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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ORANGE 'PASS' ANOTHER TEST ON WAY TO 10-0 START

Syracuse improved to 10-0, their best start in 10 years, as the Orange Turns Up the Pressure Against St. Francis (Syracuse Post-Standard) in a 75-51 win.

Coming off the big win over Florida on Thursday to close the 2009 SEC/Big East Invitational, Jim Boeheim expected a little dip in defensive intensity as SU Battles Letdown Before Victory (Watertown Daily Times) on Sunday. A few defensive breakdowns gave coach Boeheim teaching moments before the Orange iced this game away.

Arinze Onuaku led the Orange with 14 points and Wesley Johnson added 12 points and 9 rebounds as Syracuse used their decided size advantage to dominate St. Francis. The Orange shot 54% from the field while limiting the visitors to 29% and forcing 17 turnovers.

From my Carrier Dome vantage point on Sunday the aspect of this SU team that stuck out to me was their passing (24 assists on 29 made baskets Sunday). Not only the skill of being one of the better passing teams I have seen in a while, but the unselfish mindset that this team has. The veteran presence of 5th year seniors Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins along with 4th year junior Wesley Johnson shows this is a team that 'gets it' and they understand their roles. Brandon Triche and 'Scoop' Jardine fit the personnel perfectly while running the show. This is also a very BIG Orange line-up, able to fill the backline of the 2-3 zone more impressively than any SU team in recent memory going back to the national championship team with Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony on the blocks. They might be a little thin at guard and not the best three-point shooting team outside of Rautins, but with Kris Joseph and Mookie Jones finding roles off the bench and playing to their role, this team has it going on!

The Carrier Dome should be a very fun place this winter!!

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SYRACUSE ROLLS PAST MAINE; FACE FLORIDA NEXT

Syracuse is definitely playing the role of a top 10 team, not a team that was unranked just a few weeks ago, they are beating good teams and destroying bad teams. The latest victim was the Maine Black Bears and this was a no-contest from the start as the Orange led 60-12 at the half. Yes, 60-12!

SU cruised to victory, 101-55, as six players reached double figures and no SU player played more than 24 minutes. Freshman Brandon Triche scored 16 points to lead the effort and the SU Defense Had its Way with Maine Watertown Daily Times) as the Orange are 'zoned' in and working in-synch in the 2-3 zone.

Next up for the Orange is a Thursday night date in the SEC/Big East Invitational against ranked Florida in St. Petersburg (FL) as Syracuse will put their 8-0 record on the line against the Gators.

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ORANGE BRUSH ASIDE COLGATE; JOHNSON SHINES AGAIN

Syracuse continues to roll along and improves to 7-0 with a victory over an upstate rival last night in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse Knocks Out Colgate Early (Syracuse Post-Standard), taking leads of 18-5 and 30-10 and leading by as much as 33 points in the first half and then cruising to a 92-58 win.

Once again, Wesley Johnson is establishing himself as the show in Western NY this winter, finishing with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in just 23 minutes and proving No Pass is Too High for Johnson (Post-Standard) as he soared to slam home an alley-oop from Andy Rautins that put an exclamation point on the win and Johnson's performance. Johnson's early season performance has led to NBA Talk After 7 Games (Auburn Citizen) as he was the MVP of the 2K Sports Classic, dazzling the crowds at Madison Square Garden in wins over North Carolina and Cal. He's also turning heads at the Carrier Dome, averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting 52 percent from the 3-point line.

Rautins, SU Serve Notice (Watertown Daily Times) that this is a different Orange team this year. Rautins, a redshirt senior, led SU with eight assists as --Syracuse was credited as a team with 35 assists on 39 made baskets, an impressive ratio, to say the least.

SU faces Maine this weekend at the Dome before a taking on Florida in the SEC/Big East Challenger December 10th in a meeting of two of the biggest early season risers nationally.

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SYRACUSE 'ZONED' IN EARLY, MOVES TO 2-0 ON SEASON

It is safe to say that Syracuse got the message from coach Jim Boehiem to improve their defense in the wake of their exhibition loss to LeMoyne. It is also safe to say the loss to LeMoyne has been placed well into the rear-view mirror as Robert Morris is No Match for Syracuse (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) in the Dome last night. The Orange move to 2-0 on the season with their 100-60 win over RMU.

In their opening wins against Robert Morris and Albany (Monday), SU has forced 60 turnovers and held opponents to just 51.5 points a game as the Orange Zone Defense is Creating Havoc (Syracuse Post-Standard) on their early season opponents.

While Albany and RMU are definitely low-major programs, both are well coached teams that some expected to test the Orange early on. That was not the case in either game and on Wednesday SU got their offense cranking very early, thanks in a large part to Andy Rautins, who rebounded from an 0-fer fromt he field in the opener and an ankle injury to light up the zone scoreboard from beyond the arc, connecting on seven of 10 three-pointers, and scoring 22 points in 20 minutes. There was question if Rautins would even play after attending Tuesday's practice in a walking boot, but Rautins Led Syracuse to Victory Despite Injured Ankle (Post-Standard) as Jim Boehiem earned career witn #801.

For the second consecutive game, five Orange players reached double figures in scoring with Wes Johnson scoring 15 and Arinze Onuaku made seven of eight field goal attempts in scoring 14. Freshman point guard Brandon Triche had 12 points and 7 assists as SU shot 58% from the field in the contest.

Next up for the Orange is a trip to Madison Square Garden for a Coaches versus Cancer semifinal match-up with 13th ranked Cal. North Carolina and Ohio State represent the other side of the bracket in a very anticipated gathering of top teams early this season.

You can check the action live...below is a link to great seats available at MSG for next week's action:

Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Tickets - Semifinals (Syracuse vs. Cal; North Carolina vs. Ohio State) November 19 2009

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SYRACUSE OPENS WITH WIN; BOEHEIM EARNS WIN #800

It was a milestone night at the Carrier Dome for Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim as Syracuse tipped off the 2009-2010 season Monday. Boeheim Gets Win #800 as Syracuse Beats Albany (Syracuse Post-Standard), 75-43, putting the memories of the exhibition loss to LeMoyne well in the past.

It is not to say things were pretty, even in a 32-point victory. The Orange turned the ball over 21 times, were poor from the foul line (15-31) and beyond the arc (2-17), but this Boeheim team is built for the SU signature 2-3 zone and their length, quickness and ability to trap out of it forced 32 Albany turnovers. In their exhibition against LeMoyne, SU played very little zone defense...

The 32 turnovers committed by Albany was a school record, surpassing the previous high of 28 set back in 2001 against Ohio State. The Danes Gift Wrap #800 (Albany Times-Union) with their inability to take care of the basketball against the Orange zone.

Syracuse used a balance attack offensively, placing five players in double figures, led by senior Arinze Onuaku who was six of seven from the field and two of five from the charity strip for 14 points. Iowa State transfer Wesley Johnson stuffed the stat sheet for the Orange with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists while Kris Joseph and 'Scoop' Jardine each added 12 points off the bench. Rick Jackson connected on all four of his shots from the field and two of four from the line to score 10.

Brandon Triche started at the point over Jardine and scored eight points in his debut, but turned the ball over six times compared to just three assists. Jardine finished with four assists and just one turnover in the contest.

Senior Andy Rautins went scoreless, missing all six field goal attempts, including four from beyond the arc. Rautins injured his Ankle in SU Win (Post-Standard), leaving the game and not returning with 14 minutes left in the second half. After the game Rautins was in a walking boot and will be getting treatment ahead of Wednesday night's contest with Robert Morris at the Carrier Dome as part of the 2009 Coaches vs. Cancer event. The Orange will move to Madison Square Garden to face Cal on November 19th in the semifinals with North Carolina and Ohio State on the other side. Link below for tickets...


Coaches vs. Cancer Classic Tickets - Semifinals (Syracuse vs. Cal; North Carolina vs. Ohio State) November 19 2009

A great night of basketball for a great cause!!

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