Orangemen Take Legends Classic Title in Atlantic City

Syracuse University took care of business this weekend down in Atlantic City. Taking on Michigan in the Semi-Final round of the Legends Classic, Syracuse held on for a 53-50 victory lead by Kris Joseph's 22 point effort. Rick Jackson chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds and Scoop Jardine had 11 points on 2-10 shooting from the floor. Freshman Fab Melo played 4 minutes.

Michigan was able to hang around due in part to tremendous 3-point shooting in the first half. The Wolverines knocked down 8 three-point field goals in the opening half. However, the shots weren't falling for the Wolverines from beyond the arc in the 2nd half, and had Syracuse been able to make foul shots down the stretch of the game (sound familiar?) the final score wouldn't have been as close.

Jordan Morgan and Stu Douglas both dropped 11 points for Michigan. The Wolverines held a 2 point lead at halftime, however Syracuse went on a 9-0 run early in the 2nd half to help the Orangemen pull out the victory.

Michigan faced UTEP in the consolation round of the Legends Classic, and UTEP knocked off the Wolverines Saturday 65-56. It was a tough weekend for Michigan, as they also got stomped out in football against longtime rival Ohio State. Come Saturday night, there were zero Michigan t-shirts and hats on the Boardwalk.

With UTEP playing in the consolation round, that meant that Syracuse would be facing Georgia Tech in the Finals of the Legends Classic. Once again Kris Joseph lead the Orangemen to victory, dropping 19 points on 5-7 shooting from the floor and 7-8 from the foul line. It was the most balanced scoring Syracuse has seen this season, as five players scored in double figures. Syracuse defeated Georgia Tech 80-76, behind 55.6% shooting from the floor.

Rick Jackson had another 10 point night to go along with 14 rebounds and 2 blocks, earning him Legends Classic Tournament MVP honors. Scoop Jardine added 15 points, giving the boys from Philadelphia, which is just under an hour away from Atlantic City, reason to smile.

Freshman Dion Waiters had a tremendous first half and finished with 13 points in 14 minutes, making 5 of his 7 shots from the floor. C.J. Fair had 10 points and Baye Moussa Keita had 4 points and 3 rebounds on the night. It was a 3-pointer by C.J. Fair with 11 seconds left in the first half that gave Syracuse a 38-36 halftime lead. Georgia Tech's Brian Oliver scored a career high 32 points, and mugged Kris Joseph late in the game with a very hard foul under the basket.

Thankfully Kris Joseph only needed a couple minutes to catch his breath on the bench and returned to the game moments later. After the game Jim Boeheim said Joseph hurt his chest, but was fine. Fab Melo followed up his 4 minute stint on the floor Friday night with 10 minutes on Saturday night.

Syracuse emerges from the weekend 6-0 overall this season and with the Legends Classic Trophy. Up next for the Orangemen is Cornell University on Tuesday in the Carrier Dome at 7PM. Cornell is 2-4 this season. Steve Donahue is out as head coach of the Big Red, as he took over the coaching duties for Boston College following Cornell's surprise Sweet 16 appearance. Bill Courtney, former UVA and Virginia Tech assistant coach, is now the head coach of Cornell.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Meet Us Tomorrow Night, In Atlantic City

Well they, blew up the D.C. in Michigan last night

Ya, they blew up his house too.

Down on the Boardwalk they're getting ready for a fight

Gonna see what them Orange boys can do.

Now there's trouble bustin' in from out of state

And Bernie Fine can't get no relief.

Gonna be a rumble out at Boardwalk Hall,

And Jim Boeheim's hanging on by the skin of his teeth

This weekend the Syracuse Orangemen basketball team will leave the usually friendly confines of the Carrier Dome and venture out on the road for the first time this season. "Usually" being the key word here, as Syracuse has struggled shooting the ball inside the Dome through the early part of the season. In Sunday's nail-biter against lowly William & Mary, Syracuse shot just 36.7% from the field. Additionally, the Orangemen have only made 12 of 52 shots from beyond the arc this season (23.07%).

Thankfully, Syracuse gets a chance to shed those home shooting woes and take their show on the road. Jim Boeheim's crew is heading to Atlantic City, NJ for a two-game set in the Legends Classic. Beginning Friday night at 8PM Syracuse takes on the Michigan Wolverines at Boardwalk Hall. Also playing at 5:30PM is UTEP v. Georgia Tech. The winners meet on Saturday at 8PM. The losers will play before the "championship" game at 5:30.

Many people have been wondering why Syracuse has struggled shooting the ball early this season. One possible explanation is the 'home court advantage' the Carrier Dome lends the Orangemen. The cavernous sight lines which throw off visiting teams shooters could be hurting the home team. Thus, Syracuse could be falling victim to their own home court advantage.

Syracuse has been practicing at the brand new state of the art Melo Center, a much smaller facility than the Dome. Perhaps they need more time practicing shooting in the Dome. Perhaps they are just playing down to their competition. Either way, the boys from Syracuse are going to get a chance to shoot in a much smaller gym this weekend in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall. We will watch and see if it has any effect.

The Orangemen need to get their confidence going. Most importantly Fab Melo, who has struggled mightily. Good news for Melo is that he shouldn't get pushed around inside, as Michigan doesn't have a player taller than 6'10". If he does continue to struggle, Baye Moussa Keita will come off the bench and give Syracuse quality minutes.

Through all the questions and poor shooting, Syracuse has still found a way to jump out to a quick 4-0 record. Michigan has gone 3-0, with wins against USC Upstate, Bowling Green and Gardner-Webb. Their average margin of victory has been 24 points, and they have yet to trail at the half to any of these opponents. Syracuse can not expect a team that will just roll over and allow Syracuse to take the game to them. The Wolverines are a very good rebounding team and Syracuse will have to scrap with them underneath if they want to come away with the loose ball.

Zack Novak and Jordan Morgan are each averaging 7.3 rebounds per game, and Morgan is also averaging 12 points per game for the Wolverines. Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 14.3 points per game and Darius Morris has chipped in an average of 14.7 points to help lead the Wolverines to their 3-0 record. Darius Morris has turned the ball over 7 times in 3 games, however he has also dished out 25 assists in the same time frame.

If Syracuse protects the basketball, limit turnovers and 3-point attempts, and is able to knock down open jumpers, they should be able to prevail against Michigan and play in the late game Saturday night.

The Cuse Connection will be tweeting live from Atlantic City all weekend. Additionally, baring any technical difficulties, there will be a podcast coming at some point Friday or Saturday, previewing the weekends events and discussing all things Orange. Please follow @CuseConnection on twitter to stay up to date on all the latest happenings from Atlantic City this weekend.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com