Orangemen Get Going in Tampa, Knock Off USF 72-49

During a season of unfinished business, Syracuse took care of some business, during a trip to "South" Florida on Saturday afternoon. Behind a season high 21 points from sensational senior Rick Jackson and 14 points from Kris Joseph, the Syracuse Orangemen knocked off South Florida 72-49 in front of 10,051 fans, many of them wearing orange and blue.

Coming off a huge 66-58 victory against the #6/#7 Connecticut Huskies on the heels of a 4 game losing streak, there was some concern that Syracuse could suffer a let down in the warm and sunny central Gulf Coast of Florida.

Thanks to Rick Jackson's monster game (21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 foul in 38 minutes on the floor) the game was hardly in doubt. It was Rick Jackson's 16th double-double of the season.

Syracuse's trusty 2-3 zone defense, which awoke from a 2 week long coma in Hartford, CT on Wednesday, continued to roll in Tampa as Syracuse held the USF Bulls to 49 total points and 2 of 13 shooting from beyond the 3-point line (13.3%).

Kris Joseph pitched in 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting from the floor (1-3 from three point range) and grabbed another 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Syracuse continued to struggle with their own 3-point shooting, going 4-15 from 3-point range (26.7%). Scoop Jardine's offensive struggles continued with a 2 of 7 shooting performance from the field (1-4 from 3-point range), however he did dish out 8 assists and is looking more comfortable with the basketball than he did during the 4 game losing streak.

C.J. Fair, seeing increased minutes in response to James Southerland's struggles, matched his season high in rebounds with 9 and scored 7 points on 3 of 5 shooting from the floor. Fair's ability it get into the lane and take high percentage shots is something that the rest of Syracuse's forward crop should be taking note of. It's not necessary to settle for jump shots, especially early in the shot clock. Take it to the hoop!

Some might say that Baye Moussa Keita took a step back on Saturday, however I would beg to differ. Keita had a match up problem against junior Augustus Gilchrist, who is at least 25 pounds heavier than Baye Moussa Keita. Rather than throw Keita to the wolves to get dominated inside, Boeheim opted to go with Rick Jackson in the middle of the zone, and the move paid off.

Keita played just 6 minutes after logging 27 minutes against UCONN, and finished with 3 rebounds and 3 fouls. Fab Melo pitched in 12 minutes for the Orangemen and also grabbed 3 rebounds, however he chipped in 4 points on 2 of 3 shooting as well. Rick Jackson meanwhile owned the paint on both sides of the floor (6 offensive and 6 defensive rebounds) en route to a 21 point night.

With the win, Syracuse notched their 20th win on the season. This is the 33rd time in Jim Boeheim's 35 year coaching career at Syracuse that he has reached the 20 win plateau. Syracuse is now 20-4 on the season and 7-4 in Big East play.

After the game Rick Jackson told reporters "Right now we're playing well. Guys are confident. I think we're all playing how we're supposed to be playing." With the exception of Scoop Jardine's shooting struggles, I think RJ is correct. And now is a great time to get our groove back, as the games on the horizon are not going to be getting any easier.

Syracuse (who just received a #13 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25) will return home to take on the hated #11 Georgetown Hoyas on Wednesday at 7PM and then travel down to #15 Louisville to take on Rick Pitino's Cardinals at 12:00PM on Saturday. We're all concerned about the early afternoon start time and Pitino's recent success against the Cuse. A win on Wednesday will help improve the Orangemen's confidence and can potentially help propel the Orangemen into the newly opened YUM! Center with a full head of steam.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Takes Business Trip to "South" Florida

The Syracuse Orangemen, fresh off a big time victory in Hartford against #6/#7 Connecticut, are leaving the ice and snow of north-eastern United States and heading south. Jim Boeheim and his squad will head down to Tampa, Fl where it is currently 79 degrees and expected to be 70 degrees and sunny for tip-off on Saturday at 2PM on SNY.

Compare that with Syracuse, NY, where its expected to be 35 degrees and there's some concern that a few Orangemen athletes will look at this trip to USF (8-15, 2-8 Big East) as more of a vacation and less of a business trip. But this is most definitely a business trip.

When Syracuse got clipped by Seton Hall on their own floor the Pirates were 8-12 overall and 2-6 in Big East play. Not too different from the USF Bulls record, and they will have the comforts of home. Well, not their home. The game will be played at the St. Pete Times Forum, the home of the Tampa Bay Lightening rather than the USF Sun Dome. While the Sun Dome seats over 10,000 fans, the St. Pete Times Forum has a capacity of 20,500 for basketball, almost double. Perhaps that will get a few more Orange-clad fans in the building.

Syracuse will need to maintain the defensive intensity we saw on Wednesday if they want to earn their 20th win of the season on Saturday. Most importantly, the Orangemen will need to see the top of their zone as active as it was against Kemba Walker, when they limited the Huskies leading scorer to a season low 8 points.

South Florida has beaten Providence and DePaul in Big East play, as well as Texas Tech and Auburn during their non conference schedule. The Bulls have only won twice in their last twelve games, however they took then #4 UCONN to overtime on the road back on December 31st. The Huskies won that contest 66-61.

Agustus Gilchrist (6'10" 245 pounds) is the leading scorer for the Bulls, averaging 12.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Gilchrist had a season high 25 points against Louisville and scored 21 points against UCONN in their overtime defeat. He has also pulled down a season high 10 rebounds five times this season, most recently in back to back games against West Virginia and DePaul.

At 6'10" 245 pounds Gilchrist might prove to be a match up problem on the inside for the Orangemen. Baye Moussa Keita may have 1+" on him, however he will be outweighed by nearly 25 pounds. It would be great if Fab Melo could stay in the game and be a force on defense in this one, however I don't know if that will happen. We may see Rick Jackson play increased minutes at center to help slow down Gilchrist, however that will force Syracuse into a smaller line up.

Sophomore Jawanza Poland (6'4" 200 pounds) is averaging 10.7 points per game and is coming off a season high 20 points against Providence on Wednesday. While he doesn't appear to be a threat from 3-point range, he's shooting a mere 25% from behind the arc, that is exactly the recipe for success from beyond the arc that has recently plagued the Orangemen. Poland shoots an average of 37% from the floor, and if Syracuse can be physical with him around the perimeter, hopefully our guards will be able to slow him down.

Last year South Florida had the pleasure of having Dominique Jones run the point and he torched Syracuse for 30 points, albeit in a losing effort. The Orangemen won the game 82-65 in the Carrier Dome and were able to shut down the rest of the team while lighting up the scoreboard on the other end. Hopefully Syracuse can have a similar result this season on the road and get their second straight win after suffering 4 straight conference losses.

This would be a great game for Scoop Jardine to finally rediscover his shooting touch and get his offensive flow back for the final 8 games of the season. If Syracuse wants to be successful in their upcoming run of games against Georgetown, Louisville and West Virginia, then we are going to need some steady offense out of Scoop. And what better time to get going than Saturday against a struggling squad? In the past six games, Scoop has been shooting 3-9, 4-13, 1-8, 4-10, 5-12 and most recently 2-11 from the floor. That's 30.1% over six games from the field. Let's see what we can do about that.

The game will be tipping off at 2:00PM and will be televised on the home of the Big East Network, SNY. Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis. Also, be sure to follow @CuseConnection on twitter, where we will be tweeting live reaction to the days events.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Ryan Nassib's Time to Step Up

Through the first four games of the season Ryan Nassib has looked like the first real quarterback to put on a Syracuse Orangemen uniform since the departure of Donovan McNabb. Syracuse fans have watched Troy Nunes, R.J. Anderson, Perry Patterson, Andrew Robinson, and Cameron Dantley take snaps under center for the Orangemen. We have also been witness to Duke point guard Greg Paulus playing at QB (as weird as that is to type its true). There has been the two headed QB by committee system and there has been outright confusion. Overall, one thing Syracuse has lacked since the late 1990s is a true quarterback.

Enter Ryan Nassib.

In just four career starts, Nassib has already set the record for most TD passes in a single game at Syracuse. Of course it came against the Maine Black Bears, but five touchdown passes in one game is still quite the accomplishment at the college level. Through the early part of the season Nassib has been 61 of 105 pass attempts, 860 yards with 9TD passes and 2 INTs. Now the true test comes. Now is the time for Nassib to show the fans that he isn't just a quarterback that can beat up on lesser opponents. He must prove to everyone that he can perform at a high level against the faster and bigger Big East defenses as well.

Not just a passer, Ryan Nassib has the wheels to run for positive yardage. He moves very well in the pocket and has rushed for 70 net yards this season and 1 touchdown. Nassib has the arm to throw the ball down field to deep threat Van Chew, and he can gun the ball over the middle for quick slants to slot receiver Alec Lemon and Antwon Bailey out of the back field as well. For a team that came into the season with big question marks at wide receiver, Nassib is making the most of the targets he has. Ryan Nassib currently has the highest passing efficiency rating in the conference at 151.4, good enough for 24th overall in the country.

After the loss of Aaron Weaver many SU fans were concerned about the depth at the WR position. Antwon Bailey showed Coach Marrone that he can be a lethal player out of the backfield and our tight ends have shown an ability to not only catch the ball, but pick up yards after the catch as well, most notably Nick Provo. Syracuse's offense hasn't skipped a beat since the season ending injury to Weaver and we are all hoping that the lack of a #3 receiver doesn't burn the team later in the year.

Now the true test for Nassib begins. This Saturday the Orangemen travel to Tampa, Florida to take on the South Florida Bulls. Syracuse has never beaten South Florida since USF joined the Big East in 2005. Of course their arrival to the conference coincided with Greg Robinson's arrival on the Hill so that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. This year though Syracuse fans everywhere have a reason to believe that the Orangemen have a CHANCE to win this game.

Both teams enter 3-1 and both teams have beaten up on squads with a combined record of 2-10 thus far in 2010. Ryan Nassib has to be the quarterback that takes over the game. He must continue to make time in the pocket with his feet and stretch the defense with attacks through the air. If Nassib can continue to excel within Syracuse's attack, than SU will finally have an opportunity to return to a bowl game for the first time since 2004.

Now is the time for Ryan Nassib to show Orangemen fans that he belongs.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com