Syracuse Blasts Villanova out of the Dome (Video Blog)

Syracuse to become new Number 1 team in the country on Monday due to the upsets against Kentucky and Kansas today.
            
7 Villanova 36 41Total = 77


4 Syracuse 46 49 Total = 95


UP NEXT: Senior Night at the Dome against St. Johns Tuesday at 7pm

Syracuse Orange Oust Providence Friars on the Road (Video Blog)

NEXT UP:  SYRACUSE VS. VILLANOVA SATURDAY NIGHT AT 9PM

Syracuse vs. Georgetown Video Blog

Sorry about the first image, but it gets better!



SYRACUSE ORANGE

STARTERS  PTS


Wesley Johnson, F  16  (4 fouls) (Played all 40 minutes, but didn't do much in 2nd half)


Arinze Onuaku, C  2   (Fouled Out) (Foul trouble took him out of the game, not a factor offensively)


Rick Jackson, F  12  (Fouled Out) (played well down low, hit some huge shots throughout)


Andy Rautins, G  26 (4 fouls)  (5 of 9 from three point land)


Brandon Triche, G  8 (played tentative, but hit some big shots)



BENCH PTS


Scoop Jardine, G  0
Kris Joseph, F  11 (once again played well off the bench, especially late)
DaShonte Riley, F  0


TOTAL: 75




GEORGETOWN HOYAS
STARTERS  PTS


Julian Vaughn, F  0


Greg Monroe, C 20 (Monster numbers late in the game)


Chris Wright, G  20 (proved me wrong, played well and took it to the Cuse, made Rautins work)


Austin Freeman, G  21 (Huge in the second half, nothing in the first half)


Jason Clark, G 8  (Big miss from 3 with under a minute left)



BENCH PTS


Hollis Thompson, F 0
Vee Sanford, G  0
Jerrelle Benimon, F  0
Henry Sims, C 2



TOTAL: 71





Technicals: 2 GTOWN ( C Wright 1 ) SYRACUSE ( A Rautins 1 )
Officials: James Breeding ,Jim Burr ,Jamie Luckey
Attendance: 19,976

Louisville Stuns Syracuse at the Carrier Dome

          In front of a massive crowd of 31,053 fans at the Carrier Dome, which happened to be the largest SU crowd so far this year, the Louisville Cardinal (7-5 Big East / 16-9 overall) shocked the No.2 ranked Syracuse Orange (11-2 Big East / 24-2 overall) to win 66-60.  This win was absolutely huge for Louisville, a team which desperately needed a solid Big East road win for their NCAA tournament resume, as they came into the game today on the NCAA Bubble according to "bracketologist" Joe Lunardi....joke.  Moreover, Louisville came into Sunday’s Syracuse game lugging a 1-4 Big East road record, which is very unlike the stellar road teams that Louisville Coach Rick Pitino has fielded in years past. The Cardinals’ latest defeat happened in New York, where St. John’s absolutely owned them 74-55 on Thursday.  Louisville, a No. 1 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, has resided on the tournament bubble for the past couple weeks. The Cardinals had lost five of their last eight games before beating Syracuse.

       “We’ve played very good basketball this year. We’ve gotten bad breaks,” Pitino said. “I thought we had the West Virginia game. I thought we had the Pitt game. We were right there to win both games, and we wouldn’t be worried about a road victory to get yourself on the bubble if things would have gone our way.”

 However, the luck and certainly the calls seemed to all go in the Cardinal's favor today in the Dome, as Syracuse couldn't buy a call in the last 10 minutes of the game.  The one major questionable call that I'm sure left every SU fan fuming in their seats was the intentional foul call on Kris Joseph. 
       Syracuse’s Kris Joseph was whistled for an intentional foul with 17.8 seconds left in Sunday’s game, as the call came after Wes Johnson drove the baseline and missed horribly a twisting lay-up that was blocked by the under side of the backboard, however, could've been a call against Louisville, as I don't know many times Wesley Johnson gets rejected by the backboard without any foul coming into play. Anyway, Louisville’s Jerry Smith corralled the rebound and Smith turned his back on Joseph to protect the ball.  Joseph then pulled back Smith's shoulder to either immediately foul or strip away the ball and was called by Tim Higgins to be an intentional foul.  Neither SU coach Jim Boeheim nor Joseph understood the intentional aspect of the foul. Louisville had reached the double bonus, so Smith would have been awarded two free throws anyway. But the intentional foul allowed Louisville to retain possession. Smith sank both of his free throws to cushion Louisville’s lead to 64-60.

     “It was right in front of me. He hit him right on the shoulder,” Boeheim said. “He went for the ball and hit him. He didn’t grab him. I don’t know where (it was) intentional. It probably doesn’t matter. The kid makes the two free throws.”

     “I didn’t foul him that hard. There definitely was some acting involved,” Joseph said. “I just tried to go for the ball to get him to go to the line and shoot the double bonus. But the refs saw it differently. He’s just doing his job that he gets paid to do, so I’m not going to argue with the call.  “The ball was by his shoulder,” Joseph continued. “I just tried to reach over his shoulder, and he made it seem like I pulled him or pushed him or whatever the case may be. And the ref called it intentional.”

Game Analysis/Thoughts:

    Overall, SU's lack of defensive and offensive intensity and aggressiveness has definitely shown itself these last fews games.  Hopefully, SU is simply hitting a mid season slump and will use this defeat as a means of pushing and motivating themselves going forward.  The major factor in this game was the total lack of effectiveness of SU's offense, as Wesley Johnson scored 14 points, yet went 5 for 20 from the field.  Overall, SU shot 41% on 24 of 58, with 26% from downtown with 5 of 19 shooting.  These numbers will have to improve against Georgetown on Thursday, or SU has no chance of victory.  Syracuse needs to push the ball up the floor more often and take advantage of their length and height down low.  Most importantly, Syracuse needs to get back that killer edge mentality that has brought them to top 5 in the country.  They have tremendous talent and experience and were simply outplayed at the end of this game.  Their defense needs to sure up against the 3, as they gave up some costly three pointers with only minutes left in the game. 

Game Stats:

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS


STARTERS  PTS

Terrence Jennings, F  4

Samardo Samuels, F  8

Edgar Sosa, G  12

Jerry Smith, G  2

Preston Knowles, G  10

BENCH PTS

Kyle Kuric, G 0

Jared Swopshire, F 10

Peyton Siva, G  0

Rakeem Buckles, F  8

Mike Marra, G 12

TOTALS = 66


SYRACUSE ORANGE

STARTERS  PTS

Wesley Johnson, F  14

Rick Jackson, F  6

Arinze Onuaku, C 12

Andy Rautins, G 12

Brandon Triche, G  0

BENCH  PTS

Scoop Jardine, G 6

Mookie Jones, F 0

Kris Joseph, F 10

TOTALS = 60


Technicals: None

Officials: Tim Clougherty ,Tim Higgins ,Bob Donato

Attendance: 31,053


BIG EAST STANDINGS:

Standings Conference - Overall


Big East Wins : Losses - (Games Back) - % -  Overall Wins : Losses - %

Villanova 11 1 - .917 - 22 2 .917

Syracuse 11 2 (½) .846 - 24 2 .923

West Virginia 8 4 (3) .667 - 19 5 .792

Pittsburgh 8 4 (3) .667 - 19 6 .760

Georgetown 8 5 (3½) .615 - 18 6 .750

Marquette 7 5 (4) .583 16 8 .667

Louisville 7 5 (4) .583 - 16 9 .640

Cincinnati 6 6 (5) .500 - 15 9 .625

Notre Dame 6 7 (5½) .462 - 17 9 .654

South Florida 5 7 (6) .417 - 15 9 .625

Seton Hall 5 7 (6) .410 - 14 9 .609

Connecticut 4 8 (7) .333 - 14 11 .560

St. John's 4 8 (7) .33 - 14 10 .583

Providence 4 9 (7½) .308 - 12 13 .480

Rutgers 3 9 (8) .250 - 13 12 .520

DePaul 1 11 (10) .083 - 8 16 .333

Syracuse Pulls Out a Nail-Biter Against UConn

      With 24,847 people shaking in their boots in the Carrier Dome, the now No.2 Syracuse University Orange improved to a school best (24-1) overall, as they barely escaped with a win against conference rival UConn 72 to 67.  Syracuse leap frogged the Kentucky Wildcats to move to No.2 in the country in the AP Poll, however, they continue to be No.3 in the Coaches Poll.  Overall, SU played like the No.2 ranked team in the country for most of the game, but couldn't put the finishing touches on the Huskies when they needed to in order to blow out UConn.  However, SU did respond positively when it counted most in order to shoot an incredible 82% from the line to clinch the victory in the closing seconds of this Big East Battle.

        This game was much tighter than what it should have been, as The Cuse squandered a 16 point lead in the second half, as their defensive intensity waivered to allow Uconn Guards Jerome Dyson and Kimba Walker to slice into the Cuse 2-3 zone and create solid scoring opportunities for themselves and others.  Walker's not known for his shooting ability, yet made 3 teardrop shots with under 8 minutes left in the game to keep the Huskies cutting into the SU lead.  Walker ended up with 14 points on the day, while Dyson added 19 points.  Dyson went 0 for his first 4 from downtown, but then hit two huge three pointers with under 4 minutes left in the game.

       With under a minute left in the game, Uconn and The Orange were tied at 65 to 65.  UConn had the ball and was looking to take the lead.....Kimba Walker brought the ball down the floor and to no one's surprise, Jerome Dyson pulled the trigger on a 3 pointer that would have put some serious pressure on Syracuse to do the same.  For the Cuse faithful, luckily Dyson was slightly off on his shot, as Kris Joseph got the rebound.  After a timeout, Syracuse Guard Andy Rautins rushed and missed a contested 3 off an inbounds pass, but Syracuse Center Rick Jackson rebounded to give SU the ball back.  However, at that moment Scoop Jardine drove to the bucket, unsure of what to do, and missed a layup that was blocked.  Somehow, Orange coach Jim Boeheim called a timeout with 36.6 seconds left and 32 on the shot clock, which apparently was before Jardine's bad attempt at a layup.  Overall, with SU regaining the ball it put them in the drivers seat to scrape out a victory, Johnson was fouled by Robinson as soon as play resumed and sank both free throws to give Syracuse a 67-65 lead with 30.4 seconds left.  Kris Joseph then followed with two more free throws with 11.5 seconds to go to make it a two possession game. Walker hit a layup to cut the lead back to a basket, but Joseph sealed it with two more free throws after he was intentionally fouled by Majok on a breakaway with 5.8 seconds left. 

**Analysis:

Solid win for the Cuse, but definitely showed that they're vulnerable to strong guard play from up top and around the foul line area.  Too many holes were exposed late, The Cuse weren't pumped up to play tonight.  They were expecting to win, but didn't want to put the nail in the coffin.  Nothing's easy in the Big East and that was proven tonight.

STATS:

Connecticut

Player Position **(Minutes- Points)

S Robinson F 36 -16

A Majok F 11 - 2

A Oriakhi C 13 - 0

K Walker G 38 - 14

J Dyson G 34 - 19

G Edwards 37 - 12

C Okwandu 19 - 2

J Coombs-McDaniel 8 - 2

Total = 67


Syracuse

Player Position **(Minutes - Points)

W Johnson F 40 - 13

R Jackson F 28 - 15

A Onuaku C 21 - 7

A Rautins G 33 - 8

B Triche G 26 - 8

K Joseph 31 - 14

S Jardine 21 - 7

Total = 72

 

The Saints Stun the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV

       The New Orleans Saints played and won their first Super Bowl title last night, as they shocked Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts 31 to 17 in a game most thought they wouldn't win.  Quite possibly this thinking was due to the fact that it was "Peyton Manning and Dwight Freeney Week" the entire week before the game.  No one could go anywhere or turn on their TV without hearing about how Dwight Freeney had a torn ligament in his ankle and was "QUESTIONABLE" to play.  In addition, even with Dwight Freeney's injury being the forefront of all discussions, and with the Saints just beating the likes of the Cardinals and Vikings, the Saints remained 5 point underdogs.  Furthermore, there was so much love and admiration for Peyton Manning and his play calling ability that I felt like he was going to run for President.  Nonetheless, I must say that the New Orleans Saints must have benefited, at least a little bit, from this lack of press, as the Colts stole the show when it came to press leading up to gametime.  However, all this talk didn't have a thing to do with the overall outcome of the game.

     Led by Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees, who went 32 of 39 for 288 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no INT's, the Saints made history and took control of their destiny to take chances and make gutsy calls that ultimately brought them their first World Championship.  Nonetheless, even with those huge numbers, the Saints trailed 17-16 with under 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter.  The game soon changed, as the Saints marched right down the field and capped it off with a 3 yard TD pass to Tight End Jeremy Shockey, as Shockey could now back up all that trash talk we're used to hearing from him.  His ring during the Giants Super Bowl run he could never justify due to the injury, but this win by the Saints he can definitely take to the bank...and maybe get another tattoo also .

     Think about this...The Saints, who lost their final three regular-season games, are the first team to take a three-game losing streak into the playoffs and win the Super Bowl.  Some interesting stats:   With the loss by the Colts, the last five regular-season MVPs to reach the Super Bowl have lost the game.  The Saints' Garrett Hartley became the first kicker in Super Bowl history to make three field goals from 40-plus yards (46, 44 and 47).  Saints Running Back Pierre Thomas, who had 85 total yards, is the third running back in NFL history to have a receiving touchdown in both a conference title game and the Super Bowl....surprising.  Colts Kicker Matt Stover, who was 1-for-2 on field goal attempts, became the oldest player in a Super Bowl at 42 years, 11 days.  Indianapolis' 96-yard touchdown drive in the first quarter tied the 1985 Bears (Super Bowl XX) for the longest in Super Bowl history. 

      We all knew the game was over, even for Peyton Manning, when Saints Cornerback Tracy Porter ran in front of Reggie Wayne, intercepted Peyton Manning's pass and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown to give New Orleans a 31-17 lead with 3:12 remaining in the game. To the surprise of many, the Colts were completely unable to rally in the final minutes, giving the Saints their first Super Bowl championship.  The interesting fact being that Porter also had a huge interception against Brett Favre in the NFC championship game that ultimately led his team to victory....twice this postseason.  Watch it again:

A Saturday of College BBall Upsets - Huge Monday Matchups

No.2 Villanova was dominated by No.8 Georgetown 90 to 103
      *This was the first conference loss for Villanova this year, and only 2nd overall loss


No.5 Michigan State loses to unranked Illinois 73 to 78
      *Michigan State 2nd straight loss in Big Ten play, first time since 2008(no Kalin Lucas however)

No.10 Texas falls to unranked Oklahoma 71 to 80
     *Since becoming No.1 two weeks ago, Texas has lost 4 of it's last 6 games

No.12 Brigham Young loses to unranked UNLV 88 to 74
     *BYU was down 22 at halftime and gave up an NBA like 56 points in the first half

No.17 Temple gets dominated by unranked Richmond 54 to 71
     *Although unranked, Richmond's win brings them to a 7-2 conference record tie with Temple

No.20 Vanderbilt gets ousted by unranked Georgia 58 to 72
     *Georgia has a losing overall record so far this year at 10-11, yet dominated the ranked Vandy squad by double digits....ouch Vandy!!

No.24 Baylor loses to unranked Texas A&M 71 to 78
      *Baylor led by 12 at one point, made almost double the three pointers that the Aggies made, shot a better field goal percentage from the floor, yet lost the game by 7

*Big Monday Matchups:  College Basketball fans, it doesn't get any better than this!

No.2 Villanova vs. No.6 West Virginia 7pm ET - ESPN

No.1 Kansas vs. No.10 Texas 9pm ET - ESPN

 

 

 

Georgetown Takes Down No.2 Villanova in D.C.

      After a shocking home loss on Wednesday to the University of South Florida, the No.8 Georgetown Hoyas(17-5) defended their home court amidst a monster snow storm  outside to oust the No.2 Villanova Wildcats(20-2) 103 to 90.  This was the first Big East conference loss for the Wildcats so far this year and only their second loss of the season, however, many analysts have pointed out how the week schedule of Villanova had up until this game kept them at the top of the national rankings.  Nonetheless, that soft Wildcat schedule is about to heat up, as Villanova now moves on to play No.6 West Virginia on Monday to start Rivalry Week.  Georgetown improved to 7-4 in Big East play and a tie for 4th place with Pittsburgh in the conference standings, while Villanova fell into a tie for first place in the conference with the Syracuse Orange at 9-1.

         This game was the definition of a tough fought Big East battle between two power houses, as fouls played a huge role in the final turnout of the game.  Georgetown shot an incredible 39 of 50 from the charity strike, while Villanova made 17 of 23 from the line.  Overall, 73 free throws were attempted in the game, as the physicality of the Hoyas was simply too much for Villanova's undersized forwards and guards to handle.  Hoyas Guard Austin Freeman was dynamite, as he shot 8 of 12 from the floor, and made 7 of 10 free throws to lead the Hoyas with 25 points, while Sophomore star Center Greg Monroe added 19 points and made 11 of 14 free throws.  The complete lack of a bench didn't negatively influence the Hoyas offensive production today, as the Hoyas scored at ease and put up a season high 103 points against Villanova's undersized defense.  This was a statement game for both teams, as Villanova sought to put a huge conference road win on their tournament resume, while Georgetown sought to possibly move up in the ranks even though they had lost to South Florida earlier this week.  Overall, the home court crowd propelled the Hoyas past the Wildcats this day, however, it'll be up to the pollsters to see how far Nova will fall in the ranks and whether G-Town's victory over Nova was worthy of them moving up.

Star Watch:  Scottie Reynolds had 24 points on a lackluster 6 of 17 from the floor, however, he was 9 of 11 from the line.  He had 6 assists with 6 turnovers

The Cuse Crush Providence Without Johnson

       In front of 20,205 fans at the Carrier Dome, the No.4 Syracuse Orange pounded an undersized Providence Friars squad in the second half to win by 17, with an 85 to 68 final score.  This is the best start in Syracuse Men's Basketball history, as The Cuse improved to 22-1 on the year and 9-1 in the tough Big East.  Nonetheless, The Orange still trail the No.2 Villanova Wildcats in the Big East rankings, as Nova remains undefeated in Big East play at 9 and 0. 

       This SU win came mostly without the services of star Forward Wesley Johnson, as he crashed hard to the court after being flipped over Providence Forward Brian McKenzie while trying to convert an alley-oop midway through the first half.  Johnson remained on the ground a minute or two, but was able to then finish the half, but played only three minutes in the second half.  At halftime the score was 37-34, as the Cuse went cold to end the first half, as Providence put together a run to get back into the game. 
        Overall, Johnson's injury didn't make a bit of difference in this game, as The Orange exploded in the second half to completely dominate the Friars on both ends of the floor.  Syracuse shot a phenomenal 57% from the field in this game, as Syracuse Center Arinze Onuaku and Strong Forward Rick Jackson each exerted their force.  Onuaku recorded 4 huge blocks, while Jackson put another two in the stands next to former SU star Gerry McNamara.  SU recorded 8 blocks on the day, which was monumental compared to the Friars 0.  Jackson led SU with 7 assists, while Onuaku threw down 20 points to lead the Orange to a strong victory. 

         The big story in this game was the play of Sophomore Forward Kris Joseph, as he definitely was the MVP of the game, scoring a career high 23 points on 9 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 5 from the line.  Joseph played out of his mind and seemed to dunk after dunk after dunk on the Friars soft defense.....oh yeah, another dunk.  Syracuse proved they have what it takes to protect their home court, and also to overcome adversity, as Johnson's injury, although minor, showed that other guys could step up to the plate and get the job done.  Brandon Triche was a perfect example, as he shot well from the floor scoring 15 points and had some crafty drives to the bucket that kept the momentum all on SU's side in the second half.  Syracuse was running down hill throughout the last 20 minutes and left Providence simply trying to catch up.  There are some very tough games coming up for Villanova, as they play the likes of West Virginia and Georgetown, so it remains to be seen whether Nova can continue their undefeated Big East record.  The Cuse are right on their heels, so another strong performance against Cincinnati on Sunday could spell first place for the Orange if all goes as planned.