Syracuse students agree: This is always the most important non-conference game.
After dropping a massive collapse in one of the worst days in American history, Syracuse looks to rebound. And fortunately for Syracuse that just happens to be another old rivalry game, the biggest rivalry. And boy are they really not good.
Georgetown's lone Big East win is against St. John's in overtime. Meanwhile, Syracuse came up just short against a good Rutgers team, but did manage to dispatch a solid Buffalo squad before their second pause. Georgetown is plagued by ball control issues. They don't cause any turnovers and they give the ball up a ton. G'town ranks 334th in the nation in creating turnovers. That is not good. Syracuse can get a big boost by turning G'town over in the paint, and getting easy runouts or free throws. Syracuse failed to drive against Pitt when the shots weren't falling. Dolezaj has said that when the shots aren't falling they need to be more aggressive. Look for Syracuse to push the ball in transition, but also feed Guerrier for buckets at the rim. If Georgetown stars missing shots from outside, that will allow Syracuse to pack the zone and cause even more turnovers in the paint. While Syracuse will likely have spurts of bad shots and no scoring, Syracuse should be able to get a lead and keep it in this one. Georgetown will have to have a player go off to stay in this one, but that seems unlikely. Georgetown is only decent at long range shooting, so they will have to go inside at some point. That's when Syracuse will start their run. Syracuse over Georgetown by 18.
This game is available on ESPN at 7:00pm. Both John and I would normally be at this game (obviously), but unfortunately we'll both be watching from the home office. Here's hoping the rightful team wins. HOYS SUXA! GO ORANGE... AND GEORGETOWN STILL SUCKS!
Labels: Basketball, Georgetown, Georgetown Still Sucks, Preview, Rivalries
Syracuse students agree: Just win baby.
Syracuse earned a nice comeback win against GTech on Saturday. Despite not leading for the majority of the game, Syracuse was able to pull ahead and get a nice lead to sweep GTech for the season. Now Syracuse has the chance to sweep another ACC foe in Pittsburgh.
Syracuse dominated the first half against Pittsburgh when they first played in Syracuse, only for the game to get tighter in the 2nd as Syracuse basically hung on for a win. Pittsburgh wasn't able to make jumpers in the first half, or get int he paint. But then Syracuse's offense stalled in the 2nd half, and Pittsburgh made the game tighter despite never gaining the lead. Syracuse will look to finish off Pittsburgh early on their home court. Justin Chamgagnie was the leading scorer and rebounder for Pitt in that game, and he leads the team in both. However, Pittsburgh is dreadful at 3 point field goal % at 29.2, as well as raking 342nd in the nation in offensive rebounding. That's a formula for Syracuse to win again. Pittsburgh coughs up the ball and they don't score a ton, nor do they get many 2nd chance points. If Syracuse is able to keep Sidibe and/or Dolezaj in the game, this one may not be a crushing like Boston College earlier in the season was, but it will certainly be more easy going than GTech was. Guerrier lead in rebounding for Syracuse in the last game, and I look for him to do damage on the boards in this one. Girard made some ill advised shots in the last game, and he's certainly stopped just bombing shots in the last few games. While Boeheim isn't shooting as much as he was earlier in the year, Syracuse should have plenty of opportunity to get transition buckets, including those from long range. Despite being in The Pete, they don't seem to have the home court advantage they are used to, as they have obviously not won too many games period. I think this is tighter than SU fans would want, but it still won't be too nerve racking. SU over Pitt by 9.
This game is available on The ACC Network at 7:00pm. Both John and I will be watching. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Pittsburgh, Preview, Rivalries
Syracuse students agree: We are back in full force for a rivalry game.
Syracuse pulled off a monumental win at Duke against the #1 team in the nation on Big Monday. Now Syracuse heads back to defend their home court against long time rival Pittsburgh. Pitt was dreadful last season under Kevin Stallings, but now they have a competent coach against Jeff Capel, who has them sitting pretty after beating FSU and Louisville recently in the Pete. They haven't played as well on the road however, losing to NC State earlier in the week. Reports out of Pittsburgh have said that Pitt plans to forgo the easy three point opportunities that the 2-3 Zone affords, but rather they will try and get in the paint and body Syracuse and get SU either in foul trouble or get to the free throw line. I think Duke tried to do some of that. Syracuse today will fair kind of like they did against Duke. If the center spot is producing, and that means both points and rebounds, Syracuse should win this game. Pascal Chukwu, fresh off a monster game at Duke, will be starting again for Syracuse. I like their chances in this one, not only because they are home, but they have a lot of momentum and success to build off of. Syracuse by 7 in this one. This game is available regionally on RSN at 2:00pm. Check your local listings. John will be at the game. I'm at the home office. Shit on Pitt and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Pittsburgh, Preview, Rivalries
Syracuse rekindles their rivalry with The U.
Syracuse is coming off the biggest upset of the last 30 years. It's a career changing program and a win that in theory brings about confidence, swagger, and more winning. That theory will be put into play as Syracuse now travels to Coral Gables to take on #8 Miami, the undefeated team leading the Coastal Division of the ACC. Can Syracuse earn their first back to back wins versus Top 10 teams?
Syracuse travels down to muggy Miami where Syracuse has not had the best of luck. Syracuse last played Miami in 2003, and it did not go well for the Orange. Syracuse needs to have the exact same game plan as they did against Clemson. Keep the chains moving, run a bunch of plays to tire out the Miami defense, and limit Miami big plays. It's simple. But it's easier said than done. As we know from Syracuse playing against LSU and NC State. But the good news is that Steve Ishmael is playing his best right now. If the Offensive Line continues to protect Eric Dungey, and he is able to protect the ball, Syracuse will be in a good position. The weather may be a factor in this game however. The Syracuse run game is not able to consistently move the chains, and Eric Dungey will have to make passes and occasionally run for that first down. But if there is heavy rain or bad weather, Syracuse will be at a huge disadvantage of Dungey isn't able to throw the ball up to his best ability. That being said, I think Syracuse is in a good position if Syracuse is able to keep Miami in check. Avoid penalties and turnovers, and Syracuse can make some noise. I initially picked Syracuse as losing this game before the season started for obvious reasons. And while I think the team will play well and show up, I think Miami is the best team in the ACC right now, and a lot of things will have to go Syracuse's way for them to win this game. I'm taking The U in a close battle, 30 to 27.
This game will be available nationally on ESPN / WatchESPN at 3:30pm. John will be in the home office, and I'll be around for a good chuck of this game until I have a game of my own this evening. Syracuse should play well, and possibly pull off this upset. So in classic Big East tradition, GO ORANGE!
Syracuse - Georgetown Postgame Reactions OR Hop Is Hoya'd
0 Comments Published on 12.08.2015 by John Brennan
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| It's OK Hop, you've got the loss out of the way, now just win the rest of them. Forever. |
Rivalry renewed. The game that made the Big East, now a non-conference tilt. Thompson Jr. vs. Boeheim. Except, this time, it was Big John's son, JTIII, and Boeheim's metaphorical son, Hopkins. Syracuse was rocked when the NCAA on Thursday ruled on Jim Boeheim's appeal of punishment for infractions, ruling that the nine-game suspension for conference games was unduly harsh, unprecedented, and not called for by the evidence... so the remedy is for coach to begin the suspension immediately so as to not effect nine conference games. OK, all well and good, except we get this two days before the Georgetown game! Mike Hopkins knew he'd be taking over temporarily for Boeheim this month, just wasn't expecting it to be this soon. So, he had to get ready. And the team had to get ready. And, well, you watched the game. You know that Syracuse shot poorly, that Georgetown played hard from the opening tip, and that the Orange comeback at the end fell short. Hoyas, you get this one at home 79-72.
- Look, the Hoyas shot 48.1% from the field, 38.1% from three, and 72.4% from the line. Those are good numbers. Unless the opponent can match that sort of efficiency, those numbers are gonna translate to a win.
- Georgetown's opponent, Syracuse, could not match that efficiency: 38.1% from the field, 25.9% from three, and 81% from the line. While that overall shooting percentage isn't awful, and the foul shooting was acceptable, that 25.9% from three kills a team, especially when it's based on 27 shots. That's 20 missed threes. 20 empty possessions. 20 more opportunities for Georgetown to score, which it more often than not did.
- Playing all 40 minutes, Michael Gbinije had a good game with 23 points, 3-8 from three, 6-7 from the line, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was able to get more good looks when both Dajuan Coleman and Tyler Lydon were on the floor, either attracting attention or setting screens.
- Hopkins was more comfortable going with a bigger lineup for more minutes, allowing Lydon into a more natural forward position, Coleman at center, and even Frank Howard seeing 13 minutes. Hop also had a more active rotation of players in and out, as compared to Boeheim.
- The added minutes didn't necessarily equate to a lot more production from Coleman (10 points, 5 rebounds in 21 minutes), but you have to call that an improvement over his previous games. As the main coach for the big guys, I would expect to see this be central to Hopkins' coaching philosophy, particularly considering how important it is to get Coleman going.
- Also of note, Kaleb Joseph's box score line is 3 minutes played, and zeros everywhere else.
This is one of those rare times when you just have to tip your hat to Georgetown for getting the job done, playing well, and exploiting the weaknesses in Syracuse's game. That effort made it hard for Syracuse to come back, and ultimately led to that comeback effort falling short. I really wish this game had been more like the UConn game on Thanksgiving -- close, both teams having big leads at points, hard fought, and eventually won by Syracuse. But, alas, not this time. Things won't be so easy for the Hoyas in the Dome next year, though!
Labels: Basketball, Hoya Hate, Recap, Rivalries
St. Bonaventure - Syracuse Postgame Reactions OR Upstate Comeback
0 Comments Published on 11.19.2015 by John Brennan
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| "When I shoot game-tying threes, it feels like the hoop is THIS BIG!" |
These two upstate schools first played each other in 1923 and are separated by just a three-hour drive. But in spite of that, they're really only "rivals" because Jim Boeheim said so. From 1977 to 1987, Syracuse and St. Bonaventure played annually, sometimes more than once. They've just played occasionally since then, with the most recent tilt in 2009. Syracuse owned a 23-3 head to head record going into Tuesday's game, and the Bonnies had never won in the Carrier Dome. So, sham rivalry. BUT, this is a game that needs to be back on the schedule every year. More on that later. Bonas jumped out to a quick start, led 35-29 at the half, and carried a lead until a Tyler Lydon 3-pointer tied the game at 54 with 9:03 to go. From there, Syracuse took over and won 79-66.
- The leader of the SU offense once again was Michael Gbinije, with 23 points on 8-14 from the floor, 3-7 from three, and 4-6 from the line. Mike also had six assists and four steals for a really solid game.
- Also in double digits were Trevor Cooney (18, 4-12, 2-8, 3-11), Malachi Richardson (15, 5-11, 2-7, 3-5) and Tyler Lydon (13, 3-5, 2-2, 5-5).
- Lydon was nothing but consistent in this one with a very productive 31 minutes. He may be a freshman, but he ain't playing like one through two official games.
- Bonas really hit the boards, with 43 rebounds -- and 24 off the offensive glass. That translated to 29 second chance points.
- The Bonnies got good production from their players, particularly Jaylen Adams with 16 points and Dion Wright with 13. As a team, Bonaventure 36.4% from the floor, to 46.2% for Syracuse. I'd put the Bonas percentage lower on account of all the missed shots but offensive rebounds & put-backs they had. There were a few possessions with 3 or 4 offensive rebounds. Keeping the ball away from Syracuse was a good strategy for a long time.
This was a great game. Bonaventure came out wanting to win, while Syracuse seemed to come out expecting to win. And that showed for a large part of the game. Credit to the Orange for never letting it get too far out of hand, but I swear there were points where I openly wondered if Syracuse could come back. Then when they did, it seemed like they couldn't get through that 5-point deficit and Bonas would widen the gap again. Once Syracuse was able to bust through that, tie the game, and then take the lead, you could tell that the pendulum had swung to Syracuse's side and it just wasn't going to swing back before the game was over.
I've been watching a lot of Bonaventure basketball in recent years, because my brother Andy went there for his bachelor's degree and his MBA. I've seen them do some great things in the A-10, I've seen them make the NCAA Tournament, and I saw one hell of a game at the Reilly Center last year against VCU where Bonas won at the buzzer. They're a fun team with some great talent, and despite not being a power school in a power conference, they can still play. I would consider them a mid-major on the rise. Because of this, and because of how exciting Tuesday's game was, I think Syracuse needs to do what it can to keep this game on the schedule every year. Maybe now they're a sham rival, but why not make them a real rival? They've played Syracuse tough the last few meetings, and even if they never quite get to the point of beating the Orange, they make for better games than Colgate or Cornell have been recently. That would be a good retirement gift for Boeheim, the establishment of an annual game. We could play for some weird made up trophy or something, I don't know.
Or maybe I just want to be able to rub it in my brother's face every year.
Labels: Basketball, Recap, Rivalries
I can't post a logo tonight for some reason. #DealWithIt
It's another Homecoming weekend. I'm already in Syracuse writing this, not on my usual rig, so I can't even post an awesome throwback Pitt logo. Either way, it should be a fun weekend for all involved. And hey, this is a winnable game. One of the last on the schedule. You know, because Pittsburgh isn't Clemson or Florida State.
Syracuse needs to do two things. Make Eric Dungey's life easy and call plays that set him and Syracuse up for success on offense. And stop Pitt on 3rd downs. Dungey is surprisingly efficient as QB and is in the top 25 in the nation. However, Pitt defense is also very efficient in making stops. Something has to give. My gut is to give it to the Pitt Defense, however I honestly have a feeling that Dungey and Tim Lester will be getting a ton of film study and getting the top plays ready for this weekend as this is without question even more a must win game compared to last weekend. I think Dungey stays in the pocket more and will make smarter passes down the field. Pittsburgh will be able to contain him for a while but he will be making plays with his arm and his feet. If the Syracuse defense can limit Pitt from marching down the field on every down they have a shot. Otherwise, Pitt will run away with it. But it's Homecoming and I'm not picking against Syracuse versus Pittsburgh. The last few games have been decided by a point and even though Pitt comes in #25 Syracuse always plays Pitt tough. This one should be an entertaining battle. But I'm taking the Orange in this one. Syracuse over Pitt 28 to 27.
This game will be available nationally on ESPN U at 12:00pm. NOONER! Both John and I will be in the Dome tomorrow so it should be a fun time. Say hi. We'll see you out there. For everyone making the trip, have a safe journey, and as always GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Football, Pittsburgh, Preview, Rivalries
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
An old foe for a new season.
Syracuse starts this season different than most. It has a new coach and a new starting quarterback. Very rarely have those two events lined up, if ever, in the history of Syracuse Football. But this year is as good as any, as Syracuse opens with a old foe and in the NFL's MetLife Stadium.
Syracuse still hasn't officially announced the starting quarterback, but it is looking most like Oklahoma transfer Drew Allen. He has been receiving the majority of the first team reps in practice and should do a fine job. The real question is if RB Jerome Smith can have another solid and productive season. It's no longer a mystery as the 1,000yd rusher returns to try and do the same. If Smith can find success in pounding the ball for the Orange, Allen should have a relatively easy day, making passes here and there. But if not, it rarely works out that a first time starting quarterback can engineer absolute magic. Especially when the top two receivers from the previous season on the team are no longer there. However, interestingly enough, Penn State is also starting a new quarterback and he is also a freshman. Christian Hackenberg is only the third true freshman to start for Penn State since 1910. Syracuse is known for pressure and blitz packages designed to get at the quarterback, or at least fluster them. That could come into play quite a bit tomorrow. Syracuse honestly should be able to find success at pressuring the quarterback. I think Syracuse makes at least one interception on the day. And I think that will probably be the advantage Syracuse needs to win in a close game. While Penn State will put up a good fight on the big state, Syracuse will simply execute a little better on the field than PSU. I'm picking the Orange to win the season opener over Penn State 27 to 20.
This game for most of the Orange::44 readership will be on ABC at 3:30pm. For those in the other half of the country, it will be on ESPN 2, so you will be able to catch this game nationally. It will also be available on Watch ESPN and ESPN 3. And you should definitely want to tune in. It's against a big team and an old rival in Penn State, it's the start of the Shafer era, it's the first game Syracuse will represent the ACC, and it's the start of a new year for the Orange. Plenty of skin in the game for you to check out. John will be down in the New Meadowlands so check out his Twitter (@JBren) for some live coverage. As for me, I'm checking out UMass at Wisconsin so I'll be checking out this game on my phone, preventing me from tweeting any commentary of value. But we'll be here after the Labor Day holiday to recap the game and get the season going. Until then, enjoy the game and Go Orange!
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
Keogh is the official OT hero.
Considering that Syracuse won a game with a total of five goals is one of the most ridiculous phrases I could have written, this game was not your typical Syracuse/Hopkins affair. The bitter rivals took to the Carrier Dome field and played a very odd game considering the talent and history of these teams. But Syracuse held on to the top spot in the lacrosse world and gained a victory over a hated rival. Not without some controversy, but Syracuse is your winner in double overtime five to four.
Syracuse started out the game on top scoring first in the first couple of minutes. But then it was a lot of passing and missing for both teams. Hopkins goalie Pierce Bassett was pretty outstanding in the game as well. Hopkins evened the game with the only other goal in the first quarter. Hopkins then scored the next two before Syracuse got one goal back before the end of the first half. Heading into halftime down a goal was unexpected for the Orange. Syracuse then tied the game midway through the third quarter before Hopkins took the lead heading into the fourth quarter. Syracuse then took almost all the fourth quarter to tie the game, earning the tying goal with 1:40 remaining. Then the Orange and the Blue Jays headed to overtime. It was almost over for Syracuse in the second overtime with just four seconds left. Hopkins scored a goal but it was waived off for Hopkins' Kyle Wharton as he jumped in the crease. Syracuse then won the faceoff in the second overtime, one of the few in the game, and then scored 15 seconds into the second overtime. Stephen Keogh earned another game winner for the Orange.
- Keogh was the leading scorer for the Orange, picking up a hat trick on the winning goal. He also took the most shots for the Orange with nine. Josh Amidon had the other two goals for the Orange.
- Tim Palasek earned two assists against his former team. Three other players had an assist, including Amidon, who combined for three points.
- Joel White lead the team with ground balls. He picked up five in the contest.
- Jeremy Thompson went 3-6 at the faceoff X, including the most important at the start of double overtime. Otherwise, Syracuse was not good at the X. Chris Daddio was 0-2, Tim Harder was 0-1, Josh Knight was 0-1, and Ricky Buhr was 1-4.
- Three players had two turnovers, while six other players had one.
- John Galloway played fairly well earning six saves and four goals against in the 64:15 win.
- Syracuse led Hopkins in shots, taking 33 to 25.
- Syracuse just earned one more ground ball than Hopkins, 31 to 30.
- Syracuse was dreadful at the X as stated previously. Hopkins won 10-14.
- Both teams only failed to clear twice. Hopkins was 19-21, while Syracuse was 25-27.
- Neither team converted on an extra-man opportunity. Hopkins was 0-3 and Syracuse was 0-2.
- Hopkins goalie Bassett had 16 saves in his five goal loss. Galloway again had six.
- Hopkins actually had more turnovers than Syracuse, picking up 20 to 14.
- Mark Dixon, an official and contributer to Inside Lacrosse thinks that, based on the rule, Hopkins was robbed of a win. I think it's a really close call, but his analysis is interesting and worth a read here. A replay is also provided.
- The last time Syracuse Scored only five goals in a game was 1982. Sounds about right.
- Syracuse is only 20% on extra-man opportunities on the season. That is not helpful to the cause for an Orange offense that is not absolutely dominant in a game.
- Clearly the face off was a huge issue for Syracuse in this game. Hopkins dominated the Orange and thus were gained more opportunities via possessions. However Syracuse was more careful with their opportunities, obviously coming up the winner and gaining the final faceoff of the game. This is evident by the fact SU took more shots and had less turnovers. However, the X will be a factor and something to be concerned about and watch as the season and hopefully NCAA Tournament progresses.
- The complete box score can be found here.
And we take a look around the lacrosse world at the most interesting or important scores of the week. Games involving Big East members are in italics.
Wednesday March 16:
Hartford 6 - Bucknell 7
Denver 12 - Loyola 8
Thursday March 17:
Duke 14 - North Carolina 9
Saturday March 19:
Denver 13 - Sacred Heart 12 in 4 OT
Penn State 8 - UMass 7
St. John's 9 - Vermont 14
Army 12 - Rutgers 4
Providence 5 - Georgetown 14
Cornell 10 - Yale 8
Quinnipiac 9 - Hartford 10 in OT
Hofstra 6 - Delaware 7
Bryant 4 - Hobart 5
Manhattan 6 - Villanova 10
Princeton 3 - Penn 8
Ohio State 11 - Virginia 14
Sunday March 20:
Dartmouth 10 - Duke 18
The complete Inside Lacrosse scoreboard can be found here.
And now we take a look at the Big East Conference standings.
1. #1 Syracuse 6-0 (1-0)
2. #3 Notre Dame 4-0 (0-0)
3. #11/7 Villanova 7-1 (0-0)
4. UNR/ARV Georgetown 3-3 (2-1)
5. Rutgers 5-2 (0-0)
6. Providence 1-4 (0-1)
7. St. John's 1-5 (0-1)
Proud day for Providence as they are not dead last in the standings. That might be for the first time in the brief history of the conference. Notre Dame continues to be perfect. Villanova continues to play really well and their only loss continues to be against Bucknell. Georgetown came back from the overtime loss to Syracuse with a pounding of Providence this past weekend.
Syracuse next travels to a true road game against Villanova. The game is currently not scheduled for television as of yet. This will actually be an interesting game as Syracuse is not playing well on offense in their last couple of games, and Villanova continues to put up good numbers. However they have not played a defense as good as Syracuse, so this will be an interesting contest. And be sure you check out College Cross for more on Division 1 lacrosse. As their newest contributer I'll have new articles about lacrosse coming there soon, and I join a great, Syracuse heavy, staff with Sean Keeley from Nunes/Magician and Matt Glaude, a true lacrosse statistic wiz, from Hoya Suxa. My first article about adding a shot clock to NCAA lax can be found here.
Tim Desko kept doing what he does best. That is scoring goals.
Syracuse had one of those rare two game weeks where SU has seemingly once a year. So we're covering both in this week's edition. First, we start with an overtime affair in Baltimore versus hated Georgetown, then finish with a trouncing of Albany in the Carrier Dome. First, we break down Georgetown.
Syracuse started the game well, scoring the first two goals. Then G'town evened the game to 2-2 at the end of the first quarter. Syracuse won the second quarter adding two goals, but Syracuse looked out of sorts on offense. The high scoring game we all thought Syracuse and Georgetown would be failed to appear. Syracuse and Georgetown each added two more goals in the third. Syracuse found themselves up one goal with just over two minutes to go. Syracuse killed the clock pretty effectively, giving the ball to Jovan Miller and letting him run through defensive players left and right. However he lost the ball with about 19 seconds left. Georgetown picked up the ball and they managed to run down the field unobstructed. Gerry Reilly then put the tying goal past John Galloway with five seconds remaining. Luckily Syracuse won the faceoff in overtime and Stephen Keogh put away the game winner with 2:19 remaining in the first overtime. SU was sloppy, and seemingly lost on offense on occasion. Perhaps this scare will refocus Syracuse and not take lesser opponents lightly. Syracuse was your winners in M&T Bank Stadium 9-8.
- Stephen Keogh was the leading scorer for the Orange. He added four goals in this game and one assist for a total of five points. And of course the game winning shot. He now has 14 career goals against Georgetown.
- Jeremy Thompson assisted twice on the day, while three others each added an assist. Thompson also had a goal.
- Jovan Miller led Syracuse in ground balls picking up four. He also never appears to be tired and seemingly covers the most ground in a game playing midfield.
- Ricky Buhr did the best for Syracuse at the faceoff X, winning 58. Chris Daddio went 4-9. Josh Knight won 0-1. Oddly, Jeremy Thompson failed to win a faceoff on the day. He went 0-2.
- Miller also led Syracuse in turnovers with four.
- John Galloway made 13 saves and allowed eight goals. He got the win, making him the winningest goalie in Syracuse Lacrosse history.
- Georgetown led Syracuse in shots 31-29. Georgetown also killed Syracuse with ground balls 41-27.
- Georgetown won 11-20 faceoffs in the game. That left Syracuse with nine. This is a category Syracuse usually dominates.
- Syracuse did far better in clearing the ball than G'town. SU cleared 17-19. Georgetown only managed 16-22. Syracuse caused failed clears through a tough riding defense, but G'town also didn't help themselves by making stupid mistakes as well.
- Syracuse was 1-3 on extra-man opportunities, while the Hoyas were 2-6.
- Galloway again had 13 saves, while Hoya goalie Jack Davis earns the loss while making 10 saves. He allowed nine goals.
- Syracuse had an uncharacteristic 16 turnovers, while Georgetown had 15.
- The complete box score can be found here.
- Tim Desko was again the leading scorer, adding four goals in this game. He also added an assist for a total of five points. Hopkins transfer Tommy Palasek also added four goals and one assist. A total of 11 Syracuse players contributed to the 18 goals.
- Jeremy Thompson and Collin Donahue each had two assists a piece. Seven other players had one assist.
- Thompson and Kevin Drew led in ground balls with five a piece.
- Thompson was masterful at the faceoff X in this game, winning 11-15. Chris Daddio was conversely a miserable 1-8. Ricky Buhr was 2-6. Josh Knight was 1-3. Finally both Tim Harder and Kyle Carey were 1-1.
- John Galloway had three saves and seven goals against in 45 minutes on the field and a win. Matthew Lerman had three goals against and three saves. Ben Levy had one save and three goals against.
- Syracuse dominated shots and ground balls. Syracuse led 46-32 and 37-21 respectively.
- Both teams won 17-34 faceoffs.
- Syracuse was again great on the clear, converting 24-25. The Great Danes cleared 16-23.
- Syracuse never committed a penalty in this game so Albany was 0-0 on extra man opportunities. Syracuse was 2-4.
- Albany had 14 saves, while Syracuse had seven.
- Finally, Syracuse had only 11 turnovers while Albany had 19.
- The complete box score can be found here.
Now we look at the notable games of the past week. Games involving Big East members are in italics.
Tuesday March 8:
UMass 8 - Albany 9
Hobart 5 - Binghamton 11
Georgetown 15 - Harvard 16
Lehigh 7 - Ohio State 11
Penn 6 - North Carolina 12
Vermont 6 - Virginia 14
Penn State 5 - Villanova 17
Wednesday March 9:
Canisus 7 - Cornell 14
Manhattan 3 - John's Hopkins 10
Friday March 11:
Army 12 - Bryant 7
Loyola 9 - Duke 14
North Carolina 9 - Princeton 5
Saturday March 12:
Ohio State 9 - Albany 11
Penn 8 - Villanova 9
Bucknell 11 - Hobart 9
Cornell 9 - Virginia 11
Quinnipiac 9 - Providence 3
St. John's 4 - Siena 10
Rutgers 6 - Penn State 11
John's Hopkins 16 - UMBC 5
Notre Dame 10 - Denver 9
Sunday March 13:
Robert Morris 14 - Detroit Mercy in OT
Bryant 7 - Drexel 8 in 4OT
Wagner 1 - Army 14
Mercer 5 - Duke 18
Tuesday March 15:
Stony Brook 9 - St. John's 4
UMass 14 - Providence 6
Villanova 10 - Princeton 9
Jacksonville 6 - Rutgers 10
The complete Inside Lacrosse scoreboard can be found here.
Now let's check the Big East standings.
1. #1 Syracuse 5-0 (1-0)
2. ARV Georgetown 2-3 (1-1)
3. #3 Notre Dame 4-0 (0-0)
4. #18/15 Villanova 6-1 (0-0)
5. Rutgers 4-1 (0-0)
6. Providence 2-2 (0-0)
7. St. John's 1-4 (0-1)
Noter Dame continues to roll. Georgetown took a stumble against Syracuse to knock them down to second place in the league. Villanova has impressed early, only losing to Bucknell. Rutgers is also playing well, only losing to Penn State over the weekend. Due to their performance against Georgetown John Galloway was named Big East Defensive Player of the Week. For earning four goals including the game winner Steven Keogh earned Honor Roll status.
Syracuse will next face rival Johns Hopkins from the Carrier Dome this Saturday at 6:00pm on ESPN U. If you are basketball'ed out that is. Since Syracuse is playing on the Friday/Sunday slates for the first part of their bracket this should allow you to view this game without having to make the choice. This is a premier rivalry in the sport and it should be fireworks in the Dome. At least for Syracuse. Added viewing pleasure is seeing Hopkins transfer Tommy Palasek try to light up his former team in the Carrier Dome. Should be a great one.
Labels: Big East, Georgetown, Georgetown Still Sucks, Lacrosse, Rivalries
Connecticut - Syracuse BET Postgame Reactions OR Alright UConn, You Can Have One
0 Comments Published on 3.13.2011 by Brian Harrison
You know all you guys have stunk in the Big East this year right?
Well you knew Connecticut was going to be hard to stop. And honestly, Syracuse did the best at it, forcing an overtime period before the Huskies finally retired the Orange. It was another classic match, and of course it had to go into overtime (to which John Brennan correctly called would happen). Unfortunately the Huskies were destined to pull off the "upset" as they win in overtime 76 to 71.
The game started even. Connecticut and Syracuse went back and forth as Syracuse humped out to a slight lead early. The teams were very close at the half as Syracuse was just able to take the lead back from the Huskies 26 to 25. Then it was more back and forth until UConn was able to amass a slight lead. With a six point lead, Scoop managed to nail a three with 20 seconds left. Then Shabazz Napier missed a free throw. Sure enough Scoop Jardine nailed another three point jumper to tie the game with less than five seconds left. Then overtime. The overtime was almost all UConn, as Scoop Jardine's luck just ran out as he missed two three point basket near the end of overtime to seal the game for Connecticut.
- Both Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine had 20 points in the game. Joseph went 7-19, 4-9 and Scoop went 7-22, 4-8 from three. Joseph had nine rebounds as well.
- Scoop could have become a little legendary in tying the game to send it to overtime and then winning, but he rushed a shot from way back in the overtime essentially ending SU's chances. Scoop giveith and Scoop takeith away.
- Rick Jackson had 12 points going 6-10 and eight rebounds. He even added two assists, steals, and blocks. A nice night for Rick, who should have been passed the ball more to see what he could do. On occasion he seemed unstoppable when left defended by one person.
- Baye Moussa Keita and Brandon Triche as starters combined for six points in pretty forgettable nights. Keita had two key rebounds and a nice bucket, but Triche had a dreadful shooting night from start to finish. He went 2-9, 0-4 from the floor. Boeheim when asked if there was a reason Triche sat so much in the second half responded "yes". This was why.
- CJ Fair and Fab Melo were also pretty unnoticeable on offense. Melo failed to score after a career outing the day before. Fair added only five points. However, Fair did add eight rebounds, which kept Syracuse in the game late.
- Dion Waiters did better coming in. While he racked up three fouls he did have eight points hitting 2-3 from long range. He was 3-9 on the day. He is still in need of more maturing but he will be a solid player in the future.
- Syracuse failed to stop Kemba Walker as much in this game as his first game against Syracuse when he had a season low eight points. In had 33 in this game against Syracuse.
- SU shot just worse than UConn from the floor. They finished shooting 37.9% (25-66) to Syracuse's 36.8% (28-76). Surprisingly SU did way better from behind the arc making 10-24 (41.7%) to UConn's 4-17 (23.5%).
- SU lost the battle of the boards trailing UConn's rebounding 45 to 37. SU led in assists 15 to ten. UConn had 8 steals to SU's 6. Both teams had seven blocks and 12 turnovers.
- Overall Syracuse played a good game, but poor defense in the second half (Syracuse never could seem to get a stop), and absolutely horrific shot selection in the first half really doomed the Orange in this game.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Big East Tournament, Rivalries, UConn
Your new scoring leader and POY canidate.
Why yes, Lacrosse Weekly is back here at Orange::44. You'll notice we've updated the format slightly, making it match our basketball postgame reactions, but still with game analysis, poll analysis, conference analysis, and notable games from the week. This feature will be back every Monday or Tuesday every week, until just after Memorial Day Weekend. We hope.
Now to get to the colossal match up that just occurred this past Friday in the Carrier Dome with #2/1 Virginia vs. #1/2 Syracuse. Both teams were undefeated heading into the contest, with Syracuse at 2-0 and Virginia at 4-0. Both teams arguably have the best offenses in the nation. And this would be the biggest test for both teams. Everyone thought that this would be a fast paced game and high scoring, and it certainly did deliver.
Virginia started out scoring first, as Shamel Bratton got the Cavaliers up on the Orange. Then Syracuse got going really quickly, scoring 18 seconds later. Then Syracuse took the lead just over a minute later. But Syracuse would not stay up in this game for long. Virginia evened the score in the middle of the first quarter. Then it was Syracuse adding another three goals. The Orange finished the first quarter up 6-4. But Virginia owned the second quarter, outscoring Syracuse 4-1 to be up at the half 8-7. Then the Orange defense really stepped up, limiting Virginia to just one goal in each of the last two quarters. Meanwhile, Tim Desko added three second half goals and the Orange ended up on top 12-10.
- Tim Desko was Syracuse's leading scorer with five goals. And a couple were simply outrageous and amazing. Desko is single handedly putting together a ridiculous lacrosse highlight reel.
- Jeremy Thompson led the Orange in assists with two. He also added a goal of his own, for a total of three points, second highest on the day for the Orange.
- A total of seven players contributed to the 12 made goals for the Orange.
- John Galloway actually led the team in ground balls with four. Both Thompson and Joel White led the field players with three each.
- Thompson was 5-10 on the day for faceoffs, Chris Daddio was 5-9, Ricky Buhr was 2-3, and Josh Knight was 1-1.
- John Galloway earns another win on a ten goals against, nine save day.
- Syracuse led in shots, ground balls, and faceoffs. They were 42 to 38, 26 to 25, and 13-23 and 10-23 respectively.
- Both teams only failed to clear three times. Virginia was 23-26 and Syracuse was 22-25.
- Virginia converted on 1-3 extra man opportunities. Syracuse was a pitiful 0-8, something they really need to improve on if they hope to put away top quality teams.
- Galloway again had nine saves, while his Virginia counterpart, Adam Ghitelman had 15 saves. He again had 12 goals again in 57:59 minutes of work.
- Virginia was more sloppy than Syracuse. The Cavs had 17 turnovers, while the Orange only had 11.
- Syracuse wore throwback uniforms from the early to mid-2000s. They looked pretty sharp, and they should as Syracuse won three National Championships in them.
- The attendance was 14,340, the fourth highest crowd for a home lacrosse game in history, and a very large crowd for the Carrier Dome.
- The complete box score can be found here.
Notable games are listed below. Games involving Big East members are listed below in italics.
Tuesday March 1:
Robert Morris 12 - Colgate 14
Villanova 14 - Drexel 13
Navy 10 - Lehigh 14
Bucknell 6 - Penn 8
Thursday March 3:
Presbyterian 6 - Yale 22
Friday March 4:
Mercer 1 - Yale 22
Lafayette 6 - Penn 7
Saturday March 5:
Cornell 9 - Army 11
UMBC 9 - North Carolina 13
Maryland 9 - Duke 9 in OT
Villanova 10 - Fairfield 6
Princeton 8 - Johns Hopkins 3
Georgetown 13 - St. John's 9
Brown 6 - Massachusetts 9
Colgate 11 - Hobart 7
Rutgers 11 - St. Joseph's 1
Ohio State 5 - Penn State 5 in 3OT
Delaware 9 - Albany 11
Jacksonville 8 - Denver 20
Sunday March 6:
Presbyterian 5 - Providence 6
Drexel 7 - Notre Dame 11
Drexel 7 - Notre Dame 11
Manhattan 6 - Denver 17
Monday March 7:
Bellarmine 8 - Maryland 12
Navy 11 - Bucknell 12 in 2OT
The complete Inside Lacrosse scoreboard can be found here.
Now as we always do, we take a look at the Big East standings. Only one conference game has been played this season.
1. #20/ARV Georgetown 2-1 (1-0)
2. ARV/NR Rutgers 4-0 (0-0)
2. #3 Notre Dame 3-0 (0-0)
2. #1 Syracuse 3-0 (0-0)
2. Providence 2-0 (0-0)
2. ARV/#20 Villanova 3-1 (0-0)
7. St. John's 1-2 (0-1)
Too early to make any great points about the state of the league yet. We'll dive in later, but Syracuse is still the cream of the crop. Tim Desko earns Big East offensive player of the week. John Galloway earned honor roll status for his performance against Virginia.
Syracuse next takes on Georgetown in the Face Off Classic in Baltimore, MD. This will be another test for Syracuse, as it is the first game Syracuse ventures out on the road. While Syracuse handled Georgetown last season in the Dome, it was only a three point victory and Syracuse doesn't like to lose to the Hoyas in anything. Should be another great match in another NFL stadium. We'll have complete pregame and postgame coverage for the weekend. Until then, enjoy the basketball.
Jojo puts the ball in the cage. Fact!
We here at Orange::44 love covering the major sports. But as I've been out of the home office for the past couple weeks, and John also joined the masses in DC last weekend, we haven't had the opportunity to get to covering the early portion of Syracuse's 2011 lacrosse campaign. That that get's remedied this coming week.
And no better way to get back into it than #2/1 Virginia v. #1/2 Syracuse in the Carrier Dome this Friday night at 6:00pm on ESPN U. If there was ever one lacrosse game to go to at Syracuse University... yeah this is that game. Consider the fact that for the seniors on Syracuse's lacrosse team they are 46-3 versus teams not named Virginia, and 1-3 versus teams that are. This is a huge game, not only for ranking implications, but also for postseason implications and seeding as well. JoJo Marasco is playing well at attack, along with Tim Desko. Joel White is grabbing ground balls like it's his job. And John Galloway is stoning people at the doorstep. And another high powered offense will be in town with the Bratton brothers of Virginia. Two offenses that pass crisply and can split dodge and run off screens. SU has the edge in defense. But if Virginia can slow down the Syracuse attack and maintain time of possession this is anyone's game. Tune in. We'll have full post game coverage next week, right before the Big East Tournament starts in NYC. Full coverage of this game, the BET bracket, and the final SU home game of the season. All that and more next week. DePaul / Syracuse preview to come soon.
Syracuse - Georgetown Postgame Reactions OR Yeah, We Got In And You Lost
0 Comments Published on 2.28.2011 by Brian Harrison
Johnny Cal had front row seats to the destruction.
Syracuse earned a revenge victory on Monday at Villanova. The only thing left on the revenge checklist was heading down to DC and getting one back from the hated Hoyas of Georgetown. Well Syracuse did just that. They earned a 58 to 51 win in the Verizon Center.
Scoop Jardine has had some questionable games this season, but he played outstanding at Villanova and started the game in DC with a huge three to start the Syracuse scoring. Syracuse was in a major offensive rhythm in the first half, heading into halftime with a 33 to 23 lead. But Syracuse came out flat in the second half, as Georgetown was able to grab rebounds and put points on the board. Eventually Georgetown took a 45 to 43 lead with ten minutes to go. But then Georgetown went 1-12 in the final ten minutes of the game, including a couple turnovers from Nate Lubick, who I'm convinced shouldn't have a scholarship after watching this game. Georgetown missed from the outside and layups. Syracuse, despite not controlling rebounding as well, earned points on a few circus shots, made Triche free throws, and a little bit of luck. Syracuse finished with a victory to avenger their earlier loss.
- Jardine was again Syracuse's leading scorer with 17 points on 7-16, 3-9 shooting. He also added seven assists, four rebounds, and only had one turnover. He could have iced the game by making the front end of a 1-and-1, but he nailed an absolute dagger three late in the game and hit a ridiculous circus shot to keep Syracuse scoring. He was clearly the best player on the floor for Syracuse late in the game.
- Rick Jackson added 12 points going 5-7 on the day, along with seven rebounds. While he was not as successful on the boards, he had an excellent offensive day when he was given the ball.
- Brandon Triche continued his poor shooting, only going 1-7 from the field, but he finished with nine points hitting 6-6 from the free throw line, as well as getting absolutely mugged on several possessions with no fouls called. He should have gotten more points on those free throws.
- Kris Joseph had another bad game. He only earned four points on 2-7 shooting and 0-2 shooting from behind the arc. He did have three steals, but his offense has been lackluster this season in the Big East, and he has not gotten any better as the season has progressed.
- Baye Moussa Keita seemed non-existent on the floor in this game and his statistics prove it. Zero points and one rebounds.
- The return of Southie! James Southerland reappeared and went 4-8 from the floor, earning nine points in 21 minutes. He added three rebounds and two steals as well. A great day for him.
- Dion Waiters also bounced back, getting give points on 2-4, 1-3 shooting. He also earned two rebounds and two assists.
- CJ Fair was also non-existent on the floor, missing all two of his attempts from the floor. Just not the young freshman's day.
- Fab Melo actually saw seven minutes of action and earned two points. The dude just can't catch the ball while running though. He needs to get with it in the off season.
- G'town shot 45.3% from the floor in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse, but Syracuse limited Georgetown to 36% from the floor in this game, only making 18 field goals.
- Syracuse shot 40.7% from the floor and 30% from behind the arc. That's better than G'towns 36 and 28% respectively. However Syracuse shot only 61.5% from the free throw line and 66.7% for Georgetown.
- Bill Clinton, Syracuse's 2003 Commencement Speaker and G'town graduate was in attendance. Along with the Geico Caveman.
- Yeah, I got in. Along with tons of other Syracuse fans, who were the majority of fans in the upper tier 400s. Also some empty seats. Not quite the sell out Georgetown stated. "Let's Go Orange!" rang out in the closing moments.
- The boo birds were out in full force in line waiting to get in as I paraded past them from the Metro heading to Clyde's. Occasionally some threw stuff at us. Way to keep it classy G'town students. Similarly waiting for a Metro train in leaving a girl in a Georgetown shirt said to her friend "let's just punch everyone in orange ahead of us." Great stuff.
- Thanks to everyone we met this past weekend, especially all the orange Twitterati in attendance. A lot of fun with you all.
- Kudos to this guy in the Georgetown student section rocking orange. You were doing God's work.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Brian Harrison's Terrific Travels, Hoya Hate, Rivalries
Syracuse students agree: The revenge tour pulls into DC Saturday.
The Orange make the trip down to DC to take on a Georgetown team in a different position than they were earlier this season. Different too are the gentlemen from Syracuse. For the evil Hoya collective, Chris Wright, the Hoyas' leading scorer with 13.1ppg and a three point percentage of 35, is out with a broken left hand. While he may return before the end of the season, he will not be on the floor on Saturday. And Syracuse is playing much better, after an upset win at Villanova on Monday to avenge an earlier loss in the season. As an aside, of the three teams Syracuse plays twice this season, the road team has always won. The Big East be crazy. Anyway, Syracuse's offense and defense is much better than when they were at the point of the season they played Georgetown. The scoring has been more consistent, and the zone has been far more active and have covered shooters better behind the arc. Georgetown is also coming off a stunning loss to Cincinnati in DC. What? Austin Freeman is still the leading scorer for G'town with 17.8ppg and hitting 40.6% from behind the arc. But other than Freeman, with Wright out they only have one more double-digit scorer. Georgetown is reeling from Wright being out, either in reality or in their minds. And honestly, save for about four minutes of just terrible offense and defense at the end of the game in the Carrier Dome, Syracuse could have won that one. I like Syracuse to take the game this time, especially if Triche steps up and scores from behind the arc again. Scoop needs to keep playing like he's still in Philadelphia too. But really, this team is playing smart, patient offense which is the biggest difference in the last few games. And hello CJ Fair. I like the Orange by seven.
Orange::44 Correspondent John Brennan and I will be in DC for this one so it should be a ridiculous affair before, during, and after. Sign of the Whale and Clyde's respectively, before the Verizon Center for bottoms up beers while the Orange rightfully vanquish the smug, douchebaggery ridden masses of Georgetown. Say hi, hate on a Hoya, and Go Orange. We'll be back next week with lacrosse coverage, as well as our thoughts on the Calhoun suspension as another evil empire, Connecticut, has seen some justice at least.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Georgetown, Hoya Hate, Preview, Rivalries
Georgetown - Syracuse Preview Plus Bonus Hoya Hate
0 Comments Published on 2.09.2011 by Brian Harrison
And thank God for that!
We here at Orange::44 don't get too worked up over many things. I mean how excited can you get over playing South Florida? But we do get exceptionally worked up for the big rivalry games. After all, rivalries are what make college sports special. So before we get to the preview, I review the top three moments, in my opinion, of this rivalry.
Honorable Mention
There are a lot of great moments in this rivalry, between John Thompson getting kicked out of the Carrier Dome, and Ewing taking some swings. But the biggest honorable mention for Syracuse fans has to be the 2007 home win versus Georgetown. Syracuse was basically left for dead in the league, and they came back to beat #10/9 on Senior Night. Cue the court rush.
#3
It's 2004, and #24 Syracuse is in Washington. The game is tied with seconds left, and Hakim Warrick brings the ball up the court. Focusing on Warrick, Georgetown loses McNamara and Gerry hit a huge three ball at the buzzer to give SU the win. It really didn't have any impact on the season, but beating your rival in their house always feels good. To do it on a buzzer beater is better. And considering until the 2009-2010 season it was the last time Syracuse won in DC it was a very good win.
#2
Syracuse needed four wins in four days in the Big East Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament in 2006. They did just that, but in game three Syracuse faced #23 Georgetown in the semifinal round. Georgetown was ahead the entire game until with only seconds remaining, Matt Gorman got a steal and Gerry McNamara passed the ball up to Eric Devendorf for a lay up and their first lead of the game. Syracuse held on to win and eventually won the Tournament.
#1
Syracuse was riding a winning streak of over 50 games in February of 1980. It was the last men's basketball game in Manley Field House and SU was ranked #2. We all know how this ends. Syracuse lost and John Thompson proclaimed "Manley Field House is now closed." What a dick. That is the stuff legendary rivalries are made of.
So we fast forward to this season. #11 Georgetown enters the Carrier Dome to take on #12/13 Syracuse. Let's get some numbers out of the way first. John Thompson III has never won in the Carrier Dome. Georgetown has beaten the Orange once in the Carrier Dome since 1995 and have not won in the Dome since 2002. Coincidentally enough, that was the last game that was a third loss in three games in the Carrier Dome. That being said, Georgetown has won six games in a row, and Syracuse two. Austin Freeman is the leading scorer for the Hoyas, earning 18.7ppg. Chris Wright is also averaging 12.8ppg. Both can shoot, but G'town was 0-11 in the second half of their game against Providence. This game breaks down pretty simply though. Syracuse has a tough defense that is now clicking on all cylinders again. Georgetown has a very good offense that has the capability of scoring and they shoot the ball very well. The SU defense is about as good as the Georgetown offense. So what does that mean for the game? Syracuse will have to earn rebounds. The good news is that Rick Jackson is averaging five more rebounds a game than the Georgetown leader Julian Vaughn. If Syracuse pays attention and limits back door cuts for Georgetown, as well as earns rebounds off missed Georgetown shots, Syracuse will win this game. Earning transition baskets will also be important. I think Georgetown will probably get out to an early lead, but Syracuse will again come back and win this game, similar to how the Connecticut game went for them. I see Syracuse winning this one by five at home.
We're really ramping up the hate on Twitter today. Check out @BH_Orange44 and @JBren for coverage before the game. As there will be a large crowd in the Dome coverage may be spotty later, but look for a lot of hate leading up to the tip. The game, in case you just missed it, is 7:00pm tonight on ESPN / ESPN HD. Oh and one more item, courtesy of our friends the Idiots on Sports...
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Hoya Hate, Rivalries
Syracuse - Connecticut Postgame Reactions OR The Conn Cure
0 Comments Published on 2.03.2011 by Brian Harrison
Unsung hero of the day, Mr. Keita.
Syracuse had lost four games in a row, and what wasn't helping was having to then travel to rival UConn's place in Hartford for a game against only the #6/7 team in the nation. On top of that Jim Boeheim has never presided over a five game losing streak in the history of his coaching career. And to add even more of a wrinkle was the absolutely unfounded rumors of a fabricated point shaving scandal. But somehow, through it all, Syracuse managed to persevere and earn a top ten win.
Syracuse started this game poorly again, allowing Connecticut to jump off to a six point lead, remaining scoreless until 14:29 in the first half. Both teams were not great on the offensive end in the first half, with SU shooting 32% to UConn's 29%. Despite the early lead, Syracuse managed to catch up and with just over two seconds left in the half, get a pass into Rick Jackson to get a two point hook shot to drop for the 26-25 Syracuse lead at the half. UConn never took the lead back. Connecticut tied the game at 36 with 14:04 to go, but Syracuse pulled away, earning a nine point lead, equaling the largest lead UConn had in the first half. Connecticut would get back within one point with 4:56 remaining, but that would be as close as they would get. Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine managed to score and hit free throws down the stretch, while Connecticut missed shots and failed to grab rebounds. Connecticut earned a steal with less than a minute for an easy lay up to give SU fans a scare, but free throws and a final Jackson tip in sealed the game. Syracuse won at UConn for the first time since 1999 by a score of 66 to 58.
- Brandon Triche was SU's leading scorer, tying a season high 16 points on 7-16 shooting, hitting 2-7 from behind the arc. He also earned three rebounds and one assist in 29 minutes of work. While he did dribble into traffic instead of taking a good shot, and made some seemingly rookie mistakes, he played well and obviously was the scoring necessary in this game.
- How good does Rick Jackson continue to be? He earned a solid 13 and 13 in 38 minutes and seemed almost unstoppable when guarded one-on-one.
- Kris Joseph had an interesting game offensively. I think he more than the others on the team tried to force some offense. He dribbled into a clogged lane and took contested shot after contested shot with no foul calls in sight. He also bricked two absolutely dreadful three point attempts early in the first half. He finished with 11 points but was only 3-11 from the floor and 1-3 from behind the arc. He really shined on his 4-5 free throw shooting and four rebounds.
- Scoop Jardine is such a coin flip. He can make some excellent passes and drive and kick like the best, or just chuck the ball up and basically give the ball to the other team. He finished with seven points on 2-11, 0-2 shooting, but hit a key 3-4 free throws down the stretch. He did have six assists and three rebounds however.
- Dion Waiters earned nine points and four rebounds off the bench in 18 minutes of work. He also had three steals.
- The glue guy of this game was clearly Baye Moussa Keita. In 27 minutes of play, before fouling out, he earned four points, but more importantly 11 rebounds, six steals, and two blocks. He had an excellent defensive game and really did well on the boards when in the middle of the zone. He played the best of the freshmen in this game.
- Syracuse held Kemba Walker to eight points, a season low. He shot 3-14 and 1-6 respectively.
- Sadly UConn freshman Jeremy Lamb blew up from the wing with 22 points, but had SU guarded him more closely Kemba Walker probably would have blew up. I'll take the kid getting 22 and limiting Walker, the best player in the league.
- Syracuse got back to solid defense, only allowing Connecticut to shoot 36.2%. That's way down from around the 50% Syracuse was allowing during their skid. Syracuse shot only a slightly better 37.7 from the floor.
- Syracuse started poorly from the outside arc, and thanks to Triche the average rose a bit. Syracuse finished 4-15 (26.7%) from behind the arc, while Connecticut finished 8-23 (34.8%).
- Syracuse outrebounded Connecticut by ten, 42 to 32. This is huge, and one of the best ways to try and beat Connecticut. Syracuse got the job done thanks to Jackson and Keita specifically.
- While Connecticut led in assists 18 to 11, this is mostly due to Rick Jackson getting isolations a lot of the time down low.
- Syracuse had a magnificent 12 steals, while UConn picked up six. Don't believe the zone was more active? 12 steals proves it.
- Syracuse stayed under the magic double digit number for turnovers, only committing nine. Connecticut had 14. Syracuse leader was actually Jackson with three.
- While not leading the conference in blocks currently, Connecticut has traditionally been a leading team for blocks. Syracuse and Connecticut each had six in this game.
- I can't remember a game that had more jump balls and crazy, errant shots fall. There were three shots that had no business finding the bottom of the net, but they sure did.
- CJ Fair is the master of having shots go almost in only to roll back out.
- Keita played very well in this game, but he seriously needs an airhorn to alert him that a pass is coming. Otherwise he doesn't seem to catch it.
- While Kemba Walker was contained in this game, so was Alex Oriakhi, only shooting 3-9 and earning only nine points. He is the second most important player on that team.
- Syracuse just killed UConn in the paint. That is what Syracuse needs to continue to do on offense. Make passes, be patient on offense, dribble and kick, and keep earning rebounds for easy put backs. Syracuse's offense was far more patient in this game, even despite falling behind early with a slow start again. Finally good to see.
- I look forward to The UConn Blog's "Syracuse Love Day" this Wednesday when Syracuse takes on Georgetown in the Carrier Dome. Should be a special treat for all.
- Syracuse will next travel to Tampa to take on South Florida. That game is Saturday at 2:00pm.
- One final thought... UConn... U SUCK!
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Rivalries, UConn
He's not as cute as you think.
In preparation for Syracuse's upcoming rivalry game with the Connecticut UConn Huskies in Hartford, CT's XL Center, we go around the internets to get you prepared before Orange::44's official preview is released tomorrow as per usual. First, Campus Socialite has released a really cool graphic on the rivalry. Check that out below.
Next, the good folks over at The UConn Blog have once again enlisted their favorite Orange bloggers to participate in their usual hate filled pre-show to the SU/UConn game. So I have written a nice little piece about how great it is to be at UConn these days in the name of civility. Sort of. You can find that here.
The Bet between The UConn Blog and our friend Matt Glaude of Hoya Suxa was fantastic last year. So this year should be no exception. The new bet can be found here, and a really great piece by Matt called The Welcome Address is also worth a read here.
It's always fun leading up to this one, so I look forward to all the various previews and assorted trash talk that accompanies this one. The teams are both in Hartford tonight so the game is on. Stay tuned for our preview tomorrow, but until then UConn... U SUCK!
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Rivalries, UConn