SYRACUSE IN THE ZONE AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE

by RAY FLORIANI

NEW YORK CITY - A sellout crowd of 19,391 packed Madison Square Garden to give an atmosphere of electricity. The crowd bellowed ‘let’s go Orange, let’s go Orange’. Was this a Big East Tournament night in March with Syracuse facing the likes of Pitt or Georgetown? Atmosphere-wise you could say so, but it’s December and the opposition was Michigan State at the Jimmy V Classic.

We will take a closer tempo-free look ar Syracuse’s impressive 72-58 victory.


TEAM.........Possessions............Offensive efficiency

Syracuse..........69........................108

Michigan State....69.........................84


Three things we learned from tonight:


1. Syracuse can mix it up inside. The Orange enjoyed a 36-26% edge in offensive rebounding percentage. They also had a whopping 41-17% advantage in free throw rate. A figure suggesting a team pounding it inside and getting to the line. Which was exactly what the Orange did all night. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called it a “butt kicking” and could remember when his team was outscored 42-24 in the paint. Syracuse repeatedly broke down the Spartan interior defense to the extent 14 of their 15 first half field goals were in the paint. Rick Jackson with 17 points 16 boards, was virtually unstoppable, doing the most damage for the Orange in the lane.


2. The 2-3 zone is still tough to figure. The Michigan State fan behind my baseline press table seat constantly pleaded with his team to beat a ‘high school’ zone. The 2-3 of Jim Boeheim once again took another highly ranked team down. Big East teams fare a little better because they see it once or twice a year. A Michigan State may face zones, but none like this. The Orange trap the corners and always have quick, long and athletic players getting into the passing lanes. Stiffled by a defense not allowing them access in the lane, Izzo’s team got caught up in what he termed “a sissy jump shooting game’. Just a matter of playing into Syracuse’s hands. The Spartans shot 7 of 24 (29%) from three-point range. Lest anyone think zones are passive, Syracuse forced Michigan State into a 25% turnover rate.


3. The Orange have ‘struggled‘. They are 8-0 but Boeheim said, “I never had a team struggle early in the season like this team has.” Good thing is the struggling is not keeping them from winning and the veteran Orange mentor is certain, with each day, there is improvement. The senior Jackson, as noted, is providing strong inside play. Junior guard Scoop Jardine had a strong 19 point three assist night. Freshman as C.J. Fair, Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita are gaining valuable game experience and contributions in their own right. “We are defending,” Boeheim said. “We have to get better offensively. And we will.”

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SU REMAINS UNBEATEN WITH WIN OVER MICHIGAN STATE

No. 7 Syracuse added a signature win to their early seaso resume with a 72-58 victory over Michigan State in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night. The win moves the Orange to 9-0 on the season and No. 8 Michigan State falls to 6-3.

Scoop Jardine led all scorers with 19 points and Rick Jackson, the leading rebounder in the Big East, produced his seventh double-double in nine games finishing with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Jackson had seven double-doubles in his three-year career prior to the season.

"He's been a monster inside defensively and getting offensive rebounds," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said in the AP Recap. "He's been steady every game for us. We've been very erratic in all the other areas and he's been very good from day one, as good as any inside guy you could ask for."

Junior Kris Joseph added 14 points and four steals as the Syracuse defense forced 17 Spartan turnovers and held MSU to 38.9% (21-54) shooting from the field and held the edge on the boards (31-26) as well.

"The aggressive team usually gets the advantage," Tom Izzo said afterwards to the AP, "but we were taking it like a sissy and they took it up like men."

The Orange stretched their nine-point halftime lead (38-29) to a 12-point advantage at 46-34 with 17:21 left as Joseph (5 points) and Jackson (3) scored the first eight Orange points after intermission. The Spartans would recroup and a Derrick Nix three-point play with 13:16 left capped a 12-2 run that closed the gap to 48-46. A second-chance basket by Jackson would thwart the run and then after a free-throw by Draymond Green, the Orange defense would force four turnovers in the next five Michigan State possessions and a Dion Waiters three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play from Jardine would push the SU lead back to nine (56-47) with 8:58 remaining.

Michigan State would never get within six points again and a Jarine hoop with 2:16 left pushed the lead to its largest point, 68-52, as SU cruised home to a 72-58 victory.

The sellout crowd of 19,391 which was solidly pro-Orange, which was expected.

"We like to play here, we always have," Boeheim said. "It's a great place to play and we've had great success here for a long time."

It was the second loss suffered by Michigan State at the hands of Big East teams. The Spartans fell to Connecticut, 70-67, in the Maui Invitational last month.

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