364 replies to this topic

[Rossox]

Good stuff so far this season from the students.

[Rossox]

Up to #3 this week in the AP poll (still 4 in the ESPN) w/ more first place votes (6) than anyone except Kansas. Also 4 BE teams in the top 7. Really looks like the Top 5 teams are going to seesaw back and forth for a while in the polls.

Hopefully they come out of the gate strong tomorrow against the Friars. Dodged a major bullet on Saturday.

[bsj]

after playing footsie for a half, the Cuse opened up a big lead in the 2nd before coasting to a 17 point win...good night (although will feel better if Wes hadn't hurt himself...JB claimed postgame he could have come back but was sitting out for precaution)

[Otto]

Three weeks away and they already stopped ticket sales at a new record level.

How Cool is THIS?

[Rossox]

Three weeks away and they already stopped ticket sales at a new record level.

How Cool is THIS?

Wow, 1,000 more tickets than their record. Impressive. Maybe they can get James Taylor to sing the national anthem, too?

[LeftyTG]

I DVR'ed Fab Melo's game on ESPNU last night. I can't wait to see what he can do next year - for a kid from Brazil still learning the game, he is pretty polished. He has a nice stroke from the foul line, good footwork on the post, and is active on defense and on the boards. For a guy 7 feet 260 he moves well laterally. He doesn't really have any of the awkwardness that some high school front court players have before they grow into their bodies. He showed a pretty good motor, and I was pleasantly surprised by his passing ability. The other team's game plan was to collapse on him every time he got the ball in the post - sometimes literally all 5 players. Melo did a good job of not getting flustered and finding an open man.

I also saw Keita play a few weeks ago. It was hard to get a read on his offensive skills, since he mostly served as a designated rebounder for a team full of guards. He was pretty active defensively and you can see the raw skills there. He had a tendency to drift at times, and he is going to need to add a ton of weight. He'll need a few years in the program, but he could be a force once he grows into his body.

[bsj]

After a tough first half (2 point game at the break), Syracuse just absolutely dominated the last 12 minutes or so....won going away 71-54. Finished the game on a 28-5 run

Wes Johnson went out at around that 12 minute mark with 4 fouls.

That, my friends, is depth.

Edited by bsj, 07 February 2010 - 04:04 PM.

[Rossox]

Nice 28-5 run to end the game. Great T-E-A-M effort, boys!

Edited by Rossox, 07 February 2010 - 04:47 PM.

[Clears Cleaver]

you guys ready for an easy 20+ point victory tomorrow night? U-C-O-N-N is coming to town. batten down the hatches!

[Otto]

you guys ready for an easy 20+ point victory tomorrow night? U-C-O-N-N is coming to town. batten down the hatches!

I'd accuse you of trying the reverse jinx move, but I know you've been pretty down on your squad this year. Regardless, I'm not taking the bait and I hope Syracuse isn't either. The last time they won by 20 or more was 12/22 against a school called Oakland. In the last two weeks, they've had <5 point wins against Marquette and DePaul, and that's just the nature of college basketball. This one with UConn will be close, just like I expect every time that uniform shows up in the Dome. I was there for five years of UConn visits to the Dome ... so I know better.

[LeftyTG]

I'd accuse you of trying the reverse jinx move, but I know you've been pretty down on your squad this year. Regardless, I'm not taking the bait and I hope Syracuse isn't either. The last time they won by 20 or more was 12/22 against a school called Oakland. In the last two weeks, they've had <5 point wins against Marquette and DePaul, and that's just the nature of college basketball. This one with UConn will be close, just like I expect every time that uniform shows up in the Dome. I was there for five years of UConn visits to the Dome ... so I know better.

I'm with you here. UConn, for all their struggles this year, is still dangerous when they play hard and focused with emotion. I fully expect Calhoun to make his grand return to the bench WWE style on Wednesday night. It helps that the game is at the Dome, and Syracuse is the better team right now, but I expect nothing but a hard fought, hard played game.

[Otto]

By the way, I just re-read my post when Lefty quoted it and realized it might sound like I'm saying "so I know better" to CC. In case that's what it looks like, that's definitely not what I meant.

[Clears Cleaver]

Jim Calhoun isn't walking through that door. More importantly, Emeka Okafor isn't walking through that door, Ben Gordon isn't walking throught door, Caron Buterler....eh.

UConn couldn't score versus the DePaul zone. I would be shocked if they scored 60 versus the Csue. SHOCKED. You guys will be amazed at how badly this team attacks a defense. they have no idea and the usual Dyson or Kemba one on four offense will completely fail against Syracuse

[Rossox]

I agree with Clears in that this particular UConn team's weakness (brutal half-court offense) plays right against our strength. The great equalizer for UConn the past two years was Thabeet. He owned AO and Jackson last year in Storrs and he completely took away any dribble, drive, penetration threat from our guards.

That said, Otto is right - Syracuse was a last second shot away from losing to Depaul just over a week ago. You never know in this conference.

[Clears Cleaver]

if I were you, I would be shitting bricks about tonight's game after reading this:
http://blogs.courant...ht-new-uni.html

that's it! the uniforms were weighing them down and causing them to turn the ball over, take dumb shots and not box out on defense. You guys are in serious doo doo now

[RedOctober3829]

if I were you, I would be shitting bricks about tonight's game after reading this:
http://blogs.courant...ht-new-uni.html

that's it! the uniforms were weighing them down and causing them to turn the ball over, take dumb shots and not box out on defense. You guys are in serious doo doo now

I think Syracuse is going to be debuting them tonight as well. Michigan State was wearing them last night and Texas wore them Monday night.

Among other schools to have those are Miami, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Duke, and St. John's.

[Rossox]

I think Syracuse is going to be debuting them tonight as well. Michigan State was wearing them last night and Texas wore them Monday night.

Among other schools to have those are Miami, Kentucky, Gonzaga, Duke, and St. John's.

Yup, Syracuse is wearing them tonight. Whoopie.

[Clears Cleaver]

It's 5-2 syracuse and you can already see why this won't be a game. UConn has forced four or five shots ALREADY and they are actually playing well for them

[Rossox]

Yeah, a win is a win but major ick tonight. That was not a good UConn team.

Nice to see this team ice it at the line at least. Other than that, they dodged another bullet.

[bsj]

This team's tendency to play down to its competition is going to cost them. Possibly as soon as today.

[LeftyTG]

This team's tendency to play down to its competition is going to cost them. Possibly as soon as today.

just a terrible display of basketball today. Wes hasn't been the same since his fall, and when he isn't his normal, dynamic self, the team loses a dimension.

[RedOctober3829]

Little Ricky's boys are doing their best to give you guys the game.

[bsj]

Blew it.

[LeftyTG]

Little Ricky's boys are doing their best to give you guys the game.

Higgins strikes again!!! Big East officials truly suck. Not that Syracuse didn't deserve to lose - they did, and not getting the missed front end of the one and one summed up their lack of effort and execution today. They haven't played well in several games now, so this was coming. Hopefully this is just a lull and they'll be able to gather themselves and refocus. Going into Georgetown on Thursday is going to be tough.

[bosox1025]

Horrible call at the end of the game with that much at stake. With that being said Syracuse only has themselves to blame for the loss. They gave up too many offensive rebounds and Louisville really ratcheted up the defense in the 2nd half.

Wes Johnson missing 15 shots and forcing up that costly drive at the end of the game is a concern. I wonder how much of an impact that fall against PC has really had, he seemingly hasn't been the same since then.

Big game coming up at Georgetown, a win there makes the bad taste from this loss go away quickly. The Big East is tough, especially when you're playing good teams that have a lot on the line like Louisville today.

[CoRP]

Barney Rubble Higgins should not be a referee. He has been injecting himself into Big East games for 30 years. You guys got jobbed on that call.

[Sea Dog]

Barney Rubble Higgins should not be a referee. He has been injecting himself into Big East games for 30 years. You guys got jobbed on that call.

Consider that a make-up call from the timeout that wiped out UConn's chance to hold for the last shot last Monday night.

[Rossox]

Consider that a make-up call from the timeout that wiped out UConn's chance to hold for the last shot last Monday night.

Nah...Cuse, like UConn on Wed (not Mon), wasn't the better team yesterday. No excuses - it happens.

[Rossox]

Big one tonight. I would just like to see them play a solid 40 minutes of basketball, especially on the offensive end. Syracuse hasn't won at G-Town in 6 years.

Giddy up.

[bsj]

Tonight's game is a real bellweather.

Win and we are back. Lose, and our #1 seed is in serious jeopardy

[Rossox]

Tonight's game is a real bellweather.

Win and we are back. Lose, and our #1 seed is in serious jeopardy

I think a win obviously helps but a loss isn't nearly as devastating as you think. We still have a great resume and with Nova still to play at home + the BE Tourney, there is plenty of basketball to be played before the #1 seeds are determined. That said, Purdue's play of late no doubt has them back in the discussion and a loss tonight would likely leap frog them to the 4th and final #1 seed.

But Selection Sunday is still 3 1/2 weeks away.

[bsj]

I think a win obviously helps but a loss isn't nearly as devastating as you think. We still have a great resume and with Nova still to play at home + the BE Tourney, there is plenty of basketball to be played before the #1 seeds are determined. That said, Purdue's play of late no doubt has them back in the discussion and a loss tonight would likely leap frog them to the 4th and final #1 seed.

But Selection Sunday is still 3 1/2 weeks away.

Agreed...but in the short term, a win keeps in the position of having a #1 seed to lose....while a loss, I think, would probably leave us having to get it back (as I would be we would become the top 2 seed in this scenario)...which we may very well do...

[luckysox]

I hate Georgetown. Really. So, number 1 seed or not, they need to go out and knock these guys down a notch or 3. Rautins with 20 tonight, then pound it inside.

[Clears Cleaver]

This...is an asskicking. Looks like they needed that loss to re-focus after a handful of subpar performances

[bosox1025]

What a terrible 2nd half by Syracuse. Only up 5 with 5 minutes left after being up more than 20. It seems like everyone has stopped playing on the offensive end and are just expecting Rautins to do everything.

[DukeSox]

This...is an asskicking. Looks like they needed that loss to re-focus after a handful of subpar performances

This...is a good game.

Aaaand gtown screws it up.

Edited by DukeSox, 18 February 2010 - 09:11 PM.

[Rossox]

Holy Christ, that was excruciating!!!

Um, note to the team - don't let the bigs get in foul trouble again. JESUS!!!

Anyway, undefeated on the road. Fantastic!

[Rossox]

Big one tonight. I would just like to see them play a solid 40 minutes of basketball, especially on the offensive end. Syracuse hasn't won at G-Town in 6 years.

Giddy up.

Ok, so they played a solid 28 minutes but luckily it was enough. Seriously, for those 28 minutes Syracuse looked as good as any team in the country. Moved the ball well on offense (Rautins was on fire!), played ridiculously strong D and was basically well on their way to a blowout. And then...Jackson picked up his 4th foul and they pretty much stopped playing. Credit to G-Town's D for aiding the comeback.

What happened to Wes in the 2nd half? 2 pts and only 2 rebounds. And the pt guard play of late has been pretty shoddy. Triche forced a couple and Scoop keeps making poor decisions out there.

I hope nobody forgets that last drive and score by Joseph because that was the ballgame. That kid is going to be a helluva player next year.

Also great to see this team finishing teams at the foul line.

[Rossox]

Anyone heading down to the Dunk tonight?

[PC Drunken Friar]

anyone have a link to stream this game?

[PC Drunken Friar]

found one...

http://atdhe.net/104...e-vs-providence

[PC Drunken Friar]

wow- what a fun game so far. PC HATES defense and loves da 3!

35-31 11 minutes in.

[Nuf Ced]

I'd love to know what Boeheim said/threatened the team with at half time. They were lethargic in the first, but came out in the second half playing like their hair was on fire.

[PC Drunken Friar]

ALWAYS take the over when PC plays.

[Rossox]

ALWAYS take the over when PC plays.

No kidding. It was 24-11 Syracuse 6 (SIX!) minutes into the game. The Friars really had no answer for AO & Jackson in this one and if Rautins stays this hot, then look out.

[LeftyTG]

Syracuse picks up a verbal from Cooney

I'm really excited about this pickup. He's one of the best 3 point shooters in his class. Pure shooters are a rare commodity, and Syracuse has had a nice run of great outside shooters that really balance out the offense.

[bsj]

I'm giddy at the idea of this kid coming to SU with Gerry on the coaching staff....

[RedOctober3829]

What an atmosphere for GameDay. I can't wait for the game tonight.

[Rossox]

Yeah, I'm psyched! Jealous I'm not there but psyched!

Scottie Reynolds terrifies me, though. He is a zone buster.

[luckysox]

The Dome is freaking rocking!!