December 11, 2005
No tacos? No problem!
With 7:22 left to play in last night's 58-35 win over Colgate, Jim Boeheim substituted 4 new players into the lineup. McCroskey, Rautins, Wright, and Onuaku came in for the starters at their respective positions, the first substitution of the second half. Just Terrence Roberts remained from the five who began the last 20 minutes on the floor, and only because he happened to be at the foul line when the mass replacement occured. Less than a minute later, Stormin' Gorman entered the contest to fill Roberts' spot in the post.
32 minutes and 38 seconds into the game, Syracuse led the Red Raiders 49-22 and had just capped a 27-4 run on back-to-back triples from McNarrific that began soon after the initial inbounds pass that signaled the start of the second half. By taking out the all of starters simultaneously and giving some experience time to the bench players, Coach Boeheim was letting everyone know that he was finally pleased with the Syracuse starting five. No one played poorly in the second half; nobody needed to be put into the seat next to the hall of famer for a good ol' tongue lashing. For only the second time this year, the Coach was fully satisfied with his team defense. As a group they had allowed just 9 Colgate baskets, one of which was only put in the box score on account of some overzealous defense (goaltending).
If those starting five players were allowed to stay in the game, who knows the kind of defensive dominance they could have demonstrated to the Dome denizens - a final score of 65-24, perhaps? Zero free throw attempts for the Raiders, instead of the record-tying two tosses they managed in the last minute? The point stopping presence put on by the Orange last night mustn't be over-complemented - considering the competition - but it shouldn't be underestimated either.
How many games can you remember Syracuse playing in the Carrier Dome during the month of November in which you'd put them down as a 25-30 point favorite, possibly even wagering the 401k that they'd hold the opposition to less than 50 points? A lot, I'd guess. Probably at least 60% of the 200 (roughly)Dome-hosted home games that have preceded the Big East schedule, really. Considering the number of games that SU has played in the Dome during November, they must have put on a stronger defensive performance than they did last night, right? They've played the worst teams of all time during that span, and there has to have been another team that failed to put together 36 points in a blowout loss, right? Nope. As they like to say in the 90210, seldom right - wrong again, Sanders. To find the last time Syracuse basketball played such defense, one would have to go back to 1963 and a 88-33 thrashing of Toronto.
Toronto? Yes. Toronto.
Tell ya what - I bet Colgate could put a serious whuppin on Toronto. Actually, I propose that from this point forward any game in which the Cuse confuses the opposing team enough that they shoot under 30% and fail to reach 45 points be deemed a "Gater Game" in honor of last evening's display. When Paul Harris drops 40 in 15 minutes versus LeMoyne next year and the Orange win by 50, it'll simply be known as yet another 'Gater Game. Last night's performance was the best defense SU has ever played at home - a style that the Orange must play every game this season if they plan to contend for the Big East.
It should also be noted that the Orange finally tried to put up some points in the paint. They attempted just 15 threes (way down from last Saturday's 29 tries) and it was obvious that it was part of the gameplan to penetrate the lane to get easy baskets. It was refreshing to see Nichols hit a few jumpers from 7 feet and watch Roberts throw down a dunk or two after a guard-delivered dish (they each picked up 8 pts. inside the arc). They may not have scored a ton of points, but the offense looked much more balanced this time around, and it resulted in a very strong 47.8% field goal percentage.
When Boeheim's happy, I'm happy. I left the game last night feeling much more satisfied with the team's effort than I have in a few weeks, even if they didn't provide us with ticket stub tacos. I'm more than content to trade the paradise that is the free Taco Bell for a 'Gater Game or two - especially if they come in January and February.
32 minutes and 38 seconds into the game, Syracuse led the Red Raiders 49-22 and had just capped a 27-4 run on back-to-back triples from McNarrific that began soon after the initial inbounds pass that signaled the start of the second half. By taking out the all of starters simultaneously and giving some experience time to the bench players, Coach Boeheim was letting everyone know that he was finally pleased with the Syracuse starting five. No one played poorly in the second half; nobody needed to be put into the seat next to the hall of famer for a good ol' tongue lashing. For only the second time this year, the Coach was fully satisfied with his team defense. As a group they had allowed just 9 Colgate baskets, one of which was only put in the box score on account of some overzealous defense (goaltending).
If those starting five players were allowed to stay in the game, who knows the kind of defensive dominance they could have demonstrated to the Dome denizens - a final score of 65-24, perhaps? Zero free throw attempts for the Raiders, instead of the record-tying two tosses they managed in the last minute? The point stopping presence put on by the Orange last night mustn't be over-complemented - considering the competition - but it shouldn't be underestimated either.
How many games can you remember Syracuse playing in the Carrier Dome during the month of November in which you'd put them down as a 25-30 point favorite, possibly even wagering the 401k that they'd hold the opposition to less than 50 points? A lot, I'd guess. Probably at least 60% of the 200 (roughly)Dome-hosted home games that have preceded the Big East schedule, really. Considering the number of games that SU has played in the Dome during November, they must have put on a stronger defensive performance than they did last night, right? They've played the worst teams of all time during that span, and there has to have been another team that failed to put together 36 points in a blowout loss, right? Nope. As they like to say in the 90210, seldom right - wrong again, Sanders. To find the last time Syracuse basketball played such defense, one would have to go back to 1963 and a 88-33 thrashing of Toronto.
Toronto? Yes. Toronto.
Tell ya what - I bet Colgate could put a serious whuppin on Toronto. Actually, I propose that from this point forward any game in which the Cuse confuses the opposing team enough that they shoot under 30% and fail to reach 45 points be deemed a "Gater Game" in honor of last evening's display. When Paul Harris drops 40 in 15 minutes versus LeMoyne next year and the Orange win by 50, it'll simply be known as yet another 'Gater Game. Last night's performance was the best defense SU has ever played at home - a style that the Orange must play every game this season if they plan to contend for the Big East.
It should also be noted that the Orange finally tried to put up some points in the paint. They attempted just 15 threes (way down from last Saturday's 29 tries) and it was obvious that it was part of the gameplan to penetrate the lane to get easy baskets. It was refreshing to see Nichols hit a few jumpers from 7 feet and watch Roberts throw down a dunk or two after a guard-delivered dish (they each picked up 8 pts. inside the arc). They may not have scored a ton of points, but the offense looked much more balanced this time around, and it resulted in a very strong 47.8% field goal percentage.
When Boeheim's happy, I'm happy. I left the game last night feeling much more satisfied with the team's effort than I have in a few weeks, even if they didn't provide us with ticket stub tacos. I'm more than content to trade the paradise that is the free Taco Bell for a 'Gater Game or two - especially if they come in January and February.
