News Archive on Syracuse University

Syracuse Hammers Hoyas, Readying For Deep NCAA Tourney Run

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

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.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in College Basketball, Georgetown University, Syracuse University | 4 Comments »

Big Ten Conference Expanding, Who Will It Be?

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Big Ten Conference Looking To Expand

Big Ten Conference Looking To Expand

Officials from the Big Ten, as reported by ESPN, announced that a committee has been formed to explore the addition of a twelfth team to join the conference. The committee will explore options over a 12-18 month period.  The Big Ten last expanded in 1989 when it added Penn State to the conference.  Exploratory conversations were had with Notre Dame in 1999, but their inclusion never transpired.

The call for expansion comes on the heels of the recently completed football season.  Each season, the Big Ten concludes two weeks prior to all other conference championship games.  The early season ending hurts the Big Ten visibility with recruits and can often leave the conference irrelevant when they are on hiatus.  More importantly, the Big Ten loses out on big broadcasting rights and sponsorship deals given their inability to hold a conference championship.

The question that is bouncing around is who is on the list of consideration and why?

Notre Dame

The obvious first candidate for consideration.  Everyone wants Notre Dame to join their conference.  The are a great addition due both to athletic program quality and educational prowess.   The Irish have traditionally been noted to get top recruiting classes, but the recruits are not translating into wins on the field.   Joining the Big Then would create an immediate impact in getting real blue chippers to come to South Bend.  By joining the Big East for all other sports, the Irish have seen improvements across the board in performance and success.  Given the lucrative TV contract that Notre Dame can still command, its unlikely that we’ll see Notre Dame join and give up that revenue.  They gotta cut those checks to Charlie Weis for quite a few more years.

Pittsburgh

Pitt seems like the most practical choice.  Not really one of the “Big East” notables, Pitt has flown under the radar for years in the conference despite its consistent success in basketball and football.  From a recruiting standpoint, the are right in the mix with Big Ten teams given their proximity.  More importantly, they have an instant rivalry in Penn State upon their joining the league.

Boise State

The athletic program at Boise State has probably displayed the most growth of any over the past decade.  The school puts it football, basketball and wrestling teams into the conversation every year.  With no true rivals out in Idaho, joining the Big Ten would reward this school for its progress and success across the board.  They are the feel good story of the NCAA.  And think about the fan interest it would generate on the West Coast for the Big Ten to enter the Great Northwest.  The Rose Bowl would become a much bigger bowl game draw.

Syracuse

The once great football power is limping on its way to death.  Since the departure of Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech, the football squad has suffered from an inability to generate recruits due to the loss of its biggest rivalry matchups.  Football has historical importance to this school and becoming relevant again would happen with a jump to the Big Ten.  For the Big Ten, they get a premier basketball squad that can help make their basketball conference relevant again.  Good payoffs for both sides.

Nebraska

The Cornhuskers should be desperate to get out of the Big 12.  Since joining, they have become irrelevant in every sports and lost their annual rivalry game with Oklahoma due to the splitting of the conference into North-South.  A jump out the Big 12 would give Nebraska new life.  For football, they become the talk of the town and recruiting would go skyward.   For basketball, they are immediately playing their way into the NCAA tourney every year, both women and men.  Volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling all fit in nicely with the Big 10 as well.  You split the conference East and West with the dividing line at the Indiana border.  And when they bolt, TCU finally gets its invite to the Big 12.

If I was a betting man, I’d like my money on Nebraska.  Second choice goes to Pitt.  Notre Dame is not going to join because they want the football TV cash.  Syracuse will show its allegiance to the conference it helped form despite the devastation to its once proud football program.  Boise State, well, they are used to not being the belle at ball.  The expansion is definitely going to happen.  There is big money to be made and the Big Ten is ready to put tradition behind for the cash.

Biggest problem in front of the committee is not what team to chose, it is is what to call the conference.  The Big 12 is already trademarked and calling yourself the Big Ten when you have twelve team makes no sense.   Hope it doesn’t take them another 12-18 months to figure that one out.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Boise State University, Boise State University, College Basketball, Illinois University, Illinois University, Indiana University, Indiana University, Iowa University, Iowa University, Michigan State University, Michigan State University, Michigan University, Michigan University, Minnesota University, Minnesota University, Nebraska University, Nebraska University, Northwestern University, Northwestern University, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame University, Ohio State University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, Penn State University, Pittsburgh University, Pittsburgh University, Purdue University, Purdue University, Syracuse University, Syracuse University, Wisconsin University, Wisconsin University, college football | 4 Comments »

Syracuse Knocks Off Florida, National Championship Talk Heating Up

Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Boeheim Has Syracuse Looking Like A Contender

Boeheim Has Syracuse Looking Like A Contender

The 2009-2010 college basketball season was supposed to be a rebuilding year at Syracuse.  Jimmy Boeheim lost his star player Jonny Flynn as an NBA Lottery pick and starters Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris made silly decisions to enter the NBA draft only to be passed over, thus losing their NCAA eligibility.  Top three scorers, 45 point per game combined, all gone.  Boeheim was supposed to be prepping this year’s squad for the NIT.

One month into the season and Boeheim has perhaps done the best coaching job of his Hall of Fame career, leading Syracuse to a 9-0 start.  Now, Syracuse has seen starts like this to the season before, ganging up on New York’s second-tier basketball programs in the Carrier Dome, but this year is different.  The Orange stacked their early schedule with games against top ranked teams in North Carolina, California and Florida.  And they didn’t just win the games, they dominated with double-digit blowouts.

That’s quite a turnaround after Orange fans were fearing for the worst after an exhibition lost to cross-town Lemoyne University, a Division II squad.  Granted, it was an exhibition, but the Syracuse bench should have blown them out.

So what’s special about this team?

Very simple…they have bought into the Boeheim system.  No matter how you feel about Boeheim and his painful to watch whining on the sidelines, the man is an expert at teaching the 2-3 zone defense and transition offense off the turnover.  After their first 8 games, Cuse is holding opposing teams to 61.6 points per game.  That is a stunning 10.1 point improvement over last year’s star-stocked squad.  The opposing turnovers are up as well, averaging 20.8 versus last year’s 14.4 per game.

The winning trademarks this year have been stunning runs that put games away.  Against California, Syracuse put together a 15-4 early in the 2nd half to bury the Golden Bears.  The next night they topped that performance by opening the second half with a 22-1 run against the Tar Heels.  And against Florida, Cuse piled it on with a 16-4 run in the middle of the second half and then closed it out with a 12-4 run to ice the game.

Uncharacteristic of Syracuse squads, this year’s team is getting contributions from every starter, as well as from its bench.  Entering tonight’s game, 8 players were averaging 7.6 ppg or more.  And with each victory it seems like a different member steps up.  Against Cal it was backup guard Scoop Jardine, against Carolina it was Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson, and this evening against Florida it was Rick Jackson.

Syracuse fans usually are keeping their fingers crossed as they enter the Big East schedle with hopes that the early season powder puff  games are not just getting their hopes up.  But given what we are seeing on the floor these days, right now Syracuse looks like a team to be reckoned with in March.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in College Basketball, Syracuse University | No Comments »

Newer Entries »