foimbert's Blog

Keita, Grant foul-outs stretched the Orange front line thin

Syracuse big men Baye Moussa Keita and Jerami Grant both fouled out before the end of regulation play, leaving Orange head coach Jim Boeheim with no choice but to plug sophomore forward Rakeem Christmas in the middle of the zone. Freshman center DaJuan Coleman also got a shot to protect the middle of the zone near the end of the game, but Boeheim decided to bench him because of his defensive inexperience. Both Keita and Grant need to shy away from foul trouble down the stretch.

Free throws kept Syracuse in the game, but were not enough

Syracuse was able to hang on against Villanova thanks in part to its performance at the free-throw line. The Orange made 24-of-35 (68.6 percent) free throws Saturday against the Wildcats. Villanova, however, made 18-of-30 (60 percent) free throws and came out on top.

Missed layups haunted Syracuse throughout the game

The Orange missed 10 layups against the Wildcats, with the last one coming from senior guard Brandon Triche with 15 seconds left in overtime. These missed opportunities will make the rest of the Big East season a nightmare for the Syracuse if they persist.

The No. 6 Syracuse University men’s basketball team (5-0, 0-0 Big East) defeated the University of Arkansas Razorbacks 91-82 Friday at the Bud Watson Arena.   

The Syracuse victory marked the Big East’s fifth win in this year’s Big East-SEC Challenge.

Senior forward James Southerland led the Orange with a career-high 35 points. Southerland also tied the SU record for most three-pointers made in a game with nine. Sophomore guard Michael Carter-Williams chimed in with 17 points, 10 boards and nine assists. 

The Orange got off to a slow start as Arkansas led the game 10-9 with 16:08 left in the first half, but got some breathing room after Southerland ignited a 21-5 run with a basket from beyond the arc. Arkansas battled back, though, cutting SU's lead to single digits in the final minutes of the half.

The Razorbacks ended the first half trailing Syracuse 43-38 after trailing by as much as 15.

Arkansas cut the Orange lead to two points early in the second half, but SU pulled away with a 14-3 run early on and eventually held on to win.

Sophomore guard BJ Young led Arkansas with 25 points and five rebounds. Junior forward Marshawn Powell dropped 19 points and led the Razorbacks with seven boards.

Syracuse shot 48.5 percent (33-of-68) from the floor and 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from beyond the arc. The Razorbacks weren’t as successful after shooting 38.7 percent (24-of-62) from the floor and 20.8 (5-of-24) percent from beyond the arc.

The Orange kept giving Arkansas chances to come back, though. Syracuse fouled the Razorbacks 25 times in the game, and Arkansas capitalized by shooting 80.6 percent (29-of-36) from the free-throw line.

Syracuse hits the court once again when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Monday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m.

The Syracuse University men’s soccer team (9-4-0, 2-2-0 Big East) lost 2-1 to the Louisville Cardinals (7-4-0, 3-1-0 Big East) Saturday at the SU Soccer Stadium in front of a crowd of 1652.

Despite the cold weather, the Orange came out of the gates on fire as freshman midfielder Jordan Vale netted his sixth goal of the season after 2 minutes, 35 seconds of play. Vale headed the ball into the far post after a Jordan Murrell corner.

Syracuse dominated the first 20 minutes of play by controlling the ball, generating scoring chances and moving the ball effectively. The Cardinals, however, would not go down without a fight.

Louisville picked up the pace and stretched an Orange backline that was missing Skylar Thomas, a 6-foot-3 sophomore defender. The Cardinals tied the game with 17:42 to go after senior defender Greg Cochrane netted his fifth goal of the season.

“[Thomas] is a great player,” Murrell said after the game. “We’re always going to miss a player like him.”

Both teams went into the second half tied 1-1 with Syracuse being outshot 8-6. SU came into the game leading the Big East in points with 73 and goals with 26 on the season.

The second half started and Syracuse came out of the gates attempting to make long and difficult passes, which ultimately ended up in turnovers. Louisville kept pushing and stretching the Orange defense despite Syracuse’s attempt to contain the Cardinal offense.

Louisville’s attack culminated with 20:09 to go in the game when junior forward Zach Foxhoven netted a chip shot from nine yards out after breaking away from the Orange’s backline.

“[Louisville] is a good team,” SU Head Coach Ian McIntyre. “They’ve got some very dynamic, exciting attacking players and given time and space they can really hurt you.”

The game ended with Syracuse and Louisville both shooting the ball 13 times, but with the Cardinals recording six shots on target and the Orange recording four. Syracuse also committed 12 fouls in the game, four more than Louisville.

McIntyre said his team played well in the second half.

“We pressed higher [in the second half], and until the game really opened up I felt that they nicked it,” McIntyre said. “We huffed and puffed, and you have to give this group a tremendous amount of credit because they worked very hard to get that tying goal.”

McIntyre said also he thinks his team defended well in front of freshman goalkeeper Alex Bono. Bono recorded four saves in the game, all in the first half.

The Orange will return to the pitch on the road against the University of South Florida Saturday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.

The No. 1 Syracuse men’s basketball team (17-0, 4-0 Big East) kept its unbeaten streak alive after defeating the No. 20 Marquette Golden Eagles (12-4, 1-2 Big East) 73-66 Saturday at the Carrier Dome.

Senior forward Kris Joseph led the charge for the Orange, scoring 17 points, dishing out four assists and grabbing four boards. Junior guard Brandon Triche scored 16 points after shooting 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. Sophomore guard Dion Waiters and sophomore forward C.J. Fair also contributed by scoring 12 points and 13 points respectively. Waiters also had a game-high seven assists and sophomore center Fab Melo tied Waiters with a game-high eight boards.

Syracuse came out of the gates firing in the first half. The Orange went into halftime leading 37-19 after a 23-5 run to conclude the half. The run started with less than twelve minutes to go when Fair nailed a jumper. Syracuse capitalized on 15 points off turnovers in the half and scored 12 fast break points in the opening frame.

Marquette, however, made it a point not to get blown out by its conference rival, as the Golden Eagles nearly erased the 18-point deficit they faced at halftime. The Golden Eagles outscored the Orange 47-36 in the second half and got within three points of tying the Orange with nine minutes to go. Syracuse, however, was able to hold off Marquette long enough to keep its record unblemished.

Syracuse was able to win the battle on the boards, after outrebounding Marquette 40-34. The Orange offense shot 39 percent from the floor, 10 points below its average shooting percentage. Syracuse did, however, record 19 assists and ranks 13^th in the nation after averaging 17 assists per game.

Syracuse’s 2-3 zone also forced Marquette into 16 turnovers and forced the Golden Eagles into a 23.1 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

Syracuse will try to extend its winning streak Wednesday when it faces the Villanova Wildcats at Philadelphia, Penn.