Predaction: Georgetown and Providence
Syracuse 75, Georgetown 71
The major issue of the Georgetown game was officiating. Jim Burr, or as we know him in the dome "The Poor Man's Tim Higgins," and the rest of the officiating crew blew so many whistles, they must have thought it was a women's lacrosse match or an ACC game! Of course, it was called horribly both ways. In the first half, Greg Monroe picked up 3 fouls and was being substituted in and out by JT3. The Hoyas had no flow on offense, while the Orange didn't seem to mind the constant stoppages. In typical Boeheim fashion, he let A-O and Rick Jackson play extra minutes with the high foul totals, and SU built its big lead.
The fouls came back around of course, with the two SU bigs picking up cheap fourth fouls early in the 2nd half. (By the way, A-O gets called for way too many offensive fouls, usually because his defender flops like an Italian soccer player. If he's pivoting around to face the hoop, incidental contact with his defender shouldn't be called, but often is. Of course, there A-O is just like any other bulky center.) That led to the disastrous DaShonte Riley episode coinciding with the Hoya's initial 10-0 run to get back into the game. A-O and Ricky came back in and fairly quickly fouled out again, both on whistles that shouldn't be called above the rec level.
By the way, Wes Johnson had two points in the second half. And Kris Joseph was quiet for most of the game, but took the ball to the hoop when it mattered most, and made 5 of 6 from the line (though the miss came on his last FT of the game at a crucial moment). But I'm sure you noticed these things, didn't you faithful reader?
Still, I actually feel better after this game. The Orange responded fantastically to Sunday's loss, dominating Georgetown for 28 minutes. That's 68 minutes out of 80 of dominant basketball against a top-10 team. The end of the game was screwed up by the fouls, so it's hard to draw conclusions. I'm still not too concerned about SU's ability to close games.
Syracuse @ Providence, Tuesday, 7:00 PM
This Providence game feels like a rout in the favor of the Orange. The slumping Friars are terrible defensively, so it should be a real morale booster. Look for Rautins to have another huge road game. Keep watching Wes, of course. The match-up with Providence back on February 2 was the game when he crashed to the floor, the incident that seemed to start his recent slump. Maybe he can come full circle with a big game Tuesday. In the first meeting, KJ had 23 and A-O had 20. Add ten points to SU's total from that first game for the final score of this one... Syracuse 95, Providence 68. And while we're at it, if they somehow meet in the Big East Tournament, the final score will be SU 105, Providence 68.
The major issue of the Georgetown game was officiating. Jim Burr, or as we know him in the dome "The Poor Man's Tim Higgins," and the rest of the officiating crew blew so many whistles, they must have thought it was a women's lacrosse match or an ACC game! Of course, it was called horribly both ways. In the first half, Greg Monroe picked up 3 fouls and was being substituted in and out by JT3. The Hoyas had no flow on offense, while the Orange didn't seem to mind the constant stoppages. In typical Boeheim fashion, he let A-O and Rick Jackson play extra minutes with the high foul totals, and SU built its big lead.
The fouls came back around of course, with the two SU bigs picking up cheap fourth fouls early in the 2nd half. (By the way, A-O gets called for way too many offensive fouls, usually because his defender flops like an Italian soccer player. If he's pivoting around to face the hoop, incidental contact with his defender shouldn't be called, but often is. Of course, there A-O is just like any other bulky center.) That led to the disastrous DaShonte Riley episode coinciding with the Hoya's initial 10-0 run to get back into the game. A-O and Ricky came back in and fairly quickly fouled out again, both on whistles that shouldn't be called above the rec level.
By the way, Wes Johnson had two points in the second half. And Kris Joseph was quiet for most of the game, but took the ball to the hoop when it mattered most, and made 5 of 6 from the line (though the miss came on his last FT of the game at a crucial moment). But I'm sure you noticed these things, didn't you faithful reader?
Still, I actually feel better after this game. The Orange responded fantastically to Sunday's loss, dominating Georgetown for 28 minutes. That's 68 minutes out of 80 of dominant basketball against a top-10 team. The end of the game was screwed up by the fouls, so it's hard to draw conclusions. I'm still not too concerned about SU's ability to close games.
Syracuse @ Providence, Tuesday, 7:00 PM
This Providence game feels like a rout in the favor of the Orange. The slumping Friars are terrible defensively, so it should be a real morale booster. Look for Rautins to have another huge road game. Keep watching Wes, of course. The match-up with Providence back on February 2 was the game when he crashed to the floor, the incident that seemed to start his recent slump. Maybe he can come full circle with a big game Tuesday. In the first meeting, KJ had 23 and A-O had 20. Add ten points to SU's total from that first game for the final score of this one... Syracuse 95, Providence 68. And while we're at it, if they somehow meet in the Big East Tournament, the final score will be SU 105, Providence 68.
Labels: Syracuse Orange basketball
posted by Prof. A at 10:25 PM
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