kcleach's Blog

This weekend is the time to love or to hate, Halftime Snack chooses to love:

The starting five: 
1 -  Kansas head coach Bill Self has the best point guard in the country, senior Sherron Collins. Collins has big-game experience, a cache full of offensive weapons for teammates, and can create baskets on his own. Think Jonny Flynn, formerly of Syracuse and currently on the Minnesota Timberwolves, wishes he was in Collins’ position? Read Jared Diamond’s column about Flynn in The Daily Orange and judge for yourself.
2 -  Time to throw out love to a fellow Section II (N.Y.) high school legend: As much as Halftime Snack loves Collins, John Wall, Kemba Walker and Scottie Reynolds, the best playmaker in the country might be BYU senior Jimmer Fredette. Fredette, a product of Glens Falls (N.Y.) High School has directed the Cougars to a 22-3 record by averaging 21.4 points per game and 4.9 assists per contest. BYU needs a big game by Fredette to right its ship Saturday again Air Force - the Cougars lost in their last game at UNLV.
3 -  Infamous former Syracuse wing Eric Devendorf landed a professional gig in New Zealand this past week. Famous for the shot that didn’t count and the assault allegations that didn’t stick, Devendorf’s new coach is calling his new spade a spade.  
4 - The shiny star in the Orange sky, Wes Johnson, has dulled. The lack of luster is not Johnson’s doing, but the work of aggressive opposition: foul trouble hindered him at Cincinnati and the Fall, against Providence, created bruises. Johnson, ever resilient, emerged against Connecticut, sinking an array of jumpers and then two crucial free throws in the 72-67 victory.
5 -  Double the Kansas love today because Halftime Snack wants a KU/SU national championship game match-up. The gruesome twosome of the Morris twins on the Jayhawk squad (not to mention All-American center Cole Aldrich) is perhaps the only match for the Orange in the paint. How did these brothers (both Philadelphia natives) get out of the Big East?

Big East weekend predictions: 
Orange: Syracuse will see red on Sunday afternoon when Rick Pitino brings his struggling Cardinals to the Dome, using its size advantage once again to slay a conference opponent (Syracuse 84, Louisville 70).
Other Big East games:
Pittsburgh 73, West Virginia 71
Connecticut 81, Cincinnati 74
Nova 84, Providence 71
Marquette 76, USF 61
Seton Hall 85, DePaul 65
Georgetown 71, Rutgers 68
Notre Dame 85, St. John’s 72
Last week's record: 7-2
Overall record: 25-13

Stat nerd stat of the week – Points per possession bounced into the central focus of many basketball programs, providing a turnover-prone team like Syracuse justification for its careless style. The same can be said for the other top dog in the conference, Villanova, who relies on pressing and 3-pointers as a way of amplifying the stat-per-possession number.
They said it: “In the time it took me to say ‘Tyrone Wheatley’ I already forgot about the other guy.”  SU Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross, on “The Gomez and Dave Show” Tuesday morning after the announcement of the newest SU running backs coach.
"Jimmer is by far the best player in the conference and one of the top players in the country. He keeps his composure during the game and doesn’t get easily rattled." TCU head coach Jim Christian after his team fell to Jimmer Fredette and the BYU Cougars on Feb. 2. 

February is a month of adjustments. The number of days on the calendar is known to change, Valentine’s Day can be a disaster or heaven depending on your love life, and in 2010 the Winter Olympics interrupts the normal TV programming.  Halftime Snack is on board with Adjustment Month:

The starting five:

1 -             Michigan State is in gut-check mode after getting beat handily, 67-49, at No. 16 Wisconsin on Tuesday night. The fifth-ranked Spartans have lost and mid-way thru the second half in Madison, also lost reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas to a twisted ankle (read the latest from the Detroit Free Press). Four of the next six Big Ten games are on the road and a basketball team without its point guard is like a freighter coming into the port on its own. Without the tugboat, the coach (Captain Izzo) directs more from the bench, and that handling is tiresome.

2 -            The degree of difficulty runs high for Andy Rautins lately. The stats in the last four games tell one story (7 for his last 29, 11 TOs, seven points per game), but there are some chapters you skip. The fifth-year senior is pulling double-duty on the Orange this season, the top shooter on the offensive end and the defensive leader on the other. A double agent, Jason Bourne-style is Rautins. Draws the attention of every opponent, even inducing triangle-and-two coverage (Wes Johnson being the other player denied) from some teams. Hell, Rautins is such a concern that people are taking swings at his manhood and throwing the ball off his face (“I don’t think it was intentional,” said Rautins).

3 -            Bob Huggins just debuted a transfer (6’9” Turkish post Deniz Kilicli) of his own and was that loud clicking sound the West Virginia fans investing their change in tickets to Madison Square Garden for the Big East finals. Let me just throw in my two cents.

4 -             We hear plenty of talk about Syracuse star forward Wes Johnson’s ability to bounce—the ball, off the floor, back from a bad game or just plain elevation. Halftime Snack sees Johnson perform two of the four quite well (the dribbling is shaky, especially going left), and the rest of the Orange Nation is eagerly waiting to see how Johnson comes back from that high-wire tumble against Providence (TheNewshouse.com photographer Andrew Burton snapped the photo of Johnson below and the infamous one circling the Internet).

5-             Halftime Snack made a triumphant return to the hardwood, playing in the alumni game at the University of Rochester on Saturday afternoon. Talk about adjustments: the rims seem a foot higher and Snack was bumped from his customary spot in the post, out to beyond the three-point arc. Adjustments, people: Snack scored five points and led the Grey team to a contested victory over the Blue squad. Check out this piece about legendary UR coach Mike Neer (the guy who got the job when Boeheim opted out, and returned to Syracuse) written by Jim Mandalero in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.

Big East weekend predictions:

Orange: Syracuse hits the toughest part of its 2009-10 schedule when Connecticut comes to the Dome on Wednesday, but this Sunday sees a trip to Ohio. The Cincinnati Bearcats (14-8, 5-5 Big East) are led by freshman sensation Lance Stephenson and have notable wins over Maryland, Connecticut and Notre Dame (plus overtime losses to Gonzaga and Xavier), but at 71 points per game will be unable to out-score SU (Syracuse 79, Cincinnati 70).

Other Big East games:

Georgetown 69, Villanova 68
West Virginia 85, St. John’s 71
Providence 82, Marquette 79
Louisville 77, Rutgers 66
Seton Hall 74, Pittsburgh 70
Connecticut 80, DePaul 65
Notre Dame 79, USF 73

National scene: Not getting around the biggest game of the weekend (Kansas 82, Texas 80). This is a possible Final Four match-up—the Big 12 is the only conference other than the mighty Big East that could bring two teams to Indianapolis. The Jayhawks are the top team in the country and its time the fans in Philly and in Onondaga County stop worrying about the top spot - there is a time and a place to decide that. Kansas is one of two teams (maybe floundering UConn) that has the size-and-speed combination to matchup with the Orange, but the Jayhawks have a senior point guard that has played in the big games, something SU lacks at this point.

Record last week: 5-4
Overall: 18-11

Stat nerd stat of the week – Please stat nerds, remember that for every action (shot, steal) there is a result (rebound, turnover) that must occur. The box score needs to balance. If the first free throw is missed, the stat gods deem an offensive deadball rebound is credited (but no team actually gets credit for the rebound). A magical floating rebound that might as well get assigned to a referee—he’s usually the one who ends up with the ball after that A.O. air ball.

They said it: “You don’t make adjustments to rebound (as a coach), players make adjustments. It’s hard for a coach to make a rebound adjustment. I never learned how to do that,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim taking the sarcasm train out of the station during his post-game press conference following the win over Providence.

“I understand (Rick) Pitino's frustration (following Louisville’s game with West Virginia), but I also think that coaches overly fixate on referee errors as opposed to the dozens of things that happen during the course of a game that decide the outcome, including coaching mistakes.” Seth Davis in his “College Basketball Mailbag” posted on Feb. 3.

“I’ve been to Syracuse twice and it’s snowed twice. I think there will be more snow when we leave the Dome tonight.” ESPN commentator Doug Gottlieb during SU’s win over Providence.

“I wouldn’t say the same thing in Kansas,” Providence head coach Keno Davis after saying that Syracuse is the top team in the nation after his Friars fell to the Orange.

Halftime Snack is out of position and just got called for a blocking foul. This theme is going to run wild, or fall over with a thud.

The starting five:

1 -             Syracuse redshirt sophomore Scoop Jardine took over the Carrier Dome in two games this past week. Many sports teams around the country have players with names, real or not, that lend to a stadium-wide serenade (Kevin Youkilis comes to mind). Yet, how many can pull off the variety of moves Scoop-a-loop displayed: deep three-pointer, spin-and-bounce pass, long alley oop, and the newest: pull-up jumper in transition.  The Orange second team is better than its starting five, how about we get to Scoop (pictured with Jim Boeheim right) a bit sooner. Photo: Andrew Burton/TheNewshouse.com

2 -            Georgetown scorer Austin Freeman is probably the “3,” and not the shooting guard, but his shooting stroke is as pure as several NBA notables. Halftime Snack loves the ease with the ball rotates out of Freeman’s hand; the perfect rotation and high ball flight remind us of Allen Iverson and Dirk Nowitzki.

3 -            Wisconsin junior Keaton Nankivil single-handily kept Wisconsin alive on Keady Court Friday night, canning 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. The 6-foot, 8-inch power forward pick-and-popped Purdue to death, but the Boilermakers should have known it would happen (Nankivil hit all five of his triples against Purdue in 2009).

4 -             Welcome to the Wild, wild Wes! The Sheriff of Syracuse swatted away some pesky dogs (Hoyas, to be exact) on Monday night. Four blocks in total for Wes Johnson on the night, including two weak-side rejections where the sky-walker could have probably caught the ball in mid-flight.

5-             TV people need to be the center of attention. What are you 5-years old, Brent Musberger? For the first 12 minutes of the second half, ESPN, Steve Lavin and you railed against the officiating. First you admonished the referees for changing the tone of the game, and then you predicted Purdue coach Matt Painter is about to get a technical. “You can go to the bank on that one, folks.” Finally, ESPN went with picture-in-picture to try and catch the moment when Painter was to be assessed this violation. (He never got one) Purdue kept its head, winning 60-57. How about ESPN joining NCAA partner in touting sportsmanship, rather than fuele the fans need to ride the officials.

Big East weekend predictions:

Orange: Syracuse 74, DePaul 51—The Blue Demons are battling offensive ghouls, scoring 70-plus points just three times in 2009-10. The Orange case for a move up in the rankings gets rather loud after Monday’s new poll and the big heads in the Carrier Dome finally burst at home against Providence. Friars 83, Orange 81

Other Big East games:

West Virginia 73, Louisville 71
Connecticut 81, Marquette 77
Georgetown 75, Duke 72
Notre Dame 81, Rutgers 73
Cincinnati 77, Providence 71
Pittsburgh 75, USF 54

National Scene: Harvard at Cornell on Saturday. Another color battle in N.Y. sees the road tripping Crimson (10 of the last 15 played outside of Cambridge) bring a Sports Illustrated feature (penned by Harvard alum Pablo S. Torres) to Ithaca. Take the home team – all-world Harvard guard Jeremy Lin’s talents are undeniable, but the Big Red shooters take comfort in playing at home (42.4% from 3-pt land). Cornell 66, Harvard 61

Record last week: 7-4
Overall: 13-7

Stat nerd stat of the week – Attendance figures are the good, the bad and the ugly of the box score. The good: a high number can lead to an exciting scramble through the record books to boost the in-game announcement (see the Carrier Dome’s lively announcement about “largest on-campus attendance, again” thinger); the bad: if you inflate the big number one day (Saturday versus Marquette), and then before a seemingly larger crowd (Monday versus Georgetown with a two-level student section), the head-scratching beings; the ugly: a sparse crowd can lead to SID counting tricks. My two favorites: 1) count the players, referees, any human that could feasibly see that a sport event is occurring, and 2) given to me by Steve Peed, associate athletic director at Division III Franklin & Marshall: “No attendance figure shall end in a “5” or a “0.”

They said it: “What’s up, All-Star, I been watching you,” President Barack Obama said to Kentucky frosh John Wall, effectively jinxing the Wildcats who suffered its first loss of the season at South Carolina.  

“I have my special feelings when it’s over. Anything else is premature. Premature anything isn’t very good,” Orange head coach Jim Boeheim after being asked if he had a special feeling about this year’s basketball team.

“Come on, Chief. Just put the ball in the basket. In the basket! Come on, Chief, put it in the basket!” Jack Nicholson’s character, R.P. McMurphy, in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, imploring the seemingly deaf and mute, yet massive, Chief Bromden to become a low-post threat.

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Quantity nearly beat quality Saturday afternoon. Fifth-ranked Syracuse withstood a barrage of late three-pointers by No. 9 West Virginia, making just enough free throws to defeat the Mountaineers, 72-71, in Big East action.

West Virginia guard Darryl Bryant sank three free throws and an NBA three-pointer in the span of four seconds while the Orange missed three of four attempts at the charity stripe. The final attempt, a Kris Joseph clank with 2.5 seconds left, fell into the hands of All-Big East guard Da’Sean Butler who drew nothing but air on a three-quarter-court heave.

''At the end, West Virginia just kept making plays and pushing further and further, so we are very fortunate that we didn't turn it over, and I think that's what made the difference,'' Orange coach Jim Boeheim told the Associated Press. ''We were tougher today. We had toughness when we needed it.

Led by Triche (16 points, five assists) and Joseph (13 points, 5-of-8 from the charity stripe), the Orange (16-1, 4-1 Big East) continued to shot the ball well (57.8 percent from the floor) and held a sizeable rebound advantage (35-24).

But this is the Big East Conference. Football on the hardwood floor. No lead is safe. Even this author thought the Orange would be upset.

The bullish Triche (listed at 6-4, 200 lbs.) opened the game with a three-pointer, but the in-your-face style West Virginia defense made passing for Syracuse difficult. By fronting the larger Orange post players and denying on the wings, the Mountaineers disrupted the Syracuse continuity. The Orange committed seven turnovers in the opening 10 minutes, yet two buckets by bruising forward Rick Jackson, including a smooth lefty hook from the baseline, gave the Orange a 19-15 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.

West Virginia was suffering just as much on its offensive end, allowing the Cuse zone to push its offense farther and farther from the basket. The Mountaineers continued to fire from long distance, and the long misses led to easy Syracuse fast breaks. Orange senior guard Andy Rautins led a 3-on-2 break with 5:45 left, dropping a pass of to Wes Johnson, who swooped in for the finger roll to put Syracuse ahead, 22-15.

The Mountaineer (13-3, 4-2) started to find their mark late in the first half, as Butler sank consecutive jumpers (one was a triple) and drew a charge on Jackson.  Butler then drew another charge, this time on Orange guard Scoop Jardine.

Bryant found the bottom of the net with five seconds left in the half, drilling a three-pointer to bring the fans to their feet, and West Virginia was within one, 26-25.

The momentum stayed with West Virginia as they emerged from the locker room. After Orange head coach Jim Boeheim went to a smaller lineup (inserting Joseph for hulking post Arinze Onuaku), WVU counterpart Bob Huggins inserted freshman shooting guard Dalton Pepper.

The Mountaineers brought its physicality to the offense, making contact with the Orange players standing around in the zone. WVU overloaded one side of the zone with four players and then attacked the weak-side Orange forwards. The result: a 13-6 Mountaineers scoring run fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Pepper.

In 12 minutes of second-half action, Pepper tallied 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting and filled WVU with limitless confidence that would reveal itself later in the game.

Boeheim, tired of seeing his Orange getting pushed around, pushed back against the officials, coming within a hair of getting a technical. After signaling for time, Boeheim mimicked how his star, Wesley Johnson, got hit on the arm attempting a jump shot. Johnson, bugged by the flu and Butler’s lock-down defense, was not his normal self. He, and Boeheim, needed someone to step up.

Up stepped Triche (pictured), who had been quiet since the opening minutes. The freshman ignited 9-0 Orange run following the time out, converting a steal and the layup before pulling up off the dribble to can a three-pointer with 11:05 left as the Orange led 46-42.

After a brief rest, Boeheim put Triche back on the floor with 6:43 left and Cuse clinging to a one-point lead, 48-47. The Orange lead jumped to eight points, 59-51 as Triche found Onuaku for a thunderous dunk, and then converted a lay-up in traffic. Triche grabbed an offensive rebound at the 2:42 mark and made the put-back while getting fouled.

The Orange (17-1, 4-1) pushed its lead to 65-55 on a Johnson free throw before West Virginia started drilling deep three-pointers.

Bryant led West Virginia with 18 points by shooting 4-of-7 from three-point land while Pepper contributed a career-high 15 and Butler added 13 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Johnson and Joseph tallied 13 points apiece while Jackson bulled his way to eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The last time two top-10 teams met in West Virginia, Hall of Famer Jerry West, as  a senior captain, led the Mountaineers to a victory over Villanova.

Maybe the next time people look back at a game like this, historians will talk about the day Brandon Triche broke out.

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Photo by Jamie De Pould/TheNewshouse.com