If you are an upperclassman who hails from Philadelphia and you play for the Syracuse basketball team, you had yourself a good evening on Tuesday night when the Orange once again overcame a slow start to win, beating Detroit 66-55.
Scoop Jardine scored a career-high 27 points in the contest, while also adding eight assists and five steals.
Rick Jackson solidified himself as a dominant presence in the Syracuse frontcourt and the Big East by pulling down a career-high 22 rebounds. He also added ten points in forty minutes of action, the most time any SU player saw on the court.
Of course, both players had to have career nights to make up for what else was going on. Kris Joseph struggled mightily, fouling out after scoring only three points (all free throws). Joseph has had trouble adjusting to the increased attention he gets from defenses. At the end of the day, his shots just need to start falling:
"Obviously, Kris has got to be able to make shots for us to be successful," SU coach Jim Boeheim said. "Other than the second half of the Northern Iowa game, he’s shooting 15 percent. He’s probably shooting 25 percent with that game. He’s got to be able to make shots."
That goes for all the Orange as well. No surprise, Boeheim isn't pleased with his team's shooting performance on the season so far. Especially on his birthday of all days...
Down low, it was much of the same for Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita. The good news is, Melo didn't foul out. The bad news is that his stat sheet remains unimpressive (two points, zero rebounds). Meanwhile, Keita grabbed seven points and four boards in 22 minutes as he continues to prove he's worth minutes.
Once again the Orange struggled out of the gate, looked bad by halftime and came out of the tunnel with a new-found attitude and focus that helped them prevail. That's all well and good but with two games coming out outside the Carrier Dome and a huge battle with Michigan State looming, that won't cut it for long.
The Scoop & Rick Show...Orange44
On this, his 66th birthday, Jim Boeheim can look back to Tuesday and be grateful for Scoop Jardine....Bud Poliquin
HERE'S THE SCOOP: Jardine's career-high 27 points carry SU to comeback win over Detroit...Daily Orange
Syracuse - Detroit Quick Takes and Awards...Three Idiots on Sports
SU-Detroit Recap: Take Me To Your Leader...Brent Axe
Jackson dominates glass with 22 rebounds in SU win...Daily Orange