Certainly was in the UNC/UConn Elite 8 game.Greg29fan said:
yep, Greensboro has always been UNC country
Certainly was in the UNC/UConn Elite 8 game.Greg29fan said:
yep, Greensboro has always been UNC country
LeoCarrillo said:No. 4.
C'mon, boys. Let's lock up that 1 seed in the East for Buffalo and NYC games. I think we can lose one more and still get it. Let's keep that loss in our back pocket for the conference tourney.
LeoCarrillo said:
No. 4.
C'mon, boys. Let's lock up that 1 seed in the East for Buffalo and NYC games. I think we can lose one more and still get it. Let's keep that loss in our back pocket for the conference tourney.
Really ivanvamp?ivanvamp said:I think they could possibly lose two more and still get the #1 seed, Leo. Depends, of course, on what teams behind us do.
Personally, I think it's hilarious that SU loses TWICE in the same week, including to Duke, and yet Duke remains behind SU in the poll. I thought for sure they'd go from 5 to 4, and SU would drop to like #6.
There were close/tight wins like St Francis, Pitt #1, St Johns, ND, Miami where the games were tight in the 2nd half, but they weren't final possession wins like Duke #1, Pitt #2 and NC State wins. I think there is a difference. The final possession wins are 'coin-toss' games where anything can happen, with one possession deciding the game and the shot clock off. We are 3-2 in those games. I feel like the way teams approach us, milk the clock/shorten the game, we should have plenty of low scoring 5 pt wins in the low 50s. But I don't think they should be classified like the "last possession" wins or be considered 'a negative'.ivanvamp said:I know, but they were only separated by 4 spots in the polls, and SU lost twice, Duke just once, and Duke beat SU head-to-head. I figured at that point all those close wins would factor in as well as a negative.
I just texted a friend an hour ago for it! Not sure why i waited so damn long to think of that.DukeSox said:you should ask a buddy who has cable for their account details so you can access watchespn.com, it's wonderful
7 isn't necessarily a short bench, though 8 is ideal. You'd want a 3rd guard, with at least 2 of the 3 guards capable of running point. You'd want a 3rd forward and a second center. Syracuse has at times historically been able to have someone able to play both the center and back wings of the zone (Rick Jackson, Rakeem Christmas), meaning they were able to rotate through front court player and one back court player. Occasionally they have been able to have a guy flex from the top of the zone to the back (Paul Harris, Gbinije, Rautins). Their system allows for some flexibility and a short bench.benhogan said:I thought Roberson gave us decent energy (didn't hurt us) off the bench last night. Wish Jimmy would give this kid 2-3 minutes a half, which equates to roughly 2-3 possessions/half in these slowed down games. Let him bang the offensive boards, set picks, just no shots outside the paint.
Seven players isn't enough, the fatigue is showing, and Grant's back injury will probably linger all season long. We're going to need Roberson come tourney time, and he won't be ready if he doesn't get some minutes now.
And don't bother sending me a note about Jimmy being a HOF coach, or that he likes to play a short bench. It was a short bench when Dajuan Coleman was playing, when he went down, he needed to be replaced.
We're pretty much in agreement, except I still think the idea of going with 7 is a short bench, even if you have versatile players.LeftyTG said:7 isn't necessarily a short bench, though 8 is ideal. You'd want a 3rd guard, with at least 2 of the 3 guards capable of running point. You'd want a 3rd forward and a second center. Syracuse has at times historically been able to have someone able to play both the center and back wings of the zone (Rick Jackson, Rakeem Christmas), meaning they were able to rotate through front court player and one back court player. Occasionally they have been able to have a guy flex from the top of the zone to the back (Paul Harris, Gbinije, Rautins). Their system allows for some flexibility and a short bench.
The problem this year is that Ennis, Fair, and Grant hardly ever come out. Even when Coleman was healthy, he was a token start and then Grant was almost immediately brought in. It is true that Coleman's presence and token minutes would bring down Grant's minutes a bit, but mostly Coleman's presence amounted to a 3 man center rotation while Fair and Grant played almost the whole game.
I've been frustrated all year that Roberson hasn't gotten more run. I think he is roughly equal to where Fair was as a freshman in that Roberson is athletic, energetic, has a willingness to mix it up on the boards. Fair was special as a freshman because he had this freakish nose for the ball and a knack for being at exactly the right place at the right time. Roberson isn't quite at the same point, but I think he could have been worked in the way Grant was last year.
Syracuse, for being such a good team, has played in an unusual amount of fairly close games. They blew out Villanova on Dec 28th, and since then, over 16 games they have only one game that could fairly be called a blowout - VT on Jan 7th. There are a handful of 10 point victories, but having watched most of those I can tell you they were games Syracuse pulled away from the opposition at the very end. I think Boeheim would have loved to have given the freshmen more run, but when push comes to shove he wants to win the game over longer term development. He simply doesn't trust freshmen (which just goes to show how amazing Ennis really is). That's his way and he has 900+ wins to show for it. I just think this season has been a bit of an anomaly, and at this point things are the way they are and he's just going to let it ride.
Grant's been taking a beating and now his back is sore. Ennis is a freshman who has never had to handle a minutes load like this. Fair is a focal point of the defense and is having to work harder to get looks. It is natural and foreseeable these guys would be wearing down. I just hope they can push through, or else this team will be ripe for an earlier than expected tournament exit.
agreedbenhogan said:We're pretty much in agreement, except I still think the idea of going with 7 is a short bench, even if you have versatile players.
We are a game injury and foul trouble away from a player, that hasn't played in weeks, appearing in a 'high leverage' end of the game situation.
Plus playing 7 means major wear and tear on our key players (as you stated clearly). I know Jimmy thinks these kids have no trouble playing 40 minutes, he has said it dozens of times over the years, but the scrutiny these players are under this season (social media, ESPN road games 48hrs apart, NCAA rules/investigations always lurking, etc) accompanied by a high profile #1 ranking and 25-0 start should be taken into account.
FREE TYLER ROBERSON
I disagree with this, to an extent. Patient teams with no plan of attack will struggle. That was Indiana last year. Crean was just befuddled. But part of what makes the Syracuse zone so effective year after year is that it baits impatient teams into unwise 3 pointers. Any team with a plan of attack against the zone that remains patient will be very effective. See Pitt year after year. UConn has also historically been good at this. I do disagree that the zone doesn't break down. When teams just casually pass the ball around the perimeter, of course it doesn't break down. But the zone relies on precise coordination with all five players moving in concert. Of course it breaks down from time to time. Of course, it remains to be seen if Virginia can be one of those teams that can patiently attack Syracuse.benhogan said:Virginia -4 according to Vegas.
Hmmm, I'm starting to feel confident about playing Virginia. Just read an article on ESPN about the Cavs being one of the most patient teams, on offense, in the country. Teams like that, over the years, have a tendency to pass around the perimeter of the 2-3 and not attack the middle of the zone initially. Patience is probably what they do against most man defenses and they wait for a breakdown, the problem with that strategy vs. the 2-3 is Cuse doesn't breakdown. Yes, if you get dribble penetration and kick out OR hit the big man at the FT line and he takes it to the hole and dishes to a cutting wing man thats effective (Louisville game plan). But teams that are conditioned to staying patient on the perimeter and looking for a breakdown really struggle (see Indiana in 2013 NCAA tournament).
I'm starting to like our chances tomorrow.
that's helpful, thanks.tims4wins said:Regarding the refs, I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all college refs work across conferences. For instance, you can see here that Karl Hess worked both ACC and Big East games last year. So I don't think Cuse is facing a new set of refs this year.
yah, the second half was a slaughter. In all fairness, not having Grant the entire half really hurts Syracuse. They aren't a 1 seed caliber team without Grant, and the second half showed some of that. Syracuse isn't deep and taking a future NBA first round draft pick off the floor really hurts.mabrowndog said:The Cavs are just bringing it right now. Tremendous D.
Dickie V with the stat of the afternoon: Cuse with 1 FG in the last 7:30. Yikes.
EDIT - Make that 1 FG in the last 10 minutes. Nothing but a Christmas layup since Cooney's three 6:05 into the half.
he played the first half and was invisible. He couldn't move. He didn't play at all in the second half. Boeheim said he only practiced once all week. He also said they've run tests and nobody knows what is wrong with him. Of course, given Boeheim's history, I don't believe that for a second.ivanvamp said:I didn't get to see the game (my kid had a high school playoff game). Is Grant hurt again (still)? If so, and if it isn't fixed soon, this will be more devastating than the Onuaku injury a few years ago.
That would be the smart move Leo.LeoCarrillo said:Man, Jimmy is snakebit with late-year injuries. Get Jerami some rest, and build some confidence in Roberson.
What would Grant coming back for say the ACC tourney give him? Like 13 days to rest the back. Maybe limit the minutes til the semis, best case.