Syracuse 60 - Cincinnati 53: Well Thank God For That
by Sean Keeley on Jan 24, 2012 7:53 AM EST
in Syracuse Basketball
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PrintThe 2010-2011 Syracuse Orange won their first 18 games and then proceeded to lose four-in-a-row, as well as six of their next eight games.
When that team hit a wall, it hit it hard and it fell with reckless abandon. The Orange tumbled from No. 3 to No. 17 in the span of two weeks.
Whether we admit it or not, a lot of us thought we were about to witness it all over again.
So thank the Lord that this team learns from its mistakes, battles back and takes very little for granted. Otherwise, they wouldn't have escaped Cincinnati with a 60-53 win over the Bearcats. A win far more treacherous than the final score would indicate.
The Notre Dame loss was a debacle. Not on the same level as, say, the Seton Hall loss last year. But it was pretty bad. And the team knew it:
"The whole trip to Cincinnati, we watched the film,’’ Syracuse senior Scoop Jardine said. "That was worse than playing the game because we really got to see how poorly we played.’’
"I haven’t seen this team play half that bad -- a quarter that bad,’’ Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said of the Notre Dame loss.
When the Cincinnati game started in much the same manner, with the Bearcats sinking impossible three-pointers and taking hold of the momentum from the get-go, it would have been easy for this team to resign itself to yet another road loss. Head home, lick their wounds and try to pick up the pieces.
It makes their 60-53 win all the more impressive. And sweeter.
That the Orange won the game without Fab Melo, with Dion Waiters on the bench for most of the night and relying on Rakeem Christmas to control the paint on defense...well, that's something special.
It was Boeheim's 877th win, pushing him past Adolph Rupp. And he couldn't have picked a better way to do it.
"I think this is one of my best wins I've coached at Syracuse," Boeheim told SU play-by-play broadcaster Matt Park after the game.
"The other night everybody played bad," Boeheim also told Park. "Today, everybody played well."
A loss here would not have ended the season, but it would have sent the entire fanbase into a "woe is us" tailspin. And more importantly, it would have sent a shockwave of doubt into the lockerroom. Maybe the critics were right after all...
Actually, no. And they're lining up to praise how the Orange pulled it off.
Kris Joseph posted 17 points to lead the Orange while Scoop Jardine added 13 points and six assists. Christmas only had four points, but it was his nine rebounds and three blocks that made all the difference. Meanwhile, Brandon Triche recovered from an early spill to score eleven points, grab four steals and made a bunch of critical plays to ice the win.
By the way, credit where credit is due, Scoop. Six assists and zero turnovers. More and more, Scoop is finally turning into the consistent guard we always expected him to be. Just in time.
Believe it or not, the Orange won the rebounding battle (36-35) and crushed it on field goal percentage (46% to 34%), both marked improvements.
Now, a week to get things in order, work on our free throws and hopefully get Fab Melo back before the West Virginia Mountaineers come a-callin' Saturday at 1 p.m.
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I heard someone call Cinci's offence "Fools Gold Offence"
My thoughts exactly. You can’t count on shooting 80% on threes from half court all game long. Sooner or later you’re going to go cold. ’Cuse just needs to keep their head in the game and scoring in the paint rather than going for ill-advised threes.
Last night Cinci went 4 of 5 on threes than it went 0 of 5, and we caught up. Had we been trying to match them 3 for 3, we wouldn’t have caught up.
Rece Davis (I think?) said that he thinks JB loves to see teams hit 25 footers against the zone early in games and make them. I couldn’t agree more, I say the same thing – when watching this game, I was saying “keep chucking ’em”.
It is few and far between that a Seton Hall continues to make them, and it seems to me that it just encourages them to keep jacking them up instead of doing what they should be doing (high post, short corner, etc.).
Before I get trashed on here, UND wasn’t making 25 footers, they were making 20 footers wide open when the defense didn’t rotate (for the most part).
I kept saying
to my girlfriend “let ‘em have those because they won’t keep making them.” However, it did seem to be about the same time that we started extending the zone that they started missing more threes. It seems like they knew that it would be a possibility and had it in their hip pocket to go to in case something like that was happening. You could see as soon as JB called that timeout they started extending a little further out on the shooters and that made for a great showing from the defense last night. That and Rak showing up in the middle (!!! Next year we will have the best front court in all of the universe!).
Yeahhhhhh
It was Doug Gottlieb who called it “Fools Gold Offense” ….. I still don’t care for him and his smugness
by Cusey McCuserson on Jan 24, 2012 8:18 AM EST via Android app up reply actions
Up early Sean?
Compliments on putting in the work
by CusebombJim on Jan 24, 2012 8:11 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Im glad Seth Davis was finally nice enough to qualify that we had a "nice win"
Apparently it met all his criteria: a true “road game” after a loss without our starting center.
I definitely was at >50% expecting a loss heading into the game
Then the hot start pushed me at >75%. Then they came back to the point where it was 100% they would win. Then they started taking free throws and I went back to ~75% ’Cuse would win. Then that creeped down to something like 60%.
Then it was over.
Terrific win for the team. Team team team team team.
Say Hey-o on Twitter! @RenegadePumpkin
by TheRenegadePumpkin on Jan 24, 2012 8:28 AM EST reply actions
My thoughts...
Christmas just seems more comfortable at the 5 on D, maybe it’s just his more natural position. Hopefully he gets a little more run, as he may be a more viable option than BK.
Scoop is awesome.
Is Southie becoming our second glue guy with CJ? He seems to be playing with heart that we’ve never seen before. I don’t even care that he didn’t make a three. He crashed the boards, played smart D, had some nice put backs.
Scoop is awesome.
I hope there are no lingering effects on Dion and his ’tude. I am never one to assume grumpiness, but he did seem pretty pissed off. But I agree that JB should have given him a hard time last night, as he made way too many poor decisions.
Scoop is awesome.
Triche played well and with a ton of emotion in the second half.
Scoop is awesome.
KJo played well off the bounce and didn’t seem to have a few possessions where he tried to do too much (cross overs, behind the back, dribbling between his legs, etc.).
Scoop is awesome.
JSouth
There is definitely a reason he has been earning playing time with JB, and its all those boards and that long armed stretchy and scrappy zone defense are the reason. Even if he didnt light it up from beyond the arc the way we want him to:
8 rebounds, 7 points, 2 blocks means he is earning that playing time!
And yes about Dion
he was trying to be “the guy” and wasn’t succeeding. I hope he saves it up for West Virginia. He wasn’t able to buy a shot last night. 2 points in 12 minutes – yikes. Very un-Dion like.
I don’t see his attitude getting the best of him even if he had a rough game. Its been a while since he disappeared in the scoring arena, Im just glad we had more than enough to handle the Cats on the road from the other players.
Rakeem
Needs to become more comfortable at the 4. Especially next year, the minutes at center just won’t be there to go around, unless you think Coleman plays more at the 4.
A Curious Connundrum
I think we are all waiting for it to play out. Cause right now we are loaded.
Guards – Cooney, Dion (maybe, but probably) triche, MCW
For forwards, we will have CJ, JSouth, Rakeem, and Grant and DC2 – its up in the air – Rak seems like a power forward, but so does DC2 – its tough to say. CJ and JSouth are more small forward types – and they will have Grant to get seasoned. I think its all going to be very interesting to see it in action next year. We are going to be beastly.
I think its fair to say BMK and Melo will both be back next year, so we are pretty well anchored at center, even if Rak is doing a better job that BMK right now at the 5.
I think CJ needs to spend this off season
working on his 3 pointer, just like KJo did around the same time. Its the one facet of his game that needs to round out a little more to make him a complete player, because all the rest of the pieces are definitely there.
Supposedly he did that this past summer
He just doesn’t shoot very many of them. Not sure if it’s that he’s still not confident in that shot or if he thinks that’s not his role on this year’s team, but I agree that it would round out his scoring capabilities.
For me, I'm 20/80 that Dion comes back
He might not be a lottery pick, but he’ll go in the second, late first, regardless of a little cold spell.
As for Fab, I’m probably 40/60. He’s had a few issues with the school already (his current academic one not included which could result in him not playing the rest of the season) and he’s a 7’ 250lber that the NBA covets.
I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.
I disagree
The last 2 games exposed Dion. He makes bad decisions, but often gets away with them. He gets into bad stretches where he quits even looking for the pass and defenses can just let him shut himself down. He played horrible in games they really needed him to become the game changer. He is not ready for the NBA by any means. He sure has the talent, but he has a lot more work to do. Looking at these past 2 games, he would be lucky to be a 1st round pick, and that is assuming he has a great rest of this year. The lottery talk has always been laughable.
by orangetundra on Jan 24, 2012 12:10 PM EST up reply actions
Its 2 games
GMs aren’t going to say, “Damn, I’d draft Waiters with this 20-something pick, but he really stunk it up those two games against ND and Cincy”. Dion’s slot in the last first round is still secure, if he decides to go.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 24, 2012 12:24 PM EST up reply actions
Solid and gritty win
Plenty of time to go over deficiencies in practice, get some rest, and get Fab back hopefully.
Since the early 1990's I have not been able to get Mike Hopkins' bloody face out of my brain. I don't remember what game it was but I'll never forget that as my first memory of SU basketball. Mike Hopkins, bloody face, bloody nose, all for the love of Syracuse.
This was the first game I saw that they played with "attitude"...
I think the ND loss woke these guys up a little… in earlier wins, they never really had to push themselves to win… it seemed they knew that someone would get hot and carry the team. In this game, it looked like they ALL decided it was their personal responsibility to get the job done. Nice road win against a very talented and determined team.
the Boeheim big head is the same photo featured on here yesterday for this week's On Screen Distraction
I wonder if that kid reads TNIAAM
Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a Q-tip
I'm gonna go out on a limb
And say that this was Syracuse’s best win of the season. Cincy is a solid squad, but not spectacular. On the road, after a tough loss, down early; a W is big. That’s what Final Four teams are made of. This game kind of affirms one of my thoughts about the ND game. Against both ND and Cincy, Syracuse played about 30 minutes of good basketball. Most times when that happens, the Orange are going to win. They just didn’t make enough shots against the Irish. Not a problem last night. Key stats:
Rak- 4 pts, 9 rebs, 3 blks. I really don’t think that missing Fab had much to do with the loss against ND. But Syracuse was able to beat Cincy because Rak put up a very Fab-esque stat line. This is why you start the kid, even if he doesn’t do much, so when the time comes for him to step up, he’s not completely unprepared. If he gets anything less than “Championship Chipper” on the Beoheimeter for this one, I’ll be disappointed.
Dion- 12 minutes. “Old Dion” has been popping up more frequently lately and showed up in force last night. As much as I agree that Dion is, by far, the best overall player on the team, Jim B has the luxury of playing the, “we don’t need you as much as you think we do” card on occasion. Hopefully Scoop was in Dion’s ear again on the way back to ’Cuse and Waiters gets his head back in the right place.
KJ, 17 pts, 8-11FG, 6 rebs, 0 TO/Scoop 13 pts, 5-9FG, 6 ast, 0 TO. As much as you want to blast them for no showing up against ND, you have to give them credit for stepping up on Monday, especially KJ. HE needs to get to the rim more in the half court. That baseline drive he had was sick. The Orange need more of that. A lot more. Overall, fantastic, efficient play from the senior leaders.
Syracse 3-12 3pt FG. Yes, I’d like a higher percentage. But I like the fact they ony had 12 attempts. It would have been easy to start chucking, especially when they went down early. The Orange stuck to their strengths, though, and came away with a W for it.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 24, 2012 10:04 AM EST reply actions
No one gets a Championship Chipper
In a time frame that includes the ND game. But for this game, yeah. Rak, Kris and Scoop all deserve it for this game.
I like the last stat there
They realized they weren’t making threes and started taking smarter shots. I hate when teams keep chucking up threes when they’re obviously having an off-night. I get that the theory is that they’ll eventually fall, but some nights that’s not true and “eventually start to fall” doesn’t happen until the next game. That being said, Scoop took a couple that I yelled “NO!!” to and then they fell, so maybe I’m completely wrong about the “eventually they will fall” thing.
I also like that KrisJo started being more assertive and driving without that stupid behind the back between the legs BS he likes sometimes. That quick pump fake and strong drive to the rim is what (I think) we all want to see more of from him.
Not on a limb
I told my gf after the game that was the biggest win of the year. When I first heard about Melo being out, I thought we would still beat ND but definitely lose against Cincy. Especially when I watched the entire Cincy/Uconn game. I was real nervous about last night. This team showed tons of heart and I agree with what you said about Christmas as well. Hopefully that was a confidence builder for him and he continues to play with that kind of aggressivness. Biggest win of the year! No doubt
by Mike Will is DoubleDown on Jan 24, 2012 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
Agree
I also thought that, of the two games, Cincy would be the L. Yancy Gates is a man in the lane. And he had a great game. But X-mas and company kept him from having a fantastic game, which was the key to getting the W.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 25, 2012 9:50 AM EST up reply actions
3 for 12 from 3 point land
but made 3 of 4 in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Great adjustment on Defense last nite
Did everyone notice the adjustments on D…. Faced with a team known to make 10 3s per game and a veteran Big in the middle…. the Zone pushed out, and our wings adjusted by instead of focusing on the other wings or trapping in the corners… they focused a little more weak side help on Gates in the middle. And by the way, put themselves in position to rebound better. Note KJo and JSouth both helped out on the boards more. Not certain why Cincy’s 3 pt shooters didnt take advantage of the corners or why they didnt run a man along the baseline… but they didnt and the Zone D adjusted, and it paid off. Hope Dion knows he’s a big part of our success and we need him. Scoop Brandon & Kris showed up tonight. Props to Dirty & Rak. Good win, good team effort.
Cincy got a couple clean shots
Out of the corner on overload action. But, Bilas made a good point during the broadcast. Normally on that kind of play, the exchange between the wing and the top player in the zone is a lot better. The wing closes just enough to make the shooter hesitate, then retreats to the corner. So, most of the time, that corner shot isn’t really there.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 24, 2012 10:54 AM EST up reply actions
say what you will about Bilas
but wasn’t it nice to have a knowledgeable broadcast team calling our game for once?
F#&% the Big East
I have nothing but good things to say about Bilas
He’s my favorite college basketball broadcaster / analyst on TV.
Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a Q-tip
Two nto good things
He chose Duke over Syracuse.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 24, 2012 12:25 PM EST up reply actions
The only one I could argue is better is Bobby Knight
Whenever he calls a game I seem to learn something
Who would've thought
that Bob Knight would have been an intelligent member of the media. Of course you don’t win 900 games without learning a TON about how to play the game.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 24, 2012 1:00 PM EST up reply actions
what I like about Knight
Is that he analyzes the game as it happens. Most color guys have their 4 or 5 talking points before the game, and do nothing more than look for opportunities to talk about them and nothing else. Knight, though, will give insight on what’s happening in front of him, regardless of what his preconcieved notion of the game is. The same with Hubie Brown and the NBA.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Jan 25, 2012 9:54 AM EST up reply actions
Agree about Bilas
I commented to my dad about what a step up that was from the TWC commentary I’ve been getting all season. No disrespect to them, but Bilas definitely adds more, and isn’t afraid to call out the refs or like last night, point out that a drop to #4 makes no sense.
Bobby Knight is awesome too, he just knows so much about the game. Funny how you can spend so long hating a guy as a coach only to hope he’s calling your game.
Anybody notice the other big heads they showed on the broadcast?
Kevin with the classic yell-face from home alone, which by itself is random, but was right next to a kid waving a giant head of Herbert, the old guy pedophile from Family Guy.
Classy, Cincinnati, go f**k yourselves.
Didn't we start that?
Nice to see that others are copying us.
Without Gerry McNamara we wouldn't have won 10 f-- games, not 10
by PoetryInMoten on Jan 24, 2012 12:40 PM EST up reply actions
Indiana started the Big Heads.
Been doing it for years.
Go Cuse!
by nymetsfan1226 on Jan 24, 2012 1:12 PM EST up reply actions
Great win
A fantastic stat that no one has mentioned (unless I missed it) was that the team only had eight turnovers. You won’t lose many games when you take care of the rock that well.
Also, every single guy who got significant playing time seemed to take rebounding as their personally responsibility, which was fantastic.
Lastly, you take the grit that the three senior players (Triche, Joseph, and Scoop) showed and couple it with a returned Melo, and Dion playing better, and this team will be increasingly difficult to beat. I think the ND game was a great learning experience for this team.
If you're going to be stupid, you're going to have to be tough
by FatK44 on Jan 24, 2012 2:03 PM EST via mobile reply actions
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