January 29, 2006
searching for offense
The Syracuse Orange had gone 72 minutes and 31 seconds without holding a single lead. The opposition had dominated the Cuse on each end of the floor for nearly three and a half games, exposing SU's weaknesses on both offense and defense. The Orange had just started their fourth game in a row by giving up at least seven points before netting one for themselves. I must say, it didn't feel good to be a fan.
Then, with 7:29 left to play in the first half at home against the Seton Hall Pirates, (ARRRR!) Josh Wright banked in a breakaway lay-up to give Syracuse their first lead since beating Cincinnati on January 14th, 24-22. Suddenly, there was a glimmer of light at the end of the win-challenged tunnel. Even better, the team held their small advantage for the remainder of the half, going to the lockerroom with a 32-28 advantage. Things were looking better for the Orange, and although the offense still wasn't at full speed and Watkins couldn't figure out how to sink a dunk, they created a small cushion between them and the turnover-afflicted Hall.
Halftime was nice. Pleasant, really. Fans were comfortable knowing the Cuse had put the past behind them and everyone was looking forward to an easy second half against the 11-6 Pirates, (ARRRR!) who were clearly inferior to Syracuse. Then, as if a four point lead didn't mean anything, Louis Orr's club started the second half with a pair of three pointers (taking a dramatic approach to the contest with a bit of foreshadowing) and permanently regained the lead over the percentage-deficient Orange. Gerry McNamara, who entered the final period with 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting, went 1 for 9 after the break and finished with 15 points on 29% from the floor (3 for 12 from three). The team's lone senior actually played about as well as his teammates, though, as they only shot 37% combined for the game, including a measly 19% from beyond the arc.
Terrible numbers. Watching the shooters on this team miss 22 three pointers today actually surpassed Stonehands' incredible knack for throwing uncontested dunks 15 feet behind him in the race for the most upsetting feature of the game (Watkins should be credited with 3 Seton Hall assists on those plays, as he found a way to transform Syracuse slams into fast breaks for the other team. He did play significantly better defense today, though, so I can't be completely down on him). The Orange actually ended up with more missed three pointers than made two pointers (20) this afternoon. Is that embarrassing, or just sad?
What that does tell me, regardless of whether several misses came at the end of regulation during the last ditch effort to negate the pair of 25 footers hit by Jamar Nutter and Donald Copeland (see foreshadowing) to put the Pirates (ARRRR!) up 6 with under 2:00 to play, is that the offense still stinks. According to today's Post Standard the players held a meeting earlier in the week to discuss this particular problem, and had decided they would pass more often in the half court set to create for one another. It looked like a good idea on paper, but really didn't translate very well to the court. Instead, the players showed they weren't too committed to the idea by quickly abandonding the proposed solution once the going got tough.
The team started this game as they usually do, trying to feed the 6'11" center underneath the hoop, giving him the opportunity to work on his shotput technique. Though the 6'11" center achieved a personal best today (almost got it to section 212!) the strategy wasn't working for his teammates and they started trying to create shots on their own, (again) missing several more than they made (again). There were flashes of unselfishness - J. Wright got some quality minutes again - but most of them resulted in poorly passed turnovers. Seton Hall looked much more comfortable running their offense than Syracuse did with theirs - the scoring differential would have been much greater than seven had the Pirates (ARRRR!) avoided some of their 24 turnovers. A game that had begun with the typical "We're coming out to end this slide" optimism suddenly ended with the too-familiar "We have several things we have to improve before the next game" and the Syracuse Orange were 3-4 in the Big East conference.
The Orange lost again because they failed to play as a team, each player seemingly trying to win by himself. Aside from Watkins' improved defense (4 steals, 3 blocks, only 2 fouls) and Roberts' top-notch effort (12 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals) there wasn't much to be happy about. Syracuse ended one streak by finally getting a lead, but kept another alive with the loss. They better watch out, too, because Rutgers is next and the Scarlet Knights are primed for a big win after beating Louisville yesterday. At 13-7 they're no slouch, and they'll come to town looking to extend the streak to five.
Then, with 7:29 left to play in the first half at home against the Seton Hall Pirates, (ARRRR!) Josh Wright banked in a breakaway lay-up to give Syracuse their first lead since beating Cincinnati on January 14th, 24-22. Suddenly, there was a glimmer of light at the end of the win-challenged tunnel. Even better, the team held their small advantage for the remainder of the half, going to the lockerroom with a 32-28 advantage. Things were looking better for the Orange, and although the offense still wasn't at full speed and Watkins couldn't figure out how to sink a dunk, they created a small cushion between them and the turnover-afflicted Hall.
Halftime was nice. Pleasant, really. Fans were comfortable knowing the Cuse had put the past behind them and everyone was looking forward to an easy second half against the 11-6 Pirates, (ARRRR!) who were clearly inferior to Syracuse. Then, as if a four point lead didn't mean anything, Louis Orr's club started the second half with a pair of three pointers (taking a dramatic approach to the contest with a bit of foreshadowing) and permanently regained the lead over the percentage-deficient Orange. Gerry McNamara, who entered the final period with 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting, went 1 for 9 after the break and finished with 15 points on 29% from the floor (3 for 12 from three). The team's lone senior actually played about as well as his teammates, though, as they only shot 37% combined for the game, including a measly 19% from beyond the arc.
Terrible numbers. Watching the shooters on this team miss 22 three pointers today actually surpassed Stonehands' incredible knack for throwing uncontested dunks 15 feet behind him in the race for the most upsetting feature of the game (Watkins should be credited with 3 Seton Hall assists on those plays, as he found a way to transform Syracuse slams into fast breaks for the other team. He did play significantly better defense today, though, so I can't be completely down on him). The Orange actually ended up with more missed three pointers than made two pointers (20) this afternoon. Is that embarrassing, or just sad?
What that does tell me, regardless of whether several misses came at the end of regulation during the last ditch effort to negate the pair of 25 footers hit by Jamar Nutter and Donald Copeland (see foreshadowing) to put the Pirates (ARRRR!) up 6 with under 2:00 to play, is that the offense still stinks. According to today's Post Standard the players held a meeting earlier in the week to discuss this particular problem, and had decided they would pass more often in the half court set to create for one another. It looked like a good idea on paper, but really didn't translate very well to the court. Instead, the players showed they weren't too committed to the idea by quickly abandonding the proposed solution once the going got tough.
The team started this game as they usually do, trying to feed the 6'11" center underneath the hoop, giving him the opportunity to work on his shotput technique. Though the 6'11" center achieved a personal best today (almost got it to section 212!) the strategy wasn't working for his teammates and they started trying to create shots on their own, (again) missing several more than they made (again). There were flashes of unselfishness - J. Wright got some quality minutes again - but most of them resulted in poorly passed turnovers. Seton Hall looked much more comfortable running their offense than Syracuse did with theirs - the scoring differential would have been much greater than seven had the Pirates (ARRRR!) avoided some of their 24 turnovers. A game that had begun with the typical "We're coming out to end this slide" optimism suddenly ended with the too-familiar "We have several things we have to improve before the next game" and the Syracuse Orange were 3-4 in the Big East conference.
The Orange lost again because they failed to play as a team, each player seemingly trying to win by himself. Aside from Watkins' improved defense (4 steals, 3 blocks, only 2 fouls) and Roberts' top-notch effort (12 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals) there wasn't much to be happy about. Syracuse ended one streak by finally getting a lead, but kept another alive with the loss. They better watch out, too, because Rutgers is next and the Scarlet Knights are primed for a big win after beating Louisville yesterday. At 13-7 they're no slouch, and they'll come to town looking to extend the streak to five.
pirate invasion
The Orange finally return home from what seemed like a year-long road trip today, only to face a Seton Hall team that may have just discovered their identity. After struggling to a 2-3 start in the Big East and finding ways to lose against Richmond and Northwestern during the non-conference schedule, Seton Hall surprised everyone by beating #14 NC State on Wednesday, 83-65 in Raleigh. Just what Syracuse needs, right? An up and coming team looking to rebound in the Big East with back-to-back wins over ranked opponents.
In the game against the Wolfpack, the Pirates (ARRRRR!) never let up. Using their inside-outside combo of seniors Kelly Whitney and Donald Copeland, the Hall racked up the points and never looked back. Copeland, who spent his entire career coming off the bench behind Andre Barrett and Justin Cerasoli before starting the final 7 games of last season and every game this year, is having a breakout season in handling the bulk of the offensive responsibilities for Louie Orr's club. Copeland's been overlooked by many in the Big East thus far, although he's been productive in nearly every guard-realted statistical category. By averaging over 15 points (13th), 4 assists (11th), 1.5 steals (19th) and nearly 3 rebounds per game (less than Gerry, more than Devo), Copeland provides Seton Hall with a reliable floor leader who is capable of making a big play when necessary (he also hits for almost 38% from three). Combine him with Whitney, their best player, and Seton Hall could be very dangerous.
Considering the recent display of defensive prowess by Stonehands and Roberts, I'm venturing a guess that Kelly Whitney (14.5 pts, 7.5 reb, 1 blk per game this season) will have a big day today in the Dome. In 4 games against SU over his career, Whitney's averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, though the Orange still lead the three-year series 3-1. Syracuse needs to find a way to slow the 6'8" 240-pound big man today, or we're in for a long afternoon. Watkins must keep his fists to himself and Roberts or Nichols need to provide quality help when Whitney gets the ball inside or he'll end up with 25 and 15. Copeland might be the Pirate Playmaker, (ARRRR!) but Whitney has the ability to beat Syracuse at their weakest point.
As Jimmy B. says, the fate of this team's Big East record depends on the play of the postmen. Expect Coach Orr to have his players pound the ball inside, knowing that his team will have a good chance to win if they put the Cuse in foul trouble early. On the other side of the ball, though, look for SU to regain their stroke and put up a lot of points on the smaller Pirate (ARRRR!) lineup.
Hopefully, Nichols will finally bust out of his recent slump (11.5 pts/game vs Nova and Pitt) and drop 16-20 with 6'5" Brian Lang marking him. Even though Whitney's pretty imposing against the hack-happy Orange frontcourt and Seton Hall has more momentum, I think Syracuse will be the superior team today. If I'm right, the losing streak is finally over and the Dome crowd will go home happy with a familiar decision to make: should I get the wiper fluid or grab a taco?
In the game against the Wolfpack, the Pirates (ARRRRR!) never let up. Using their inside-outside combo of seniors Kelly Whitney and Donald Copeland, the Hall racked up the points and never looked back. Copeland, who spent his entire career coming off the bench behind Andre Barrett and Justin Cerasoli before starting the final 7 games of last season and every game this year, is having a breakout season in handling the bulk of the offensive responsibilities for Louie Orr's club. Copeland's been overlooked by many in the Big East thus far, although he's been productive in nearly every guard-realted statistical category. By averaging over 15 points (13th), 4 assists (11th), 1.5 steals (19th) and nearly 3 rebounds per game (less than Gerry, more than Devo), Copeland provides Seton Hall with a reliable floor leader who is capable of making a big play when necessary (he also hits for almost 38% from three). Combine him with Whitney, their best player, and Seton Hall could be very dangerous.Considering the recent display of defensive prowess by Stonehands and Roberts, I'm venturing a guess that Kelly Whitney (14.5 pts, 7.5 reb, 1 blk per game this season) will have a big day today in the Dome. In 4 games against SU over his career, Whitney's averaged 18.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, though the Orange still lead the three-year series 3-1. Syracuse needs to find a way to slow the 6'8" 240-pound big man today, or we're in for a long afternoon. Watkins must keep his fists to himself and Roberts or Nichols need to provide quality help when Whitney gets the ball inside or he'll end up with 25 and 15. Copeland might be the Pirate Playmaker, (ARRRR!) but Whitney has the ability to beat Syracuse at their weakest point.
As Jimmy B. says, the fate of this team's Big East record depends on the play of the postmen. Expect Coach Orr to have his players pound the ball inside, knowing that his team will have a good chance to win if they put the Cuse in foul trouble early. On the other side of the ball, though, look for SU to regain their stroke and put up a lot of points on the smaller Pirate (ARRRR!) lineup.
Hopefully, Nichols will finally bust out of his recent slump (11.5 pts/game vs Nova and Pitt) and drop 16-20 with 6'5" Brian Lang marking him. Even though Whitney's pretty imposing against the hack-happy Orange frontcourt and Seton Hall has more momentum, I think Syracuse will be the superior team today. If I'm right, the losing streak is finally over and the Dome crowd will go home happy with a familiar decision to make: should I get the wiper fluid or grab a taco?
January 23, 2006
frustration in pittsburgh
The score of this game may as well been 35-5. When one team gets 35 free throw attempts and the other (undersized) squad finishes the game with all of 5 attempts, something is seriously wrong with the officiating. Pittsburgh is one of the most physical teams in the country, and I find it very hard to believe that they only fouled the Syracuse players 3 times on their way to the hoop. If you didn't notice while watching the game, our man Jim Burr was the director of this exhibit of fair and balanced game calling. This guy needs his job title changed from "Big East Conference Referee" to "Chairman of the Visually Impaired Haters of Syracuse Basketball."
With that said, though, SU still deserved to lose this game considering the way they played tonight. Yes, they were probably tired after a one-day turnaround coming off the Villanova loss, but they could have shown a great deal more basketball sense this evening. Darryl Watkins needs to be benched, if only until he proves he can play on at least the same level as Billy Celuck. At this point, I'd gladly give up Watkins' final years of eligibility to regain half of a season with Craiggers or Big Smooth Dave Siock manning the interior of this defense.
Ridiculous statistic: In six Big East games this season, Darryl Watkins - a starter, mind you - has a total of 20 points and 28 personal fouls while averaging just under 21 minutes per contest. Jeremy McNeil couldn't do that if thug trainin' John Chaney was his coach, let alone Jimmy B. and Bernie Fine! Darryl must sit, and nobody should be allowed to refer to him as "Mookie" until he proves he actually deserves to have a nickname. Only good players should have nicknames, and right now the starting center on this team isn't even mediocre.
The Orange did manage to mount another semi-exciting comeback tonight, though. Surprisingly enough, it started immediately after Stonehands sat down and Stormin' Gorman entered the contest, bringing some extraordinary energy along with him. Terrence Roberts was moved to the center postion during the last 13 minutes of the game, and to everyone's surprise he was somehow able to keep his 6'9" body planted on the ground and his hands in the air when a Panther drove the lane (he actually did this despite Watkins yelling at him from the bench to jump and hack at every headfake offered his way). Syracuse went on a 7-0 spurt and managed to narrow the gap and give a little glimmer hope to Orange fans at home just before Krauser and the Panthers shut the door.
Carl Krauser torched the Orange again, hitting for 32 points, dishing 4 assists and grabbing 6 boards in his last regular season game against the Cuse. Apparently, the SU players didn't get their pre-game OrangeJuice this afternoon, which is too bad because they would have known to lookout for him. Krauser controlled the entire game (from the 2-guard spot this time) by running the floor in transition, dribbling through the zone, or stopping short to swish a 30 footer just after crossing half court. If Syracuse tried to stop him, it wasn't showing - he didn't have nearly as much difficulty in getting his shots as McNamara did, not to mention finding his way to the line 14 times courtesy of Mr. Burr (I think 6 of those tries came after SU started fouling to stop the clock, though). I know the zone is the best use of the talent the Cuse has, but it just doesn't seem to work against Jamie Dixon's Panthers. Then again, the man-to-man didn't work tonight either, so who knows what the solution is. Hopefully Boeheim and his coaching staff will be able to find it before the Orange ends up playing Pitt during the Big East tournament.
After tonight I'm very unsure about Syracuse's prospects for the season. I know the past 3 games have been as difficult - if not more so - than any other schedule in the nation, but it didn't look like the team came ready to play them. Other Top-10 programs like Florida or Gonzaga probably would have struggled to 1-2 or possibly 0-3 if they had to play the same stretch, but I doubt they would have looked as flustered as SU did. The Orange simply haven't been able to effectively execute the offense, and the defense hasn't shut down the opposition enough to keep it close. They need to get this turned around against Seton Hall and Rutgers - that February 8 date in Hartford is coming soon, and right now it doesn't look too promising.
With that said, though, SU still deserved to lose this game considering the way they played tonight. Yes, they were probably tired after a one-day turnaround coming off the Villanova loss, but they could have shown a great deal more basketball sense this evening. Darryl Watkins needs to be benched, if only until he proves he can play on at least the same level as Billy Celuck. At this point, I'd gladly give up Watkins' final years of eligibility to regain half of a season with Craiggers or Big Smooth Dave Siock manning the interior of this defense.
Ridiculous statistic: In six Big East games this season, Darryl Watkins - a starter, mind you - has a total of 20 points and 28 personal fouls while averaging just under 21 minutes per contest. Jeremy McNeil couldn't do that if thug trainin' John Chaney was his coach, let alone Jimmy B. and Bernie Fine! Darryl must sit, and nobody should be allowed to refer to him as "Mookie" until he proves he actually deserves to have a nickname. Only good players should have nicknames, and right now the starting center on this team isn't even mediocre.
The Orange did manage to mount another semi-exciting comeback tonight, though. Surprisingly enough, it started immediately after Stonehands sat down and Stormin' Gorman entered the contest, bringing some extraordinary energy along with him. Terrence Roberts was moved to the center postion during the last 13 minutes of the game, and to everyone's surprise he was somehow able to keep his 6'9" body planted on the ground and his hands in the air when a Panther drove the lane (he actually did this despite Watkins yelling at him from the bench to jump and hack at every headfake offered his way). Syracuse went on a 7-0 spurt and managed to narrow the gap and give a little glimmer hope to Orange fans at home just before Krauser and the Panthers shut the door.
Carl Krauser torched the Orange again, hitting for 32 points, dishing 4 assists and grabbing 6 boards in his last regular season game against the Cuse. Apparently, the SU players didn't get their pre-game OrangeJuice this afternoon, which is too bad because they would have known to lookout for him. Krauser controlled the entire game (from the 2-guard spot this time) by running the floor in transition, dribbling through the zone, or stopping short to swish a 30 footer just after crossing half court. If Syracuse tried to stop him, it wasn't showing - he didn't have nearly as much difficulty in getting his shots as McNamara did, not to mention finding his way to the line 14 times courtesy of Mr. Burr (I think 6 of those tries came after SU started fouling to stop the clock, though). I know the zone is the best use of the talent the Cuse has, but it just doesn't seem to work against Jamie Dixon's Panthers. Then again, the man-to-man didn't work tonight either, so who knows what the solution is. Hopefully Boeheim and his coaching staff will be able to find it before the Orange ends up playing Pitt during the Big East tournament.
After tonight I'm very unsure about Syracuse's prospects for the season. I know the past 3 games have been as difficult - if not more so - than any other schedule in the nation, but it didn't look like the team came ready to play them. Other Top-10 programs like Florida or Gonzaga probably would have struggled to 1-2 or possibly 0-3 if they had to play the same stretch, but I doubt they would have looked as flustered as SU did. The Orange simply haven't been able to effectively execute the offense, and the defense hasn't shut down the opposition enough to keep it close. They need to get this turned around against Seton Hall and Rutgers - that February 8 date in Hartford is coming soon, and right now it doesn't look too promising.
January 17, 2006
UConn wins again...
My ears are ringing, my head is threatening to break into a full-fledged poundfest, and the Cuse just lost for the 6th time in 8 tries to a UConn team (and coach) that just seem to have their number. You would figure that such things would cause me to be a little down or upset about the events that took place this evening. Strangely enough, I'm feeling pretty good.
The Dome was wild tonight. Absolutely in.sane. The students are back, and they filled their entire end of Jim Boeheim Court. The crowd numbered around 26,000 but down on the floor it sounded like there could have been 50k instead. Connecticut brings out the best in Cuse fans, even if they continue to trounce our team with regularity and force winning streaks to a screeching halt. It was obvious from tipoff that Syracuse wasn't going to be able to play with UConn on the interior, and after a 12-0 run to start the game and a 19-0 onslaught just few minutes later, many fans across the country would have sat down and waited to sneak out at the intermission.
Not us, though - we like taking our abuse!
The Orange were able to provide a bit of excitement in the contest eventually, even if it came in the final 4 minutes and the opposing coach had already headed for the lockerroom (the AP reported Calhoun was feeling "lightheaded" and "dehydrated" so he left the game to recuperate with his team up 15 points). Syracuse had been knocked around quite a bit throughout the first 30 minutes of this game, but somehow managed to bring the scoring difference back to respectability with a series of late three-pointers and inexplicable poor decision making by UConn players as they repeatedly fouled Eric Devendorf while he brought the ball up the floor with under 2 minutes to play (this gave the Orange 5 extra points, as he only missed one of the six freebies he was given at that stage). Those of us who remained that long were able to stand up throughout the final five minutes of game time, appreciating the effort put forth by a Syracuse team that really didn't have any remaining chance to win the ballgame. At least it made the rest of the contest bearable - our squad still had some fight in them, even if everyone knew what the final outcome would be.
It didn't help Syracuse to come out after the tip looking like they had never played ball before. They were dominated on both ends of the floor during the opening five minutes, quickly falling behind 17-5. UConn's trio of towers had the lane sealed from the start, blocking 11 shots in the first half alone (they had 16 on the game). The Huskies made a statement early that they weren't going to give up any easy baskets, and it looked like the Orange were taking notice - the Syracuse offense stalled out on several occasions because of poor decision making and bad shot selection. The Cuse were rattled by the visiting defense, and it took far too long for them to recover.
Nichols seemed to be the player most affected by the Husky block party, as he passed up several perimeter jumpshots during the first half after being rejected too frequently for his liking. The starting small forward had his shot blocked 3 times in the opening 20 minutes and it made him visibly hesitant to shoot, as he caught the ball several times in spots he usually just shoots from, only to flinch when 6'9" Rudy Gay (3 blocks) moved to defend him. Such possessions never ended well and it was clear that the UConn strategy to shut him down had worked, at least until Gay got into foul trouble with 12 minutes to play and was benched. Once the 6'6" Denham Brown was guarding Demetrius, he suddenly had no problem spotting up and draining everything he took. Nichols put 25 on the board in the second half, mostly because he managed to find his rhythm with Brown assigned to him. Unfortunately by that point it was too little, too late.
Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts gave us a treat by combining for one of the most improbable 2-man stat lines you may ever see from teammates who both stand over 6'9": 3 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers, and 10 fouls. Yes, UConn held Gerry to an ugly 31% shooting and only 4 assists, but the disappointment of the night comes from the Syracuse frontcourt. Roberts and Watkins played 21 and 17 minutes respectively, only to get seriously outplayed all night long under the hoop. It was exactly what most of us expected, but we also knew that the big men had to at least be somewhat productive in order for SU to have a fighting chance. The team did manage to outrebound the Huskies - mostly because McCroskey hustled his way to 14 boards (nine on offense!) - but the defense failed to force enough UConn misses, especially in the paint. Connecticut shot a very easy 53% from the field while holding Syracuse to just 32%. That's the worst shooting performance by the Orange since last year's 70-88 loss to UConn in Storrs, when they hit for 31%.
McCroskey played his best game of the season tonight, if only because he was the one Syracuse player on the floor willing to go toe-to-toe with the UConn behemoths guarding the lane. Granted, he got shut down more than he succeeded but he gave it his best effort when the opportunity was there. Lou proved himself to be completely fearless during one breakaway slam that brought the raucous crowd to its feet, throwing down a huge running dunk right on top of 6'11" Hilton Armstrong, then letting him know about it afterwards. If you haven't caught this play of the night on any highlights, I've got it saved - you can swing by my place to watch if you like.
I'm usually not a huge Louie fan (he's almost always out of control while handling the ball, he's too eager to shoot) but SU really needed someone on the court who could throw his body around and make some plays. Nobody else on the team seemed to have the moxy necessary to go up against Boone and Armstrong with determination, and it showed in their repeated hesitation before shooting. McNamara had his moments when he took a chance inside (he probably got fouled more than it was called) and Devendorf regained his rim-attacking style towards the end of the second half, but the team as a whole was unable to make plays in the paint. McCroskey was the one who stepped up to the hoop tonight, and was the only reason the Orange managed to win a single line of the stat sheet.
Overall, I'd say the Orange got whipped by a bigger, faster, better team tonight. We all saw this coming, though, and I don't think it turned out as bad as it could have been. 88-80 looks like a respectable loss in the stat book, and it shouldn't hurt Syracuse too much come tournament time with Connecticut figuring to beat a lot of other ranked teams on their way to a #1 seed. The victory for me tonight comes in the form of a great Carrier Dome crowd that really got into a fun game and let a national audience know how loud we can be. Unfortunately, now we have to sit at home, powerless, wondering if our Orange will be able to come home from Pittsburgh and Villanova with their conference winning record intact.
The Dome was wild tonight. Absolutely in.sane. The students are back, and they filled their entire end of Jim Boeheim Court. The crowd numbered around 26,000 but down on the floor it sounded like there could have been 50k instead. Connecticut brings out the best in Cuse fans, even if they continue to trounce our team with regularity and force winning streaks to a screeching halt. It was obvious from tipoff that Syracuse wasn't going to be able to play with UConn on the interior, and after a 12-0 run to start the game and a 19-0 onslaught just few minutes later, many fans across the country would have sat down and waited to sneak out at the intermission.
Not us, though - we like taking our abuse!
The Orange were able to provide a bit of excitement in the contest eventually, even if it came in the final 4 minutes and the opposing coach had already headed for the lockerroom (the AP reported Calhoun was feeling "lightheaded" and "dehydrated" so he left the game to recuperate with his team up 15 points). Syracuse had been knocked around quite a bit throughout the first 30 minutes of this game, but somehow managed to bring the scoring difference back to respectability with a series of late three-pointers and inexplicable poor decision making by UConn players as they repeatedly fouled Eric Devendorf while he brought the ball up the floor with under 2 minutes to play (this gave the Orange 5 extra points, as he only missed one of the six freebies he was given at that stage). Those of us who remained that long were able to stand up throughout the final five minutes of game time, appreciating the effort put forth by a Syracuse team that really didn't have any remaining chance to win the ballgame. At least it made the rest of the contest bearable - our squad still had some fight in them, even if everyone knew what the final outcome would be.
It didn't help Syracuse to come out after the tip looking like they had never played ball before. They were dominated on both ends of the floor during the opening five minutes, quickly falling behind 17-5. UConn's trio of towers had the lane sealed from the start, blocking 11 shots in the first half alone (they had 16 on the game). The Huskies made a statement early that they weren't going to give up any easy baskets, and it looked like the Orange were taking notice - the Syracuse offense stalled out on several occasions because of poor decision making and bad shot selection. The Cuse were rattled by the visiting defense, and it took far too long for them to recover.
Nichols seemed to be the player most affected by the Husky block party, as he passed up several perimeter jumpshots during the first half after being rejected too frequently for his liking. The starting small forward had his shot blocked 3 times in the opening 20 minutes and it made him visibly hesitant to shoot, as he caught the ball several times in spots he usually just shoots from, only to flinch when 6'9" Rudy Gay (3 blocks) moved to defend him. Such possessions never ended well and it was clear that the UConn strategy to shut him down had worked, at least until Gay got into foul trouble with 12 minutes to play and was benched. Once the 6'6" Denham Brown was guarding Demetrius, he suddenly had no problem spotting up and draining everything he took. Nichols put 25 on the board in the second half, mostly because he managed to find his rhythm with Brown assigned to him. Unfortunately by that point it was too little, too late.
Darryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts gave us a treat by combining for one of the most improbable 2-man stat lines you may ever see from teammates who both stand over 6'9": 3 pts, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 turnovers, and 10 fouls. Yes, UConn held Gerry to an ugly 31% shooting and only 4 assists, but the disappointment of the night comes from the Syracuse frontcourt. Roberts and Watkins played 21 and 17 minutes respectively, only to get seriously outplayed all night long under the hoop. It was exactly what most of us expected, but we also knew that the big men had to at least be somewhat productive in order for SU to have a fighting chance. The team did manage to outrebound the Huskies - mostly because McCroskey hustled his way to 14 boards (nine on offense!) - but the defense failed to force enough UConn misses, especially in the paint. Connecticut shot a very easy 53% from the field while holding Syracuse to just 32%. That's the worst shooting performance by the Orange since last year's 70-88 loss to UConn in Storrs, when they hit for 31%.
McCroskey played his best game of the season tonight, if only because he was the one Syracuse player on the floor willing to go toe-to-toe with the UConn behemoths guarding the lane. Granted, he got shut down more than he succeeded but he gave it his best effort when the opportunity was there. Lou proved himself to be completely fearless during one breakaway slam that brought the raucous crowd to its feet, throwing down a huge running dunk right on top of 6'11" Hilton Armstrong, then letting him know about it afterwards. If you haven't caught this play of the night on any highlights, I've got it saved - you can swing by my place to watch if you like.
I'm usually not a huge Louie fan (he's almost always out of control while handling the ball, he's too eager to shoot) but SU really needed someone on the court who could throw his body around and make some plays. Nobody else on the team seemed to have the moxy necessary to go up against Boone and Armstrong with determination, and it showed in their repeated hesitation before shooting. McNamara had his moments when he took a chance inside (he probably got fouled more than it was called) and Devendorf regained his rim-attacking style towards the end of the second half, but the team as a whole was unable to make plays in the paint. McCroskey was the one who stepped up to the hoop tonight, and was the only reason the Orange managed to win a single line of the stat sheet.
Overall, I'd say the Orange got whipped by a bigger, faster, better team tonight. We all saw this coming, though, and I don't think it turned out as bad as it could have been. 88-80 looks like a respectable loss in the stat book, and it shouldn't hurt Syracuse too much come tournament time with Connecticut figuring to beat a lot of other ranked teams on their way to a #1 seed. The victory for me tonight comes in the form of a great Carrier Dome crowd that really got into a fun game and let a national audience know how loud we can be. Unfortunately, now we have to sit at home, powerless, wondering if our Orange will be able to come home from Pittsburgh and Villanova with their conference winning record intact.
January 10, 2006
mid-season guessing
I was talking to Fast Eddie about the Cuse's outlook for the season this past weekend, discussing the ins and outs of McNamara's leadership and Watkins' remarkable efforts to replicate the general properties of granite within his own hands, when he asked me The Question.
No, he didn't pop The Question - he just asked it.
"If you were to place a bet right now, what teams would you put down for the Final Four?"
Well, considering that Carolina Jay and I have already caused Fast Eddie to lose a chunk of his bankroll this year due to some of our sure-fire stone-cold locks becoming about as shaky as Terrence Roberts' free throw percentage, I had to put real-deal serious thought into my answer before I blurted one out and failed to realize I could be wrong until it was far too late (such ill-conceived remarks have recently included "The Trojans are a guarantee, man!" and "SU's pretty bad, but they couldn't possibly lose by more than 20 to the Seminoles - FSU can't score!").
So, after careful consideration and reviewing the various online rankings and predictions from all the ESPN experts, I've decided on four teams that I'm willing to take the heat for if they don't make it to the RCA Dome in April. Of course it's more difficult to determine the exact Final Four than it is to simply guess the eventual winner, since two or all of the four teams I forecast could end up playing one another in earlier rounds, but that's okay. I'll still feel pretty good if I'm able to correctly predict two of the teams, especially if I can guess the champ.
Before I get into it, though, there's one caveat: I'm not going to pick the Orange, but if they decide to play as a unified team and the bench players stop criticizing the Hall of Fame coaching, I won't be held responsible for neglecting them. If I were to pick them now it would be based entirely on personal bias and no self-respecting blogger would ever do something like that.
Anyways, after extensive research and a good deal of flip-flopping (Adam Morrison: could he perform like Carmelo, or is he just a Chest Rockwell wannabe? hmmm...) I've decided that it'll be very difficult to stay away from the favorites at this point in the season. The consensus Final Four picks among the experts are Duke, UConn, Villanova, and Michigan State - currently the #1, #25, #8, and #22 RPI-ranked teams in the country, respectively. Duke is the obvious choice for a champion and deserves to be the favorite, even if it did take a Sean Dockery half-court swish at the buzzer to win at home against #119 Virginia Tech. I suppose every team is entitled to a bad game or two - it's just that Duke still manages to win the games in which they play their worst.
Personally, I think Villanova (10-1) is just a tad overrated, if only because they rely so heavily on the 3 point shot. Once the Big East really gets started, I think it's going to be apparent that the Wildcats are severely lacking in inside presence. They start four guards and their tallest player is Jason Fraser at 6'9". Pittsnogle and The Mountaineers (possibly the name of my next band) were able to exploit this by beating them under the hoop and playing tough defense - 'Nova lost, even though they knocked down 15 threes at 58%. Guardplay can take you far in the tournament, but there's always going to be someone that just wants to beat you up. Villanova won't make it.
As for the other three, they're all serious contenders. Michigan State (12-4) has one of the best centers in the nation in Paul Davis and Maurice Ager's averaging over 20 ppg. Tom Izzo's a proven tournament coach, making the Spartans one of the most difficult teams to knock out. Unfortunately for them, though, they're going to end up with a lot of losses this year because of an extremely difficult schedule. This could serve as some good practice for March Madness, but I'm beginning to think the odds won't be with them because they're going to get a poor seeding. If I'm going to give Fast Eddie a good prediction I need to at least try to find a team that should be at least a 3 seed.
So, I'm going to stick with Duke (14-0) and UConn (13-1) to make it to the national semifinals while tossing aside the expert opinion to add the future Big Ten Champion Wisconsin Badgers (12-2) and some former Blue Devil victims in the Texas Longhorns (13-2). Wisconsin has become somewhat of a bandwagon team of late and they don't play as well on the road but I like the coach, Bo Ryan, and am always partial to schools that have a Duany in their history. As for Texas, they're still the second most talented team in the country, and after hitting that nasty speed bump against Duke they seem to be finding their stride again.
So, mark it down, y'all - Duke and UConn will play a rematch of the 1999 championship, this time with Coach K coming out on top. It's the easy pick, I know, but I just can't find anyone - aside from Maryland at home, of course - who can take out #1. At least it'll be fun to see Greg Paulus capture the title that's going to spark his legacy as the next great point guard from Duke.
Duke, UConn, Texas, Wisconsin. Some can't-miss picks from the guy who's never wrong. Usually.
January 06, 2006
Where they are now is where they'll be in March.
A few weeks ago, Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com resumed his annual role as the top forecaster of NCAA Tournament seeding although most teams haven't even begun the intraconference portion of their schedule. Much like the November 1st arrival of Christmas decorations and promotions in Wal-Marts and Targets around the country, this early attention to an event still a long time away is both good and bad.
While the premature arrival of Lunardi's weekly Bracketology allows us to preview and ponder exciting tournament matchups, it also serves as baseline from which we can predict the eventual outcome of each team involved. The good part is that it's fun to check out, if only to see where SU could be playing and what their seed would look like. The bad part is that as of the 12/30 edition, the Cuse is set at a #10 seed, which means they would play the first round as an underdog, with a win giving them the great opportunity to play a #2 seed (a top-10 squad like Illinois or Gonzaga) in the round of 32.
That does not look good for the Orange. If Lunardi is correct - and he usually is come tourney time - Syracuse would be in a very poor position to win the championship if the season ended this week. Thankfully, it doesn't - there's still a lot of regular season left to play - but SU is facing an steep uphill battle to gain national respect and the easier route to the Final Four that would come with it.
With the non-conference portion completed, the schedule has suddenly become quite difficult. At this point, it looks like McNamara and the boys are going to be lucky to begin the Big East schedule at 3-3, considering the next six games are against USF (6-8), @Notre Dame (9-3), @Cincinnati (12-2), UConn (11-1) in the Dome, @Villanova (10-0), and @Pittsburgh (12-0). Syracuse figures to be an underdog in four of those games, forcing them to squeeze out an upset in order to get off to a .500 start. Who's it going to be, though? They could conceivably win the first three then lose the last three, but I'm starting to feel like Cincinnati will be too tough for the Cuse at home (the average final score during the Bearcats current 9 game win streak is 87-66. SU's is just 80-64 over the same span). If the Orange can outshoot Villanova they may actually have a chance there, as the Wildcats have relied primarily on three pointers and team speed to win their games. If Boeheim plays a quicker 3-guard lineup against them, I think the Cuse can match up pretty well with Jay Wright's Top 5 squad.
Actually, I feel that all of the games are winnable, but playing on other teams' courts so often will seriously hurt SU's chances. The only significant home game during this stretch is versus Connecticut and that one doesn't seem likely to result in victory, even though the Huskies were throttled at Marquette. UConn is simply too physical for Syracuse right now, and won't have any problem winning the rebounding margin or scoring big points in the paint. It's too bad, too, because the last thing I want to see is Josh Boone and Rudy Gay celebrating in the Carrier Dome. Ugh.
If they do manage an upset somewhere and a 3-3 Big East record after this run, it'll leave the Orange at 15-5 with 10 games to play (and very little momentum). My guess is that they'll finish the Big East season at 20-10 and somewhere near NCAA Tournament bubble. Even though they'll have played one of the toughest schedules in the country they'll still be on the outside looking in, if only because that's exactly where they are today. Instead of starting the Big East schedule as a Top 20 team like they usually do, they're around the Top 30. As with every year, the Orange's standing will rise and fall with every win and loss, only to end up in roughly the same spot they were in at the start of January.
Syracuse may have to pick up a couple of wins in the Big East tournament to solidify their place in March Madness, and even then they may be no better than a 7 seed. Still, when you look at what a #7 like West Virginia did last year (18-9 overall going into the Big East tourney, where they finished 2nd to SU), it may not be so bad to be put in that position. If a 3-point shooting team like the Mountaineers - or this year's Orange - gets hot at the right time, they become one of the great stories of the 2006 tournament, when everyone wonders where they came from and why players named Pittsnogle (or Devendorf, perhaps) weren't getting any attention back in January. I don't suppose that would be too bad, even if it invariably involves a last-second loss to a top team in the Elite Eight.
A few weeks ago, Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com resumed his annual role as the top forecaster of NCAA Tournament seeding although most teams haven't even begun the intraconference portion of their schedule. Much like the November 1st arrival of Christmas decorations and promotions in Wal-Marts and Targets around the country, this early attention to an event still a long time away is both good and bad.
While the premature arrival of Lunardi's weekly Bracketology allows us to preview and ponder exciting tournament matchups, it also serves as baseline from which we can predict the eventual outcome of each team involved. The good part is that it's fun to check out, if only to see where SU could be playing and what their seed would look like. The bad part is that as of the 12/30 edition, the Cuse is set at a #10 seed, which means they would play the first round as an underdog, with a win giving them the great opportunity to play a #2 seed (a top-10 squad like Illinois or Gonzaga) in the round of 32.
That does not look good for the Orange. If Lunardi is correct - and he usually is come tourney time - Syracuse would be in a very poor position to win the championship if the season ended this week. Thankfully, it doesn't - there's still a lot of regular season left to play - but SU is facing an steep uphill battle to gain national respect and the easier route to the Final Four that would come with it.
With the non-conference portion completed, the schedule has suddenly become quite difficult. At this point, it looks like McNamara and the boys are going to be lucky to begin the Big East schedule at 3-3, considering the next six games are against USF (6-8), @Notre Dame (9-3), @Cincinnati (12-2), UConn (11-1) in the Dome, @Villanova (10-0), and @Pittsburgh (12-0). Syracuse figures to be an underdog in four of those games, forcing them to squeeze out an upset in order to get off to a .500 start. Who's it going to be, though? They could conceivably win the first three then lose the last three, but I'm starting to feel like Cincinnati will be too tough for the Cuse at home (the average final score during the Bearcats current 9 game win streak is 87-66. SU's is just 80-64 over the same span). If the Orange can outshoot Villanova they may actually have a chance there, as the Wildcats have relied primarily on three pointers and team speed to win their games. If Boeheim plays a quicker 3-guard lineup against them, I think the Cuse can match up pretty well with Jay Wright's Top 5 squad.
Actually, I feel that all of the games are winnable, but playing on other teams' courts so often will seriously hurt SU's chances. The only significant home game during this stretch is versus Connecticut and that one doesn't seem likely to result in victory, even though the Huskies were throttled at Marquette. UConn is simply too physical for Syracuse right now, and won't have any problem winning the rebounding margin or scoring big points in the paint. It's too bad, too, because the last thing I want to see is Josh Boone and Rudy Gay celebrating in the Carrier Dome. Ugh.
If they do manage an upset somewhere and a 3-3 Big East record after this run, it'll leave the Orange at 15-5 with 10 games to play (and very little momentum). My guess is that they'll finish the Big East season at 20-10 and somewhere near NCAA Tournament bubble. Even though they'll have played one of the toughest schedules in the country they'll still be on the outside looking in, if only because that's exactly where they are today. Instead of starting the Big East schedule as a Top 20 team like they usually do, they're around the Top 30. As with every year, the Orange's standing will rise and fall with every win and loss, only to end up in roughly the same spot they were in at the start of January.
Syracuse may have to pick up a couple of wins in the Big East tournament to solidify their place in March Madness, and even then they may be no better than a 7 seed. Still, when you look at what a #7 like West Virginia did last year (18-9 overall going into the Big East tourney, where they finished 2nd to SU), it may not be so bad to be put in that position. If a 3-point shooting team like the Mountaineers - or this year's Orange - gets hot at the right time, they become one of the great stories of the 2006 tournament, when everyone wonders where they came from and why players named Pittsnogle (or Devendorf, perhaps) weren't getting any attention back in January. I don't suppose that would be too bad, even if it invariably involves a last-second loss to a top team in the Elite Eight.
