Orangemen and Hoyas: Round II

It's that time of year again. Syracuse and Georgetown. The two teams faced off back on February 9th in the Carrier Dome, a game that Georgetown won. The first time the Hoyas knocked off the Orangemen in Syracuse since 2002. The sun shines even on a dogs ass some days.

The Cuse were seemingly in control that day as the clock wound down, with Syracuse up 53-49 with 5:37 left in the game. Unfortunately down the stretch the then #13 Orangemen only scored 3 more points the rest of the game (all from the foul line) and the #11 Hoyas kept scoring (like most college teams do when the game is 40 minutes long) and as Syracuse's mistakes and missed shots mounted, the end result culminated in a 64-56 victory for the road team.

On that day senior guard Chris Wright had 6 points and 9 assists for the Hoyas on 2 for 8 shooting from the floor. Wright, who averages 13.1 points and 5.4 assists per contest and scored a season high 26 points in South Florida on February 19th, will not be available for the #11 ranked Hoyas Saturday afternoon. Chris Wright suffered a broken left hand on Wednesday against Cincinnati and underwent surgery on Thursday.

Speaking of the game against Cincinnati, the Bearcats went into the Verizon Center and absolutely stunned the Georgetown faithful who assembled at Syracuse's home away from home in Washington D.C. The Bearcats upset the Hoyas 58-46 on Syracuse's 3rd home court, in front of 13,241 fans. No word on whether or not Georgetown restricted ticket sales to Cincinnati fans.

Which brings me to my next point. The Georgetown Hoyas are absolutely terrified of the Syracuse Orangemen. They are so petrified of the Syracuse Orangemen's rabid fan base that they have gone WELL out of their way to not sell any tickets to Syracuse fans.

Frankly, I don't blame them. Next year they will probably wise up and not sell tickets to Cincinnati Bearcat fans either. In fact, any team that beats them at home will probably lose the "privilege" of purchasing tickets to a Georgetown game in the Verizon Center. I guess the Board of Trustees who came up with this hair brained scheme never heard of Stubhub or Craigslist or Ebay?

Additionally, I read online that there will be some 400 level tickets sold for $25 with no student ID required. So I guess that whole "we're not selling tickets to Syracuse fans" plan didn't work out so well? Guess there weren't as many Georgetown fans as the Hoya's banked on when they devised this little scheme of theirs.

As for Syracuse, the Orangemen are coming off a big win in Philadelphia, PA on Monday night against the #14/15 Villanova Wildcats behind a 20 point performance from our own enigmatic point guard Scoop Jardine, a Philadelphia native. Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine's high school teammate (which I am sure you didn't know), chipped in 18 points 5 rebounds and 4 blocks playing in his final game in his hometown in a Syracuse uniform.

The Orangemen, who don't restrict ticket sales to any fan base, will roll into the Verizon Center on a three game winning streak. A win on Saturday over the Hated Hoyas will go a long way towards securing a top four seed in the Big East Tournament on Syracuse's other home floor, Madison Square Garden.

With so many home courts and so much home court advantage it's almost hard to keep track of them all! Thankfully Georgetown's athletic department administrators are there to keep our houses in order. The Verizon Center may very well not be one of our home floors if they are going this far to keep our beloved fans out.

But I will say this. The Orange clad fans who do make it into the building on Saturday afternoon are going to be revved up and fired up in a way that Georgetown fans may not be ready for. Nothing lights a fire under a fan base like being told that the host school does not want you there.

Hopefully there are so many "Let's Go Orange" chants emanating from the crowd that the Hoyas fans that Georgetown does manage to find have nightmares and auditory hallucinations for a month (which will be longer than I expect Georgetown's season to last).

Be sure to tune into CBS at 12:00PM to catch all the action as the #17/20 Syracuse Orangemen take on the #11 Georgetown Hoyas. As always, be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for a complete recap and analysis of the action.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

The Carmelo Anthony Era Begins

All the drama is over. The what ifs, the what have you's. The back room wheeling and dealing. The secret meetings and denied rumors. It's all over. Carmelo Anthony is officially a New York Knickerbocker.

We at The Cuse Connection are not going to mull over what the Knicks had to give up and what they got back in addition to Anthony, as that is for other blog's and newspapers to do. I'm sure by now you have read them all, if you so desired.

When you are a little kid, you dream of your favorite college players being drafted by your favorite pro team. I remember being 12 years old and watching the Knicks draft John Wallace. I was real excited. Syracuse had just come off a magical run to the national championship game and now the star of the show was going to be playing for my favorite NBA team.

Since I grew up 30 minutes from NYC, it was a very big deal to have John Wallace in the Garden. Like all kids my age, I was a die hard Knicks fan.

I got numerous John Wallace rookie cards and watched each game waiting for when Wallace would make it on the floor. After that first year he was traded, and although found his way back onto the Knicks roster a few years later, John Wallace could never replicate the numbers he put up in college.

One of the few fond memories of John Wallace in a Knicks uniform was when the Knicks and Heat threw down in the 1997 NBA playoffs and Charlie Ward got flipped head over heels and John Wallace was the first Knick to come to his aid and tackle P.J. Brown.

Fast-forward to today and fourteen years have gone by. The Knicks have been a walking punchline in NYC since James Dolan's family purchased the team leaving him in charge, and the Knicks have posted nine straight losing seasons in a row under his management.

My personal affection for the NY Knickerbockers has certainly been diminished over this past decade or so, however Carmelo Anthony donning the Orange and Blue inside Madison Square Garden might just be the thing this former Knicks fan needs to turn this once big fan's affections around!

It's hard to not be excited by this trade if you live in New York and are a huge Cuse fan. After watching some Carmelo clips from his unreal 2003 Syracuse Orangemen campaign, I got even more excited. Finally, a star player from Syracuse University was coming to play in the Garden for the Knicks, and this time, he's an established star.

We've watched Carmelo bring a NCAA title to a city that needed one cement their legacy as a top basketball school in Syracuse, NY. Now will Carmelo be able to bring a championship to New York City, championship-less since 1972?

After so many close calls during the 90s, wouldn't that be something?

Georgetown's poster boy Patrick Ewing couldn't get it done. Maybe Syracuse University's own will be the man to deliver a championship to the City of New York?

We'll find out, starting tonight.

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 and Villanova: We Meet Again

It's rematch time. Back on January 22nd Syracuse, then ranked #3 in the nation and sporting an 18-1 record hosted then #7 Villanova who came into the Dome with a 16-2 overall record. Syracuse would suffer their 2nd straight loss that afternoon, falling 83-72 in front of 33,736 fans, including yours truly.

Fast forward to today, Syracuse is currently ranked #17/20 in the nation and Villanova is clinging to a #14/15 spot in the polls (note: the new rankings have yet to be released at the time of this publication). Nova is coming off a nail biting victory at Depaul on Saturday, where we saw the Wildcats and Blue Demons head to overtime before Villanova pulled out a 77-75 victory over the Big East doormat. The Wildcats are currently 21-6 on the year, 9-5 in Big East play.

Syracuse is coming off an equally frustrating win against another one of the weaker Big East opponents. The Orangemen survived going to overtime with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (who entered the Dome with a 4-9 Big East conference record) and emerged victorious 84-80 behind strong games by Kris Joseph, Rick Jackson and C.J. Fair.

The last time these two teams met James Southerland and Dion Waiters received extended minutes, minutes that we have seen go to C.J. Fair recently. And he has not disappointed. Fair scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds against Rutgers on Saturday while playing 37 of a possible 45 minutes. Fair is averaging 12 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over his last four contests.

For the Wildcats, senior guard Corey Stokes has sat out the last three games with a big toe injury. Stokes is averaging 14.6 points per game and shoots 41.5% from behind the 3-point line. With Syracuse looking extremely vulnerable from 3-point range lately, it would be a tremendous loss for Nova to play without Stokes tonight at the Pavilion.

This is a tremendous game for the Big East standings as well as the seeding for the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden. Syracuse has three games remaining and are currently in a log jam of teams jockeying for seeds 3 and 4 in the Big East. There are four Big East teams with 9 wins (Nova, Louisville, St. Johns and Syracuse) and three with 8 wins (Cincinnati, Connecticut and West Virginia). Throw in Notre Dame at 10-4 and Georgetown at 10-5 and the top tier of the Big East standings are still very much in reach for both Nova and Cuse, who have both struggled lately.

Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis from the game. Also be sure to follow us on twitter @CuseConnection for live, in game reaction and commentary throughout the course of the game. Tonight's game is at 7:00PM and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Overcomes Late Surge by Rutgers, Wins 84-80 in Overtime

With four games remaining in the Syracuse Orangemen regular season schedule, the most important thing for the Cuse to do is protect their home court down the stretch. That was in danger on Saturday afternoon as Syracuse hosted Rutgers in the Carrier Dome.

Tied 70-70 after regulation, you could not blamed if you had some concern heading into Overtime. Syracuse, who trailed 44-43 at halftime, was up 64-56 with 6:33 remaining in the ball game. From there, it was turnover after turnover and missed 3-pointer after missed 3-pointer for the Orangemen. We had all seen this script before.

Something about the last four or so minutes of each half is like kryptonite to Syracuse's offensive game plan. By the time there was 3:15 left on the game clock, Mike Poole knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Scarlet Knights a 66-64 lead to cap a 10-0 run by Rutgers.

C.J. Fair would bang home another layup with 2:19 left in the game to tie the score at 66, however Syracuse would not make another field goal the rest of the way. Rick Jackson had a couple opportunities to give the Orangemen the lead in the waning seconds of regulation, however he went 1/2 from the foul line to tie the score at 70 with 7 seconds left on the clock.

A missed James Beatty 3-point attempt as the clock expired and the 21-6 Orangemen were heading to overtime on their home court against the 13-12 Rutgers Scarlet Knights.

In overtime Kris Joseph knocked down a huge 3-pointer (he was 3 of 5 from behind the arc) that helped push Syracuse's lead to 4 points with just under three minutes remaining in the extra session. Rutgers answered back with a 3-pointer of their own (Scarlet Knights shot 9 of 23 from 3-point range, 39.1%), to cut the lead back to 1 point.

The Orangemen would make their foul shots down the stretch (except for Scoop Jardine who went 0-2 from the line with SU up by 4 with 44 seconds left) and were able to hold on for an 84-80 win.

Kris Joseph lead all scorers with 21 points and 8 rebounds, and Rick Jackson logged another double-double for the Cuse. Jackson finished with 18 points and 12 boards along with a ridiculous seven blocks, 2 assists and 2 steals.

C.J. Fair continued his hot play of late, playing 37 minutes and finishing with 17 points behind 6 of 8 shooting from the floor (5 of 6 from the foul line). Fair also grabbed 8 rebounds. Fab Melo played just 1 minute, picking up a foul within seconds of stepping on the floor, and did not see any action after that. It was his first action since sitting out the last two games due to missing practice following the loss to Georgetown on February 9th. Dion Waiters was also limited to 2 minutes of action.

Scoop Jardine, who broke out for 20 points against Louisville, had his second straight 9 point game, and shot 4 of 10 from the field. He was a very unpleasant 0-3 from the foul line, however. Brandon Triche, who has scored 20+ points his previous two games, finished with 17 points on 3 of 15 shooting from the floor.

Triche started out hot from the field, making his first two three point attempts, however he missed his next eight shots from beyond the arc. He was a perfect 9 for 9 from the foul line. He also pulled down 6 rebounds and had 4 assists for the Cuse.

Syracuse will travel to Philadelphia, PA on Monday (the home of Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine and Dion Waiters) to take on the now #14/15 Villanova Wildcats at 7PM on ESPN's Big Monday. Villanova also survived an overtime scare Saturday, defeating Big East basement Depaul 77-75 on the road.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse and Rutgers Set to Tangle in Carrier Dome

The Syracuse Orangemen, looking to string together a few wins down the stretch of the Big East regular season, will play host to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday afternoon at 4PM on MSG.

The Scarlet Knights enter the Carrier Dome sporting a very unimpressive 13-12 overall record and an equally disappointing conference record of 4-9. Rutgers has lost 5 of their last 6 Big East games, however the lone win was a huge upset victory over the Villanova Wildcats thanks to a 4-point play as time expired in the RAC on February 9th.

Rutgers average margin of defeat in the Big East Conference is a respectable 8.9 points, however they have played some close games against some of the top teams. The Scarlet Knights lost to Pittsburgh by a mere 3 points at home on January 29th and lost to St Johns on the road by 2 points at Carnesecca Arena on a Justin Brownlee layup with 4 seconds left. They also lost by 7 at Notre Dame and lost by 5 at home to Seton Hall.

With that in mind, Rutgers won't be a complete pushover for the Orangemen, who have struggled against weaker competition this year, particularly at home. Aside from the home blowout against Seton Hall, Syracuse has also narrowly defeated William & Mary by 3 points (W&M is 7-20 this season) and beat NC State by 6 points (Wolfpack are 4-7 this year in a weak ACC). Syracuse can not look past Rutgers on Saturday. It will take a complete 40 minute effort to earn the win.

Leading the Scarlet Knights in scoring this season is Jonathan Mitchell (6'7" 225 pounds) who averages 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. The senior out of Mount Vernon, NY has been lighting up the scoreboard the past 4 games, scoring over 20 points in each contest. His season high 25 points came in the win against Nova and is coming off a 24 point effort in the 5 point loss to Seton Hall on February 12th. In the last eight Big East games Mitchell is averaging 20 points per game.

Dane Miller (6'7" 215 pounds) and Gilvydas Biruta (6'8" 230 pounds) both average over 9 points per game for the Knights. Miller, a sophomore out of Henrietta, NY also averages 5.7 rebounds per game to go along with 9.3 points per affair. Miller is coming off a 0 point game against Seton Hall where he shot 0-4 from the floor, however he scored 12 points against Villanova on February 9th.

Gilvydas Biruta is a freshman hailing from Lithuania. In addition to his 9 points per game he also pulls down 5.2 boards per game. He had been struggling the past month or so, however he broke out for 18 points against Seton Hall on February 12th.

Clearly there's a lot of size on this Rutgers roster. Syracuse needs to be prepared to play a physical game on Saturday and not merely sleepwalk through the first half like they can be prone to.

Thankfully for the Orangemen, Brandon Triche has been stepping up lately and establishing himself as the go-to-guard for the Syracuse offense, alleviating some of the dependency on Rick Jackson. Additionally, Scoop Jardine finally got himself going last Saturday in Louisville, scoring 12 first half points on his way to a 20 point afternoon.

Now if we could only get Scoop's scoring to coincide with a big Syracuse victory we'd be in business. Tip off on Saturday is at 4PM and the game will be televised live on MSG. Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for a complete recap and analysis from all the action in the Carrier Dome. We will also be tweeting live emotions at @CuseConnection, so if you are into that sort of thing, be sure to give us a follow.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse Basketball: We're Back Online

I have to apologize for the lack of updates from The Cuse Connection the past week or so. Haven't had the time necessary to dedicate to covering the Syracuse Orangemen but I'm ready to get back into the thick of things. Time to dust off the cobwebs and get back to work.

During my absence, the Syracuse Orangemen have split two games and seen quite the display from head coach Jim Boeheim during the post game news conference of the victory over West Virginia on Valentines Day.

The loss came on a Saturday afternoon at 12 o'clock in the KFC Yum Center, a 73-69 defeat at the hands of Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals. Syracuse had a few things going against them on this day. For starters, the Orangemen always come out FLAT during noon tip offs. I don't know what it is, maybe the team doesn't go to bed early enough. Whatever the reason, Syracuse is always sluggish for the 12PM tip. Couple that with Rick Pitino's recent success against Jim Boeheim (although to be fair Jim used to own Rick Pitino) and Louisville's unbelievable efficient 3-point shooting barrage and you had the recipe for disaster.

Syracuse was holding their own on the road in Louisville, entertaining a 3 point lead at the under 4 minute official time out in the first half (26-23). Then the Cardinals started raining three pointers. Preston Knowles, Kyle Kuric, Preston Knowles, Kyle Kuric. It felt like a horror film. When the dust settled Louisville was up 40-30 at the break.

The three pointers continued to fall for Louisville as they opened up a 57-37 2nd half lead with 15:30 to go in the ball game. That's when Brandon Triche decided enough was enough. The defense started clamping down for the Cuse and Triche started nailing some 3-pointers of his own to narrow the deficit. Even Scoop Jardine knocked down a 3-point shot. By the time the under 4 time out came in the 2nd half, the Louisville Cardinals were clinging to a 5 point lead.

Unfortunately for Syracuse they didn't have enough in the tank and the game wasn't a few minutes longer, and the Orangemen dropped yet another Big East game to Rick Pitino. Final score Syracuse 69 Louisville 73. Brandon Triche lead the Orangemen with 21 points and Scoop Jardine finally showed some signs of life, finishing with 20 points on 8 of 15 shooting, 4 of 8 from 3-point range. C.J. Fair also put together a solid game, playing 33 minutes and finishing with 11 points and 7 rebounds on 4 of 6 shooting. Fair also made 2 steals.

A couple days later and Syracuse was right back out on the floor, this time at home for a Valentines Day showdown against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Once again, it was Brandon Triche who lead the way for the Orangemen, establishing himself as the most consistent scoring threat and shooter for the Cuse.

Triche finished with 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting and C.J. Fair added 8 points and 5 rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Kris Joseph also contributed 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting from the floor.

The most interesting storyline developing for the Orangemen was the lack of Fab Melo on the floor. Not the usual, "Oh Fab only played 3 minutes tonight." Fab did not start and did not make an appearance in either the Louisville nor the WVU game. Coach Boeheim said Fab Melo missed practice without letting the coaching staff know, and was done playing for now. Melo said he was dealing with some family issues back home in his native Brazil. Either way we are all waiting to see how this plays out.

Back to the game, Syracuse controlled much of the action, however Casey Mitchell kept the Mountaineers in the game shooting an unbelievable 7 of 12 from behind the three point line. Mitchell had a game high 23 points, and every time Syracuse started to make a run and pull away, Casey Mitchell was right there answering back with a 3-pointer and keeping his team in the game.

In the end, Brandon Triche and C.J. Fair were able to keep pacing the Orangemen offense and Syracuse held on for a big 63-52 Big East victory over the Mountaineers to improve their record to 21-6 overall, 8-6 in the Big East.

Coming up next for the Orangemen, who are now ranked #17 in the AP Top 25 and #20 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, is Rutgers on Saturday afternoon at 4PM in the Carrier Dome, followed by a trip to Philadelphia to take on the Villanova Wildcats. Two very big games for the Cuse.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com