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

The Aftermath of the William & Mary "Victory"

In the aftermath of an extremely upsetting 63-60 victory over the William & Mary Tribe, a school beat thoroughly by the likes of the University of Virginia Cavaliers and the Richmond Spiders, one has to step back and reflect upon what we have witnessed so far this season.

The first thing that jumps out at you is that this Syracuse team has no killer instinct. They simply can not put a team away. The Orangemen had an early 10 point lead in the game on Sunday, however allowed William & Mary to scrap back into it with missed shots, missed rebounds, and lackluster offense. The Orangemen would go into the half up just two points (32-30). Syracuse would also build a 9 point second half lead, which the Tribe turned into a 4 point lead of their own with under 3 minutes to play in the ball game.

If Syracuse wants to be successful this year, they are going to need to get a lead, and keep tacking on points. You simply can not let teams hang around, because they will start making shots and then the pressure is on the Cuse to respond. Jim Boeheim's squad got lucky on Sunday, with William & Mary stepping out of bounds in the final seconds with the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead. That most likely will not happen again.

Kris Joseph responded from an exceptionally poor game against Detroit last Tuesday with an 18 point effort on Sunday. Joseph finished 5-12 from the floor (0-3 from 3-point range) with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal and zero turnovers in 34 minutes. That's the effort Syracuse is going to need to get from Joseph if they want to win ball games this season. However it can't just be him. They need a balanced scoring attack, and they need to limit the 3-pointers.

Scoop Jardine, who had 27 points against Detroit, chipped in 11 on Sunday and shot just 4-17 from the floor, 3-10 from 3-point range. If you take out Scoop's 10 attempts, Syracuse shot 2-12 from long range. The more Syracuse misses 3-pointers, the more teams will play off them and allow the long range shot in favor of having numbers under the basket for the rebound. William & Mary did it, and successfully. The smaller Tribe team managed to equal Syracuse in rebounds for the game, 37 apiece. If the Tribe can figure it out, assume other Big East school's and Tom Izzo will figure it out as well.

Perhaps the Orangemen could use a road trip. A chance to bond as a team away from the distractions of the University and the wide sight-lines of the Carrier Dome. Luckily for them they have a chance to spend a weekend away from Syracuse beginning this Friday in the Legends Classic. Taking place in Atlantic City, Syracuse will meet the Michigan Wolverines Friday night at 8PM at Boardwalk Hall. They will then meet the winner/loser of the UTEP-Georgia Tech game on Saturday night.

I'd like to say that it's a given Syracuse will beat Michigan and play the late game Saturday night. Three weeks ago I would have. However, after watching Syracuse stumble all over themselves to a 4-0 season record, saying Syracuse can win on Friday night couldn't be further from a guarantee.

Michigan is 3-0 right now, with victories against college basketball powerhouses USC Upstate (66-35), Bowling Green (69-50) and Gardner-Webb (80-58). As bad as Syracuse fans want to believe the Wolverines might be, they haven't trailed at the half to any scrub teams, nor have they been losing with under 3 minutes left in a game to a team that had yet to lose by less than 20 points this season.

Whether or not Syracuse can find their offensive game this weekend in Atlantic City will be the turning point for the season. If the Orangemen were to fall to the Wolverines on Friday night, the remaining non-conference schedule could get ugly, and it won't be any prettier once the conference games begin. Confidence would be low, team morale might be lower, and many Syracuse fans across the country would be heartbroken.

However, if Syracuse can win big against both opponents this weekend at the Legends Classic, it might give them the confidence they will need to beat North Carolina State and Michigan St. and springboard them into the conference slate of games with some moxie and swagger that they desperately need.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com