You can't spell "Head Coach Jim Boeheim" without "D"

Emphatic win over #8 Michigan State in the Garden tonight, 72-58. It was ugly at times on offense, but Syracuse was brilliant on defense. Izzo is a great coach, and the Spartans had the right idea with their offensive passing against the zone. Draymond Green is a scary player for the Orange - a strong, versatile, triple threat (pass, shoot, drive) from the high paint. But it wasn't enough. Syracuse led almost the entire way and ran away with the game late.

Michigan State never got it going on offense, and while they did miss some open shots, credit the Boeheim zone. Waiters has already picked up the freneticism from Scoop and Trisch required on the Orange perimeter. Fair is fine, but veterans KJ and Ricky are fantastic on the wings - absolutely devastating. Melo is tall and learning, and Baye Moussa Keita (which, literally translated, means "ball lighting") is going to be a force.

***Interlude***

Three blocks for Ball Lightning tonight!! Let's just take a minute to imagine how good he is going to be in the center of that zone in a couple years. Are you ready for the best defensive SU center since Etan Thomas? And Feb Melo is supposed to be the better player! Speaking of Etan Thomas, this is a great montage of his blocks for 3 reasons: 1.) Saul Smith gets stuffed in the middle of the video; 2.) Lots of Raferty; 3.) Let it run to the end and then see what video comes up next. Trust me.

Anyway...Baye Moussa Keita as a senior! Wow.

***End Interlude***

Turnovers and rebounds killed the Spartans. Granted, Michigan State has been struggling with ball possession. But Tom Izzo teams are supposed to own the boards. Not tonight. 31-26 advantage to the long, tall Orange.

I mean... Rick Jackson. Ricky freakin Jackson. 17-16 against Michigan State! Put an asterisk on that one. Seriously. Click on Ricky's game log. Scroll down to the Michigan State line. Take out a sharpie. And draw a star on your laptop screen. Absolutely brilliant.

As for KJ, having written a season preview calling for him to do more on offense, this wasn't a great match-up for him. Michigan State is an excellent defensive team, and they played great defense tonight. It is extremely difficult to take their defenders off the dribble from the perimeter, because they move their feet and help. The result was too many out-of-control drives from the Orange. Syracuse was best on offense when it drove to pass, not to shoot. Their passing must improve. All that said, I'd like to see KJ at least touch the ball on a higher percentage of possessions. His key stat- 8 for 9 from the free throw line. I'd like to see him take 10+ FTs per game.

It was defense that won the game for the Orange, as it will be in most games this year. The bigger concerns - the reasons I was certain SU would lose tonight - are still there. Our half-court offense is not great. 11 assists to 11 turnovers is ugly. 2 for 10 3-pt shooting is a problem; a problem that could be solved with more Mookie or Southerland. But Boeheim knows that trade-off isn't worth it. We could play either of those guys twenty minutes a game and get 2-3 threes from them, but they'll give those points back on defense.

Four easy games coming up before the Big East season gets under way. These should be blowouts. Maybe that is just what the offense needs to find the extra gear it has been lacking.

I hate to end on a down note though, and we should be giddy about this win. Michigan State is a great team with a lot of talent. And this will be a great win for our tourney resume in March. Go Orange.