint as well. If they allow SDSU to run free and make and take open shots, Buddy Boeheim can make 40 points, but they aren't likely to win. Syracuse either plays good defense, or they lose the game. It's as simple as that. The good news is, own the stretch in their last 4 games, Syracuse has played pretty good defense. Even against Virginia, they allowed the worst shooting player to take the last 3 of the game. He just happened to make it. Additionally, SDSU hasn't faced a Zone all season basically. That gives Syracuse an advantage because as we all know it's tough to simulate that Zone in practice. I want to make it clear, I picked Syracuse in this game. However, I'm now the most superstitious I am all year. Which means I'm taking SDSU by 5. But I think Syracuse is winning.
This game is available on CBS at 9:40pm. Both John and I will be watching. We'll see you out there. LET'S GO ORANGE!

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The 2021 Orange::44 NCAA Tournament Bracket Bonanza!

0 Comments Published on 3.16.2021 by Brian Harrison

Let's see how many we can get wrong this time!
Since this went so swimmingly with the ACC Tournament (and COVID forfeits), JBren and I are back. This time with the NCAA Tournament. Syracuse a solid 11 seed in the "Midwest" first takes on SDSU. John has them going a little farther than I do, but that's par for the course. Meanwhile we each have a different champ. See who will cut down the nets, and see who is replaced by Louisville (if anyone). Good luck out there, enjoy the games, and GO ORANGE! 


 

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Baylor - Syracuse NCAA Tournament 1st Round Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.21.2019 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Now the season really starts.
Syracuse has played Baylor twice in the past, and have beaten them twice. Syracuse will take on the highlighter clad team from Texas in Salt Lake City in the First Round of the NCAAs. In a pretty interesting 8/9 matchup, Syracuse will look to advance to take on 1 Seed Gonzaga. This is obviously going to be the battle of the zones, with Baylor imploring a 1-3-1, and you know how SU is rolling. So obviously the team that has better Zone offense will win the game. Baylor is a tough rebounding team, but Syracuse is a taller team, so this could be an fairly even matchup on the boards. Baylor is lead by transfer Makai Mason, who averages 14.6ppg. He's had a nagging injury, but has come on strong the last couple of weeks again. If Syracuse can contain him, and really gain a rebounding advantage, Syracuse should be able to pull away in the 2nd half. Especially if any of the shooters for Syracuse get in rhythm. This game on paper will be close, but I actually think that Syracuse will have the defensive advantage with their length, but also should shoot the ball over the zone better. If Syracuse can box out, they should hold Baylor at bay. Either way, with or without Frank Howard, I'm taking the Orange in this game by eight. This game is available nation wide on TruTV / March Madness On Demand at approximately 9:57pm*. Both John and I will be watching. It's March, which means now the real games begin. LET'S GO ORANGE!

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Orange::44 Bracket Extravaganza 2019!

0 Comments Published on by Brian Harrison

 Syracuse is in the Tournament again.
It's Tournament time again. So both John and I have filled out our brackets (yes, only one sheet). John is picking Virginia to finally get the monkey off Tony Bennett's back, while I've got Dang Gum Roy winning another title over K. We're probably both horribly wrong, so who knows! Full disclosure, John filled out his bracket before the Frank Howard news. I did not. Enjoy!


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2018 NCAA Lacrosse Championship Brackets

0 Comments Published on 5.12.2018 by Brian Harrison

Time for May Madness!
It's May, which means Syracuse is playing for a National Championship. Syracuse squeaked in as the last seeded team, earning the 8th spot and a home game with Cornell. Both John and I filled out brackets, so you can enjoy them here. We actually have the exact same brackets except I have Loyola beating Virginia and advancing to the Final Four, while John has Virginia making it to Foxboro. Enjoy and we hope to see you in Massachusetts on Memorial Day!


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15 Years Later: Remembering Syracuse vs. Kansas in the 2003 National Championship

1 Comments Published on 4.07.2018 by Brian Harrison

The moment no Syracuse fan will every forget.
April 7, 2003 was the day it finally happened. Syracuse earned their first NCAA Tournament Championship. Syracuse fans, former players, and alumni everywhere could finally rejoice and celebrate the Orangemen finally winning the big one, and finally put to rest the ghosts of Kieth Smart and Indiana in 1987. Again, John and I were apart with him getting a first hand experience of Syracuse winning, while I was on campus in the Carrier Dome, watching with hundreds of other Syracuse fans and my friends that were still on campus. John and I look back on the night magic happened for Syracuse 15 years ago.

Brian:
As this was a Monday, I had class that day. I remember being very excited and probably not paying very much attention in my classes. I probably just read the D.O. in Maxwell Auditorium (I don't remember my schedule that semester but I assume I had a Monday class that was in Maxwell Aud.), counting down the hours until tip time. I decided early that day that since some of my friends were watching in the Carrier Dome that I would go buy a ticket. If you recall, I was under 21 at the time. And I wanted to be able to have a few drinks during the game. However, while the security at the Carrier Dome was a little looser than it is today, I still would not be able to just carry in a 30 rack of beer, nor was I of age to do that. The only booze I could find in my dorm room (DellPlain 7 baby!) was Amaretto, and the only mixer I had was sour mix. So I grabbed some Tupperware, filled that sucker up, and hid it in the deepest coat pocket you've ever seen between the liner. I went to the Dome, booze in my coat, and waited for the game to start. It did, and then Gerry McNamara decided to hit all of the three pointers. We got more and more excited, without relaxing because we knew there would be an entire second half coming. The Dome was also buzzing with a lot of excitement, but 1987 was in the back of the minds of a lot of people. We all knew Kansas wasn't going away. Syracuse let the game get tight. Hakim Warrick missed some free throws down the stretch (I've seen it before), and finally, Kansas was within three with the ball and able to tie the game. At least Syracuse wasn't going to lose on a last second shot. Kansas passed the ball around and Keith Langford took a shot from the corner. He was pretty open. But Hakim Warrick wasn't going to let him have a free shot to tie the game. His huge wingspan allowed the shot to be blocked. As we learned, it's not how tall it's how long, and Hakim Warrick got a piece of it. We started to get very excited. It seemed like Syracuse couldn't be denied. Then the clock ran out, Kueth Duany grabbed the ball, and Syracuse was the Champion. The team hit the court in a pile. People hopped the railing in the Dome and were running all over the turf celebrating and hugging each other. I was hugging my friends. I called my parents and it might have been a little dusty in the Dome that night. We then ran down to M Street again, and "rioted". Syracuse PD was prepared with riot cops this night. No one did anything. the only casualties were a t-shirt someone lit on fire, and a few more tree branches not taken on Saturday night. We didn't want the world to end, so we went to our friend's house on Ackerman to party for just a little bit longer. We were feeling pretty good, because my one male friend did a naked bottomless lap on Ackerman, and a female friend did a topless lap on Ackerman. Yes, it was snowing. It took a while to go to sleep. No school work was attempted. And luckily all of my professors knew so they kindly gave extensions. While we appreciated it, we wouldn't have cared. It was pure magic. And nothing was going to dampen the celebration. It was a night we wouldn't ever forget. And 15 years later, it's hard to believe we were in school for it. It wasn't New Orleans, but it was still pretty special.

John:
As you know if you read my post about the Final Four game against Texas, I was in New Orleans with the Sour Sitrus Society for the Final Four. After celebrating the Texas win down on Bourbon Street (and making it back to the hotel safely), we were just biding time until Monday, April 7, 2003. Awaiting us was the Kansas Jayhawks. We had seen what they did to Marquette the other night, and quite frankly, had no idea what to expect. The band was escorted to a warm-up area inside the Superdome where we played a few songs and tuned our instruments (well, to the extent that we tried), and were then escorted out to the floor and to our area behind the basket. We were set up at the Syracuse bench end of the court, which meant Syracuse was scoring baskets at the opposite end for the first half. So as Gerry McNamara went on his three-point cascade, we had to see it from the length of the court. Well, I mean, some of them seemed like they were shot from mid-court, so I have to believe that Gerry did that just to allow Sitrus to get a closer view. As the Syracuse lead continues to grow, our adrenaline skyrockets. When we get a chance to play songs during time outs (and sometimes you can hear this on the TV broadcast) I think we're playing these songs several ticks faster than usual. We had to alternate playing the media timeouts with Kansas, and got to play during Syracuse-called timeouts. So if you ever wondered why Brian & I know the under-16/12/8/4 timeouts, as well as the 30 ----> full, it's because getting ready to play at those marks just became ingrained in us playing in the band. So the halftime lead for Syracuse was 53-42, and we're going freaking nuts. We had a pretty standard halftime setlist, kicking things off with Espana, and probably with some favorites like Road to the Final Four, Sell Out, Championship (Championsheeeeep?), Mississippi Mud, you know, all the Sitrus classics you grew to love that they don't play anymore. I honestly don't remember halftime. I just remember going through everything and thinking "Holy shit, is Syracuse actually going to win a National Championship in my presence?" Obviously, the second half developed much differently from the first. Syracuse was scoring at our end, which was nice (well, when they were actually scoring), and Kansas was cawing their way back at the other end. Much of the second half saw Carmelo Anthony sitting on the bench with a sore back, which made Josh Pace's performance that much more impressive and important to maintaining the lead. Credit also goes to Kueth Duany, who scored when the team really needed him; and also Craig Forth, who was a great presence down low and had the presence of mind to go right up to the basket with the ball when he got it (which is what any tall center should do, TBH). At any rate, Syracuse was holding onto a 81-78 lead down the stretch, and Hakim Warrick was fouled with 13.5 seconds grabbing a rebound under Kansas's basket. Syracuse is in the double bonus at this point, and Hak can likely put the game out of reach from Kansas by just hitting both free throws. He gets the ball at the foul line, the rest of the team is back, and Sitrus (and probably all of Orange Nation) puts their arms up, ready to swoosh the ball through the net. But the ball rims out. My heart is pounding, but hey, Hak just needs to make the second shot and Syracuse is up by four -- a two possession game. Arms up again. Another rim out. With no coverage from Syracuse, Kansas grabs the rebound and races the ball up the court, as Hak runs back. Syracuse got into its 2-3 zone, but some good passing around the top of the arc moves the zone around to where, as Lee gets the ball in the corner, there's not a defender there. Hak was virtually under the basket at this point, but sees Lee wide open with the ball, ready to put it up and potentially tie the game with a three. He somehow teleports himself close enough that with his crazy long wingspan and a perfectly timed jump, he's able to make The Block. The Block. A lot of my memory of The Block was been painted by the video, by the photos, all that. But I saw it in person. Unfortunately, it was at the opposite end of the court, so we did get a great view of it. And quite frankly, I don't think we knew or appreciated just how amazing The Block was at that point. There was a lot of confusion. Was there any time left on the clock? If so, how much? Whose ball was it? Again, with no replays in the Superdome, we were kind of in the dark as to it all. While the officials checked the monitor for timing and all that stuff, Sitrus is playing the fight song. At warp speed. Followed by the "Let's Go Orange" chant that seemingly everyone except those Jayhawk fans were yelling. They were still waiting to do their Rock Chalk Jayhawk chant (which they didn't get to do!!!!!). So anyway, 1.5 goes back on the clock, Kansas inbounds the ball, gets it to Heinrick who puts up a shot at the buzzer, which is too long, falls into the hands of Kueth Duany, and SYRACUSE IS YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPIONS! The Syracuse team collapses into a celebratory heap near mid-court. Sitrus plays the fight song at an even faster warp speed (we're probably at mach-5 by now). I literally have no idea how I was even able to play at that point. I wanted to scream. I wanted to run onto the court (like the cheerleaders and dance team did). I wanted to jump up and down. We were hugging & high-5ing each other. I don't know how any of us played. It was just truly amazing. We stayed around for the trophy presentation, and One Shining Moment. We didn't get our own natty championship swag, but like you and me and everyone else we went out and bought some. Eventually we had to leave, so we loaded onto the bus, changed at the hotel, and went back down to Bourbon Street. It was a sea of orange! Literally just one big Syracuse celebratory party. I can't imagine that Bourbon Street is typically this crowded on a Monday night. So many "Let's Go Orange" chants up & down the French Quarter. So many performances of the Hey Song. So much drinking. The team eventually made their way out as well, even Jim Boeheim, who had acquired that iconic orange hat by then and wore it up & down Bourbon Street like the pimp he was. I was doing my best to, uh, help some people get certain beads. It was like a scavenger hunt! A lot of fun. I don't remember getting much, if any, sleep, and we had to load the bus to get to the airport for our flight back pretty early. After a delay because a certain band member had been cavorting with a certain basketball player a little too long, we finally went wheels up and were back in Syracuse by early afternoon. But Syracuse had finally won its first National Championship, and I was there. April 7, 2003 goes down as the best day in my college career.

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15 Years Later: Remembering Syracuse vs. Texas in the 2003 Final Four

0 Comments Published on 4.05.2018 by Brian Harrison

The quintessential moment of the game.
It's been 15 years to the day that Syracuse played Texas for the right to advance to the 2003 National Championship. So tonight Orange::44 pays tribute to the game leading up to the game we will never forget. Both John and I were in very different places, but we both had pretty great experiences watching this game. We'll take you back to April of 2003, on the faithful night no one that watches college basketball would ever not know Carmelo Anthony or how hard someone could dunk.

Brian:
I was a sophomore at the time. While I was in the Pep Band and got to go to Syracuse's Sweet 16 and Elite 8 wins in Albany that year, I didn't have enough points (allegedly) to get to go on the trip to New Orleans. I had a chance at tickets, but due to some personal obligations, I couldn't make the car/plane ride down. I was in Syracuse to watch the game. And being under 21 at the time, my only choice, really, was to go to a friend's house and watch the game. The Sour Sitrus Society only travels 30 band members by rule, and at the time we had tickets for 96 members for each men's game. But there were about 200 or so members. Which meant a lot of us were in the same boat, stuck in Syracuse to watch the game. But with good friends, there are worse situations to be in. I was invited to the corner of Livingston and Stratford. 2nd Floor. Maybe a dozen of us. We had some friends that lived further down Livingston that also joined us. We had plenty of beers, and some good food by college kid standards. And a pretty large, standard definition television. I remember being nervous for the game, but I'm never as nervous at home as I am if I'm actually there, so I was pretty calm. While Syracuse seemed to have the lead from the jump, they never really pulled away. Carmelo kept putting the ball in the bucket. And then, or course, we all remember what happened when Hakim Warrick headed to the basket with authority. Royal Ivey sadly found out the hard way that you can't stop something with that amount of force. However, in one of the most unusual plays you will ever see, the officials counted the basket, but called a charge on Warrick. Either way, that's 2 points that were earned, and to whatever photographer was smart enough to click at the exact right moment, congrats and thank you. The picture above will live forever in the hearts and minds of Syracuse fans. "The Block" is #1 for Warrick, but this was #2. I remember the whole room yelled out when it happened. I think it was at that point, that was assumed Syracuse was going to win. The game really wasn't that tight over the last couple minutes. But none of us wanted to move, or leave the room, or say anything that would jinx the game. Syracuse held on, we all yelled out as the clock hit 0:00. And without talking about it ahead of time, or planning it in any way, we all just ran down the stairs and outside. And for some unexplained reason that still is a mystery to me today, it happened on Livingston with every house full of students watching the game. And we all just started hugging each other. I remember hugging about 15 strangers and just jumping up and down with everyone in the middle of Livingston. And then someone just shouted "we gotta get down to M Street". So we all just started moving to Euclid so we could make the trek down. We got to about 20 feet before the end of the street before a SPD police cruiser pulled into the street and with their bullhorn shouted "GET OUT OF THE STREET". So we waived and moved onto the sidewalk for an orderly march down to Marshall Street. We made it. We "rioted" by just hugging everyone and watching people try and climb trees. No one smashed anything and no one did any real damage, save for a couple tree branches that couldn't handle the weight of even the skinniest college freshman. And it was amazing. Not as amazing as what Monday would become, but we didn't know that then. This was college. We were lucky that we were there and our team made it to the National Championship. I imagine it wouldn't have felt too much different from the kids there in 1987 or 1996. But it was our time, and we were there. It actually happened. Syracuse made it to the National Championship and I was in school for it. Next to many of my friends who also couldn't believe it. I called my parents, and specifically my Dad who grew up watching Syracuse games and was actually born in Syracuse. We shared a moment that could only be topped by winning it all. There were only two teams left, and Syracuse was one of them. I think we then left to drink the night away, with a less enthusiastic but still very electric walk back to the other side of campus. But it was one of those Saturdays in college that you can never forget. We knew we were lucky to have had it. And we knew that it was rare. Anthony had put up 33 points for his career high in college, and it was truly the night he became a Syracuse Legend. Hakim Warrick would follow up his big moment with an even bigger one, but for now we talked about how Ivey was owned... forever. The beers flowed heavy that night my friends. It was truly special.

John:
I have unique memories of the 2003 Final Four, because I was lucky enough to be in New Orleans with the Sour Sitrus Society. Brian wasn't. But that's another story. We flew in on a charter on Friday morning. Our flight was very much delayed, because the plane we were flying in on had to come from (Boston I think?) and because of weather, didn't leave there when it was supposed to. So, we had some quality time at Hancock. But we eventually got to New Orleans and once checked into the hotel, convinced the charter bus to bring us to Bourbon Street. A smarter John Brennan would have paid closer attention to the route from hotel to Bourbon, but I was 21 and wide-eyed and had other certain things on my mind. Miraculously, and with the help of some great Syracuse fans, later that night I made it back, repeating that "I just wanna go to my room!" Again, another story for another day, if you've never heard it. But the next day was game day, and I needed to get my sh*t together. A pregame pep rally at the hotel conference room really psyched us all up for the game. I remember Coach Mike Hopkins taking to the podium -- probably at the height of adrenaline in his life -- bragging about his "hot wife" and how we could beat Texas. I remember Kenneth "Buzz" Shaw, the greatest Chancellor Syracuse has ever had, taking the podium and showing us the Texas "horns" hand sign -- and then flipping them over and saying "Hook 'em and Cook 'em!" Whatever fogginess I had from the night before had dissipated. Had I gotten my sh*t together? And that I did. The bus dropped off the band at the Superdome, we went in, and were brought to our seats courtside. The first game was Kansas vs. Marquette, so we sat there and watched that one while anticipation built. The Golden Eagles had Tom Crean at the helm, and Dwyane Wade at guard, but stood no match for Kansas. That game was out of reach in the first several minutes. I think I spent that entire game just taking it all in -- the Superdome, the Final Four -- I had been to New Orleans my senior year of high school, but I was 21 now and it was totally different, and the enormity of everything seemed to fall on me during that first national semifinal. So after the Kansas blowout of Marquette, there was the 30-minute gap between games, and Syracuse came out to warm up and prepare for its game against Texas. By now it wasn't a secret that for the Orangemen to win the title, that road would take them through the heart of the Big 12. Texas tonight, and then Kansas on Monday if things fell the right way. Sitrus played our normal pregame, and the teams were ready to tip. In all honesty, I don't remember much of the game. I mean, I do, but in the 15 years since, I've seen the TV previews, the media pictures, and all that -- and it sort of rewrites your own personal memories of the event. You all know that the most memorable moment from that game was Hakim Warrick dunking on Royal Ivey -- which has been memorialized in a picture-turned-poster in my office signed by Hak as the "Texas TBag Dunk" (see below). At the time, I remember it being a monster dunk, but didn't really think much of it -- probably because they didn't show replays in the Superdome so I didn't know just how epic it was. Plus -- and this is probably lost to time -- Hak was called for an offensive foul. It was one of those rare calls where the basket counted but the offensive foul was called. But really, who remembers that? Certainly not the poster in my office! Syracuse, as we all know, won that game 95-84. Carmelo Anthony was a beast, and had his best game of the Tournament with a career high 33 points. That effort probably wrecked his back more than he realized, as he struggled during Monday's title game, but we'll let that slide. After the game, the band, cheerleaders, and dance team filed back onto our charter bus back to the hotel. On the bus, Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" came on the radio. For whatever reason, we were all so high on good feelings that we did the best and most memorable singalong I've been a part of. Literally every time I hear that song, my mind goes right back to that bus in New Orleans. I'm not mad about it. So yeah, Saturday, April 5, 2003 was a pretty, pretty, pretty good day. Beautiful, you might say.

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Syracuse - Duke NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.23.2018 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: There isn't much more satisfaction to be had than beating Duke.
Syracuse did the unthinkable by winning three games in the NCAA Tournament in five days, including beating a fairly decent favorite to reach the Final Four, Michigan State.  And now, it only gets harder as Syracuse will take on familiar foe Duke in the Sweet 16. In the one game Syracuse played against Duke at Duke this year, Syracuse was able to hold Duke to 60 points, seemingly the magic number for the Orange in this Tournament. The problem, however, was that Syracuse only scored 44 in that game. The good news is that Duke was held to 2-18 from long range, and Grayson Allen (who doesn't seem to be a good person) was 0-6 from distance. I think the Syracuse defense will be up for the task of stopping Allen, and getting on the shooters. SU has done that all tournament so I'm honestly not worried about it. What I am worried about, is foul trouble with the bigs, and guarding Marvin Bagley III. But really, the defense will do it's job. The issue is can Syracuse score more. Syracuse only made 6-25 against Duke previously. Syracuse needs to get about 8 three pointers, but also limit turnovers to single digits, and get some steals of their own. Battle, Howard, and Brissett will do their part. Syracuse needs some offense (or at least attention from the defense) from Dolezaj. And if Chukwu can stay out of foul trouble, I think Syracuse has a pretty good shot in this game. Syracuse is in the Sweet 16, and everything is gravy right now. But after 2016, and the way Syracuse has been so far in this Tournament, we all don't want it to end quite yet, along with getting some revenge on a conference rival. I had Syracuse's road ending against Michigan State, so my pick is basically invalid on this one, but I'm going to take Syracuse in another nail biter by 2. This game is available nationally on CBS at approximately 9:37pm, and streaming on March Madness on Demand. I'll be out watching the game with some fellow friends and alumni. John will also be watching. If this is the end, Syracuse had one hell of a season undermanned and light on respect when it came to this Tournament. But Syracuse has overachieved again. Jim Boeheim has put in another example of why he's a phenomenal in game coach. This team plays hard, and I can't be made at where we all ended up. But if they win, my god, what fun and possibilities await. GO ORANGE!

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Syracuse is Playing in Nebraska!

0 Comments Published on 3.22.2018 by John Brennan



Tonight, #11-seed Syracuse will play against #2-seed Duke in the Sweet Sixteen (Midwest Regional) of the NCAA Tournament. This regional is Omaha, Nebraska. Truth be told, I've never been to Omaha. But, last summer, I was in Nebraska.

My brother-in-law scored a teaching job back in his hometown in Florida, so he and my sister had to move from Oregon to Florida. He made the trip in July so he could get ready for school, while my sister stayed back in Oregon to maximize her job time there (and also wait for when I had time in my schedule to fly out there and help her move). I was lucky enough to be in Oregon near the solar eclipse's maximum totality landfall and the next day we began our trip to Florida. We mapped out some approximate landmarks to make it to each day, so we could make the trip in a respectable amount of time, but also see some of the sites along the way. When I initially mapped out Eugene, Oregon to Sebring, Florida, I noticed that after Lincoln, Nebraska, the route took us around Ohama toward Iowa/Missouri. And in the process, that route took us by a small town in Nebraska named Syracuse.

So it was fate. The most reasonable route took us by Syracuse, Nebraska. And so, I insisted to my sister that we stop in Syracuse. And I insisted that we wear our orange Syracuse shirts. I had previously bought her a Real Girls Wear Orange shirt for an earlier trip to the Carrier Dome, while I have, well, an entire wardrobe of Syracuse gear. So after a fun stop-off in Lincoln overnight (and a fun minor league baseball game), we embarked toward Syracuse on Friday, August 18. It was a cloudy, dreary day, so I immediately seemed at home.

As we drove off the Syracuse exit from Route 2, I immediately began searching for good photo spots. There was a rock memorial with the engraving Syracuse 1875 -- which I recognized to be five years after our beloved University was founded.



From there, we proceeded to drive into "downtown" Syracuse. It was quaint, with very little happening at 10:00am on a Friday morning. But the banners on the streetposts downtown told us that they cared about their city, they were proud, and they were welcoming. I appreciated that.




I was in search of a postcard -- something along the lines of "Greetings from Syracuse, Nebraska!" But, alas, none could be found. We visited a diner, a coffee shop, a hardware shop, and even city hall. No Syracuse postcards. However, our stop by city hall did yield some results.



The city clerk was extremely impressed to see a couple people walk in wearing orange Syracuse shirts, and after hearing our story, graciously gave me a few sheets of stationary on Syracuse city letterhead. I think Syracuse Orange success in Omaha this weekend will warrant me writing city hall back on their own letterhead. They'll probably addend my letter to the city charter or something!



After a quick trip to the post office for a picture and to mail out a postcard -- just to try to get a Syracuse Nebraska post-stamp to Syracuse New York (which didn't work, they don't post-stamp there), we continued on our way out of town.



A gas station right off the highway has a big nutcracker on its grounds. Maybe there's a deeper meaning there.



Also on our travels in Syracuse, my sister's odometer hit 44,044 miles. You literally can't make this shit up.



So, while Syracuse, Nebraska is about an hour away from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha where the NCAA Regionals will be played, let's be honest: Syracuse home game.


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Syracuse - Texas Christian University NCAA Tournament Round 1 Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.15.2018 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Winning one is great. Winning two is better.
The Orange handled their business in a tight one in Dayton against Arizona State in the First Four. While it was a rock fight, Syracuse got down seven points, which seemed like an insurmountable lead the way Syracuse was playing offense. But Syracuse got some stops, and a huge clutch shot from Battle, got the game close. And Chukwu, surprisingly, sealed the game with a few clutch free throws down the stretch to keep the Orange up just enough to win. As they say, survive and advance. And Syracuse did that. Now they head to Detroit to take on TCU. And we see a familiar face on the opposing bench in Jamie Dixon, who was the head man at Pittsburgh for a number of years of course. But this isn't Pittsburgh. TCU earned the 6 seed after finishing 21-11 (9-9 in the Big XII). While TCU is a good rebounding team, they are not the defensive power that some of Dixon's Pittsburgh teams were. And while TCU on average is a little taller than the other teams Syracuse faced in the ACC, Syracuse is still taller and therefore the rebounding could be even. The real threat is on the offensive glass, where TCU ranks 21st. Syracuse really needs to keep the rebounding close obviously and BOX OUT when they can. TCU is also allowing 37.9% from beyond the arc. If Syracuse can get hot, that will definitely open up the game for Syracuse on the offensive end, which as you know is not great for Syracuse. And with TCU being ranked 106th in defensive efficiency in the nation can only help the Orange. TCU has a good offensve, like ASU. If Syracuse can play well on defense, and do just enough on offense, you know... like every game, they should win. But again, the key is to play lockdown defense, get easy scores when they can, and prevent as many second chance points for TCU as possible. While Dixon knows how to beat the Zone, Syracuse is playing their best defense in several years, and they are the taller team. I think Syracuse will keep the rebounding close enough, and will be able to score on the weak defense of TCU to win the game, as I picked in my bracket on Tuesday. I'm taking the Orange by 6. This game is available at approximately 9:40pm on Friday night on CBS, or on the March Madness On Demand app. John will be in the home office. I'll most likely be out and about, enjoying the game with a couple friends so I'll be bitching about the officiating sparingly. Either way, it should be a fun one, as the Orange have overachieved on the year for what they are playing with. I'm good with it. But a win would be so sweet. Especially if Michigan State is upset again. GO ORANGE and again, sorry America.

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Syracuse - Arizona State NCAA Tournament First Four Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.14.2018 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Beating Arizona State would be a great bonus for the season.
The debate is over. Syracuse is in. Resumes mattered. And now Syracuse plays in the First Four against Arizona State in Dayton. Syracuse is coming off one of their longest stretches of the season where they didn't have a game, so the team that plays three players about 40 minutes every game should be well rested. That's good, because this is the NCAA Tournament and both teams will be hungry to survive and advance. At one point, Arizona State was highly ranked, coming off upset wins of now #1 Seeds Xavier and Kansas. But then they faltered, including against a team that employs a very similar defense in Washington. Washington was able to win a close game with the 2-3, holding Arizona State to just 64 points, well below their 83.5ppg average. Meanwhile, Syracuse's zone should be better with a taller big man in the middle in Chukwu. That being said, the NCAA Tournament is always a risky endeavor when fouls are precious considering that these refs aren't going to be from the ACC in all likelihood, and will generally call more fouls than you would see in a regular season game. However, Syracuse's only real task is to stop Tra Holder, the man named after a cafeteria supply. He leads the team in scoring and has the ability to go off. And while this ASU team is the kind of team that if Syracuse was playing them during the regular season, they may stop Holder and a random teammate could go off, that situation isn't as likely to occur under the bright lights of the NCAA Tournament on their boring, neutral court. Look for Syracuse to prevent Holder from scoring early, forcing turnovers, and getting Syracuse off to a good start. I think this game will be similar to the Wake Forest ACC Tournament game, where Syracuse gets up, and the lead will expand and shrink on the various offensive ASU runs, with Syracuse winning by a fair margin to advance to Round 1. I think Battle will obviously contribute greatly in his first NCAA Tournament game, but also Howard will be sharp despite battling strep throat earlier this week. I'm taking the Orange over the Sun Devils by eight. This game is available nationally on TruTV at approximately 9:10pm, and on the March Madness app. Both John and I will be watching. What else would we be doing? If you missed our brackets, check them out here. GO ORANGE!

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Orange::44 Bracket Extravaganza 2018!

0 Comments Published on by Brian Harrison

 Syracuse is in. We're pretty happy about it.
All is right with the world. Syracuse is in the NCAA Tournament, UConn and Georgetown aren't, and Gottlieb is butthurt that SU is dancing. Yup, a pretty good weekend here at Orange::44. As per tradition, both Orange::44 Correspondent John Brennan and I post our brackets, filled out with good old pen and paper, and digitized for your mass consumption. For the record, both John and I have Syracuse winning their play in game versus Arizona State, and beating the TCU team helmed by former Pittsburgh Coach Jamie Dixon. Bet they wish they had him back. Anyway, we also have Syracuse ending in the Round of 32, being defeated finally by Michigan State. They better not lose to Bucknell, because otherwise Syracuse is going to have even more apologizing to America again. My bracket is up top. John's is below. John also did a fun "Revenge" bracket, which is all the way at the bottom. Obviously the play in picks don't matter, except the Syracuse one. Enjoy the games and GO ORANGE!


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Orange::44 Bracket Extravaganza 2017!

0 Comments Published on 3.14.2017 by Brian Harrison

 It's a happy time of year. Unless your team didn't make it.
Whelp. Syracuse didn't make the Big Dance. It's a little disappointing. Syracuse needed to probably win one more game. Or more accurately, not lose to either Louisville at home, @ BC, St. John's, Georgetown, or UConn. But that is in the past. Now it's time to look forward to the best week of College Basketball of the year. As usual, the staff here at Orange::44 have provided our full brackets for public consumption. Sheets of Integrity. One sheet. Everybody should know the rules. John and I are pretty similar for the NCAA. A little different for our NIT brackets. Either way, take a look. No funny commentary this year. Syracuse isn't in the Big Dance, so my bracket is by the book. Below is John's NCAA Bracket, followed by both of our NIT brackets. Enjoy. No NCAA Coverage this year sadly, but we'll follow the Orange through the NIT, hopefully to MSG. Stay warm, and we'll catch you soon.

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Syracuse - North Carolina NCAA Tournament Final Four Recap

1 Comments Published on 4.10.2016 by John Brennan

NRG with some awesome on-court graphics during player introductions

Four weeks ago, in the hours preceding the Selection Show, I had resigned myself to the fact that I'd be trekking up to the Carrier Dome a few times to see some NIT games. But then the Selection Committee looked favorably upon Syracuse with a 10-seed, the team started playing really well, had some luck go their way, and then boom, Houston for the Final Four! As I had in 2003 when I was in school, and in 2013, I had to find my way to the Final Four. I had never been to Houston, so this would be a treat in and of itself. An expensive treat, but... from what I've been led to believe, you can't take it with you.

Unfortunately it was pretty late and I was wiped when I got in on Friday night, so I decided to just get a good night's sleep before the Final Four festivities the next day. Saturday I took an Uber from my hotel near the airport, down to the downtown area for some lunch. Then I hopped on Houston's Metro Lightrail down to the NRG Stadium area. I met up with Orange::44 founder Matt Glaude and some other friends for some pregame adult beverages, and then made our way into the stadium. It's right next to the old Astrodome, and is HUGE! Somehow it looks bigger inside, if that's possible. I can't imagine the horrible sight lines for the floor & first section seats. If the Carrier Dome ever tries moving the court to the 50-yard line, I really hope they take things like that into consideration.

The first National Semifinal was Oklahoma vs. Villanova, in a rematch of a game from earlier this season, played in Hawaii. The Sooners had dominated that game 78-55, and I guess the Wildcats were bound and determined to not allow that to happen. So much so that Nova put the pedal to the metal from the opening tip and never let up. This game was over in the first half when it was 42-28. Somehow it got worse in the second half, as Villanova went on to win 95-51. Ahead of the Syracuse game, we all figured seeing a 44-point margin of victory as a good luck sign.

As the Sooner fans quickly cleared out of the stadium, an excited nervousness (maybe a nervous excitement?) settled over the Syracuse fans in attendance. During player introductions, I thought NRG Stadium did a great job of putting on a show. I'm not sure what was shown on TV, but hopefully you can tell how cool it was by the picture above. And then, well, the game. It didn't go how we wanted it to. But, one hell of a run by this team, to have overcome the self-imposed ban last year, Boeheim's suspension this year, and to get to play these games just really gives a great sense of accomplishment for these young men. I especially feel happy for Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney. I'll have a game recap at the end of this post.

Sunday a lot of Orange fans still in Houston would be getting together for the gamewatch of the women's Final Four game, but until then we had some time to kill. I got to experience my first ever Top Golf outing. I absolutely suck at golf -- I almost don't deserve to be a lawyer because of it! But Top Golf is a lot of fun, and I had one really good round! If you ever get a chance, do it! Anyway, the women's gamewatch was at Lucky's, and the place was at least three large rooms full of Syracuse fans. And we got to see the ladies play great against Washington to advance to the championship! After the game, I check out a beer bar called Flying Saucers -- which was a great place -- and a good segue to my Monday activities...

NASA. If you know me, you probably know that I'm been a big space geek for a long time. I never went to space camp as a kid (though I definitely would have if given the opportunity) and there was probably a point in time when I wanted to be an astronaut. So back when Syracuse had beat Virginia in the Elite Eight to make it to the Final Four in Houston, one of the first things I thought to myself was that if I went, I couldn't do the trip without making it to the Johnson Space Center. So on Monday, I did just that. Out front they have a big mock-up of a space shuttle along with the modified Boeing 747 used to transport the orbiter. It was pretty cool to be able to go inside each of them. The exhibits inside the museum were pretty cool, but if you ever go to the Space Center, be sure to book yourself a tram tour. On this particular day there were two tram options: one to go to astronaut training center, the other to go to Mission Control. I chose the latter. They brought us into the observation room adjoining the original mission control used for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo missions (newer & larger Mission Controls have been built and are in use in other parts of the building). But this was a great experience, and I highly recommend you do it if you find yourself in Houston. The end of the tram tour brought us to Rocket Park, where we could tour an old Saturn V rocket, like those used for the Apollo missions. You really can't appreciate the size and (probable) power of those rockets until you experience them in person.

From NASA, I made my way to 8th Wonder Brewing. This was a great place with some good beers and a lot of opportunities to have fun! It's almost a shame I didn't get to stay later, but I had to get to the Championship game. The group I was going with didn't have tickets -- we were purposely waiting until the last minute, hoping to find a really good deal. On the Light Rail from Downtown to the Stadium, we found tickets on StubHub in the 300-level with suite access! So we had already won in that regard. Then, my concern was not so much who I wanted to win the game, but just seeing a good game. And a good game I saw! Both Villanova and North Carolina battled the whole game, and kept it pretty close. In the second half, Nova built a lead, but you could feel the Tar Heels doing whatever they could to get back into it. NRG's crowd seemed 2-1 in favor of UNC, so no doubt the fans helped the Heels get the momentum swing back towards the end. When Marcus Paige hit that improbable 3-pointer to tie it up with 4.7 seconds left, the place was going absolutely nuts! It was mostly UNC fans around us, who had gone from doom to ecstasy in the snap of a finger. The prospect of the title game going to overtime felt both inevitable and exciting. Ryan Arcidiacono brought the ball up the court, with us all expecting him to have to heave a half-court Hail Mary which would surely miss and send us to overtime. But instead he passed to a wide open Kris Jenkins, who nailed a three as time expired to grant Villanova its first championship since 1985. There was no doubt he got the shot off in time. If the place was going nuts when Paige tied it up, then NRG was a full-out looney bin at this point. I just couldn't believe I had just seen what I had just seen. I just kept saying "Wow" over and over (with some expletives mixed in). What a game! One for the ages!

So I had some friends who didn't go to that game, and instead went out to dinner & ended up watching the game at the official gamewatch bar for Villanova, Dogwood. There evidently had been like 15 people watching there during the game, but as soon as the game ended, it quickly became Nova Nation Central. I made my way there, and I can say the atmosphere rivaled what I experienced on Bourbon Street on April 7, 2003. Every time SportsCenter replayed the game winning shot, the place relived it and the excitement that went along with it. The bar played the Villanova fight song -- which all the fans knew the words to and sang along -- and we heard Bowling for Soup's 1985 at least once. Because they're still preoccupied... with 19... 19... 1985. But good for Villanova -- fun game, fun celebration, and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it.

And now, for the Syracuse game recap:

  • In his senior swan song for Syracuse, Trevor Cooney had a great game and was the Orange's leading scorer with 22 points on 9-18 shooting, 4-8 from three, five rebounds, and three steals. If you asked me to recount what positive stat stands out the most to me in Cooney's career, it's his steals, his defensive effort. His career offensive stats are pretty good, but I think he got the raw end of over-hype. During his redshirt season, the coaches, the players, and the media all kept talking about this Trevor Cooney kid, who can shoot the lights out of the ball and is probably a better shooter than Gerry McNamara. And maybe all of that was true. But it never really translated into that kind of shooting once he played in real games. Because it didn't, I think we all developed a negative view of Trevor, that he wasn't living up to the expectations that had been set for him. Had we not had those expectations, we'd probably be able to objectively view his stats, and appreciate what he contributed to the offense through the years. You still couldn't call him clutch and he still wouldn't have any big down-the-stretch or game winning shots to look back on, but we'd like him a lot more than we do. But hey, heck of a career, Trevor. You should be proud.
  • Michael Gbinije didn't have a fantastic final college basketball game, but he did have 12 points on 5-18 shooting; he missed all five attempts from three, turned the ball over four times, and fouled out. UNC, having played Syracuse twice before in 2016, knew it had to contain Gbinije, which it did. Jim Boeheim doesn't make a habit of taking transfers, and admitted he didn't want this one, but Duke's loss certainly became Syracuse's gain. Much has been said recently about how he's not Duke transfer Michael Gbinije, he's Syracuse senior Michael Gbinije. And I think he'll go down as one of the fan favorites for years to come. Such a mature guy, very likable, and a very good, consistent basketball player. I don't know where he'll land professionally, but I wish him the best, because he's earned it.
  • Malachi Richardson was already a good player when he came to Syracuse, and for much of the season he played above his freshman standing. He showed some great poise in a lot of big games this season, really shined in the Tournament (particularly in the two games in Chicago), and had a great game in Houston: 17 points on 7-14 from the floor and 2-5 from three. He has been mum on his plans for next season (quite frankly he probably doesn't know), but I would expect him to take advantage of the new rule allowing players to submit their name, be evaluated, and then have an opportunity to withdraw and return to college. Personally I think another year in college will greatly improve his game and, in turn, his draft stock for 2017, but he's gotta do what's best for him, and we have to respect that.
  • Syracuse shot 40.9% from the field, versus UNC's 53.8%. What really helped the Tar Heels was dominating in the paint -- 50-32.
  • UNC held the advantage for much of the game, and was clearly the better team. At the 12:28 point in the second half, UNC held its largest lead at 17 points, before Syracuse made a comeback. Richardson's 3-pointer at 9:48 brought the margin to within seven points, and at that moment I truly thought Syracuse had it in them to win. We'd see another late-game comeback that we've been used to seeing, except this time Syracuse had over nine minutes to close a gap of just seven points. Unfortunately, over the next two minutes the Tar Heels grew that lead back up to 14. At that point, I just knew it was over. An inability to keep the game close at seven showed that it was near impossible to be able to get it back, with the way both teams were playing at that point.
  • I'm not sure if the 83-66 final score really tells how close or not close this game was. But I guess it doesn't matter. We can just always remember how magical it was for this team to make a Final Four run when they were on the bubble of making the tourney to begin with.
And so, the 2015-2016 Syracuse Orange men's basketball season comes to an end. In the days since, we've already seen some transfers out of the program, a Tyler Lydon declaration that he'll be back, and the future for Malachi Richardson yet to be determined. The Orange finished the season ranked #10 in the Coaches Poll, and particularly if Mali returns next year, I'd expect the Orange to open the season right around there. For us Syracuse fans, there's a lot to be excited about looking ahead to next year: Georgetown & Duke in the Dome, a stacked team of returning players, a couple highly touted freshmen coming in, and momentum definitely on our side. Let's be thankful and proud of this team for laying that groundwork.

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Syracuse - North Carolina NCAA Tournament Final Four Preview

0 Comments Published on 4.02.2016 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: The ACC Revenge Tour should continue.
Well here we are. Didn't think it would happen this year. The plucky 10 seed is taking on another #1 seed in North Carolina. Syracuse has played them twice, and lost both times. The first game was in the Dome and Jim Boeheim's first game back from suspension. The 2nd was down at UNC, where SU had the game close within the last 2 minutes before UNC pulled away. Syracuse had the game close in both actually, up until UNC pulled away. Trevor Cooney went off in both games, while Gbinije couldn't get much going in either of them. Syracuse will probably face the same kind of defense today, where Cooney will be left alone, and Gbinije will be unable to get going. That means Tyler Lydon or Malachi Richardon should find opportunity. They must score to keep Syracuse in the game. That will either mean that UNC will then shift focus later to allow Gbinije to get free, or UNC will continue to shut down Gbinije and allow Richardson to go off again, like he did against Virginia. I again see this game going the way of Gonzaga. Syracuse will be beaten in trying to contain the big men of UNC. However, bending and not breaking will again be the key. Syracuse has found continued success in attacking the rim and going at these inside players for opposing teams. If Syracuse finds success in attacking the rim like they did in the 2nd half against Virginia, this game will be over and Syracuse will be heading to the Championship. UNC was beatable in both the matches Syracuse played against them this season, but simply failed to close. Syracuse is riding all the momentum and confidence heading into this game. I'm not picking against the Orange in this one as the ACC Revenge Tour/ The Jim Boehiem Middle Finger Tour rolls on. I'll take Syracuse by 3. This game will be broadcast on TBS at approximately 8:49pm Eastern. If you prefer, you can have the Syracuse homer call on TruTV. John is live in the arena, and I'll be offline for this game. Tune in for John for special reports all day on Twitter @JBren from the arena and surrounding areas. I'll check in now and then. Either way, have fun out there, be safe and LET'S GO ORANGE!

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Syracuse - Virginia NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Postgame Reactions or WHAT. A. COMEBACK.

0 Comments Published on 3.31.2016 by Brian Harrison

Malachi Richardson took over the 2nd half.
Unbelievable. Improbable. Ridiculous. Amazing. These are just some of the words that scratch the surface in one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history. Virginia held a 15 point lead with about 9:30 to go. Syracuse then went on a 25-4 run to take the lead, and they didn't relinquish it. Syracuse ended up winning, and earning a trip to the Final 4, beating Virginia 68 to 62.

  • Malachi Richardson had 2 points in the first half. He then EXPLODED, finishing with 23 points on some monster plays in the 2nd half, including a couple step back 3s, and a couple insane drives to the basket. He also had 7 boards, and one of the most impressive steals during the run by grabbing the inbound pass and throwing it off of Virginia on the sideline to get the ball.
  • Michael Gbinije and Tyler Lydon each finished with 11 points. Lydon also had 5 blocks and 6 rebounds. Lydon now has 18 blocks in the Tournament. Lydon became legendary when his shoe came off, and then almost immediately drilled a 3. Notice the stats in the photo.
  • Tyler Roberson was a monster on the glass, pulling down 8 rebounds, 4 were offensive. He picked up 10 points on a few tip ins and dunks. A pretty good game before fouling out.
  • Trevor Cooney didn't get much going on the offensive end. He finished with 8 points. But while not many of his shots went in, he limited his 3 point attempts, only taking 1. Instead he drove to the basket, which in tern either let Roberson clean up on the glass, or at least get the defense moving. Cooney was also again very solid on defense himself. Not a great offensive game, but a pretty solid game overall from Cooney.
  • This was by far one of the best single game coaching jobs I have seen from Boeheim, or honesty from anyone. The decision on when to press, how to press, and other offensive calls were masterful and the culmination of 40 years experience. Just unbelievably perfect.
  • Even after all that, Virginia shot better in the game than Syracuse, 41.5% to 36.8%.
  • Syracuse was 20-25 from the line. Virginia only attempted 12 and made 10.
  • SU outrebounded UVA 36 to 34.
  • The key stat however, was SU forced 13 turnovers, and only had 8 themselves.
  • Here is video of the insane run SU made:
Syracuse staged an unbelievable comeback and thus earned the trip to Houston for the Final 4 to take on North Carolina. Either way, this week SU fans are riding high as no one really thought a 13 loss team who finished 1-5 in their last 6 would make this Final 4 run. But for now, Syracuse managed to beat Virginia, a team they have never managed to beat since joining the ACC. And it was spectacular.

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Syracuse - Virginia NCAA Tournament Elite 8 Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.27.2016 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Being Elite is great. A Final 4 is better.
Syracuse did what not many people thought they would do this year. They made it to the Elite 8. And they did it by advancing from the Sweet 16 by beating a pretty good Gonzaga team. Syracuse will now have to beat a very good Virginia team if they want to head to Houston for the Final 4. And honestly, it's a pretty similar matchup Syracuse had with Gonzaga. Virginia has 7 footer Mike Tobey, who went off on Syracuse in their game in Virginia with 18 points, a season high for him. It's no secret that one of SU's weaknesses is interior defense. However, Syracuse did just enough against Gonzaga's Sabonis to win the game. Syracuse can do the same in this one. If Syracuse can get some stops and blocks, forcing turnovers, and guard the Virginia shooters, Syracuse will keep the game close and have a chance to win, just like against Gonzaga. Syracuse is obviously playing much better defense these last 3 games than during their tough stretch in the ACC. If Syracuse can limit the Virginia shooters, including Anthony Gil and London Perrantes, not to mention ACC PoY Malcolm Brogdon, just like they limited Gonzaga's Wiltjer. Despite early game success, Syracuse was able to adjust to the 'Zags shooters and shut them down late in the 2nd half. But really, Syracuse had a shot against Virginia earlier in the year with close to 5 minutes having the game tied. Syracuse faded and Cooney, who was 3-13 from 3 at Virginia, shot SU out of it. Cooney has been making much better decisions as of late. If Roberson is rebounding well, and Syracuse is actually hitting shots, even if Lydon or Richardson isn't contributing with a ton of points, they should still be in this game. I never thought I'd be picking Syracuse to go to a Final 4 this season, but I think Syracuse actually has a good matchup here, especially after the Gonzaga results. I'm taking the Orange by 4 against the Cavs. This game will be broadcast nationally on TBS at approximately 6:09pm Eastern. With a trip to the Final 4 on the line, as well as a little payback for Syracuse not having beaten UVA in ACC play, this should be a fun one.

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Gonzaga - Syracuse NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Postgame Reactions OR THEY DIDN'T WANT US TO WIN

0 Comments Published on by Brian Harrison

Syracuse survived and advanced. But it was close.
It took some luck, some scoring, but more importantly some solid defense. It looked a little suspect there, but Syracuse mounted a major comeback, finishing the game on a 9-2 run, that sealed the win for Syracuse. A game that no one thought Syracuse would be in, let alone want Syracuse to win. But they did it. And Syracuse advances to the Elite 8 over Gonzaga 63 to 60.
  • The leading scorer for Syracuse was again Michael Gbinije, who finished with 20 points. He really got going in the 2nd half for Syracuse, taking over the game. He missed the go ahead basket, but thanks to a tip from Tyler Roberson, Gbinije was able to get the ball and make the go ahead layup with about 21 seconds to go.
  • Trevor Cooney had one of his best games in a long time. He finished with 15 points, going 5-9, 1-2 from the floor, and 4-4 at the free throw line. He also had 2 steals (but really should have been 3 [more on this later]), all within the last 2 minutes of the game to help take the lead and win the game for Syracuse. I've been down on Trevor for a long time, but this was a very well played game for Trevor. He drove the ball to the basket, didn't take too many bad shots, and played excellent defense.
  • Malachi Richardson didn't really ever get going in this game, but he did finish with 10 points, and made a huge 3 to shift the momentum with 3:28 to go in the game.
  • Tyler Lydon didn't have a great offensive game either, but he had 6 blocks, one of which was the true game sealing block. He then actually grabbed the ball and was fouled, making both free throws to put Syracuse up 3 with under 2 seconds to play.
  • Tyler Roberson had 9 points in the game, but more importantly he had 12 rebounds. A huge effort against maybe the best center Syracuse has faced all season.
  • Frank Howard had an impressive showing at the point guard position in this game. He had a huge 3 pointer, and made some great passes to facilitate the offense.\
  • This game should have been over with 12 seconds to go. Cooney made a steal in the corner but Doug Sirmons, the official 20 feet away on the sideline (in the Center position), and not the baseline official, blew the whistle and determined that he was out of bounds. This was the official on the baseline's call (the Lead position), and while the center official can make that call, it needs to be 100% and everyone in the building should know it, if the lead isn't going to call it. This was not the time to make that call. And because of it it almost cost Syracuse the chance to win the game. The play was not reviewable. I have a feeling Doug Sirmonds is done for this season and that the NCAA will look to make if a player steps out of bounds reviewable next season.
  • Gonzaga shot the ball better in this game than Syracuse, both overall and inside the arc. But Syracuse made the shots when it mattered the most.
  • Syracuse kept the rebounding numbers close, but despite a hell of an effort from Roberson, Gonzaga lead in rebound 37 to 33.
  • Syracuse forced 17 Gonzaga turnovers, several in the critical stretch at the end of the game. SU only had 9 themselves.
  • Gonzaga only attempted 5 free throws, making 4. Syracuse made 14-16 (87.5%).
Syracuse outlasted Gonzaga to match up against Virginia, a team that Syracuse knows well. This game should be interesting, but for now Syracuse is in the Elite 8. All you can do is win the games you have on the schedule, and Syracuse has done that. To the benefit of Orange fans everywhere.

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Gonzaga - Syracuse NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview

0 Comments Published on 3.25.2016 by Brian Harrison

Syracuse students agree: Making the Elite 8 would be amazing.
After taking out Dayton (a really good 7 seed turned horrible as soon as Syracuse won), and unexpectedly facing Middle Tennessee State (the best Cinderella ever turned horrible team as soon as Syracuse won), Syracuse finds themselves in the Sweet 16. And after a lot of thought about this game and the matchup and the Xs and Os of it all, there is really only 1 factor that will decide if Syracuse advances to the Elite 8. That would be defense. A lot has been talked about from a lot of areas about the 2-3 Zone, if Gonzaga can be zoned, if they can break the zone, and so on and so on. But as they say, the game isn't played on paper. If Syracuse can defend the 3 point line, without making it so easy for Gonzaga inside, Syracuse has a shot at winning this game. I don't think Gonzaga will be shell shocked when they play Syracuse, but let's be honest, Seton Hall and Utah aren't exactly top tier teams, and we know the WCC isn't exactly a hotbed of hoops. All that said however, it doesn't matter where you come from in the Tournament. My only point with that is, Syracuse is a talented team, and despite having a down year, is a better team than the majority of what Gonzaga faces on a regular basis in their conference. Despite being an ideal matchup against a zone defense with Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga will not have faced a team that only practices Zone, is long, and can also block shots and force turnovers. If Syracuse can contain Kyle Wiltjer, like they did against MTSU's shooters, Syracuse should keep the game close, or take a nice lead. Since Michael Gbinije will be covered by the WCC's best defense, Malachi Richardson will again have to step up and make shots, like he did against Dayton. Cooney continuing his good shooting in the playoffs will also be necessary. Finally, making good use of fouls and staying out of foul trouble will be necessary for Syracuse. Look for the back line of the zone to stay extra active and watch for passes from Sabonis from the foul line area to cutting players. If Syracuse can create turnovers, this will be a very pleasant game for Orange fans. If Syracuse loses, well... we weren't even suppose to be here were we? But I actually think Syracuse's defense will show up, just like it did all last weekend. Syracuse is playing their best defense right now, and even if they don't play their best offense, playing better defense can make up for that. I'll take Syracuse by 6 to make the Elite 8. This game is available nationally on CBS at the conclusion of the Iowa St.-Virginia, around 9:40pm. John and I will be in the home offices. GO ORANGE!

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