Weekend Wrap Up

And just like that the regular season is over. The Orangemen, who jumped out to an impressive 18-0 start (second best in school history), certainly made it interesting. After losing six of eight games in Big East play from January 17th to February 12th, the Syracuse Orangemen rattled off five straight victories to conclude the regular season 12-6 in Big East play, 25-6 overall.

Way back on September 30th in Part III of The Cuse Connection's Basketball Preview I predicted a 23-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Big East play. Had it not been for that shocking blowout loss to Seton Hall in the Carrier Dome we would have been right on the money with that prediction. We also would have been playing Thursday night as the 3 seed instead of in the afternoon session as a 4 seed, but I digress.

Fortunately for the Cuse, they are playing some of their best basketball of the season right now. Behind Rick Jackson and a rejuvenated Scoop Jardine the Orangemen finished the 2010-11 regular season campaign with two road wins on the hostile "campuses" of Georgetown and Villanova and capped Rick Jackson Night with the largest margin of victory in Big East Conference history.

On Saturday evening Syracuse thrashed the DePaul Blue Demons 107-59. They shot the ball an absolutely ridiculous 71.4% from the floor and an even more astounding 77.8% from beyond the 3-point arc (7 of 9), by far the best percentage from long range this year. Syracuse also shot 90.9% from the foul line.

While it is unlikely to see the team shoot 71.4% from the floor again this season (or possibly even next season!), every Syracuse fan has to be excited by the fact that the offense is clicking right now and that the defense is starting to get back to business.

Scoop Jardine, who was a pariah for much of January and some of February, is really turning it on right now. Jardine is regaining the form that helped Syracuse jump out to that great 18-0 start and finished his season with 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting from the floor on Saturday. Even more importantly he had zero turnovers in the game, first time this season. After turning the ball over at an alarming rate, Scoop has just 1 turnover in his last two games. During the same stretch Scoop has 15 assists. Is a 15:1 assist-to-turnover ratio any good?

In his final game in the Carrier Dome Rick Jackson put on a show. In 27 minutes of action Jackson finished with 14 points (on 7 of 10 shooting from the floor) 7 rebounds and 4 blocks while committing just one turnover. Jackson also chipped in two assists and a steal for the Orangemen to cap off a tremendous regular season.

Even Fab Melo, the forgotten freshman center, got in on the action Saturday! Melo played 16 minutes, the most since December 20th against Morgan State and more than his last six games combined. Making use of his minutes, Fab Melo was an astounding 5 for 5 from the floor for a season high 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, one less than his season high. Better late than never Fab!

Yesterday it was reported that Rick Jackson was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson led the conference in blocks, rebounds and field goal percentage, however the same coaches who recognized Jackson as the best defensive player in the best conference in college basketball also saw fit to leave him for 1st team All-Big East honors. Instead they opted to go with six guards! Looks like the coaches really went out of their way to keep Jackson off of the 1st team. Oh by the way, Rick Jackson also posted the most double-double's in the Conference this season, no big deal.

While Rick was named to the All-Big East Second team, Kris Joseph received All-Big East Third team honors and Scoop Jardine was named to the Big East Honorable Mention squad.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

It's Time for the Regular Season Finale

Way back on November 12th Syracuse began their 2010-11 basketball season with a victory over Northern Iowa. The Orangemen went on to rattle off 17 straight wins to give the University the 2nd best start in school history, 18-0. With a chance to tie the best start in school history, then #3 Syracuse let then #4/#5 Pittsburgh run out to a 19-0 lead before storming back with a 17-0 run of their own to open the game on January 17th. The Orangemen dropped that game 74-66, and then lost three more in a row putting their season on the brink.

With the team in danger of losing five games in a row for the first time in Jim Boeheim's coaching history, the Orangemen (who had fallen to 17th in the nation) woke up and delivered a huge win in Connecticut (then ranked #6 in the country) 66-56 behind Rick Jackson's 15th double-double of the season (13 points 13 rebounds).

That win ultimately saved the Orangemen's season, and helped spur the Orangemen on to their current four game winning streak. Now, we are ranked 12th in the nation, and with a win today Syracuse can earn a double bye in the Big East Tournament which begins this week in New York City. The Orangemen have matured a lot over the course of the season, and today we gather in the Carrier Dome to say goodbye to one of our own.

Earlier this week we discussed Rick Jackson, the lone member of the 2007 recruiting class that has used up all four years of college eligibility. Donte Greene left after his freshman season, Jonny Flynn left after a dramatic sophomore campaign and Scoop Jardine sat out the 2008-09 season following knee surgery. Leaving just Rick Jackson to be honored before tip off today at 4PM when Syracuse takes on the DePaul Blue Demons. It will be the last time Rick Jackson takes the floor in the Dome in an Orange and Blue uniform.

There is some speculation that he may not be the only Syracuse player to play his final game in the Dome today, however. At the start of the season, there was a lot of chatter about Kris Joseph's name being called at the 2011 NBA Draft. While he may not have lived up to the hype coming into this season, Joseph is the leading scorer on the #12 ranked team in the nation, averaging 14.3 points per game.

While I don't think Kris Joseph should leave for the NBA draft after this season, in today's environment I would not be at all surprised if he did. A lot will depend on his performance in MSG this week and the NCAA tournament. If he has a strong March and takes Syracuse deep in the tournament, than today will certainly be KrisJo's swan song at the Carrier Dome.

DePaul comes to the Carrier Dome sporting a 7-22 overall record and just 1 win in 17 games in Big East play. The odds are certainly in Syracuse's favor to win today. Even the most die hard DePaul fan (those exist right?) will tell you that this game is going to be all Orange.

So assuming that the Cuse hold court today, the Orangemen will earn a double-bye in the Big East tournament and play their first game on Thursday in Madison Square Garden. As a four seed, the Cuse will play at 2PM against the winner of the 5th overall seed (likely St. Johns) against the winner of the 12th v. 13th seed match up (currently Rutgers v. Seton Hall).

DePaul has shown some signs of life of late despite their dreadful record. The Blue Demons lost 77-75 to Villanova at home on February 19th and two days earlier defeated the Providence Friars on the road, which is no small feat. DePaul also lost by 4 points in the YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky and lost by only three points against Cincinnati three days after the Louisville game. So while DePaul is awful, they can't be taken too lightly.

A player to watch for Syracuse will be Scoop Jardine. Scoop, who averages 12.6 points and 5.9 assists per game has struggled much of January and February. However in Georgetown on February 26th Scoop put together the most consistent game he's played in quite some time. Jardine finished with 17 points 7 assists and just one turnover in 34 minutes on the floor. It was the first time since December 18th against Iona that Scoop turned the ball over just once.

With the Orangemen getting hot down the stretch, now would be a TREMENDOUS time for Scoop to find the game he lost for January and February and get the team clicking on all cylinders heading into March Madness.

Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis. The game begins at 4PM and will be televised live on SNY. We will also be previewing the Big East Tournament this week and will be tweeting live from Madison Square Garden and all the surrounding festivities as Championship week rolls on. Follow us on twitter @CuseConnection to get all the pictures, rants, raves, and opinions as they unfold!

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Scoop Jardine Leads Syracuse Past Georgetown

The Scoop Jardine that many of us had grown accustomed to watching last season finally reappeared in a Syracuse uniform after disappearing for much of January and February. Playing in front of 20,276 fans in the Verizon Center (the most ever for a Georgetown game), Scoop Jardine led the Orangemen to a 58-51 victory with 17 points and 7 assists, while turning the ball over just once in 34 minutes on the floor, spoiling "senior day" for the Georgetown seniors.

The Orangemen pushed their first half lead from 3 points to 10 points at the break behind unbelievable play from sophomore James Southerland. Southerland scored seven of Syracuse's final nine points of the half. James hadn't scored a single point since February 5th at South Florida, when he chipped in 2 points in one minute.

Southerland received 21 minutes, more than he's played in the last eight games combined (three of which he did not play a single minute), largely due to the fact C.J. Fair was limited to just 11 minutes of action. Fair, who has played more than 25 minutes in each of the last six games, rolled his ankle in first half action against Villanova on Monday night. Although he did return to the game and go on to play 30 minutes that night, it was very clear that Fair was still feeling the effects of that injury. C.J. Fair finished with 4 rebounds and zero points.

This was the first time this season that C.J. Fair appeared in a game and did not score a single point. Southerland, who scored 9 points in the first half, did not score in the second half.

Considering C.J. Fair's lack of availability, the Orangemen's defense looked in control much of the game, minus Georgetown's surge when they went on a 20-6 run to take their first lead of the game since 2-0. With the score 45-43 with ten minutes remaining in the game, Scoop Jardine played his best minutes down the stretch of any game in literally weeks, making clutch shots and knocking down a HUGE 3-pointer shot with 4:53 remaining to put Syracuse back up six points.

Rick Jackson, who will be playing in his final game in the Carrier Dome this coming Saturday, finished with 12 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds. Fab Melo played his first significant minutes since missing practice prior to the Louisville game on February 12th. Melo played 7 minutes (more than his previous five games combined) and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound.

Kris Joseph was limited to just 4 points on 2 of 7 shooting in 31 minutes and pulled down only 2 rebounds. This was his lowest offensive output since scoring 2 points in 10 minutes against Cincinnati before leaving with a head injury in the first half.

The Syracuse Orangemen as a unit are peaking at exactly the right time of the year. After suffering four straight losses and losing six of eight games between January 17th and February 12th, Jim Boeheim's Orangemen have won 4 straight games. The last two victories coming in Philadelphia against #14/15 Villanova and in Washington D.C. against #11 Georgetown.

Next up on the schedule is Rick Jackson Night, the final home game of the season against the 7-21 (1-15 in Big East) DePaul Blue Demons on Saturday March 5th at 4:00PM. It's Senior Day in the Carrier Dome, and the Orangemen faithful will be paying homage to their lone upperclassman, Rick Jackson.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Defeats Villanova in Philadelphia

On Monday night the #17/20 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team overcame the #14/15 Villanova Wildcats, a trio of incompetent officials and both Corey's for a tremendous 69-64 Big East victory.

Rick Jackson, playing his final game in Philadelphia in a Syracuse uniform, led the Cuse with 18 points 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. His high school teammate Scoop Jardine had one of his better shooting performances in recent memory, going 7 of 11 from the field (2 of 3 from 3-point range) to finish with a team high 20 points. Scoop also committed 5 turnovers, however tried to overcome that mark with 6 assists.

In one of the worst officiating displays of the season, the Orangemen were whistled for two lane violations on back to back free throw misses by Isaiah Armwood. As if that wasn't bizarre enough, the seemingly most mild mannered player on the SU basketball team, Baye Moussa Keita, was called for a technical foul after merely looking confused by the official's shockingly overzealous call.

The Orangemen's first half lead went from seven points to just two points with just 9 seconds coming off the game clock.

Another scary moment came in the first half when C.J. Fair rolled his ankle about 6 minutes into the game. Fair was helped off the floor and went directly into the locker room. Fans feared he may have re-injured the same ankle which kept him out of three games in late December. Thankfully, Fair returned to the court less than four minutes later. He went on to play 30 minutes however he did not record a single rebound, the first time that's happened since January 8th in Seton Hall when he was limited to just 8 minutes of action.

In the second half, Scoop Jardine made some big plays down the stretch and a couple of successful trips to the foul line by Dion Waiters and Rick Jackson in the games final seconds sealed the victory for the Orangemen.

The win for Syracuse was their 6th win of the season over a ranked opponent. Only Texas has as many wins over ranked squads as the Cuse. It also guarantees the Orangemen a winning conference record this season as they improve to 10-6 in Big East play, 23-6 overall.

There are just two games remaining on Syracuse's schedule, a trip to Georgetown on Saturday followed by a full week of rest before hosting DePaul in the regular season finale. And then the fun begins. A trip down to New York City to play in the Big East tournament.

The top 8 teams in the Big East get a 1 game bye, and the top 4 teams receive a double-bye. A win against Georgetown on Saturday will go a long way towards helping Syracuse earn that double-bye.

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

Is This Rock Bottom ??

Well, that sucked. The Syracuse Orangemen's 18 game winning streak seems like it was all a dream right about now as the Cuse is in the middle of a 4 game losing streak. Watching Duke lose to St. Johns yesterday helped me keep my head up, but in the end Syracuse has lost to two teams that we haven't lost to in years. Literally. Syracuse hasn't lost to Marquette since the 1980's.

Another slow start. Unfortunately or fortunately, however you want to look at it, Morgan State and Norfolk State played the longest 3 minutes of basketball in recorded history and Cuse fans watching on ESPNU were tortured until they were able to join coverage around the under 12 minute time out in the first half.

Marquette jumped out to a 10-3 lead and was in control the entire first half. When the half-time buzzer rang the Orangemen found themselves down 11 points. Once again, Syracuse was getting beat on the glass and being careless with the basketball. On Syracuse's final four possessions of the first half they turned the ball over three times.

The most frustrating part of the second half was when Syracuse was down one with the ball in Marquette's end and COULD NOT INBOUND THE BALL. Inbounding the ball is certainly day 1 stuff, however this Syracuse team could not overcome the inbound pass on two occasions with a chance to take the lead. The Orangemen were able to tie the game, but could never get over that hump.

Once again Syracuse was out-rebounded, although this game was by a narrow margin (2). Baye Moussa Keita led the Cuse in boards with 7, and added 4 points and 2 blocks before fouling out. He played some major minutes for the Orangemen and helped out on the glass on a day when Rick Jackson was held to just 4 rebounds.

Rick Jackson finished the day 6 of 7 from the floor for 14 points, however he was held to a season low in rebounds. Kris Joseph led the Orangemen with 18 points. The most interesting person on the floor was Scoop Jardine, however.

Scoop Jardine finished with a career high 13 assists and 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He also was credited with 5 turnovers, although in true Scoop fashion of late, it felt like many more. There were times late in the second half when I honestly felt worried every time Scoop touched the ball, and since he's the team's point guard, that's not a good feeling to have!

Speaking of point guards, Dion Waiters did not spend one second off the bench in this one. While Jim Boeheim took to the airwaves last week and said there was no issue with Dion Waiters, it's extremely curious to notice he didn't get any playing time on Saturday. Mookie Jones picked up 4 first half minutes while another regular contributor, James Southerland, also sat on the bench for the duration of the game.

In Southerland's place, freshman C.J. Fair had another strong outing. In 15 minutes of action Fair finished the day shooting 5 of 7 from the floor for 10 points and picked up 3 rebounds and 3 blocks. C.J. Fair should continue to see increased minutes, as his shot selection is always in high percentage areas and he is not afraid to pick up rebounds in the lane, something James Southerland has struggled to do of late.

Where do we go from here?

The loss, Syracuse's 4th straight, drops the Orangemen to 5-4 in Big East play and 18-4 overall on the season. It also drops Syracuse to 7th in the Big East Standings. The Cuse took another hit in the rankings this week, coming up 17th in both the AP & ESPN/USA Today Top 25 Polls. This week is a tremendous opportunity for Syracuse to get off the canvas and salvage a season which once seemed so promising.

The Orangemen will first travel to #5 UCONN on Wednesday at 7PM. Syracuse will follow that up with a trip (which is by no means a vacation) to Tampa, FL to take on USF at 2PM. If Syracuse can find a way to win these two games, that will do a lot towards increasing the confidence around this program.

On a side note, if there was one class I wish all SU players would enroll in, it would be "How To Draw a Foul." It's been 5 years since I was a student at Syracuse University, is that course still offered?

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Travels to Marquette with the Season on the Line

If you are a fan of Syracuse basketball, you are sick of losing right about now. We could live with losing in Pittsburgh and get over a loss to Villanova. But what we witnessed on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome is something we are all going to need rectified, and quickly.

The last time the Orangemen won a game was January 15th against Cincinnati. When we take the court on Saturday at 3:00PM on the road in Marquette it will have been two full weeks since the Cuse has tasted victory.

Right now, the main problem for Syracuse is protecting the basketball and taking the time to find the proper high percentage shots. And defense. Running down the floor and throwing up 3 pointers and runners in the lane are no longer going to cut it. Shooting 4-10 or 3-11 from the floor is not going to beat many Big East teams when that's the production out of your starting guards.

Missing layups and being out-rebounded by unranked and over matched teams can not and should not happen. And if Syracuse wants to save a season that started 18-0 and reached a #3 ranking in the country, than the Cuse are going to have to buckle down and get to work Saturday against the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Thankfully for Syracuse, Marquette has 4 losses in their past six games. Unfortunately for Syracuse, they haven't lost to the underachievers of the Big East (like Seton Hall). The Golden Eagles' four losses have come against Pittsburgh on the road, in Louisville, in Notre Dame and at home against UCONN. They have lost the 4 games by an average of 5.5 points. Syracuse lost their last game to then 2-5 in Big East play Seton Hall by 22 points!

Although Jim Boeheim went on the air with The Score 1260 yesterday and said his team did not quit on Tuesdsay, the effort displayed by Syracuse was never there. Seton Hall jumped out to an early 10-2 lead before Syracuse even knew what hit them, and the Cuse never recovered to even make it a game. From start to finish it was a complete embarrassment for the team, the university, and the alumni. How can Seton Hall score 90 points in a 40 minute game on Syracuse at home? The Pirates averages 68.1 points per game, 208th in the nation!!

We know we can play better than this, we've seen it. Now that we got what should be the worse loss of the season out of our system, we have to pick up the pieces and move forward.

Rick Jackson needs to keep being Rick Jackson. A double-double machine. Kris Joseph needs to be Kris Joseph and lead this team in scoring. Scoop Jardine needs to play like a true point guard and CREATE opportunities for his teammates while taking the ball to the hoop and generating high percentage shots for himself. Brandon Triche needs to play with a head on his shoulders and not throw blind passes in the lane to no one, while knocking down outside shots and playing tough defense at the top of the zone.

Fab Melo needs to find a way to do whatever he did in the second half of the Cincinnati game and keep doing it for every second he's on the floor. It's not too much to ask to use your 7-foot frame to establish position inside and grab every rebound that comes off the hoop. If you aren't going to score that's one thing, but its no excuse not to rebound the ball and play defense.

As for the guys off the bench, when they get on the floor they have to energize the guys who are out there through strong defense and smart play. Coming out and going 0-2 from 3-point range in the first 40 seconds you are on the floor isn't why Jim Boeheim is putting you in the game.

Frankly, I'd like to see C.J. Fair get more minutes. If he takes a shot, more often than not its right around the rim, and he can rebound the basketball in the lane.

Normally I'd dissect a few key players on the opposing team during a preview such as this, however today I'm not going to do that. Syracuse needs to shut down any opponent that touches the court. The defense has to be as good as the defense that held Notre Dame to 58 points in the Carrier Dome on new years day.

One might say that to think an 18-3 team has a must win game in late January is "crazy," But make no mistake, this is a must win game. After Saturday, Syracuse will face-off against #5 UCONN, travel to USF, host #20 Georgetown and then travel to #19 Louisville.

Lose Saturday, and I have very little faith in this stretch of games. However, if we can win, then we can use those next four games to springboard ourselves back into respectability with the nation's elite and begin to gear up for a serious tournament run.

The question for the team is, what kind of season do you want to finish with?

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Looks to Snap Two Game Skid Against Seton Hall

Syracuse is struggling. That's a given. The Orangemen, who won their first 18 games of the season, have now dropped two consecutive Big East games against two top tier teams in the nation (then #4 Pittsburgh and #7 Villanova).

Seemingly the poster child for the past two defeats is Scoop Jardine. Scoop has combined to make 5 of his last 21 shot attempts (23.8%) from the floor in the past two games, and watched the final 6 minutes of the Villanova game on the bench. He has pulled down zero rebounds in the same stretch and scored a mere 2 points in 22 minutes against Villanova (1-8 from the field).

It's clear Syracuse is going to need to get their mojo back. If a person was faced with a long dry-spell or felt as if they were lacking in mojo, they would head out and try to track down a slump breaker. Thankfully for Syracuse, they won't have to look too far. And thankfully, we're looking at the Seton Hall Pirates.

Like an ugly girl at a party, The Pirates enter the Carrier Dome tonight at 7PM with an overall record of 8-12, and a very poor 2-6 mark in Big East play. Since Syracuse defeated Seton Hall in Newark, NJ on January 8th 61-56, the Pirates have gone 1-3, and have lost three games in a row (at Pittsburgh and two home games against Georgetown and Rutgers). Seton Hall may very well be our slump breaker.

The Orangemen need to treat this game as a springboard. Use it as an opportunity to get their legs back under them, get their confidence back, and get back some swagger that the team hasn't had since watching Kris Joseph go down with a concussion in the game against Cincinnati.

Since the tangling with Syracuse, the Pirates have gotten their leading scorer Jeremy Hazell (6'5" 188 pounds) back from a hand injury and a gun shot wound. Although Seton Hall is 1-3 since his return, Hazell is averaging 15.5 points per contest. Hazell is averaging 19.1 points per game on the season (he missed 13 games), and had he been in action against Syracuse 17 days ago, the outcome might have been very different. In the seven games Hazell has played, he has failed to score in double digits just once, January 15th in Pittsburgh, when he was held to 9 points on 3 of 13 shooting.

When we last saw the Pirates Herb Pope (6'8" 236 pounds) pulled down 20 rebounds and scored 14 points. It seems as if that game kicked some life in Pope, as he's averaged 15.25 points and 10.25 rebounds since January 8th. The 20 rebounds against Cuse was Pope's season high, as were the 16 points he dropped on Georgetown on January 18th.

In the last meeting between the two squads Pope and Jeff Robinson (6'6" 230 pounds) combined to out-rebound the entire Syracuse Orangemen basketball team. Robinson pulled down 14 boards and added 17 points to help keep the Pirates in the ball game. Although Robinson hasn't been pulling down rebounds at nearly the same pace, he has been scoring the ball, averaging 12.8 points per game over his last four.

For Syracuse, they absolutely and desperately need to get their guards going. Syracuse can not afford another stinker from the guards, not just on offense but defensively as well. They must help out rebounding the basketball. It can not be all Rick Jackson underneath. And the same goes for James Southerland.

Southerland had an impressive 8 rebounds against Cincinnati, however in the following two games (both losses) James has grabbed only 1 rebound in a combined 54 minutes of action. With Southerland standing 6'8" I'm not even sure how that's possible. He has to get involved in rebounding the basketball otherwise he's going to see his minutes dwindle in favor of a player who can rebound the ball, a player like C.J. Fair.

C.J. had a season high 9 rebounds in the loss to Pittsburgh while helping fill the void left by an injured Kris Joseph. Fair also scored a season high 16 points in 36 minutes. However, on Saturday Fair played just 10 minutes and had 1 rebound. Not great numbers, but he should have seen more time off the bench, especially with Syracuse getting beat on so many rebounds late in the 2nd half.

Kris Joseph returned from his concussion to score a team high 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting Saturday against Nova. He made his first 4 three-point attempts before missing his final 3 tries of the game from long distance. While he had just 3 rebounds in 34 minutes, expect to see that number increase as he is averaging over 5 boards per game.

Tip-off tonight is at 7PM on SNY and as usual, be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for full recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Undefeated Syracuse Orangemen Host Cincinnati

Coming off a rousing 76-59 victory over the Red Storm of St. Johns, the #4 Syracuse Orangemen will host the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Carrier Dome Saturday for a 12:00PM tip-off. The Bearcats, ranked 25th in the AP Top-25, come to Syracuse after knocking of the USF Bulls 74-66 and are 16-1 on the year, 3-1 in the Big East.

Cincinnati's lone loss came January 9th when the Bearcats traveled to Philadelphia, PA to take on the #7 Villanova Wildcats. Nova beat Cinci 72-61 on that fateful day. Cincinnati also has a very balanced and deep bench which boasts a 9 man rotation.

Leading the Bearcats in scoring is Dion Dixon (6'3" 195 pounds) who is averaging 12.5 points per game and shoots 31.1% from beyond the arc. While Dixon isn't much of a rebounding threat, he has averaged 7 rebounds per game in his last 3 outings and had a season high 23 points on December 21st at Miami of Ohio.

Local kid Yancy Gates (6'9" 260 pounds) out of Cincinnati, OH is the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Gates shoots 50.3% from the field and scored a season high 22 points against Xavier on January 6th while pulling down 14 rebounds (also a season high).

Freshman guard Sean Kilpatrick (6'4" 215 pounds) is a serious scoring threat and spark off the bench for Cinci. Although he averages just 10 points per game, he shoots 41.5% from 3-point range. Kilpatrick was 4 of 5 from three in the last game against USF en route to a 18 point night, twelve of which came in the first half. He also posted a season high 26 points on December 1st against Wright State while going 5 for 5 from beyond the arc.

Leading the 17-0 (4-0 Big East) Syracuse Orangemen has been Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche. All four players are averaging in double digits this season, and Rick Jackson is also averaging 11.8 rebounds per game to lead the Cuse.

Kris Joseph is averaging 18.4 points in his last 7 games and has been piling up the rebounds in that same time period. Brandon Triche is coming off back-to-back strong shooting efforts and 15 point games while the Philadelphia Connection has been pacing the Cuse.

Rick Jackson has averaged 10.5 points and 11.5 rebounds during Big East play while his Scoop Jardine has averaged 16.6 points in his last 5 games. All four players have picked up their games another notch since Big East play began, and Rick Jackson has been playing an increased role at the center position.

With Rick Jackson playing increasingly more minutes at center, that means that Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita have been playing sparingly. While Keita was able to hold his own defensively during the non-conference portion of Syracuse's schedule, his defensive shortcomings have been exposed in the Big East.

With #5 Pittsburgh lurking in the shadows of Big Monday, it's very important for Syracuse to not get caught looking past the Bearcats. The Orangemen must have the same sense of urgency they have shown all season on defense, and not let the Bearcats get hot from the floor. Cincinnati is 16-1, they are no pushover, and in an extremely tough Big East, every game will be a dog fight.

The game will be televised live on the Big East Network, SNY, and tip-off is at 12:00PM from the Carrier Dome. Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen Cruise to NYC Victory over St. Johns

The Syracuse Orangemen did what they do best last night: play tough defense and win at Madison Square Garden. St. Johns (10-5, 3-2), in the midst of their best start in 11 years, was no match for the #4 Syracuse Orangemen as they cruised to a 76-59 victory in front of 14,440. The win pushes Syracuse to a perfect 17-0 record (4-0 Big East), the second best start in school history. Furthermore, it was win number 1,800 in program history.

The Red Storm jumped out to an early 15-7 lead on Syracuse with 9:02 left in the first half. Many Syracuse fans were concerned it was going to be another game like the Seton Hall game, when the shots just wouldn't fall. Would Syracuse need to lean on their defense to pull out a victory?

Not so much. The Orangemen responded with an 18-3 run to take them to a 25-18 lead with under four minutes to play in the first half. Syracuse got balanced scoring during the run from Rick Jackson, Kris Joseph, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche. It was the kind of balanced scoring attack you love seeing from the Cuse.

The defense kept protecting the hoop and Syracuse was able to muscle their way to a 35-24 lead at the break. The Orangemen closed out the half on a 10-6 run to put a little breathing room between themselves and the Johnnies.

The second half was all Syracuse, as they pushed their lead to as many as 22 points inside Madison Square Garden. Rick Jackson picked up his 10th double-double of the season, scoring 12 points and adding 10 rebounds for the #4 ranked Orangemen. Jackson was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field, along with 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Kris Joseph continued his hot play of late, leading all scorers with 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor, and had five rebounds. Brandon Triche had his second straight 15 point game for the Cuse, and was 3 of 6 from behind the arc.

C.J. Fair showed no ill effects from his ankle injury, playing 20 minutes (the most since missing 3 games with the injury). He was just 1 of 5 from the floor and finished with 2 points and 3 rebounds, but it's good to have him back to full health as he provides great rebounding potential and energy off the bench.

Scoop Jardine picked up 14 points, however committed 7 turnovers to lead the Cuse in that category. After the disastrous free throw shooting in Newark, NJ on Saturday afternoon, Syracuse was a much improved 5 of 8 from the stripe.

The Orangemen next take the court on Saturday January 15th when they host the #25 Cincinnati Bearcats (16-1, 3-1 Big East) in the Carrier Dome at 12:00PM. The game will be broadcast live on The Big East Network, SNY.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Seton Hall Scouting Report - Syracuse's First True Road Test

Regardless of the number of orange t-shirts and jerseys in the stands at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on Saturday afternoon at 12:00PM, the #4 Syracuse Orangemen will actually be playing their first true road game of the season.

Newark, NJ (located just down the road from Jim Boeheim's doorstep) is the home of the Seton Hall Pirates. The Pirates (7-8, 1-2 Big East) defeated USF in their Big East opener, however have dropped their last two Big East games by an average of 18 points. Most recently, Seton Hall got beat up by Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals 73-54. The Cardinals opened the game by jumping out to a 24-2 lead against the Pirates.

Seton Hall scored their first basket 6:01 into the game, and didn't make another shot until there was 9:29 left in the first half. The Pirates looked extremely lazy on defense at times, and were very careless with the ball early on. Additionally, they took a lot of bad shots. The Pirates shot 29% from the field.

On the season, Seton Hall is shooting 40.4% from the field and 31.9% from 3-point range. They are without their senior leader Jeremy Hazell (who has averaged over 20 points per game the past two seasons), after he suffered a broken bone in his left hand and then got shot in the back during a robbery attempt over Christmas break. Hazell is expected to fully recover from the gun shot wound.

Senior Jeff Robinson (6'6" 230 pounds) out of nearby Trenton, NJ is the teams leading scorer in the absence of Hazell. Robinson is averaging 12.2 points per game and shoots 32% from 3-point range. Robinson grabs 5.9 rebounds on average, and had a season high 17 points and 10 rebounds against Richmond on December 26th. More recently, Robinson scored 14 points against Louisville Wednesday night.

Next up on the Pirates scoring list is Jordan Theodore (6' 174 pounds) out of Englewood, NJ. Theodore is posting 11.7 points per game and a 36.6% shooting accuracy from 3-point range. Against Arkansas on December 8th Theodore dropped a season high 24 points, and had a season high 10 assists against NJ Tech on December 19th. He is averaging just 8.6 points per game in Big East play.

Recently freshman Fuquan Edwin (6'6" 205 pounds) from Paterson, NJ has been coming on strong for the Pirates. After a slow start, Edwin is averaging 13 points per game in Big East play, and posted a team high 18 points and 9 rebounds against Louisville Wednesday night.

Junior Herb Pope (6'8" 236 pounds) out of Aliquippa, PA rounds out the Pirates leading scorers group. Averaging 8.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, Pope is one of the team leaders for the Pirates. Pope's numbers are down slightly from last season, and has only scored in double-digits 6 times through 14 games. After averaging a double-double last season (11.5 points 10.7 rebounds) Pope has just two double-doubles this season.

For the #4 in the nation and undefeated Syracuse Orangemen (15-0, 2-0), Kris Joseph, Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine have been lighting the lamp and leading the way. Joseph is averaging 19.2 points his last 5 games and had a season high 8 rebounds last Saturday against #15 Notre Dame.

Rick Jackson, the Orangemen's undeniable season MVP and low-post all-star, has scored in double digits in all but two games this season for the Cuse. Against Notre Dame on Saturday Jackson had a monster 6-blocks and played the majority of the second half at the center position.

Scoop Jardine is averaging 19 points his last 3 games and tied a season high 9 assists against Notre Dame this past Saturday. The junior from Philly was taking it to the Fightin' Irish playground-style. Getting into the lane, throwing up acrobatic shots and making them, and dishing the rock, Scoop was playing like a man among boys on the school yard against the over matched Irish.

James Southerland will look to continue his hot play of late, averaging 11 points per game in his last 4 outings. Southerland saw his minutes increase when C.J. Fair went down with an ankle injury. Fair is expected to be close to 100% for the Seton Hall game, and was limited to 4 minutes against Notre Dame in his first game back after sitting out the previous three with an injury. In four minutes, C.J. Fair contributed 2 points and 3 rebounds for the Cuse.

The game will be televised live on SNY, the Big East Network, at 12:00PM. The Cuse Connection will be tweeting live from the Prudential Center and lovely Newark, NJ beginning around 10:30AM. Be sure to follow @CuseConnection to stay connected as the #4 Syracuse Orangemen take on the Seton Hall Pirates.

Be sure to check back with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Defeats #15 Notre Dame 70-58 on New Years Day

It was one of the toughest tests so far this season for the Orangemen, and they responded just like we would have hoped. Notre Dame, who came to the Carrier Dome ranked 15th in the nation and coming off a victory against #9 Georgetown just days earlier, was dispatched of seemingly effortlessly by Syracuse and their trusted 2-3 zone. Notre Dame, who averages 78.8 points per game (31st best in the nation), was held to just 58 points during the New Years Day matinee.

Kris Joseph once again lead the Orangemen in scoring with 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting from the floor. While Joseph played a great game, it was Scoop Jardine who stole the show. Scoop had 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and handed out 9 assists during the game, however lost on the scorers sheet is the schoolyard moves Scoop was handing out all night on the Fightin' Irish.

Scoop made it look like he was back on the playground, knocking down acrobatic shots and just schooling his defenders as he drove the lane. The one down side to Scoop's performance Saturday afternoon was the 5 turnovers he committed, a team high.

The biggest moment in the game came after Notre Dame surged to a 6 point 2nd half lead with a 7-0 run out of the locker room. With that, Jim Boeheim turned to Rick Jackson to take over the center position within the zone, and the Orangemen never looked back. Syracuse responded with a 29-7 run to push the lead to 63-47 Cuse.

Boeheim turned to Jackson to play the 5-spot after Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita each gave up easy baskets under the hoop during the Irish's offensive run at the start of the 2nd half. Rick Jackson responded, cementing the back line of the defense and turning away a game high six blocks for the Orangemen. Fab Melo played just 7 minutes and was held without a point for the third straight game. Melo grabbed 1 rebound and 1 steal.

Keita pitched in 11 minutes of action, the same number of minutes he played in the Big East opener against Providence. Keita managed just 1 rebound against Notre Dame. Thankfully, Syracuse had their newest weapons ready to explode off the bench.

James Southerland put forth another impressive performance for Jim Boeheim posting 12 points and 3 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Southerland finished 5 of 7 from the floor (2-4 from 3-point range) and had 3 steals and a block for the Cuse.

C.J. Fair also returned from his brief ankle injury to play 4 minutes. Fair finished with 2 points and 3 rebounds, and picked up his lone bucket and two rebounds on the first sequence of the game he participated in. Jim Boeheim told reporters after the game that after Syracuse's seven day layoff before traveling to Seton Hall that C.J. Fair should be 100%.

Sitting court-side for the game opposite the SU bench was the 2011 recruiting class, Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Christmas and Trevor Cooney which ranks #10 nationally. Behind them sat 2012 prized prospect DaJuan Coleman, who plays down the road at Jamesville-Dewitt High School.

The #5 Orangemen, who remain undefeated with the victory, are now 15-0 on the season for just the third time in Jim Boeheim's career. Syracuse is off until Saturday January 8th when they travel to Newark, NJ to take on the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center at 12:00PM. This is the best start for Syracuse since the 1999-2000 season, when Jim Boeheim's Orangemen jumped out to a 19-0 record. The win was number 844 in Coach Boeheim's career.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

New Years Day Fight with Notre Dame

While we all recover and relish the victory at Yankee Stadium yesterday and start thinking about how tonight is New Years Eve, we as Cuse fans can not forget that tomorrow is a huge game for the basketball team.

The University is probably a little distracted by football right now. Safe to say it's been a long time since a Syracuse squad ranked 5th in the nation was over shadowed by the football team. But thanks to Doug Marrone and the rest of the SU Football team that's the world we're living in right now. There's a ton of excitement out there about the football team and rightly so.

For Jim Boeheim and the 14-0 Syracuse Orangemen, tomorrow is a New Years Day matinee against the #15 Notre Dame Fightin' Irish (12-1) in the Carrier Dome. Take out the Pinstripe Bowl victory and this is the biggest sporting event this weekend for Central New York.

Notre Dame is coming off a 69-55 victory against the #9 Georgetown Hoyas on Wednesday night in South Bend. Tim Abromaitis lead the Irish with 20 points, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Tyrone Nash had 15 points 10 rebounds. Now they're taking on the #5 Syracuse Orangemen.

In what has the makings to be a classic, the Orangemen enter the Dome undefeated and since the Michigan State game on December 7th have won each game by an average of 24 points. Kris Joseph has scored 20+ points three times in the past four games, including 27 points against Providence in the Big East opener on Tuesday night.

Scoop Jardine has a pair of 21 point games in his last two outings, and dished another 7 assists on Tuesday against Providence. As a team, Syracuse averages 17.7 assists per game, which ranks 17th in the nation.

For the Irish, senior Tim Abromaitis (6'8" 235 pounds) is the leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 38.2% from 3-point range. Directly behind him is Ben Hansbrough (6'3" 206 pounds) averaging 15.5 points per game and a 47.8% accuracy rating from behind the 3-point line. He is also Tyler Hansbrough's brother, of UNC fame.

Two more players average in double figures for Notre Dame, Carleton Scott (6'7" 217 pounds) and Tyrone Nash. Scott averages 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, and had a season high 23 points against Gonzaga on December 11th. Scott has also pulled down a season high 11 rebounds twice and shoots 33.9% from beyond the arc. Tyrone Nash (6'8" 232 pounds) out of Queens, NY had 15 points 10 rebounds in Wednesday night's game against #9 Georgetown. Nash averages 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

It will be interesting to see if freshman C.J. Fair plays in this game, after sitting out the past three games with an ankle injury. Prior to Tuesday's game against Providence Fair said he would be healthy enough to play. Fair sat on the bench in uniform although he did not take the court. Jim Boeheim said he had trouble jumping on Monday, we'll see if he plays Saturday.

Fab Melo was held to just 5 minutes of action and 2 rebounds in Tuesday's conference opener against the Friars. Baye Moussa Keita played just 11 minutes, so that means that Rick Jackson saw many of his 36 minutes on the court at the center position. We'll continue to monitor that situation as Conference play progresses.

Tip off for #5 Syracuse - #15 Notre Dame is at 3:30PM and the game will be televised live on ESPNU. Check back with The Cuse Connection after the game for full recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Knocks off Providence 81-74, Improves to 14-0

As Syracuse's second half lead went from sixteen points to just four with 3:08 left in the game, the Orangemen had to dig deep if they wanted to preserve their perfect record. With Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph leading the way, Syracuse was able to hold on for a 81-74 victory in the Carrier Dome in front of 20,388.

Rick Jackson went 3 for 4 from the foul line in the final minutes to help seal the victory over the Providence Friars (11-3). Jackson finished with a game high 17 rebounds while shooting just 2 of 6 from the floor, giving him 9 points on the night. Rick Jackson played significant minutes at center, as Fab Melo was limited to just five minutes of action and Baye Moussa Keita played just eleven.

Kris Joseph had a career high 27 points in the win. Joseph was also 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and had 5 rebounds with 4 assists. KrisJo credits his improved 3-point shooting of late to the "Donte Greene Drill," he's been doing at practice with coach Rob Murphy. The drill consists of shooting with an oversized "big ball," and when you switch back to a smaller ball its much easier to control.

Absent from the game was C.J. Fair, who was in uniform on the bench. Fair is recovering from an ankle injury and although he said he would be available for the Big East opener, Boeheim felt he was unable to perform. Coach told reporters "He couldn't really jump yesterday. He's run the last two days, but he couldn't really go up."

In his place was James Southerland. Southerland picked up 28 minutes of action, shooting 3 of 7 from the field. He also grabbed 3 rebounds and was 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. Mookie Jones, who has been making waves on twitter lately, did not enter the game.

At the guard spot, Brandon Triche had a big 2nd half for the Orangemen and finished with 15 points on 6 of 11 shooting, while Scoop Jardine also finished 6 of 11 from the field en route to a 21 point performance. Scoop also dished 7 assists while turning the ball over 3 times. Dion Waiters finished with just 1 point in 9 minutes.

For Jim Boeheim, it was his 843rd career win, meaning he is just one win away from 844. The #5 Syracuse Orangemen improve to 14-0 (1-0 Big East) and will host #15 Notre Dame in the Carrier Dome on New Years Day at 3:30PM on ESPNU.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen Perfect in Non-Conference Slate

I was going to say that Syracuse slayed the Dragons last night, but then every other news outlet and blog in the country already made that joke. So I'll say the Orangemen thumped Drexel last night in the Carrier Dome 93-65, in front of 17,856 Orange-clad fans.

Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine lead the scoring for Syracuse. KrisJo scored a career high 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting from the floor including 6 of 7 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed 7 rebounds and chipped in 2 blocks, 1 assist and 1 steal. Scoop Jardine finished with 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting from the floor and dished out 5 assists.

Rick Jackson was straight-schooling kids inside the paint all night. He posted his 9th double-double in thirteen games posting 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jackson also put up 5 blocks and 4 assists in 35 minutes on the floor. Drexel, the 16th best rebounding team in the country so far this season, was no match for Rick Jackson inside, who literally had his way with the Dragons all evening. To say the Dragon's were outclassed is an understatement. Rick Jackson, who has improved each year in a Syracuse uniform, is literally a machine right now.

Fab Melo played 8 minutes without taking a single shot, pulling down any rebounds, or dishing any assists. He did however commit two fouls. The most disappointing part of the night for Fab Melo was that he quote "turned" his ankle early in the second half. He did not return and Jim Boeheim told reporters after the game "It wasn't the same thing [injury]. He could have played. He's fine." Good news for Fab Melo is that the team is off until December 28th so he will have an opportunity to rest up and heal before the Conference schedule starts up.

Baye Moussa Keita played a strong 13 minutes off the bench for Syracuse running the court and cutting to the hoop en route to a 2 for 2 shooting performance from the floor to finish with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Rick Jackson played some center as well last night, while James Southerland filled in once again for injured C.J. Fair, who is said to be improving.

Southerland's jumper wasn't as effective as it was Monday against Morgan State. Southerland's first shot attempt, a 3-pointer, clanked off the rim. However, Syracuse got the long rebound, kicked the ball right back out to James Southerland, who proceeded to swish a 3-pointer and give the Orangemen some juice.

Unfortunately for Southerland, he finished just 2 of 5 from 3-point range for 6 points and grabbed another 3 rebounds for the Cuse. Overall, Syracuse shot a whopping 63.6% from the field against Drexel.

Speaking of shooting the ball, the most surprising statistic to come out of the game last night is that Mookie Jones played 7 minutes, and get this, without taking ANY shots! He did grab 1 steal on the night to get himself some ink in the box score. Mookie, who is known as a shoot first player, has been fighting for time on the floor for almost two years. Could he be trying to prove to the coaching staff that he doesn't have to shoot the ball all the time? Possibly.

With the win, Syracuse finishes their non-conference schedule with a perfectly unblemished 13-0 record. This is the 8th time in Jim Boeheim's career behind the bench that Syracuse has started 13-0, and the Orangemen have now put together 28 non-conference regular season wins in a row.

C.J. Fair, who has missed two straight games with an ankle injury, was sporting a walking boot on his left foot during Monday night's game against Morgan State. Good news for Syracuse, the walking boot was not on Wednesday night during the Drexel game and Jim Boeheim thinks that he can be back for practice on the 25th assuming things go well.

The Big East Conference schedule starts on December 28th for the Syracuse Orangemen. Their first test will be a 9PM tip-off against the Providence Friars (11-2) in the Carrier Dome. The Big East currently has five of the nations top ten basketball programs, and seven total teams in the Top-25.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen to Host Iona Saturday Night

Saturday at 7:00PM in the Carrier Dome the Iona Gaels of the MAAC Conference will take on the #5 Syracuse Orangemen. Iona comes to the Dome sporting a 7-3 record. They opened their season with three straight losses, however answered that streak with a seven game winning streak.

Syracuse (10-0) is coming off a 57 point drubbing of the Colgate Raiders last Saturday night. Rick Jackson lead the way that night, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double in ten games.

Sophomore Brandon Triche had his best shooting night of the season and his biggest offensive output since the 2nd game of the season against Canisius. Triche finished with 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the floor. He was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and if he can continue to knock down his shots it will really open up the floor for Syracuse's big men underneath.

Speaking of the big men, there was an injury update on freshman center Fab Melo this week. Fab Melo, thought to be nursing an Achilles tendon injury, discovered that he has a calf muscle tear in his right leg, and will be resting it leading up to the game against Iona Saturday.

After resting for a few days, Fab Melo participated in some light shooting and running on Thursday. Jim Boeheim said that if that went well, he would practice Friday. Assuming things went well and Fab Melo feels fine, he'll suit up for the Orangemen on Saturday night. If he feels discomfort, he won't. As news on Fab Melo's injury becomes available, we will post it here at The Cuse Connection.

Prior to the game against Colgate we discussed how important it was for Mookie Jones and James Southerland to play well when called upon these next four games, starting with then 0-7 Colgate. James Southerland found 22 minutes on the floor, and was 3 of 6 from the field to go along with 9 rebounds, 2 assists 3 steals and 3 blocks with zero turnovers, and finished with 7 points. It was the kind of game Southerland needed to show Jim Boeheim. He had to show that he could do more than just throw up long range jumpers, and I feel as though he did just that. We will need more of the same from Southerland these next three games if he wants to play more than just garbage minutes once the Conference schedule begins.

Mookie Jones played 17 minutes and was 3 of 6 from 3-point range (3 of 8 overall). He had 1 rebound, 2 assists 1 block and 1 turnover and finished with 9 points. Although he shot 50% from beyond the arc, he did not impress as much as Southerland and will need to do better in the three remaining non-conference games.

The Iona Gaels are lead by Michael Glover (6'7" 215 pounds) a forward from the Bronx. He is currently averaging 22.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Gaels. Against Canisius on December 3rd Glover dropped 39 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Guard Scott Machado (6'1" 180 pounds) out of Queens, NY averages 13.7 points and 8 assists per game. He had a season high 28 points against Richmond on November 18th and a season high 15 assists against Albany on November 23rd. Machado averages 4 turnovers per game as well.

Iona also gets offensive production out of Kyle Smyth and Jermel Jenkins. Kyle Smith (6'4" 185 pounds) a guard out of River Edge, NJ averages 12.8 points per game and shots 45.9% from 3-point range. Against Albany Smith shot 8 of 13 from beyond the arc en route to a 29 point game. Jermel Jenkins (5'11" 185 pounds) averages 12.1 points per game and shoots 40.3% from long distance. His best shooting performance was also against Albany, when he shot 7 of 11 from 3-point range and finished with 21 points. Jenkins also averages 3.8 assists and 3 rebounds per game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00PM on Saturday night and the game will be broadcast live on SNY, the Big East Network. If Fab Melo is unable to go on Saturday, than expect Baye Moussa Keita to get his first start of the season. Syracuse will have no true center to backup Keita, thus Rick Jackson will probably have to log some minutes in the middle.

Check in with The Cuse Connection after the game for full recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Manages to Survive NC State's Upset Scare

It was a game I was worried about since the schedule came out. Syracuse at home taking on the North Carolina State Wolf Pack. In the first ten minutes or so of the game, it appeared there was no need to fear. Then Dion Waiters kneed C.J. Williams in the testicles and the Wolf Pack found their stroke from 3. Then things got hairy.

North Carolina State turned a 13 point Syracuse advantage into just a 2 point lead with 5:24 left in the first half. Syracuse would buckle down on defense (while their shots would not fall) and thanks to a Scoop Jardine jumper with time expiring in the first half, Syracuse entered the locker room up 38-34 at the break.

Scoop Jardine lead the Orangemen with 23 points on 7 of 21 shooting (2 of 8 from 3-point range). Scoop Jardine made his first two 3-point attempts, and then missed his next six from long distance. Additionally, he grabbed six rebounds (many of them at key moments of the game) and had six assists along with just 1 turnover. However, Scoop constantly put up ugly shots and threw two very ill-advised alley-oop passes during really questionable moments of the first half.

There were long stretches of time during both halves where Syracuse couldn't buy a bucket, and often we saw Scoop Jardine forcing up off balanced shots and wild runners in the lane. We are going to need to cut down on that if Syracuse wants to win in the Big East.

Rick Jackson scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while adding 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers. Syracuse was extremely careful with the basketball in this game, only turning the ball over 5 times compared to 17 for the Wolf Pack.

The most disappointing area of this game was rebounding. As North Carolina State somehow out-rebounded Syracuse 34-29 on the night. Fab Melo grabbed 3 rebounds, many of them early, as he only played 14 minutes. He started the game red hot on offense, scoring 5 points including a conventional 3-point play to open the game. He was a non-factor in the 2nd half. Baye Moussa Keita played 17 minutes grabbing 5 rebounds and adding 3 points, however he did commit 4 fouls.

Jim Boeheim will certainly not be pleased with this game's overall performance. Until Syracuse finds a way to play a full 40 minute game, they will continue to have nail-biting finishes. While the defense is good enough to keep Syracuse in most games, they simply can not afford to go long periods of time without a field goal not just on Tuesday against Michigan St., but once Big East Conference play starts as well. Even the bottom feeding Big East teams will be able to hang around with the Orangemen if they can't make a simple jump shot for long stretches of the ball game.

On Tuesday, Syracuse will travel 4 hours to New York City to play in the fabled Madison Square Garden against Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans. Michigan St. was pre-season #2 team in the nation, and will certainly be looking to re-establish their national ranking with a win against currently #7 Syracuse.

Michigan State is coming off a trip to the Maui Invitational in Hawaii two weeks ago where they were defeated by then un-ranked UCONN. The Spartans followed that road-trip up with a trip to Duke last week, where the were defeated 84-79. On Tuesday, they will head back out on the road and make a trip to New York City. That's a lot of traveling in a very short amount of time.

With the win, Syracuse improves to 8-0 on the season. North Carolina State is now 4-3. The Orangemen's average margin of victory is a mere 11 points, against the likes of Canisius, Detroit, William & Mary and Cornell to name a few. As a team, the Cuse is shooting 43.6% from the field, which ranks 180th overall in the nation.

The Cuse Connection will be tweeting live from Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

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

Syracuse Hosts William & Mary Sunday

On Sunday the Syracuse Orangemen will host the William & Mary Tribe in the Carrier Dome at 2PM. Syracuse is 3-0 on the season, and looking to improve on an absolutely dreadful shooting performance Tuesday against Detroit. The Tribe are coming to Syracuse after losing on Monday to the Richmond Spiders 73-49 and are 0-2 on the season. William & Mary also lost to the University of Virginia 76-52 in their season opener.

William & Mary come into the Dome at a perfect time for Syracuse. Currently, the Orangemen are searching for a consistent offense, and due to the Tribe's poor defense so far this season they could be just what the doctor ordered. W&M have allowed opponents to shoot 52.4% from the floor and 44.7% from 3-point land. The Tribe are also averaging 11 turnovers per game and have only blocked 1 shot so far this season.

On offense, Marcus Kitts (6'9" 230 pounds) is currently their leading scorer averaging 13 points per game and 7.5 boards. Against Richmond, Kitts dropped 16 points and added 13 rebounds for the Tribe. Quinn McDowell (6'6" 212 pounds) is the 2nd leading scorer averaging 11.5 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist per game. McDowell had 16 points 5 rebounds against Virginia in the season opener, however he was held to just 7 points against Richmond. Lastly, Kyle Gaillard (6'7" 210 pounds) is averaging 10.5 points 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Gaillard is shooting 56.3% from the floor this season. John-Mark Ludwick (6'8" 230 pounds) is a 3-point threat, knocking down 4 of 9 attempts in the season opener against Virginia. He was held to just 3 points on 1 of 2 shooting in the Richmond game.

Syracuse will try to get the rest of the team going after a strong performance by both Rick Jackson (10 points 22 rebounds) and Scoop Jardine (27 points 8 assists) in the game Tuesday against Detroit. Aside from the aforementioned pair, no other Syracuse player made more than 2 shots from the floor.

We can harp on who played bad and why Jim Boeheim called the team "overrated" all day, however the important thing is that the Orangemen use this game as a springboard to get their confidence and their swagger back before a tough stretch of games on the horizon. After Sunday, Syracuse will travel down to Atlantic City, NJ on November 26th for a pair of games in the Legends Classic at Boardwalk Hall.

Ten days later, Syracuse will travel to Madison Square Garden and take on the #2 team in the country, the Michigan State Spartans. If all of Syracuse's bugs haven't been worked out before that date, there's a chance they could be embarrassed on what everyone likes to call their 2nd home court. No body wants to see that.

This is essentially the last chance for the bench players and freshman to show Coach Boeheim they can be trusted on the court. If they can't use this game to step up and perform at the level they are expected, then certain players will be enjoying the remainder of the games from a very good seat on the floor.

Tip-off on Sunday is 2PM and is scheduled to be on The Big East Network, SNY. However, at 2:00 on the channel guide it says that the Miami vs. Rutgers basketball game will be on, and that Syracuse v. William & Mary will be televised at 5:00PM on SNY (tape delay). Not sure if the game will be available anywhere else to watch live, but we will share that information when it becomes available. Those of us who are die-hard fans can probably find a radio link on the internet where we can listen live and then re-watch the game later.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Should Syracuse Be Worried?

Syracuse basketball is 3-0, and on the surface it looks like the team has picked up where it left off prior to the unthinkable loss to Butler in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. However, when you take a closer look it appears that not everything is going according to plan.

The Orangemen are averaging 11 turnovers per game. Mind you this is against Northern Iowa, Canisius and Detroit. Brandon Triche is leading the team with 8 turnovers, while Kris Joseph Scoop Jardine and Rick Jackson each have 6 turnovers through three games. If Syracuse can not protect the basketball versus early non-conference opponents, they could be in for a rude awakening once teams like Michigan, North Carolina St. and Michigan St. come up on the schedule in a few weeks.

The most glaring disappointment is in the teams shooting, particularly in the first half. Coupled with the turnovers, opponents have held Syracuse to points of 23, 32 and 25 in the first half of games. All at home. All against considerably weaker opponents. What's to make of this?

First off Syracuse is settling for outside jumpers extremely early in the shot clock. Playing these smaller teams early in the schedule, Syracuse needs to run the offense. The guards have to feed the ball inside to the big men, and if the other team collapses underneath, they have to kick the ball out and penetrate.

At this point when the ball gets kicked out, the guards are hoisting up 3-pointers like they are Gerry McNamara or Preston Shumpert, when in reality they don't have the range or ability to be taking that many shots from long range. Against Detroit Syracuse attempted thirty 3-pointers!! They made seven.

The truth is Syracuse is too athletic and too big to be averaging twenty-four 3 pointers per game against lesser competition! They need to use their size and speed to get to the rim, not waste it standing at the perimeter a la Donte Greene. James Southerland is 6'8" and he has taken 13 of his 20 shots from the floor behind the arc! He needs to take that length to the rim and be in position to get some rebounds and some easy buckets. Especially a guy who went 1-8 from 3 against Detroit in just 16 minutes.

Kris Joseph currently has taken 11 of his 23 shots from the floor from 3-point range (47.8%). He has made just two of them. Since when is Kris Joseph a 3-point assassin? Last season Joseph took 41 3's and hit 9 (22%). Now I don't doubt that Joseph has been working on his outside shot, and I guess that its a good time for him to practice taking 3's against bad teams, but come on! Through 3 games he has taken 12 shots from inside the 3-pt. arc? Four shots per game?! That's not going to get it done.

Fab Melo hasn't been the star-studded freshman that many pundits lead us to believe, and frankly I am not surprised. If you read The Cuse Connection season preview, we believed that Riley would be the starting center as Melo would need time to adjust to the college game. He has only played basketball in America one season. Almost every freshman in the country has played four years of high school basketball, Fab Melo has played one. However, circumstances being what they are Melo was thrust into the starting roll and he should not be crucified as a "bust" just yet. He is simply finding his way and its taking some time. "One and done" are words that will be removed from his vocabulary. They should be replaced with defensive positioning, footwork, and patience.

There have been some pleasant surprises. Scoop Jardine is evolving into a leader on the floor and Rick Jackson has been an absolute beast for the Orangemen. Off the bench, Baye Moussa Keita is probably the most pleasant surprise of the season. Its scary to think where we would be without Keita. Versus Canisius Baye Moussa Keita dominated the paint so hard he picked up 15 rebounds in just 17 minutes on the floor.

C.J. Fair has also been a welcome addition to the team. He is one of the few players on the team that gets the ball and drives to the hoop, and it shows in his shooting percentage. Fair is 8 of 12 from the floor and 5 of 7 from the foul line. He is currently averaging 7 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per game. He is also one of the few players on the team not to attempt a 3-point field goal yet this season.

As long as Syracuse can settle down with the ball, run the offense, and get easy points inside rather than taking an average of twenty-four three pointers per game, Syracuse can be successful this season. The team defense has been good and can only improve once the Orangemen start clicking on all cylinders offensively. The Orangemen have held opponents to just 32.6% from the floor and 22.7% from behind the arc. Opponents are also averaging 14 turnovers per game. Those are good numbers, however our offense needs to become more efficient.

With just William & Mary standing between Syracuse and the tougher part of the schedule, now is the time to get these kinks out of the system and find our true offensive game. To answer the question posed in the headline, should we be worried? Honestly, if we keep trying to take 20-30 three pointers per game, yes. However, once this team realizes that there are no Andy Rautins' or Gerry McNamara's standing on the perimeter and that they have to lower the shoulder and take it to the hoop, the Orangemen will be just fine.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com