/cdn.vox-cdn.com/imported_assets/662713/9328897-standard.jpg)
Georgetown tried to keep as many Orange out of the building as possible Saturday. They didn't do a very good job of it. And they especially didn't do a good job of keeping Scoop, Rick, Brandon and the rest of the SU basketball team out. They paid for it as the Orange ruined Senior Day and the Gray Out with a 58-51 win in the Verizon Center.
Scoop Jardine scored 17 points and Brandon Triche drained four key free throws in the final minute to help 17th-ranked Syracuse earn a 58-51 victory over No. 11 Georgetown at the Verizon Center.
Rick Jackson contributed 12 points for the Orange (24-6, 11-6 Big East), who have won four in a row to remain alive for a double-bye in the Big East Tournament. Syracuse, which has rebounded nicely after a 2-6 stretch, will close the regular season next Saturday at home against DePaul.
Scoop Jardine has taken a lot of flak recently from Cuse fans. Namely from myself. And there were certainly still a lot of 'Scoop Is Scoop' moments as usual. But just as Scoop has improved over the last couple games, he continued to prove his worth today. Scoop hit some clutch shots under 7 minutes to go in the game to separate the Orange from the Hoyas.
One or two of those shots were circus-shots that started with SU fans gasping. When they went through the hoop they ended with SU fans cheering. The ball fell Scoop's way today, just as they have a lot of the time recently. We just have to hope Scoop's confidence continues to remain on track and his shots continue to fall. 17 points, 7 assists. Good work, Scoop.
On paper, Brandon Triche once again had a tough day, shooting 1-of-7 from the field. That makes him 8-of-26 over the last three games. Still, you couldn't have watched the end of this game and not felt good about Brandon's performance. Most notably his huevos rancheros as he stood strong and capped the win with four clutch free throws.
It wasn't "The Block" from 2003 but Kris Joseph's block on Jason Clark's attempted 3-pointer was something of a game-clincher. Made up for another tough day on the scoring front for KJ, who only scored 4 points on 2-of-6 shooting.
James Southerland...9 first-half points. That's the most Southerland has scored since Jan. 1.
Fab Melo, well...he showed up. So that's nice.
FanHouse talks about what went wrong for Georgetown on the day, helping the Orange to victory:
Not so much Wright's scoring, as vital as that is, but his control of the offense is what Georgetown missed most. Every offensive woe a team can suffer against Syracuse's matchup 2-3 -- from turnovers (16) to negated inside game to bad outside shooting was suffered by the Hoyas. Hollis Thompson, who started in Wright's place (albeit not as the nominal point guard) missed all five of his shot attempts, including four threes. Freshman backup point Markel Starks finished with six points.
The Orange watched a 33-23 halftime lead disappear to the point where they briefly trailed by two. Credit to Scoop's shooting, Waiters' passing and the rest of the Orange's resolve that they regrouped and retook the lead. That's not something we thought this team could do on the road, let alone at all, just a few weeks ago. Dare I say this team is...on the right track?
The Syracuse Orange have won four in a row. They have 11 Big East wins. They have a shot at the double-bye in the Big East Tournament (which is up for debate as an advantage). Most importantly, the team is over their schnide and they've officially turned the corner on the January and early February malaise.
DePaul is the only game that remains in the regular season. Win that one on senior day and the Orange head into the Big East Tournament in fantastic position to make some real noise.
- Jardine-led transition attack helps SU edge rival Hoyas on road...Daily Orange
- Syracuse outlasts Georgetown for another big road win...Syracuse.com
- Syracuse 58, Georgetown 51 Final Score: Scoop Jardine's 17 Points Lifts Orange At Hoyas...SB Nation NY
- Hoyas fall without Chris Wright as Orange win 4th straight...ESPN
- Jardine leads Orange past Hoyas...The Juice Online