The Patty Hewes Treatment: Syracuse 99, Providence 85
by Sean Keeley on Feb 24, 2010 12:38 PM EST
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If you don't watch the TV show Damages, let me give you the rundown of every single story arc begins and ends. Patty Hewes (Glenn Close), a brilliant and ruthless lawyer, takes on a class-action lawsuit against some kind of evil corporation or scheming person who has bilked millions from innocent investors. At first, the shady individual in Patty's crosshairs is confident, downright excited about getting away with their crime. They even get what seems like a collection of small victories early on. But the whole while, Patty is pulling the strings. She's watching her enemy. Seeing how they react to getting the upper hand. How do they react when things don't go their way. She is constantly manipulating and conspiring.
And then she pounces. And she doesn't stop until everyone in her path is eliminated (one way or another). And when she's done destroying their companies, their families, their back accounts and their lives, all her enemies are left to do (other than put a bullet in their brain) is wonder where Patty Hewes was hiding her arsenal and why she decided to unleash it full bore of them.
I have to say...Tuesday night's 99-85 win over Providence felt a little bit like that.
On the first possession of the second half, Peterson connected on a three- pointer and it appeared that the Friars, who after Peterson's bucket led 55-47, were starting to build momentum to build a big lead.
However, Syracuse roared back.
Over the next five-plus minutes, the Orange embarked on a 14-0 run to move ahead 61-55. A put-back by Onuaku preceded two consecutive layups by Jackson that put Syracuse ahead, 57-55.
After another layup by Jackson, the next three Providence possessions resulted in a steal and ensuing layup for Syracuse. The first was again converted by Jackson, and the same result occurred on the Friars' next possession -- a steal this time paved the way for an easy uncontested layup by Brandon Triche and then another by Johnson.
The run was halted by a long turnaround jumper by Brooks, but Syracuse kept pouring it on. Rautins' three-pointer made it 66-57 with under 12 minutes to go before Jackson's dunk at the midpoint of the stanza put the visitors ahead, 75-60.
In my preview yesterday I hoped to see Andy Rautins string together a second-straight strong performance and he certainly delivered. Andy went nuts, going 8 of 12 from beyond the arc, scoring 28 points total and being the 2nd-half leader we've expected him to become. Rauts even unleashed a huge dunk (a DUNK!!!) followed by the most awkward bird-flap move I've seen in a long time. You know something special was going on (so much so that Andy's hair joined Twitter following the game).
Andy wasn't alone in the offensive outpouring. Rick Jackson added a career-high 28 points and 9 boards in a dominating performance. AO added 12 points and 9 boards as well. The Orange outscored the Friars 56-34 in the paint in what was a huge night for the big men.
Wes Johnson only scored ten points on the evening, two in the second half. Depends on how you look at it...did Wes realize it was Andy & Rick's night to shine and deferred to them? Or did he disappear once again in the second half when the Orange could have used him? Remains a mystery for now.
In a game that featured high-scoring and a massive amount of three-pointers, it was a key defensive stand by the Orange that turned the tide in the 2nd half.
The Friars’ 85 points were the most scored against Syracuse this season. Providence hit 14 3-pointers, including 10 in the first half, another high for an SU opponent this season. And the Orange’s 99 points were the most by Syracuse in its 15 Big East contests to date.
But after giving up 52 first-half points, Syracuse held the Friars to just two points in a key stretch at the start of the second half to take control of the game.
"The second half really started with our defense," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We needed to stop them. We didn’t stop them (in the first half). If we’d given them another 52 points in the second half, we’d have lost by (five)."
With the win, Syracuse moves to 26-2 (!) and clinches a two-round bye in the Big East Tournament. They're also 8-0 on the road in conference. Now, we prepare for Villanova in The Game That Shall Be Hyped. More game links and recaps below the fold...
SU-Providence Recap...Brent Axe
Rautins on a roll; SU guard is shooting 57 percent from 3 in SU's last three games...Donna Ditota
THROWDOWN: Driven by second half scoring burst, Orange erases early deficit in win...Daily Orange
Jackson's career-high 28 points drive Orange offense in high-scoring win over Providence...Daily Orange
Orange crush PC’s upset hopes, 99-85...ProJo.com
Rautins key to Syracuse's success...Andy Katz
Orange Clinch Bye With Huge Second Half Against Friars...CuseOrange
Syracuse - Providence Postgame Reactions OR Puns & Alliterations...Orange44
The Orange Run the Friars Out of the Gym...Three Idiots on Sports
Wild Wild East...Orange Fizz
Andy Rautins on Syracuse's Win...YouTube
Friars Should Have Pulled a Costanza at Halftime...FriarBlog
| Mike Waters post-game report |
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Wes played perfect in the 2nd half
Better shots, better defense, better passing. We were better when he was being the driver/distributor in the first half and getting his points in the second half.
Reminds me of Thurman Thomas for the Bills. He always got 100 yards, but that was because teams had to respect the pass. Somehow, people got the idea that the Bills needed to run the ball to win, forgetting that it was the pass that set up the run. And not vice-versa. Thomas is a Hall of Famer, IMHO.
Johnson is an NBA player, whether he scores all of his points in the first half or second half. Syracuse is a better team when his driving/distribution ability leads to others getting points—which later prevents teams from paying due attention to him. The farther Syracuse goes, the more Wes’s legend will grow because of the intangibles.
Long story short, he does not need to score to be a leader and a mega-force. Same with Andy. They need to let the game come to them, not force it.
I will take 8-12 boards (4-5 on Offense) from Wes over 8-10 points.
His mere presence inside and trapping on the baseline are invaluable.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
I thought
Wes took a couple bad shots in the second half. Pull up 3, and a 3 where his feet weren;t set at all. Then he passed up an open 3 took a dribble and shot a contested 2. But his rebounding, defense and passing were pretty good in the 2nd half.
JB really laid into him
after that pull-up. “what the f was that BS shot?!” classic boeheim flip out.
wes needs to stick with 3 shots for now: the foul line jumper, baseline jumper and the spot up 3. i guess i’ll make exceptions for monster dunks and put back slams.
he should try to play within himself and look for those same 3 shots and distribute the ball in other scenarios. he’d be a hell of a lot better if he worked on his handle, but he could also put the ball on the floor for one or two dribbles, then pick it up on his way to the hoop. he’s long enough that he should be able to use that as his “drive to the hoop”, but he rarely does that.
he’ll always have a positive effect on the offense, but i miss the wes who dropped 18-20 points. at least he isn’t a chucker, throwing up 20 shots a game.
Wish I was able to watch
One of only three games I wont be able to watch this year. I would have loved the 2nd half beatdown.
CBS Sportline erroniously titled their story on the game
“…Syracuse survives scare…”
and were promptly raped by the message boards.
The 'Cuse is in tha house, oh my God oh my God.
Sean, what about the most important point?
…Our gray numbers look a lot darker and more reflective in person, like a collection of rain-glistened trash can lids.
by TheRenegadePumpkin on Feb 24, 2010 1:18 PM EST reply actions
I have to say,
I was admiring the jerseys more than normal last night. I really like that blue collar on the away jerseys, as well as the blue belt on the shorts (I’m ambivalent to the buckle “Cuse” since you don’t even see it during games anyway).
Still hate the silver numbers, but last night I hardly noticed them as I admired everything else.
Wasn't on TV
I watched it on ESPN gamecast. Really wish I could have seen Rick Jackson’s performance. 13-17, 28 pts, 9 boards, 6 offensive. I’m envisioning Grendel ripping the arms off the Danes on the block.
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