Vegas Always Knows: Louisville 78, Syracuse 68
by Sean Keeley on Mar 7, 2010 11:24 PM EST
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When I saw on Friday that the line for the Syracuse-Louisville game was in favor of the Cardinals, I was indignant. Such disrespect that the No. 1 team in the nation was going to be an underdog. I didn't care that it was on the road, that the opponent was celebrating Senior Day, that they were closing down their famous arena or that they had beaten the Orange five of the last six times they played. This was unacceptable and an affront to everything SU had worked for and accomplished.
And yet...
In the back of mind, I kinda agreed. Stepping back, I was able to see that Louisville probably should have been favored. Karmic and cosmic forces seemed to be aligning in favor of the Cardinals and it was going to take Heaven and Earth for the Orange to overcome the emotional blockage all of Louisville, Kentucky was putting up.
I said that I really did not want Syracuse to lose this game and I meant it. I felt like the Orange needed to avenge their earlier lost and they needed to win a tough, emotional game on the road. I didn't really care that it was the last game of the year and that it was "irrelevant." Ultimately, the Orange were bound to lose at some point over the week so I suppose better they head into the Big East Tournament with a renewed sense of purpose than to come in flat.
Louisville pulled out all the stops, and three-pointers, to defeat the Orange 78-68. Some would say that they provided a blueprint on how to beat SU. If that blueprint is to launch 40 three-point shots and count on a once-in-a-lifetime performance from one of your bench players...so be it. Syracuse will take their chances against that plan any day.
Kyle Kuric had a career-high 22 points, as Louisville closed out Freedom Hall in style, knocking off top-ranked Syracuse, 78-68, in front of a raucous crowd.
Playing in its 54th and final season at the facility, Louisville (20-11, 11-7 Big East) got its fourth win ever against a No. 1-ranked team and bolstered its resume for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The sophomore guard was averaging 3.5 points in a little more than 13 minutes per contest, but keyed the Louisville victory in the second half, when he scored all of his points. Kuric shot 9-of-11, including 4-of-6 from three- point range, and threw down several emphatic dunks down the stretch to punctuate the victory.
One bright spot for the Orange? Scoop Jardine,who scored 20 points and made a bunch of great plays over the game. With Andy Rautins going MIA and Kris Joseph bothered by a tweaked knee, Scoop was a big reason the game wasn't more of a blowout.
Wes also added 18 as well, but as much as Wes will get all of the accolades, we continue to learn that Andy Rautins is more valuable. As Andy goes, so go the Orange.
"I made so many turnovers tonight," Rautins said. "I had a terrible game. I blamed this loss solely on me."
Boeheim tried to maintain a little perspective afterward while also conceding that SU is still learning as they go:
"You know what I told them?’’ Boeheim said. "I said ‘By the way, the one thing you set out to do in the Big East, is to win the league. And by the way, we won the league.’ That’s what I told them.’’
"We’ll learn from this,’’ Boeheim said. "There’s things we can learn from this. But the bottom-line is you start out in the Big East and you want to do well enough to get into the NCAA tournament and if you finish someplace in the top four or five, that’s pretty good. But if you can win the thing, I don’t think you can do better that.’’
The Orange now have a very clear motivation to win the Big East Tournament. They'll want to reiterate to the league and the nation that they are the team to beat in the best conference in America. That tiny chip is back on their shoulder and whichever team they face in the BET quarters should expect to feel the brunt of it. SU is still a lock for the one-seed in the NCAA Tourney but they'll want to make sure no one has any reason to doubt it.
SU-Louisville Recap...Brent Axe
NOT IN THE CARDS: Syracuse suffers first road loss of season, falls to Louisville for 2nd time...Daily Orange
What We Learned: Loss to Louisville won't really hurt Syracuse...Mike DeCourcey, Sporting News
You’re welcome, Louisville...Cuse Country
Thanks Rick...Orange Fizz
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Eh, lllvlll wanted it more than SU did
The team isn’t invincible, they lost, they’re still going to be a 1 seed, hopefully they get their act together for the BET.
Want kuric to die? No. Not really, cuse seems to bring out the best in the wholly mediocre.
Go Orange(men)!
post from game thread...
i hope he dies of gonorrhea
GO CUSE, BLUE, AND EAGLES!
by tanman5 on Mar 6, 2010 12:54 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
There were over 300 posts in that thread
Good job harping on one in a different thread.
Go troll elsewhere now
Go Orange(men)!
Trolling?
I was just simply answering your own question that you answered wrong. I apologize for correcting your mistake. Be assured it won’t happen again.
He called you a troll & said go troll elsewhere
I’m not seeing a mistake there.
Syracuse players have a lot of length.
I didn't answer your question
I was stating in my opinion that I (nor 300 other posts) didn’t want the noname to die. No apology needed for misunderstanding my comment.
Posting that same video in multiple places with no substance for a comment is trolling, you troll.
Go troll elsewhere.
Go Orange(men)!
Lines
SU was -1.5 Sat AM. -2 by tipoff on bodog.
UL cost me a lot of money this season boo.
by brendoh on Mar 8, 2010 8:05 AM EST via mobile reply actions
More Lines
Man, SU was even on BetUS.
Also, someone should lock me out of my account for the NCAAs. I have bet on SU three times this year and lost all three times (twice for the win against Louisville, once to win the first half against Providence).
"Chancellor Cantor, tear down this wall!"
Did they rush the court?
because if they didnt, tons of respect to UofL. I know if the tables had been turned, we would have rushed – even tho the line was that close.
They were unranked.
We were the #1 team in the country.
They basically clinched a bid into the NCAA Tournament when they were previously on the bubble.
They had a no-name step up and play huge.
It was the last game ever in that building.
Objectively, I’d say that’s a great court rush scenario.
I see that
but its like when we rushed against georgetown a couple years ago. UofL was not really an underdog. They had beatten us already, and seem to have our number.
Yes we are the number 1 team in the country, but we didnt really have anything to play for (other than payback) and we are the least talented number 1 I can remember (no top 50 guys). Unlike UK or KU who can phone it in and still beat a UofL type squad, we are not that good. SU relys on tough D and making the extra pass. Much like a european team.
Now say its 2005. The US beats Argentina, the defending olympic basketball gold winner, is it a big deal? Prob not.
Would the be in their right to rush the court? Yes. Was it really a shocking upset? No.
It wasn't really a full-on rush
There was a slight gathering, I would call it, based on what I saw (granted I turned it off pretty quick).
Either way, I think the Louisville team and fans handled the big win with dignity and harbor no resentment toward the team and their fan base.
It bothers me that I was not too physiologically upset by this loss… normally my entire existence crashes, but not this time. I guess it’s all building up for the Tourney… at which point, nothing short of winning it all will suffice.
by TheRenegadePumpkin on Mar 8, 2010 10:31 AM EST reply actions
Only thing
I was disappointed about was that with a win in that game and I think we could have made a case for having one of the 5 best Big East seasons ever.
As it is, I still think we just put together one of the 10 best seasons ever. Seriously, we just went 15-3 in a loaded conference where we lost our last game b/c we had nothing on the line.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
I'm not too down about the game, assuming the team rebounds from the loss.
Boeheim’s doesn’t often talk positively after losses, so when he does, I figure we can be positive, too.
But I was a little worried about how the team looked in disarray and just plain lazy towards the end of the game as Kuric ran all over them. It was like a fighter that had been punched in the face and they were just dazed as they continued to get punched.
I think almost all of that had to do with Louisville having everything to play for and Syracuse having nothing. But it was still concerning to watch. Reminded me a bit of our loss to Oklahoma last year where it seemed like nothing could go right.
As someone who has dogged Scoop his entire career
I feel a lot better about this team after watching Scoop play. The biggest question mark this team had was at the point. He showed he can be a legit option to score with his shot and on the drive. He also handled the pressure quite well. 6 assists, no turnovers. He picked it up while some of the other guys seemed to disappear.
nice props
Also remember Scoop is in his 2nd season coming off of an off year where he was injured and unable to play. His first year was 2 years ago, and he played extremely well down the stretch for a freshman that season. While it would be nice to have a seasoned upperclasseman to hanlde the ball, having Scoop as your back-up means you can’t be doing that bad at point.
"You heard it out of my mouth, if we get the No. 3 seed, get your Final Four tickets." - Carmelo Anthony
by bloodyyank44 on Mar 8, 2010 12:18 PM EST up reply actions
It's nice
to be able to say that I forgot how painful it was watching another teams’ fans celebrating at our expense. That said, it was extremely painful. I watched it at a local establishment and there was a couple sitting next to me at the bar and the guy had on an SU jersey over a t-shirt. As soon as the game was over, they stormed out and the guy took the SU shirt off in the parking lot and threw it into his car, seemingly in disgust. It gave those of us who saw it a brief chuckle. Very brief.
My Wesley will save me.
If Scoop continues to play like that
This team is even more dangerous than I thought. He was firing on all cylinders. He was getting inside almost at will, finding open guys all the time, under control but at the same time playing at a fast speed. Even his shooting looked good. Hell he was shooting better than Andy.
GO CUSE, BLUE, AND EAGLES!
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