kcleach's Blog

No big names, no expectations and no fear. The defensive-minded Pittsburgh Panthers stalled the high-scoring Orange men’s basketball attack Saturday afternoon, and served up the first SU loss in the Dome since Halloween with a 82-72 Big East victory.

The two teams on the floor differed drastically from the respective schools' 2008-09 editions. Last year's Panthers bullied their way to the Elite Eight behind the talented trio of forward DeJuan Blair, wing Sam Young and point guard Levance Fields. Pitt was seconds from going to the 2009 Final Four before Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds dashed to one of the biggest shots in tournament history. Head coach Jamie Dixon’s charges this season are smaller, quicker, play textbook Big East basketball and have a strong record (12-2, 2-0 Big East).

Syracuse lost its three top scorers to the professional ranks, and as it’s been widely chronicled, the 2009-10 version is different, better even, than expected. The Orange (13-1, 1-1) is big, long and scores the basketball at will (Big East-best 87.7 points per game coming into Saturday).

After staging a 13-point comeback at Seton Hall on Dec. 29, the chinks in the Orange armor were too much to over come against Pittsburgh.

“Seton Hall bothered us a little bit, but they are not a defensive team,” said Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim. “They are an offensive team. Pittsburgh’s a tremendous defensive team. They always have been, and you have to match the physical nature of how they’re playing. We did not do that and you’re not going to win that kind of game.”

Predictable Syracuse opened the game with a heavy dose of its frontline, scoring 12 points in the paint to build a 20-12 lead. Senior Arinze Onuaku hit his first three shots and the crowd of nearly 25,000 was happy in the New Year.

Slowly, Pittsburgh inched closer, using offensive rebounds and 3-point shooting to close within 30-27 by halftime. The year stopped being happy.

Cuse made short-term resolutions at the break and extended the zone outside the arc in second half. The long-range shooting of Pitt was not to its advantage, and on the other side of the floor, height was in the Orange's favor.

The first change, a defensive one, did more harm than good. Extending the zone puts a higher premium on block-out assignments. On Pitt’s first possession of the half, the Panthers ran down an offensive rebound, and stripped the next missed shot out of Onuaku’s hands and scored a lay-up.

"The second half starts the story of the game,” said Boeheim. “Ricky (Jackson) had the ball and lost it, Arinze (Onuaku) had the ball and lost it, and they got two baskets and you can’t do that.”

Pittsburgh totaled 12 offensive rebounds on the afternoon, the second game in a row the Orange surrendered double-digit extra possessions. How does that happen with the front line Syracuse puts on the floor includes Johnson (fifth in the Big East in rebounding), and the massive pair of Onuaku and Rick Jackson? Lack of box outs. That’s the answer. It’s not enough to be big in this conference, because speed is just as effective.

“I said this on the first day that we are not rebounding as well as we need to,” Boeheim said following the game, “and that is what I’m saying when I say that.

Pitt guard Jamie Dixon hit a 3-pointer to put the Panthers up 43-34 with 15 minutes to go, part of a 25-8 Pitt run across the halves. The Orange counter on offense was to post up Wes Johnson. The forward showed little variation to his post game in the second half, and he succumbed to the physical play of the Panthers, shooting awkward jump hooks. On one play, Johnson got bumped, drawing a foul and a fake cheer went up at the Dome. The referees were not to blame on Saturday.

Boeheim, in an effort to speed the game up to the Orange liking, brought full-court pressure and mixed in half-court traps. The move created three quick turnovers, and Wes Johnson slipped by the Panthers for a pair of offensive putbacks to bring Cuse within two with 11:10 to go.

But then that plan backfired as well: Syracuse was unable to catch up with the Panthers in the backcourt, committing reach-in fouls that got Pittsburgh to the free throw line often. The Panthers were 26 for 36 while Syracuse was 15 for 23.

Free throw shooting was a hot topic Saturday: Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs made all four of his free throws, extending his school-record streak to 37 consecutive makes (the streak began Nov. 24 against Texas). Gibbs also hit six three-pointers on the afternoon to lead all scorers with 24 points.

“Defensively, we did a very good job in the first half except we didn’t find (Ashton) Gibbs and Gibbs is their best three-point shooter,” Boeheim said. “You can’t allow that to happen.”

Simple things win Big East games. Simple things like rebounding and free throws.

Now that the Orange finally have that first loss, the team and its fans can stop preening around like the No. 1 seed is in hand. If you don’t put your hands up on defense, if you don’t turn and box out someone when a shot goes up, and if you leave the building down ten with three minutes left, you won’t get a spot in the national tournament.  

Coach Boeheim has the motivational capital now to wipe the stars from his team’s eyes, and get them to play like Pittsburgh.

Wes Johnson, who led the Orange with 19 points, is already leading the charge: “A lot of teams aren't going to lay down just because we are ranked highly," he said. "It's Syracuse basketball so it is going to force us to go out and show these teams that we mean business."

Follow NewsHouseSports on Twitter for live game updates and the latest Orange news.

The Orange (9-0) limited Dartmouth (2-5), the defending Ivy League champion, to 28 percent shooting in a 56-42 victory Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome for its 19^th consecutive non-conference victory.

SLICES:

Ash is, Ash is, All Fall Down – Orange freshman Tyler Ash, listed as a 6-foot-2 inch guard, has mostly seen time in the post this season. But as he promised in the pre-season, Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman is expanding the role of the Liverpool, N.Y. native: Ash played at shooting guard, point guard and her normal forward spot versus Dartmouth Sunday, and was disruptive at the top of the zone, tipping a pair of passes that led to Orange fast breaks (too bad the box score did not reflect Ash’s efforts in the steal column).

Juan in A Million!: Temple brought inner-city rival Villanova back to Earth Sunday afternoon, as guard Juan Fernandez drilled seven 3-pointers to lead the Owls to a 74-65 upset of the No. 3 Wildcats. ‘Nova had lost just one Big Five game (the city rivalry between the five Division I basketball programs) the last five years – a streak of 23 games -- ironically its last loss was also to Temple. Fernandez, an Argentine, shot an air ball on his first attempt before reeling off 17 points in the first half. Read the account filed by Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Power Play: Possibly the three most influential people on the Hill sat on the baseline for Sunday’s game with Dartmouth, amongst barely 300 fans. SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross, men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, and university chancellor Nancy Cantor sprinkled among family and colleagues. A pecking order follie nearly occurred as Boeheim trips over the ropes set up to keep fans away from media row. Gross sees Boeheim stumble, the coach points back at Gross to get it fixed and after Gross alerts Cantor, the coach switches up and waves a hearty goodbye. All is good with both basketball teams unblemished heading into finals week.

GOOD GAMBLE?: The SU department of athletics has dropped the curtain that divides the basketball court setup from the rest of the expansive Carrier Dome. The reason: Three massive advertisements cover the seating at the far end of the facility, enticing fans to think about planning their next trip to the Turning Stone Casino and Resort. The NCAA is so confusing. Don’t Bet On It, but we can make money off of it. Read the column by Mike Waters of the Post-Standard, it's got some great quotes.

THEY SAID IT:

"I'd like to say I told (his Temple squad) something really profound but it was just dropping a couple of [obscenities] and saying, 'What are we doing? What are we thinking about here?’” –Temple head coach Fran Dunphy divulged his timeout speech after beating No. 3 Villanova Sunday afternoon

“Here’s a bit of good news for Dallas: by the time (the season finale with Philadelphia) arrives, it will be January.” --Bob Costas, when lamenting on the December woes of the Cowboys

Fasten your seat belts the flash Allen Iverson returned to the city loves him.

The most fearless player in basketball history, Iverson skipped to Broad Street in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey Monday night against the Denver Nuggets. Divorced from the City of Brotherly Love franchise in 2007, His crossover, his speed and his scoring over 30 points per game) took rich round ball tradition in southeastern Pennsylvania all the way to the 2001 NBA Finals.

Historically a marked man recently stung by the rejection of NBA teams, was lent the holiday miracle of redemption. He returned the favor, kissing midcourt in the Wachovia Center floor. Once vilified for his lifestyle, Iverson brought his brand of entertainment back, a show of all shows. The building was full and everyone basketball fan was there, including SU alum Donovan McNabb.

“You gotta wind it up, bounce back. Do the rubber tree.” New song by Creed Bratton –yes Creed from Scranton, Pa., a paper guy in “The Office.” Halftime Snack was in Scranton this year.

A move made more for business; the 76ers are hurting at the ticket office (just over 3,000 at the previous home game) and Comcast, an ownership interest in both the 76ers and the Flyers, has just offered up a large stack of its cash for a little media company in Rockefeller Center.

Tickets needed to be sold, a headliner, a golden oldie, one more walk to remember.

The original A.I. hit double figures (11 points) and juiced up the A.I. with youthful legs (forward Andre Iguodala), who added to the performance with a, ho, hum, reverse two-handed jam. Igga-dolla-dolla-dolla (PA announcer Matt Cord’s rendition) ended the half by sinking a full-court heave. The buzzer went off, and the basket did not count. See the replay here.

Halftime Snack loves memories; the personal pictures hold not just 1,000 words, but 1,000 stories, conversations and moments.

In 2004, Allen Iverson walked by Halftime Snack in a Wachovia Center hallway, No. 3  jersey pulled on and trademark braids pulled out.

Nearly three hours before tip-off, the star was in the building.

“Check that out,” Halftime Snack was not shy about pointing at the long, black hair stretching halfway down the number on his back.

“It’s crazy, right?” Iverson said.

He walked down the hall way to see the hair stylist and later that night, ran past the Hornets for 55 points in a playoff win.

Syracuse football comes to a close Saturday afternoon. Halftime Snack ushers out the old and looks ahead to the new.

FINAL ANSWER:  Syracuse graduate student-senior and local boy extraordinaire Greg Paulus will play his final collegiate game in Hartford, Conn. Saturday.  His previous final collegiate game, also in New England, was a basketball game in the NCAA basketball tournament this past March in Boston; Duke fell to Villanova, 77-54. Paulus played just 10 minutes and sank a three-pointer for his only points. The biggest game of Paulus' five-year college career came over two years ago, when the Blue Devils lost in the national championship semifinal against this same Connecticut school. The irony wheel keeps spinning: Duke and Connecticut will play basketball Nov. 27 for the first time since that night in Atlanta, squaring off in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden (Halftime Snack predicts the Huskies will win that game as well).

EMOTION POTION: The Connecticut football team endured a senseless tragedy earlier this season when junior cornerback Jasper Howard was stabbed at a campus party. Howard, the 2008 Big East Special Teams Player of the Year, was a stabilizing force in the lives of many: his unborn baby, a large family in Miami, Fla., and his Huskie teammates in Storrs. The UCONN football players plowed during this emotional season, enduring a series of tough losses before finally breaking through last week with a 33-30 double overtime victory at Notre Dame. The team sent the game ball south to Howard’s family.

THAT’S A WRAP: Coach Doug Marrone completes his first season at Syracuse and hopes for a five-win season. Orange fans should have confidence that winning SU football is not far away, but the final ingredient will be talent. All the other intangibles of a strong football program have been put in place: discipline, hard work, responsibility and execution.

SLICES:
Connecticut 24, Syracuse 13 – The Orange has shown no ability to put together a consistent offensive attack on the road. The touchdown at Penn State came late in the game after good field position, and the long run by Delone Carter on the first series was the only offensive highlight of the Pitt game.

Game of the Week – Post-Thanksgiving games offer some of the best action of the season, highlighted this week by Pittsburgh at West Virginia, known as the Backyard Brawl. The Panthers need to defeat their border rivals to keep pace in their pursuit of the Big East title (Cincinnati completed its slate unblemished). Halftime Snack views the world, and college football, as cyclical; the Mountaineers will spoil Pittsburgh’s party this weekend and then the Panthers will squash the Bearcats' dream next week. All the more reason for the NCAA football championship to be determined on the field and not in the polls.

Heisman watch – Texas quarterback Colt McCoy did his best Vince Young impersonation Thursday evening, running away from the Texas A&M defensive backs on his way to a four-touchdown effort. If he goes on to win the national championship (as Halftime Snack predicted in September), McCoy will supplant Young as the top QB in Longhorn history.