This is not your father’s Syracuse Orangeman squad. Those Jim Boeheim teams from the 1980s and 1990s are a thing of the past thanks to the 2010 squad. Those past teams were remembered for going into major funks, losing silly games and not living up to their talent levels. This 2010 team is different.
Boeheim Steers Syracuse Back To #1 Rank
When you look back at some of the great Syracuse teams, most fans look fondly back at the Derrick Coleman, Rony Seikaly and Sherman Douglas years. Unquestionably the most talented Syracuse squads ever with three solid NBA starters that each had 10+ year professional careers. Despite all that talent, they became the face of the struggles of Syracuse Basketball. They will be forever remembered for their NCAA Finals loss to Indiana and Keith Smart’s buzzer-beater.
Very good, but for some reason couldn’t put it all together.
That was personified during the 1987-88 season. After the surprising run the previous season, Syracuse had their three main cogs back and expectations were high. The were christened with the Preseason #1 ranking. The bloom quickly came of the rose, as Syracuse dropped the top ranking after just one week and didn’t deliver as expected.
This 2010 squad is the antithesis of that ‘87-’88 squad. This team came in with zero expectations, picked to finish mid-pack in the Big East and be scrambling to make the NCAA tourney. They are the example as to why you play the games. And the game played on Saturday night just vaulted them back to the top ranking after crushing Villanova.
Syracuse today will garner its first regular season top-ranking since January 2, 1990. Led by Coleman, Billy Owens and Stevie Thompson, Syracuse held the top ranking for 6 weeks before crumbling and getting knocked out of the NCAA tournament during the Sweet 16. Those four seasons between 1986 to 1990 have stuck to Syracuse like glue and have forever labeled Syracuse as the team that couldn’t get it done. Everyone one of those teams found a way to lose.
This year’s squad is different. There are no stars, just players. They are led by a scrappy shooter named Andy Rautins who has no NBA dreams. These final games are his swan song and he plans to be the motor on this team. His play drove the blowout victory over Villanova, as he pushed they ball inside and Syracuse dominated in the paint.
That selfless play is what makes this Syracuse team different.
Boeheim, while a great X and O coach has always struggled to manage his stars. Even during their NCAA Championship run, Syracuse ended the season ranked 13th and were stamped by the sports media as just another team that will disappoint. They just didn’t account for the greatness of Carmelo Anthony that even Boeheim could not interrupt.
Since that championship, Boeheim’s coaching style has changed, due much in part to his national presence on world basketball squads where he has been brought in to teach the pros how to play the 2-3 zone. The experience of rubbing shoulders with other top coaches has helped Boeheim figure out how to get the most out of his players.
This year’s Syracuse team is without question the most complete team in the NCAA and will provide headaches for every team come tournament time. They have no weakness. They can beat you inside or outside. They can push the ball up on offense and can slow you down on defense. There is no one guy who the offense goes through, so they can rely on others when someone is having an off night. And most importantly, they have seven players that can start on pretty much any team in the country.
Its time to get that monkey of the Orangemen’s back as they look to close down the season strong and gain a top-seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Louisville Cardinals went into Sundays game against the second rated Syracuse Orangemen with their heads down. When the game was over, there heads were raised with achievement of a much needed upset victory.
Louisville was coming off their worse performance of the season in a embarassing 74-55 loss to St. Johns on Thursday night. So you would figure Louisville would have no chance, think again.
Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals got a much needed upset victory over #2 Syracuse.
Syracuse was also riding a eleven game winning streak to boot and were playing in fornt of their home crowd in the Carrier Dome. I think the only people who gave the Cardinals a chance were the players and coach Rick Pitino.
Louisville went into the Dome against all odds and pulled off the major upset 66-60 leaving Orangemen fans stunned. The Cardinals were lead by Edgar Sosa who had twelve points and five assists and Samardo Samuels scored all eight of his points down the stretch to seal the victory.
The Cards only shot 42% form the field and a miserable 9-17 from the free throw line. This kind of play on the road against the second-rated team will usually send you back home with a loss. But the Orangeman shot a poultry 41% and was only 5-19 from beyond the arc. The Cardinals escape with the victory, and they will take it any way they can get it.
Louisville needed this victory on their resume’ as they had not had a impressive victory to speak of so far. This will serve as a signature victory in their quest to get invited to the big dance in March. They stand at 16-9 and 7-5 in the Big East right now.
This victory was their fifth in a row over Syracuse. Louisville has their number and they are very thankful for that. While this upset does not guarantee any invitation to the NCAA tournament, it will go along way towards it . Beating the number two team in the nation on the road is something to hang your hat on. Louisville got a much needed win on Sunday.
There have been recent rumors that Rick Pitino is considering leaving his current position as head coach for Louisville. Pitino has denied any interest in the job. Rumors have been swirling especially since Louisville has struggled this year and are coming off a embarrassing loss to St. Johns 74-55 on Thursday night. The question in question is can the Nets lure Pitino back to the Pro game?
Can the Nets lure Rick Pitino?
Pitino is 57 and is in his ninth year at Louisville. He has had success at Louisville taking them to the final four in 2005 ,and they are current Big East champions. Louisville has not played to potential this year and have no real quality wins to mention.
Right now they stand at 15-9(6-5) are on the bubble at best for a bid to the tournament. They need to make a good run the rest of the season and have a good showing in the Big East tournament to get to the big dance in March.
Pitino does have eight years Pro experience. He knows the difference between coaching a Pro and College athlete. The Pro athlete is much tougher to coach now as the money has changed the player and game forever. Pitino would be crazy to take any job in the pros at this point in his career.
The Nets are on pace to have the worst record in the history of the NBA. They are currently 4-47 and need some massive rebuilding. How much patience does Pitino have for that? He thinks that the Louisville coaching job is as good as any job out there. Add the fact that they are building a new arena in Louisville, and you see that he is most likely staying put no matter how much money is thrown at him.
Pitino is a great College coach and is great not only for Louisville but for the college game. Players respond to him ,and he loves all that comes with the college game. To me the question is answered, the Nets cannot lure Rick Pitino.
The North Carolina Tar Heels suffered another loss last night, and their nightmare season keeps getting scarier. This time they lost against their fierce rival Duke 64-54. Carolina shot a pathetic 35%, a season low, and it was their lowest point total under current coach Roy Williams.
Roy Williams is irate on how the Tar Heels are playing this year.
They have shot poorly all year long ,and they have also turned the ball over way too much. They fell to 13-11 and just 2-7 in conference. Carolina has lost eight of ten and four in a row.
Duke was lead by Jon Scheyer who poured in 24. Duke is now 20-4 and 8-2 in conference. Duke was bigger up front and used that to advantage with second chance opportunities.
The defending National Champions and preseason Top five will have to likely win their conference tournament just to get invited to the dance. It has been a colossally disappointing season thus far for the Tar Heels and they would never imagined they are fighting for their tournament lives.
Beyond the losing, it is the way they have lost. There have been too many blowout losses and embarrassing defeats. The fans of Chapel Hill are not used to this. Coach Williams and the team are in a state of shock. Williams does not know what to do at this point and has even questioned his techniques that have been successful throughout his coaching career.
Carolina is likely looking at a NIT bid unless they have a amazing turnaround. Their season is in real jeopardy.
Firing Ernie Kent at the end of this season would come with disastrous consequences for the Oregon Ducks. Anyone that would consider coming to Oregon is a lateral move at best from Coach Kent. What seems lost on most people is that Kent’s philosophy for building a winning program has been perfect for Oregon Basketball and is proven to work for a program where not much did for most of it’s history.
The thing Oregon fans need to realize first and foremost is that Oregon is not the type of place most kids will move across the country to hoop for. Ernie Kent has been a master at getting in on one marquee guy (Rid, Aaron Brooks, Big Mike) every couple years, which is probably about the max for the Ducks and then using pieces around him who can score the ball well from inside as well as light it up from outside and hope to shoot well more nights than not. His style of play makes for some frustrating time because the team looks unfocused on defense and out of sync on offense but more than anything those things are symptomatic of a team that lacks cohesion. While that can be partially attributed to the coach, the reality of the situation is that the quality of players the Ducks are able to successfully recruit are the type who need a couple years to build that bond with teammates in order t0 consistently compete in the Pac-10.
If the Ducks make the choice to move on without Coach Kent, they will need to hire the kind of coach who has proven he can win consistently in the NCAA Tournament. The only thing Duck fans can be looking for is the type of team that is the NCAAs every year and then gets out of the first weekend more often than not. The regular season has always been a grind in the Pac-10 and the non-conference is all about building a resume; everyone knows that March is all that matters in college hoops and the bottom line is Kent has two Elite-8 showings at a school where even making the Dance would make sort of a “dream season” when he arrived. If the coach the Ducks replace Ernie with doesn’t produce even more than he has, how will his tenure be measured and how many chances will he get? There is certainly no doubt Kent has had time to build a more stable program, but at what point to expectations become unreasonable?
The Ducks have regular season and tournament Titles in the Pac-10 under Coach Kent
If the team at any point stops looking like they are giving Kent their best then that would put the pressure on Mike Bellotti because these are Kent’s guys. That being said they need to realize their effort will go a long way toward determining his future. This is dangerous territory for the Ducks and Ernie Kent because of the expectations and also because the trajectory of the program for the next five to ten years is at stake with the development of this team. The easy answer of course is to fire Ernie at the end of the season and start fresh with a new coach and a new program, but without the perfect hire that answer also becomes an incredibly stupid one.
Record snow fell on Washington D.C., with more than two feet on the ground before game time. Despite the crazy weather, the show had to go on for Georgetown and Villanova. More the 10,000 people braved the blizzard snow conditions to watch Georgetown handily knock off #2 ranked Villanova by a score of 103-90, bringing to an end Villanova’s 11-game win streak.
Pressure Is On For Reynolds and Nova
Georgetown was led by Austin Freeman and Jason Clark whom scored 25 and 24 points respectively. Scottie Reynolds and Corey Fisher led the way in a losing effort, each dropping in 24 points for Villanova.
The game was a big bounce back victory for the Hoyas. Earlier in the week, Georgetown was beaten at home by perennial Big East cellar dweller South Florida. The Hoyas were outhustled and outplayed in almost every facet of that game. The Hoyas needed a big performance against Villanova and their backcourt didn’t disappoint.
Georgetown’s offense was unstoppable, shooting 56.3% overall and 52.6% from the beyond the arc. In contrast, the Villanova offense was miserable in the first half, tallying more turnovers (16) than field goals (12) as they struggled to control the ball and make their shots. The Hoyas capitalized on the inept play, forging a lead of 23 points in the first half and never looked back.
Villanova attempted to claw their way back but got no closer than 10 points. As Villanova put on the defensive pressure, they consistently sent the Hoyas to the foul line to beat them. The usually poor free throw shooting Hoyas, with a season average of 69.4%, dropped 39-50 shots from the stripe to close out Villanova for the victory.
The loss by Villanova sends a ripple effect down the Big East Conference standings. Villanova was considered the class of the conference, but has not really played the meat of their schedule or any fierce opponents. Villanova is now 1-2 against current Top 25 ranked teams, has just three victories against quality opponents and now face Top 25 rated teams in four of their final eight games to close out the regular season.
After this handy defeat to the Hoyas and two squeaker victories over Marquette, catcalls of “overrated” are definitely going to rain down on this Villanova squad. How they respond to this will be on full display when Villanova travels to Morgantown for a nationally televised matchup against #6 ranked West Virginia. A victory will silence the critics, but another solid beating like the one delivered today may send this Villanova squad reeling.
This year’s Villanova squad has not showed a defensive spark that helped deliver last year’s Final Four appearance. The presence provided by last year’s departing seniors Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson has yet to be replaced by Antonio Pena and reserves Isaiah Armwood and Maurice Sutton. Villanova will need to see the players step up over the final stretch or it will see a free fall down the ranking and the Big East standings.
Jim Boeheim and his Syracuse Orangemen (22-1) just keep rolling, winning their ninth straight game over Providence by a score of 85-68. Kris Joseph came of the bench to lead Syracuse with 23 points and Arinze Onuaku chipped in a season-high 20 points in the blowout victory. Jamine Patterson dropped in 25 points for the Providence Friars (12-10) in the defeat.
Orange Set School Record
The victory set a school record for the best start to a season. The 1979-1980 basketball squad, Boeheim’s fourth season at the helm, got off to a 22-1 before fading down the stretch and getting knocked out of the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen round. That team was led by the “Bouie and Louie” show, with Roosevelt Bouie and Louis Orr driving the team along with future NBA player Danny Schayes coming off the bench.
Syracuse once again showed its depth with seven players rotating and getting at least 20 minutes. Joseph and Onuaku were the hot hands on the floor and the Syracuse offense steered the ball in their direction. Joseph was 9 of 11 from the field and a perfect 5 for 5 on the foul line, while Onuaku was 10-12 from the field and was ferociously dominating in the paint.
The famed Syracuse 2-3 zone dominated in the second, busting open the three point lead the Orangeman held at halftime. Opening with a 22-7 run, the Orangemen never looked back and were never seriously threatened thereafter. Syracuse did this without standout forward Wesley Johnson. Midway through the first half, Johnson landed hard on the court after being upended in mid-air for a dunk. Johnson would log just three minutes in the second half.
The difference maker in the game were the little things that don’t always show up on the ESPN highlight show. Leading the team in assists was F/C Rick Jackson with seven assists. Point guards Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine both finished the game with zero turnovers, keeping the ball in Syracuse hands and limiting Providence in scoring transition baskets.
“It just shows that they’re deep,” Providence coach Keno Davis said. “They’ve got so many guys that can have big games against you. And then their defense. They force you outside. They really understand their defense and they’re pretty physical when you try to rebound. It’s just a deep, physical, talented team.”
Next up for Syracuse, a road game at Cincinnati (14-7) on Sunday where they will look to extend their team record streak to open a season.
The Syracuse Orangemen came out sleeping at the start for the second straight game, but were able to overcome an 18-point deficit on the road to defeat the DePaul Blue Demons 59-57 in a Big East Conference matchup. Syracuse was lead by Wes Johnson who registered 16 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the Orange. DePaul’s Will Walker scored 21 points in a losing effort.
Syracuse Survives In DePaul
Syracuse came out flat, falling behind 14-6 in the opening minutes. It was replay of their slow start against Georgetown this past Monday night, spotting the Hoyas 14 points before they got onto the scoreboard. But unlike the Georgetown game, Syracuse had work much harder to pull themselves back into this game, as the offense was unable to pull itself out of its lull.
As Syracuse laid brick after brick on the rim, DePaul was able to extend its lead to 33-15 with 8:53 left in the first half. The vaunted Syracuse 2-3 zone the kicked in and left DePaul with no answers as the Orange went on a 16-0 run that spanned 7:40 before DePaul’s Krys Faber nailed a jumper to halt the run, allowing DePaul to head into halftime with 35-31 lead against the #3 ranked team in the country.
Syracuse’s offensive woes continued into the second half, as senior guard Andy Rautins was unable to breakout of a two-game shooting slump and Syracuse struggled to get baskets to fall. DePaul built its lead back up to 52-43 after a Mac Koshwal layup with 7:20 remaining.
From that point on, it was all Syracuse. Kris Joseph, Rautins and Scoop Jardine connected on consecutive three-point baskets. The Syracuse offense then shifted into transition mode, as Johnson beat the Blue Demons up the court for a highlight reel dunk to tie the game and on the next possession Jardine was able to push through and past traffic for a layup that gave Syracuse the lead for the first time in the game at 56-54 with 3:37 left in the game.
Syracuse would not relinquish that lead again.
The Blue Demons has their chances to put Syracuse away, but squandered numerous opportunities. The key to the game actually didn’t happen on the floor, it happened in the coaches box for DePaul. Interim head coach Tracy Webster, who recently replaced the fired Jerry Wainwright, and his team squandered their timeouts in the second half. After using their final timeout at 8:28 while extending their lead, DePaul was unable to slow the momentum of Syracuse’s late run that would snatch away a chance at getting their 2nd Big East victory in their last 29 Big East games.
For Syracuse, it was another game that tested the mettle of its squad. It gives them some things to work on, but they should come away positive from the victory knowing that their worst offensive performance of the season resulted in a victory. When the pressure was on, the Orange once again delivered on both ends of the court.
Kentucky became number 1 in the pools this week and promptly showed why they did not deserve to be there. South Carolina (12-8,3-3 in the SEC) handed the Wildcats(19-1,4-1) a 68-62 loss last night. The Gamecocks outplayed and out rebounded the recently crowned number 1 team in the nation. Their stay will be short and they should fall more than a couple of spots…
South Carolina was lead by Devan Downey, who poured in 30 points and kept the Kentucky defense off balance all night long. Kentucky was lead by Demarcus cousins who had 27 points to go along with their 12 rebounds. Kentucky seemed to have the number one let down and must learn to be more focused down the stretch when they are on the road. Kentucky’s resume’ of victories is less than impressive which makes this loss not that much of a surprise to me.
Kentucky has one real signature win to their credit. They had a road victory in Connecticut. They also do have a another victory over North Carolina but that is less credible now considering the recent play of the Tar Heels. They were overrated 19-0 and if you look at their schedule , you will know what I mean. I want to see how they respond to the rest of the season when their schedule gets tougher and the rigors of travel come into play.
So, who should be number 1 now. My vote would go to the Syracuse Orangemen. Syracuse is coming off their fresh demolition of Georgetown 74-57 on Monday night. The Orange(20-1,7-1) have been impressive all season long. They have victories over Cal by 22,NC by 16,at Florida by 12 and at West Virginia by 1. They have more impressive victories than the other two teams ahead of them, Kansas and Villanova. Kansas (19-1) sports victories over Temple and Baylor with their loss coming at a under manned Tennessee squad.Nova (18-1,7-0) has victories over Dayton and Georgetown and loss at Temple.
It is hard to determine exactly who is the best team in the nation right know, but it looks to me to be Syracuse. They have had the most impressive victories so far this year and the teams ahead of them can’t measure up to their victory resume’ thus far. I would bump them up from number four and put them to the top of the pools. I am not a big fan of the pools, but it does give sports fans something to debate about. The real season begins in March, there is nothing better than the tournament. Can’t wait for MARCH MADNESS.
Georgetown has historically owned the Syracuse Orangemen when they’ve been at the top of their game, delivering upsets that the Syracuse alumni will never forget. Syracuse has been rated in the Top 5 in four previous games with the Hoyas. The Orangemen’s record in those games is 0-4. John Thompson III invaded the Carrier Dome looking to carry on the legend of his father.
Andy Rautins Leads The Orangemen To Victory
The game kicked off looking like the Hoyas were once again going to deflate Syracuse’s season. Two turnovers and three missed jumpers in the first 3 minutes of the game left Syracuse trailing 14-0, not knowing what hit them. Jim Boeheim rallied his troops for the next 37 minutes for a 31 point turnaround that turned an imminent Syracuse blowout loss into a blowout victory against a highly regarded Hoyas basketball squad.
Boeheim earned his 819th career victory, moving into 6th on the all-time wins list, passing the currently idled Jim Calhoun of Connecticut. The victory was also the team’s 20th, extending Boeheim’s NCAA record of 32 20-plus win seasons in 34 years.
The way the Orangemen won the game was not as Boeheim had charted out. “We recovered from the worst start I can remember,” Boeheim said. “Our defense picked up and our offense got going. To go into halftime ahead was really unbelievable. To dominate a top-10 team after giving them 14 points is quite an effort. That’s as good as we can play. Everybody was looking for each other.”
Very true words.
What makes this Syracuse team intriguing this year is how they are putting away teams with major scoring runs driven by their defense. The offense maintains the run and doesn’t give it back going into scoring lulls. Its the type of basketball you usually don’t see at the college level. Where most teams are driven by a superstar with an NBA future, Syracuse doesn’t feature any one star that is looking beyond his college basketball days.
The comeback against Georgetown was fueled by the stunting 2-3 zone defense that Boeheim and Syracuse have become famous for. But it was their lack of selfishness on offense which was the difference maker. Their seven players rotation shared the ball, with no player on the Syracuse squad taking 10 shots or more from the field.
This selfless display comes on the heels of Syracuse’s definitive victory over Marquette on Saturday. In that game, Syracuse’s second leading scorer Andy Rautins played 36 minutes, taking only 2 shots and scoring no points. A refreshing change by a team leader within a sport where shameless self-promotion is the norm.
After the game, Rautins shrugged off questions from the media about his 0-for-2 performance, focusing instead on his teammates. Rautins noted how well the forwards took advantage of the mismatches down, “If you can’t score in one aspect, you find other ways to win.”
With that type of attitude living in the locker room, the rest of college basketball better take notice. The Orangemen are the most dangerous team in the NCAA.
