Well, we know they're really the Syracuse basketball team now cause they are certainly losing big games like one. While they once again showed a flair for the dramatic, the Orange lost 72-68 to the Oklahoma State Cowboys.Putting aside what happened in the game, it was a damaging loss, much more so than the Wichita State one. It was national TV, it was ESPN, it was hyped and it was on arguably the biggest stage in college basketball. The Orange confused just about everyone, including themselves, with their inability to out-rebound a team smaller than them. Twenty-three turnovers didn't help either.
So yes, the comeback at the end was a nice sign. We know that in the clutch this team can pull it together. But what about the first forty-six minutes of the game? When will we know that this team is capable of playing good ball for the entire stretch? As a New York Giants fan, I'm having a distinct feeling of deja vu over my team's ability to shine in small doses but unable to put together a quality game.
Despite a bad first three quarters, Paul Harris turned it on late in the game and was the catalyst that almost tied the game with forty-nine seconds left. Harris' own tribulations seem to mirror the team so we can hope that as Harris' game gels and he matures, so will the team.
Nichols led the way with 26 points, followed by Terrence Roberts whose 14 points were offset by 7 turnovers. Harris had 11, almost all of which in the 4th quarter. The Orange will look to get back on track against Colgate on Saturday.
ON related Big East notes, it wasn't a good night for the conference in terms of dispelling thoughts that we're taking a step back. Louisville got beat by a horribly-shooting Arizona team. Undefeated South Florida came back down to Earth, losing to Richmond at home. On the positive side, the Hoyas beat James Madison, Marquette tuned up for Wisconsin and easily handled Delaware State and St Johns beat St. Francis in a game Yahoo! didn't even provide a recap for...poor Johnnies.