A dash of good defense plus a dose of Rick Jackson were the ingredients that Jim Boeheim needed to put together a win in Tampa Saturday. The Orange’s patented 2-3 zone defense held South Florida [15] to 35 percent (18-of-51) shooting and led Syracuse to a 72-49 win.
“Overall I thought our defense was good today and we got a lot of contributions from everybody,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim [16] said.
Nine different Orangemen checked into the scoring column as Jackson led the way by collecting his 16th double-double of the season.
“I think I’ve been getting my rhythm down there on the block and I just feel more comfortable taking my time and coach has more faith in me down there,” Jackson said.
With 12 rebounds to go along with his game-high 21 points, Jackson [17] is continuing to show why he’s one of the premier big men in the country.
“I just come out and I just play”, said Jackson. “If I come out and just rebound and play good things will happen.”
With a 37-28 lead at the break, the Orange [18] started the second half on a 10-2 run to blow the game open for good. Saturday’s win marked the 33rd time Boeheim has registered a 20-win season, putting another record on his already impressive resume. But even with 849 wins under his belt the Hall of Fame coach still appreciates a hard earned win in the Big East.
“Everybody recognizes that it’s a tough league and everybody understands that,” Boeheim said. “But when you lose they don’t understand it. So I guess they really don’t understand it.”
Jarrid Famous [19] led the way for the Bulls as he scored 14 points and snatched down eight rebounds off the bench. Toralyn Fitzpatrick [20] also chipped in 10 points to go along with his six rebounds.
The win officially put the Orange on a two game winning streak, but the team is taking everything in stride and not looking past any of their opponents.
“We just want to keeping winning and keep getting better every game,” Scoop Jardine [21] said. “We don’t worry about any games except for the one we’re playing and now that we have South Florida behind us we can focus on Georgetown.”
