Running Diary: DePaul, Syracuse, and Keanu Reeves

Little known Bill Simmons rule - Any time UConn is upset at home in a game that prevents me from watching the first four minutes of an SU game which my brother Dan and cousin Mark are attending, I have to write a running diary.

16:00 - Cut to the game in progress. 16 to 6 DePaul?!?!WhaaaAAAAA???

14:00 - Wes Johnson rejects Faber, and stares him down afterward with a look that says, "You're a stiff, just like your team. We're not going to lose this." I love it! Give me more angry Wes!

11:36 - 24-14 DePaul, TV timeout. DePaul has 7 assists already. Meanwhile, we're keeping an eye on Duke-Georgetown. Obama's in the house! And guess what... the team that plays more black players is winning by 9 early in the 2nd half. "Yes we can!"

10:29 - DePaul has 31 points in less than 10 minutes. Somehow, I'm thinking they won't stay on the 124 pace. I'm not worried.

8:40 - 33-17 DePaul. Bucket by Uncle Aku. A-O and Rick are doin' work down low. DePaul can't handle them.

7:01 - SU trap forces a DePaul timeout. The Orange are putting up too many jumpers instead of relying on their passing. It feels like DePaul is slowing down though. SU starting to win on the boards.

5:47 - 33-20. Triche puts up a long two before the Bigs are in position to rebound. Brick. Not good.

5:12 - TV timeout. Meanwhile, Georgetown by 11 with 12 minutes to go. How down is the ACC this year? Duke is their best team, and I've watched several Duke games and have little faith in their ultimate potential. And everyone (including me) thought this would be a down year for the Big East!

3:52 - TV timeout. 33-23, with a FT for KJ coming up. I am SO not worried! DePaul has 2 points in 7 minutes. "Do you hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability!"

3:52 - Just noticed John Thompson III is wearing white shoes today. A nice, subtle jab at the near-white wash Duke is throwing at him? [Turns out it's Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend for Coaches v. Cancer.]

3:45 - 33-24. The Hall of Famer goes with the press, forcing a jump ball. Boeheim is a genius! No wonder he scored a hottie like Julie!

2:38 - 33-27 off a Rautins three. Timeout DePaul! "And the Syracuse contingent out in full force!" say the announcers. That's my brother and cousin!

1:36 - 33-31 off a Ricky bucket. Someone should tell the DePaul coaching staff that Rick Jackson is left handed. Wait... tell them AFTER the game.

Halftime - 35-31 DePaul. Wes Johnson walks off the court with an angry look on his face. I'm excited to see what he comes up with in the second half. Is that the shakiest 4-point lead in college basketball history? It took them 10 minutes to score those four points!

Meanwhile, in Washington D.C....

7:40, 2nd half of Duke-Georgetown - 69-54 Hoyas. Biden is in the house too! I guarantee you he's getting text updates on the SU score. Also, he's secretly rooting against the F'ing Hoyas. (SU College of Law, '68)

[Viagara's ad execs in a recent meeting - "Get me a guy who looks EXACTLY like Denzel Washington!!"]

6:55 - 72-56. Greg Monroe just emasculated Kyle Singler. And one. Bold prediction: Singler eschews the NBA draft and returns for his senior season.

5:35 - 78-58. Right about now, Coach K is second-guessing his adoption of Adolph Rupp's recruiting methods. Just kidding, Coach K! I still love you!

5:03 - 80-59. Great reference by Verne Lundquist to the devastating loss the Hoyas suffered @ Duke last year, which turned out to be the start of a five game losing streak that sunk their season.

Final Score - Georgetown 89-77 Duke

Anyway...back to SU-DePaul: The Matrix Reloaded.

19:00 - MASN unveils a new stat: "PTS Of Turnovers." I guess they mean "points birthed by turnovers."

17:15 - I can't believe the principal from Boston Public/detective from Pushing Daisies took the job as the interim head coach of DePaul!

15:42 - 40-39, still DePaul for another minute or two. Wes Johnson just had a crazy spin in the lane with a dunk finish. 12 points for him, as he and KJ seem to be taking over this game.

11:16 - 48-41, DePaul. Neo just learned Kung Fu. A couple threes from DePaul, but those are followed with two of the worst shots I've ever seen back-to-back. SU a little sloppy on offense, though...

10:35 - 48-41, TV Timeout. Shout-out to Cousin Mark's Alma Mater, Miami (OH), which knocked off E. Michigan today. The MAC regular season is like Helm's Deep: very little hope of ANYONE getting out alive.

8:28 - 50-43 DePaul. Neo is starting to believe. But he just used his last timeout. I guess the equivalent is not having any more phones to escape the Matrix and get back to the Nebuchadnezzar. Get ready for a crap load of Agent Smiths to show up... While we wait, can I interest you in... sixovertimes.com? "It was more than a game...it was for the ages!"

6:44 - 52-46 DePaul. KJ with a three! An NBA scout's head just exploded in the fifth row.

5:40 - 52-49. Rautins with a three in transition off a turnover. Knew it was going in before he even caught the ball.

4:29 - 54-52. Scoop with a three! If that shot was urine, somebody would have to get out a sponge and some Mr. Clean for the rim!

4:13 - 54-54. JOHNSON ONE-HANDED DUNK!!!! They're racking that one in Bristol!

3:35 - 56-54 ORANGE! Jardine down the lane. SCOOOOOOOOOOOOP!

3:09 - 56-54, timeout Orange. Trinity is falling out of a building with a bullet in her chest! Morpheus is having a spiritual breakdown! Where's your MESSIAH now!?!?

:44 - 59-57, timeout Orange. The friggin MASN scoreboard is now malfunctioning so I'm relying on the clock above the hoop + the announcers for the time. Bad omen??

:09.5 - 59-57. Great tip by Wes to break up a pass into the lane. DePaul ball. Is...is that Neo???

:00 - Neo is dead. The DePaul crowd is stumbling out of the building like...well, like the audience after The Matrix Revolutions.


21-1. The Best Get Better.

Notent Notables: Marquette and Georgetown

I hit the Marquette game with a bunch of college buddies and Syracuse fans. Here's some of the nuggets we touched on that were still on my mind today after Syracuse added an impressive win over Georgetown to its resume.

• Sports Sauna veteran Chris remarked before the Marquette game began that SU picks up its dribble too often, leading to easy traps. After he said that, we were noticing it the entire game. The Orange are going to have trouble in the post-season against pressuring teams unless they fix that habit.

• Mikey, Dr. Paul, and I had a long conversation comparing Wes Johnson to Carmelo Anthony. Doc thinks Wes might be better. I (as regular readers know) have been driving the "Wes Johnson Reality-Check" Bandwagon for several weeks. Ultimately, Mikey settled the debate with one word: transcendent. 'Melo was a transcendent college player. Other than the UNC second half, Wes hasn't been transcendent. Yet. I will amend my thoughts about Wes's NBA potential, though. I still don't think he'll be an All-Star, but I do think he's a winner. He'll stuff the box score at the next level with whatever minutes he is given.

• Similarly, Dr. Paul (who is head over heels for this team) thinks Rautins, with his shooting and passing, could play in the NBA. I think he's too slow (Andy, not the Doc). Thus: dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings is riding on whether Rautins plays a minute in the NBA. And you're all invited!!!
  

• My buddy Chaves is famous for his feelings about Syracuse being exactly proportional to the score. So if 18-1 Syracuse is losing by 7, "We suck." But when Syracuse went up by double-digits, he was making Final Four plans with us. Of course, the "proportion" rule changed at the end of the game for Chaves. The line for the game was 8.5. As the flow chart at the end of the game reveals, certain SU bettors were on quite a roller coaster ride in the final minute that eventually led to weeping and gnashing of teeth.

• Chaves and Chris took me to task for not rooting for UConn in their upset win over Texas. Their take: it's good for the Big East to win non-conference games, no matter who is doing the winning. What is good for the Big East is good for SU recruiting in the short and long run. My take: it's F'ing UConn! I would be delighted if UConn became the DePaul of the conference - a national laughing-stock. Do I like to brag about the Big East having X number of ranked teams and Y number of teams make the tournament? Sure. But I think rooting for other conference teams because it will help Syracuse either immediately or in the long term is overrated. Que sera, sera. What West Virginia, Georgetown, and North Carolina do for the rest of the season is their business. As for UConn, I hope Jim Calhoun gets healthy, comes back to coach, and never wins another game.

• Last year my brother introduced me to a game you can play while watching a baseball game called, "Yard Card." You get one Yard Card per game. You play it before any pitch. If the batter hits a home run, you don't have to take out your wallet to pay for food or drink the rest of the night. We came up with a variation for basketball called "Alley-Oop Card." You have to play it before the ball crosses half court. If the team scores on an Alley-Oop dunk, you don't take out your wallet for the rest of the night. It's not as good as the Yard Card, but it led to some excitement. Try it... you'll like it! (Variation at home: you don't have to leave the couch for the rest of the night. The loser(s) become your butlers.)
  

• Coolest part of tonight's game against Georgetown. The crowd hung around to celebrate even after SU put the game away. The student section was amazing, according to both Boeheim and Wes. I freakin' love being in Syracuse when the basketball team is good. Now the students are back, and the city is buzzing.

• Next Up: @DePaul (W), Providence (W), @Cincinnati (L), and then UConn brings it's high tempo style into the dome on February 10. How many points will they combine for in that game: 160? 170? 180? 200? It's going to be a shootout and, for once in this rivalry, that will play into SU's hands. I can't wait.
  

We just got Favre'd!

I like both favorites today and I will tell you why.

Indy beat up on Baltimore, a team with an amazing running game and shaky quarterback/wideouts. Sound familiar? Well it should, the Jets may have a speck better D and Revis is a stud but Manning is in a league of his own - Indy 28 - Jets 13

Minny @ NO should be a shoot out which is probably why it will go under. The Vikings haven't had a road win in months and even lost to the Bears during that span. It may be close for a while but if the Vikings get behind, look for Favre to start forcing throws and that is not good. It was good run Minnesota but all good things must come to an end - Saints 32, Vikings 17

Paul - love the post last week on your picks. Quality stuff.

Twittering predictions

I'm not feeling as creative or poetic as I did last week, when I bounced back from the 0-4 in round 1 with a 3-1. So I'll limit myself to 140 characters per prediction, not including the final score.

Colts 21, Jets 18
Easy to forget #18's playoff struggles. Well-coached teams can slow him. I see a GW Manning drive being the difference.

Saints 31, Vikings 17
As Favre's last remaining non-Wisconsin resident, non-Viking fan apologist, it kills me...but I think he falls apart in NO. No help from AP.

Syracuse 87, Marquette 70
No one taller than 6-6 gets serious minutes for Marquette. Dome sweet dome, this will be Orange's easiest game in a while.

For your gambling fix, here's my NFL picks

Last week, amidst the boring games we viewed
My picks ability was at best crude.
Does he read me or does my mind comply?
My record was the same as the Sports Guy.

Oh and four! I humbly bow in shame.
Berman says, "That's why they play the game."
Four more games loom for us all to view.
I hope my thoughts are worth much more than poo...

"And shepherds we shall be,
For Thee, my Lord, for Thee!"

The Saints score points through Payton's wizardry.
Home field will help; the Cajuns are crazy.
Still, Warner's wrote the playoff record book.
Taking seven, the Cards are worth a look.

Last week the Packers D was M.I.A.
The Saints defense is weak, or so they say.
Two weeks to plan will be enough to beat
The Zona offense. Saints stay on their feet.

"Once upon a midnight dreary,
while I pondered, weak and weary..."

The Colts give six, one half to Baltimore.
Vegas trusts in Peyton to the core.
The Ravens run as if they are whacko.
QB: Joey Jo-Jo Junior Flacco.

This game stays close, but don't be caught adrift.
Manning the MVP will give the lift
To lead the Colts to final victory.
Lucas Oil gets publicity.

"When I walk these streets, a loaded six string on my back.
I play for keeps 'cause I might not make it back."

"Brett Favre is like a kid out there," they say.
Romo is known to choke a game away.
Peterson's best, though prone to lose
The ball in moments Vikings fans wouldn't choose.

Brett stays indoors, his bones stay nice and warm.
A-P will be the man D's D will swarm.
Two, one half of points is not enough.
To pick the Cowboys. Minny is too tough.

"Then you are set with a capital J,
Which you'll never forget till they cart you away."

An even seven is the spread for bets
The points given to the star-crossed Jets.
I picked against, and bragged to Andrew Waite.
Our cyber-feud, it seems, will not abate.

Once more, I tell you all the Jets will lose.
Four favorites, I think, they all will cruise.
The Chargers are too strong, the Jets too green.
And waiteynyj is very mean.


And so, I think my oh and four is done.
At most, four winners I have won.
Picking the best is always a good way
To dodge humiliation on Sunday.

Predaction: West Virginia and Notre Dame

I apologize for any typos. I'm still a little shaky after West Virgina's 3-point barrage, and the Scoop-KJ chokes at the line. Geheyeheyeheyehey! (grabbing collar)

Continuing my thoughts from the Rutgers game on Wes... at this point, who would you rather have with the ball on the perimeter, being guarded one-on-one with the rest of the Orange clearing out: Wes or KJ? Now, I know Wes had the flu today. And he did have the play of the game when he finished his little hook shot in the lane and got fouled late. But Kris is better off the dribble right now. So it's close between the pair, but I'd take KJ.

I'm sure you noticed, but Bob Huggins once again forgot that the Orange plays zone. West Virginia shot only 39%, even with all those crazy shots down the stretch. Besides their 10 threes, the only reason the Mountaineers kept is close was their excellent defense. It was interesting that out of the two SU PGs, it was Triche who figured out West Virginia was trying to draw charges every time the ball entered the lane. In the second half, he slowed his drives down just enough to find the seam, or shoot a floater. Rautins was brilliant, but Triche was the key player.


Now SU heads to Notre Dame for a Monday night meeting. After winning 3 games against the Orange in his first two seasons, Harangody lost 93-74 in the Dome last year despite putting up 25-16. He was brilliant on offense in that game, despite some excellent defense from the Bigs. But the dirty little secret of his game - his shoddy defense - was revealed when A-O and Ricky torched him for 33 combined.

This year, the great shooter Kyle McAlarnery is gone. Tim Abromaitas and Ben "My Brother Plays in the NBA" Hansbrough will jack up threes, but neither is McAlarney-esque, or even Colin Falls-esque. The SU zone can slow them down. Overall, despite Big Luke, the Irish just aren't as good as they have been in recent years. OK, they're 14-3 with a win over West Virginia, but look how their regular season schedule ends: @ Louisville, Pitt, @ Georgetown, UConn, @ Marquette. Translation: NIT is their fate. This game is no problem for the Orange.

Syracuse rolls, 85-70. Big game from Uncle* Aku



*Onu means uncle in Estonian. It's true!

Notent Notables: Syracuse 81, Rutgers 65

I hope this post isn't TOO Sports Guy-ish. I'm about 600 pages into his Book of Basketball. The good news: I haven't overdosed. I still want more.

• Bob Wenzel (hearts) Mookie Jones. How interesting! How bizarre!

• Anyone else get the feeling Boeheim is messing with us? Mookie gets KJ minutes? Rick gets Mookie minutes? It's like he realized five minutes into the game Rutgers couldn't win, so he decided to work on Mookie's ego. Even when Rutgers made the run, KJ and Rick stayed on the bench. A few days ago those guys were our hottest players! Jim might be entering the "I am Keith Hernandez" portion of his career.

• OK, last note on Mookie. I promise. It's clear by now he's got a great 3-point shot; either the best or the second best on the team, depending on how much you love Rautins. So far, it's been unclear whether he could do anything else. We still don't know if he's going to be an effective defender in SU's zone. Tonight he was playing as a forward instead of a guard, which hid some of the flailing uncertainties he shows when he's up top. More importantly, it required him to crash the boards, which he did WITH ALACRITY (apologies to Bill Raferty). I was mildly impressed. He looked a little small out there, especially since his neck is 1-3 inches shorter than a normal human, but he got after it, finishing with 4 rebounds. He was frequently in good rebounding position even when the ball didn't bounce his way. Anyway, the Mookie Jones saga continues to unfold.
  

• How good is Boeheim getting at juggling the PGs? They didn't spend a minute on the floor at the same time tonight. They combined for 24 points and 8 assists. They also had 7 total turnovers, but Boeheim yanked them whenever they were imploding. Triche hit two big threes, and Scoop got SU some high percentage looks to hold off the Rutgers run in the second half.
  

• Did you notice this? Andy Rautins: 23 pts, 9 ast, 8 reb, 5 stl. Sweet sassy molassy!
  

• Wes Johnson wasn't really needed in this one, but... I mean... can he create his own shot? It's unclear, right? Until now, we thought he needed to work on his killer instinct, that he was too unselfish. SU's offense this year does not center on Wes Johnson. It centers on passing. Everybody creates for everybody else. Wes is the best finisher on the team, and has an NBA-ready jump shot that he makes routinely from anywhere on the court. Still, he hasn't routinely taken over games on offense. I'm beginning to suspect that just isn't part of his game. Looking ahead to the draft, I see Wes as a low-risk, low-reward pick. At the very least, he's a key role player. But his absolute ceiling is 3rd best player for a contender, 2nd best player for weaker teams. If you're an NBA team drafting in the top 5, and you want to pick a guy who might be an All-Star some day... don't pick Wes. (It's lonely on the Wes Johnson reality-check bandwagon here in Syracuse.)
  

• If you follow me on Twitter at pa451, you'll have seen my note about Rutgers using the patented Bob Huggins, "Oh crap! I forgot SU plays a 2-3 zone!" Offense. (Copyright 2009) They looked HORRENDOUS on offense. 14 assists to 21 turnovers. 38.5% shooting. You have to have a frontcourt offense to beat SU this year. You just have to.

• Up next... hey! It's Bob Huggins! I wonder if he scouted the Orange this year? Last year West Virginia lost a snoozer 74-61 in the dome. This year SU should win again. Of course, all bets are off in conference. Three forwards lead West Virginia in scoring, which could be trouble except for... well... Bob Huggins's brain. They're not tall, either. Whatever happens Saturday, there is no doubt in my mind SU is the better team. Orange win, 76-72.

P.S. Mookie's apartment was robbed while he was in NJ. Poor Mookie! Also, I think "# of children" should be listed along with all the other details on ESPN's team roster pages. It would be extremely helpful.

Random Thought

I will get to my picks for the NFL Playoffs this weekend but first a quick analogy. I thought this initially when I was watching UNC @ Texas and now again, with Georgetown and UConn. Watching a big game with Dickie V commentating is like going to an orgy expecting to be the only guy but finding out there is a black dude joining in on the fun. Sure it is still enjoyable, but you can't get stop thinking about him being there.

Anyways, let's get down to today and tomorrow's NFL games.

Saturday
The 1 point favored Jets @ Bengals game should be the least entertaining of the four on tap. Two great defenses taking on slightly above average offenses. THe real test for Cincy is can there D line overpower the Jets O-line. Look for heavy doses of Jones and Benson along with heavy doses of booze consumed by me to make the game entertaining as this one goes under (33.5). Bengals 21, Jets 10.

Dallas (-4) vs Philly. It's difficult to bet against Andy Reid who has coached his way to the several NFC conference games and a Super Bowl in the 2000's. SO that is why I am taking the Eagles in what should be a high scoring tight game. I give the edge to McNabb even though Romo has been hot the latter part of the year. I also think the NFL wants the Eagles to play the Saints and the Packers to go against Favre and the Vikings. I wouldn't be shocked to see a call or two go Philly's way. Eagles 35, Cowboys 31 - over covers easily (45.5)

Sunday
NE (-3.5) vs Baltimore. Ray Rice is a stud and I anticipate Belichick's game plan will be centered around stopping him and letting the less than stellar wideouts try to win it. Fred Taylor might be starting which strikes me as odd, i thought he retired years ago. The Welker loss will be big but that one guy that sort of looks like Welker will do just enough - NE 27 Baltimore 17 Over covers by a half point.

GB -1 vs Arizona. The defending NFC champs are underdogs at home. Seems a bit off until you realize that Green Bay is the best team in the league right now. I don't buy the notion that SD is built for a deep run. The running game isn't there and like Dallas, they have a tendency to fade in January. But I digress...it pains me to see any NFC North team do well but the O-line is protecting hte best QB in the league and the Defense is peaking at the right time. I see this a high scoring affair with Warner putting up 350 a couple TDs but three picks and a costly game changing or game ending fumble...Packers 32 Cards 28..again the over covers (47).

There you have it - full disclosure I am not very good at predicting games and am even worse at games against the spread so piggy back off of my bets at your own discretion.

EA

NFL Playoffs Round 1: Who played Possum?

The answer is... Phish.

I was riding down the road one day and
Someone hit a possum
I was riding down the road one day and
Someone hit a possum
The road was his end
His end was the road
So they say

Whoa possum...possum, possum...POSSUM
Whoa possum...possum, possum... POSSUM
Whoa possum, possum...
Your end is the road


But I digress. In a bizarre coincidence of scheduling, three of this weekend's four match-ups in the opening round of the NFL playoffs are rematches from the final week of the regular season. All three of those games were blowouts. The question for those losers is, who played possum and who was road kill?


Sat, 4:30pm - NYJ @ CIN - Line: Cincy by 2 1/2
The Jets clobbered the Bengals in a game that was meaningless for Cincy. In fact, New York won two straight games to make the playoffs against teams that had nothing to play for after losing a must-win game in week 15 to the Falcons, 10-7. After their 3-0 start, the Jets beat no one good all season.

The Bengals cooled off in the 2nd half of the season. Benson hasn't had a TD since week 9. Palmer has never won a playoff game. Still, it's easy to forget the Bengals went undefeated in the AFC North. That's impressive. The Jets have a great defense that could swing the game if it stays close, but I don't think it will. (Besides, since we're still cyber-feuding, I have to bet against Andrew's Jets.)

Bengals, 28-13



Sat, 8:00pm - PHI @ DAL - Line: Dallas by 4
There was no reason for the Eagles to play dead. A win last week would have given Philly a bye this week, but they looked horrendous in Jerry Jones's House. Now they have to come back into Dallas with their six game winning streak a distant memory and the Cowboys suddenly getting some buzz as a Super Bowl pick.

Call me crazy, but I'm going with the QB, coach, and franchise with nine playoff wins last decade over the QB, coach, and franchise with zero. You know how many times McNabb has been one-and-done in the playoffs? Zero. Yes, he was off last week. It was a classic McNabb bad game. But it sets up a classic McNabb good game, where he stomps on the hearts of Texans (the people, not the team that missed the playoffs). Luckily for Romo, it won't be his fault when Suisham misses the game winning FG.

Eagles, 24-23



Sun, 1:00pm - BAL @ NWE- Line: Pats by 3
New England beat the Ravens 27 to 21 back in Week 4. New England played a little possum last week against the Texans (the team that missed the playoffs, not the people), although not enough to keep Wes Welker healthy. Brady's ribs are dicey too.

With Brady's injury in mind, Ray Rice might be the best offensive weapon on the field. And he wasn't even the Ravens RB with 167 yards last week! This game will be a good one too, but Brady guts it out in the end, setting the stage for "Fourth and Two: Part II" - or as it will soon be known, "The Last Night of the Patriots Dynasty" - next week in Indy. (Correction: Sports Guy's mistake confused me. Last Night of the Patriots Dynasty will occur in San Diego.)

Patriots, 28-24



Sun, 4:30pm - GNB @ ARI - Line: Even
A great finale to a delightful weekend. Arizona was absolutely playing possum last week. Either of these teams could get hot and charge into the Super Bowl. We all know about the QBs, but it's easy to forget that Green Bay was 2nd to the Jets in total defense this season. Arizona was 20th, but they return the same speedy defense that keyed their run last year.

This will come down to which offense makes more big plays. I think this season will be remembered as the year Aaron Rodgers firmly established himself as an elite QB. He gets his first playoff win Sunday.

Packers, 27-20

Memphis Reaction

Jim Boeheim won tonight's game in the locker room at haltime. Something changed with the zone in the second half that I'm not smart enough to fully comprehend, but basically, the two forwards extended the pressure out to the wings. It was enough to take away those corner threes Memphis was getting in the first. It also disrupted the perimeter passing just enough to get the Tigers offense totally out of whack. The Memphis coach, Babyface Curly McGee, took forever to figure out what to do. Finally, at around 7:30 to go, with the SU's lead around 8, he tried to drop one of his forwards a few feet inside the three point line (in the bottom right corner of the your TV screen). They got one easy bucket out of that adjustment before the SU forwards figured out what they were doing. Awareness, coupled with SU's length, was enough to disrupt that plan. Sallie going cold (inevitable) and Kris Joseph's 2nd half both helped, but ultimately it was Boeheim out-coaching B. C. McGee.

Hopes and Fears

The local reaction to the Pitt loss was interesting. "Nobody's perfect" was the headline for the Post-Standard, and most Syracuseans seemed to share my dad's point of view that, "a loss is good for them in the long run."

Meanwhile, with no other sports on TV the past couple nights, (What? The BCS? Isn't that the thing where college football teams play meaningless exhibition games?) I've had plenty of time to develop a more cynical attitude towards the Orange. Isn't it possible we're over-rating the big-name wins so far this season? UNC, who just lost to College of Charleston (without Marcus Ginyard), is relying on a PG named Larry Drew II, or as I call him "Larry Drew Two." Florida followed their defeat against the Orange with losses against Richmond (neutral) and South Alabama (home). And Cal might be the 5th best team in a horrible Pac-10.

Pittsburgh followed up their upset with a nice road win at Cincy. The Panthers are good: like, top-15 good. Plus, as I noted, Jamie Dixon's system just seemed to work against Boeheim.

However, tonight's game is a key test. If Syracuse is really as good as we thought they might possibly could just maybe be, Memphis should be no problem, even at home. So, instead of writing a reaction to tonight's game, I'm going to tell you the three things we could learn from tonight's result:

1. If Syracuse wins big, like those early big-name wins, then they still have the title-contender potential we thought they have.
2. If Syracuse wins a tough one, we need to temper our expectations and expect a healthy dose of losses in the Big East schedule.
3. If Syracuse loses, this is either a continuing doldrum situashe* that will test the Orange's character and "be good for them in the long run," or a wake-up call that Syracuse is really just a well-balanced, yet streaky top-25 team.

Bottom line: I'm worried.



*Short for situation, in case you didn't know...

A Familiar Pitt

One of the most shocking stats given during SU's 82-72 defeat at the hands of Jamie Dixon and his usual collection of undersized, gritty men was that Pitt has now won 11 of its last 14 games against the Orange.

I can't believe they've lost 3 games to the Orange in that stretch! I thought it was zero.

To save money, the television production could have just rolled any of those recent Pitt-SU games. They all look the same:

• A drastic drop in scoring for the Orange.
  
• A close first half, followed by a run early in the 2nd by Pitt.
• Five-point deficits that feel like ten-point deficits for the Orange.
• Double-digit deficits that feel insurmountable, regardless of the time on the clock.
• Lots of fouls.
• Lots of loose balls ending up in the hands of the Panthers.
• Dixon and Pitt exerting their will on the zone with long, slow possessions the end in wide-open looks.

Here's the Pitt offense: 1. Pass the ball around the perimeter until there are 10 seconds left on the shot clock and SU's zone is in complete disarray. 2. A guard dribbles into the zone, drawing contact all the way. This causes him to lose his balance, or lose control of the ball just enough that it draws more Orange defenders. 3. The guard makes an off balance pass to a wide open shooter for a three. OR the ball rolls loose to a wide open forward on the weak side for an easy shot. 4. If the shot is missed, Pitt's brilliant offensive rebounding gets a put-back against the still-in-disarray Orange defense. 5. Someone in the SU front-court is whistled for a foul, irregardless of whether there was contact on the shot.

On the other end of the court, there is no better man-to-man team than Jamie Dixon's. There were two reasons SU lost the game today. The first was its 1 for 13 shooting from three. Rautins was 1 for 6. Triche was 0 for 5. Wes only attempted 1, in a game where SU trailed by 10+ points for most of the second half. Were the Orange just cold? Not today. Only a few of those misses were easy shots. Rautins was taking a lot of looks off the dribble, or when he wasn't properly set. Triche was forcing his shot late in desperation.

The other reason SU lost was its inability to press the huge advantage it had in the front-court. Here I give less credit to Pitt. It seems to me that the two Bigs just had off days. Rick came in shooting 62%, and A-O was at 67%. Together they went 6 for 12. Less makes off of less shots. Throw in a few offensive fouls, and only 1 offensive board each. That's disappointing, especially against an undersized team. They both fouled out, but that was after the game entered the treacherous Mookie Jones Zone. In the first half, when the pair had a chance to exert their will on offense, they couldn't convert several decent looks. Pitt rebounded their pants off. The Bigs got frustrated.

By the end of the first half, the game was going at Pitt's preferred speed. That meant less touches for A-O and Rick. Wes Johnson properly tried to lift his game, with marginal success in the second. (More on this in a bit, and yes, I did just call you a moron.) Triche and particularly Scoop started to take advantage of Pitt's man to man with drives to the hoop that scored points, but prevented the Orange from running its offense through the Bigs (or Wes and Rautins). Again, credit to Jamie Dixon's defense, but ultimately, it wasn't A-O's or Rick's day.

As for Wes, this Big East game railroaded his style. And when I say railroaded, I mean it was literally RAILROADED. Wes's versatility thrives in uptempo games, triggered by forced turnovers and fast breaks out of the 2-3 zone. SU did force 18 turnovers (several out of the Boeheim press, which looked as effective as it did in the championship season), but Pitt is so good at getting back on defense they didn't turn into too many fast breaks that Wes could take advantage of. It would be interesting to see if Wes plays better next time SU meets Pitt... but (thankfully) Pitt isn't on the schedule again.

The '03 champs infamously couldn't beat UConn. I watched a good chunk of UConn's win over Notre Dame today, and I think the '10 Syracuse is perfectly constructed to take care of UConn when the Laptop Thieves visit the dome on February 10. The Orange are faster, taller, and more athletic. For once, the Orange can out-UConn UConn. Pitt, on the other hand, is the ultimate nemesis for this year's Orange. Again.


Oh, and what were those 3 games that SU won against Pitt? Here they are, backwards chronologically:

65-61 in the 2006 Big East Tournament Finals: The capstone of the Gerry "Overrated?!?" run. With balanced contributions on offense, SU was 8 for 16 from three.
49-46 in the 3rd-to-last game of the '05 regular season: Splitting the regular season series, Hak (17) and Pace (13) were the only players in double figures for either team.
67-65 on Feb 1, 2003: Splitting the regular season series, Hak led everybody with 20.

What can we learn? I think Hak's dominance in those last two games is interesting. The problem is, until Bernie Fine finishes his invention to make a half-Rick Jackson, half-KJ Avatar, SU doesn't have a Hak. Still, it suggests the Orange should attack Pitt inside. Also, Melo had 14pts, 13rbs in the 2003 game. What if Wes just went out and said, "I'm not going to look to score on offense. We have enough other weapons to get good shots. I'm going to pound the crap out of the boards and get my points on put-backs and fast-breaks."

So that's my gameplan for beating Pitt. And if the next match-up comes next year, just substitute KJ for Wes. Let's hope this team doesn't see Pitt in MSG. Or let's hope a lap top flies out of Jim Calhoun's jacket and hits Jamie Dixon in the brain.