The S.U. Winter Carnival during the week of Febuary 20th will potentially feature a Guinness World Record. Organizers are trying to put together the World's Largest Game of Freeze Tag on the Quad. There aren't really any details other than it's a goal. I've done a little research and from what I could find, there is no existing world record for freeze tag.
The Winter Carnival features events such as a human dog sled race, Winter ball semi formal dance, concerts, and other competitions.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
UMASS, We Played Like A--
Wow what a disaster. Every aspect of that game went wrong. Defense...Offense...Crowd...the relationship between students and players.
I guess I'll start with the obvious, the defense or lack there of. This has already been beat to death by everyone so I'm just going to put the final nail in the coffin. Yes, they don't get on defense, and yes they allow a lot of wide open looks, but something that isn't really getting air time is the defense's inability to create turnovers. A team cannot score if they don't shoot on their possession. Obvious right? Well S.U. isn't getting steals or forcing bad passes. The defense forced turnovers on just 13.6% of UMASS's possessions. To put that into perspective, Syracuse's season rate is just over 17% which is 318th in the country. Syracuse forced 11 turnovers in an 80 possession game which is unacceptable. In a fast paced game turnovers exponentially increase. An 80 possession game should result in 18-20 turnovers for each team.
Now with the offense. Okay they scored 100 points. Their offensive efficiency was 123, best for the year. The problem, they can't score against a 2-3 zone. They had 20 points to start the game in 5.5 minutes against the man to man. UMASS switched to zone and Syracuse scored about 8 over the next 7 minutes or so. The same happened in the second half. UMASS started in man, switched to zone, and UMASS came back.
Third thing that wasn't good. The student section was DEAD during most the game. Not many cheers started down on the floor. Darryl, Otto's Army President and Ryan tried starting stuff all game, but nothing really caught on. I think part of it was every time we scored, UMASS came right back and got a score before we could even start cheering.
Final thing, Eric Devendorf snapped and went off on someone in the front of the student section when he and the rest of the team was criticized. I'm not a hundred percent sure what was said, but Devo had heard enough and guys on the bench needed to physically restrain him. I'm really surprised no one from press covered this because they were right in the middle of it. Devendorf continued yelling towards the crowd as he walked off the court.
Check out the blogs on the Orangelinks blogroll to the right. Great info from all those guys everyday.
I guess I'll start with the obvious, the defense or lack there of. This has already been beat to death by everyone so I'm just going to put the final nail in the coffin. Yes, they don't get on defense, and yes they allow a lot of wide open looks, but something that isn't really getting air time is the defense's inability to create turnovers. A team cannot score if they don't shoot on their possession. Obvious right? Well S.U. isn't getting steals or forcing bad passes. The defense forced turnovers on just 13.6% of UMASS's possessions. To put that into perspective, Syracuse's season rate is just over 17% which is 318th in the country. Syracuse forced 11 turnovers in an 80 possession game which is unacceptable. In a fast paced game turnovers exponentially increase. An 80 possession game should result in 18-20 turnovers for each team.
Now with the offense. Okay they scored 100 points. Their offensive efficiency was 123, best for the year. The problem, they can't score against a 2-3 zone. They had 20 points to start the game in 5.5 minutes against the man to man. UMASS switched to zone and Syracuse scored about 8 over the next 7 minutes or so. The same happened in the second half. UMASS started in man, switched to zone, and UMASS came back.
Third thing that wasn't good. The student section was DEAD during most the game. Not many cheers started down on the floor. Darryl, Otto's Army President and Ryan tried starting stuff all game, but nothing really caught on. I think part of it was every time we scored, UMASS came right back and got a score before we could even start cheering.
Final thing, Eric Devendorf snapped and went off on someone in the front of the student section when he and the rest of the team was criticized. I'm not a hundred percent sure what was said, but Devo had heard enough and guys on the bench needed to physically restrain him. I'm really surprised no one from press covered this because they were right in the middle of it. Devendorf continued yelling towards the crowd as he walked off the court.
Check out the blogs on the Orangelinks blogroll to the right. Great info from all those guys everyday.
Monday, November 26, 2007
UMASS Preview
If you thought Siena or Washington played fast, just wait until UMASS enters the Dome Wednesday. They get up and down the court incredibly fast. They average 81 possessions a game which is good enough for 7th most in the country. What does this mean for Syracuse? Well they better be ready to get down court after they score. No admiring the great play they made or standing around in disbelief they didn't get a foul. Now I love the whole crowd involvement thing with the Dynasty symbol as much as anyone else in that student section, but too much celebration is going to get them down, and down in a hurry. Also, with Syracuse's rather small rotation fatigue could become a factor for Syracuse if this becomes a track meet. UMASS has nine players that are seeing significant minutes.
UMASS will give Syracuse fits if Coach Boeheim decides to go with the 2-3 zone. The Minutemen have attempted 132 threes in just five games. That accounts for nearly 44% of their shots. 6 players are averaging 2 attempts from long range a game. For a team that shoots a lot of threes, they do not knock down their free throws, shooting just 67.7% from the charity stripe.
The Minutemen have three offensive threats: Gary Forbes (23 ppg, 7.6 rebounds), Ricky Harris (18.2, .415% from the field), and Etienne Brower (15, 5.5 rebounds). This team lacks a defined point guard that distributes the ball. No Minuteman is averaging more three assists per game.
Here's three things this team doesn't do well: 1. Rebound. They are out rebounded by almost five per game. They are 314th in the nation in offensive rebounding. 2. Free throws, see above. 3. Two point defensive FG%. Their opponents are shooting 52% from inside the arch. A lot of this can be attributed to their fast play allows opponents easy baskets in transition.
My final prediction: Syracuse 89, UMASS 84.
This is a side note, but I've been watching Wake Forest for the first time since Skip Prosser's death. Wake Forest looks pretty good under Dino Gaudio, but then it's pretty easy to look good when their opponent Iowa can't score. At all. Period, Iowa just can't score. They really miss Adam Haluska and it doesn't really seem like they are buying into new headcoach Todd Lickliter's new grind it out slow it down system. Lickliter's Butler teams averaged under 10 turnovers a game, best in the nation last year. In the first half of this game, Iowa turned it over 14 times already. The Hawkeyes are playing good defense under him which is a staple of Lickliter.
UMASS will give Syracuse fits if Coach Boeheim decides to go with the 2-3 zone. The Minutemen have attempted 132 threes in just five games. That accounts for nearly 44% of their shots. 6 players are averaging 2 attempts from long range a game. For a team that shoots a lot of threes, they do not knock down their free throws, shooting just 67.7% from the charity stripe.
The Minutemen have three offensive threats: Gary Forbes (23 ppg, 7.6 rebounds), Ricky Harris (18.2, .415% from the field), and Etienne Brower (15, 5.5 rebounds). This team lacks a defined point guard that distributes the ball. No Minuteman is averaging more three assists per game.
Here's three things this team doesn't do well: 1. Rebound. They are out rebounded by almost five per game. They are 314th in the nation in offensive rebounding. 2. Free throws, see above. 3. Two point defensive FG%. Their opponents are shooting 52% from inside the arch. A lot of this can be attributed to their fast play allows opponents easy baskets in transition.
My final prediction: Syracuse 89, UMASS 84.
This is a side note, but I've been watching Wake Forest for the first time since Skip Prosser's death. Wake Forest looks pretty good under Dino Gaudio, but then it's pretty easy to look good when their opponent Iowa can't score. At all. Period, Iowa just can't score. They really miss Adam Haluska and it doesn't really seem like they are buying into new headcoach Todd Lickliter's new grind it out slow it down system. Lickliter's Butler teams averaged under 10 turnovers a game, best in the nation last year. In the first half of this game, Iowa turned it over 14 times already. The Hawkeyes are playing good defense under him which is a staple of Lickliter.
Syracuse 61, Lehigh 54
The ladies moved above .500 again when they defeated my hometown Lehigh Mountainhawks 61-54. The game was one of the last games for the women's team in Manley Field House as from now on their games will most likely always be in the Carrier Dome. The game was at Manley because of the football game that ended late Saturday night. But back to the actual game, the Orange jumped out to and 11-2 lead and didn't ever look back. Nicole Michael got on track for the first time this year leading the team with 18 points, but turned the ball over four times. Her biggest problem last year was her habit of turning the ball over too much, but that was partly caused by Michael being the centerpiece of the offense. This year she has several other scorers around her like Chandrea Jones, Erica Morrow, Fantasia Goodwin, and gasp I say it Vaida Sipaviciute. They also hit the boards harder, a theme for the first three games. S.U. out rebounded LU 50-28, led by Chandrea Jones's 10 rebounds. Three point shooting has also been a problem as they hit just 4 of 21 threes. Overall this team does look much better than last year, Syracuse lost a tough one to Lehigh last year in Bethlehem, PA.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Wednesday's GOI
As Syracuse gets pounded here are the other games S.U. fans should care about:
(5) Georgetown 57, Ball State 48. Ball State clearly outplayed Georgetown in the second half but it wasn't enough to comeback from a large first half deficit. Ball State slowed down a highly efficient Hoya offense.
(6) Louisville 66, UNLV 48. This game was in Las Vegas so it was a trap game. The Cardinals were able to pull away after trailing by one early in the second half.
BC 76, Rhode Island 72. Rhode Island plays S.U. five games from now, and finally suffered their first loss of the season.
Marquette and duke will finish in a little bit.
(5) Georgetown 57, Ball State 48. Ball State clearly outplayed Georgetown in the second half but it wasn't enough to comeback from a large first half deficit. Ball State slowed down a highly efficient Hoya offense.
(6) Louisville 66, UNLV 48. This game was in Las Vegas so it was a trap game. The Cardinals were able to pull away after trailing by one early in the second half.
BC 76, Rhode Island 72. Rhode Island plays S.U. five games from now, and finally suffered their first loss of the season.
Marquette and duke will finish in a little bit.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tuesday's GOI's
(13) Marquette 91, OKST 61. Marquette came back strong in round two in Maui. Jerel McNeal scored 20 and Ousmane Barro had 10 rebounds. During the first half the Golden Eagles were putting on a defensive clinic. This was one of the strongest games I've watched so far of any of the ranked teams.
Connecticut 89, Gardner-Webb 72. This was the second meeting between the two in about a week. UCONN got the best of GW in both games. UCONN got out to a strong lead in both games and cruised to victories in both games.
Seton Hall 94, Loyola 80. The Pirates finally get an easy win after two double overtime victories against Robert Morris and Monmouth. No matter how they are winning, the Pirates are off to a 3-0 start. They play a relatively weak non-conference schedule, so there is very likely Seton Hall could go into conference play with at most two losses.
Rutgers 55, Dartmouth 50. The Scarlet Knights win an ugly one. They needed a second half comeback after trailing 27-21 at half. JR Inman had another 10 rebounds to lead Rutgers to a 4-1 start with their loss to Florida.
St. John's 76, Sacred Heart 49. St. John's easily handles winless Sacred Heart. Really not much to say about this one.
Virginia 72, Drexel 58. Virginia controls this game from the beginning practically. Sean Singletary drops another 24 on the Dragons. Virginia beat probably the best team in an early season tournament based in Philadelphia which leaves the Cavaliers as the hands down favorite to win the tournament.
Connecticut 89, Gardner-Webb 72. This was the second meeting between the two in about a week. UCONN got the best of GW in both games. UCONN got out to a strong lead in both games and cruised to victories in both games.
Seton Hall 94, Loyola 80. The Pirates finally get an easy win after two double overtime victories against Robert Morris and Monmouth. No matter how they are winning, the Pirates are off to a 3-0 start. They play a relatively weak non-conference schedule, so there is very likely Seton Hall could go into conference play with at most two losses.
Rutgers 55, Dartmouth 50. The Scarlet Knights win an ugly one. They needed a second half comeback after trailing 27-21 at half. JR Inman had another 10 rebounds to lead Rutgers to a 4-1 start with their loss to Florida.
St. John's 76, Sacred Heart 49. St. John's easily handles winless Sacred Heart. Really not much to say about this one.
Virginia 72, Drexel 58. Virginia controls this game from the beginning practically. Sean Singletary drops another 24 on the Dragons. Virginia beat probably the best team in an early season tournament based in Philadelphia which leaves the Cavaliers as the hands down favorite to win the tournament.
Women's Basketball
The men's team brought in arguably one of the best, if not the best recruiting class in the nation, but we cannot forget the ladies.
Coach Quentin Hillsman has spent the last several years recruiting the nation's best women's basketball players. His work has resulted in the incoming class that was ranked 11th. It included standouts Erica Morrow, Tasha Harris, Chandrea Jones, Vionca Murray. This year's class announced this week is ranked 13th in the country. The class includes four top 60 players and the 30th best Junior college transfer. The seniors, rank, and highschool: Tyler Ash, 24th, Liverpool in Syracuse. Shakeya Leary, 54th, New York City. Lynnae Lampkins, 58th, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Troya Berry, 59th, Flint. The Junior college transfer is Lynnise Nixon from Philadelphia.
I personally am very exciting for the future of Syracuse women's basketball. This program is clearly on the rise. Coach Q has this team headed in the right direction. It clearly showed at Midnight Madness. They showed a great ability to shoot and score.
The team started off the season by squeaking out a win over Coppin State, but in their second game, they were beaten pretty badly by 6th ranked UNC 97-72. The Orange can take many things out of that game. First, they hit free-throws, draining 25 of 29 shots. I had live stats up the entire game from collegesportstv and noticed the 'Cuse was outrebounding UNC the majority of the game. The Orange finished down 8 in rebounds, but showed great poise on the boards hauling in 24 offensive rebounds. The ladies also forced 27 UNC turnovers. The Orange shot just 29% for the game and 20% in the first half which was the major difference. If they shoot even 30% in the first half and 35% for the game, this is easily just a 10-15 game. To me, that is making great strides for a program that historically has rarely ever been able to complete with top notch programs.
The ladies are back in action Sunday against my hometown college of Bethlehem: Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Last year Syracuse went to Stabler Arena and lost a close game. Expect this year to be much different in Manley Field House.
Coach Quentin Hillsman has spent the last several years recruiting the nation's best women's basketball players. His work has resulted in the incoming class that was ranked 11th. It included standouts Erica Morrow, Tasha Harris, Chandrea Jones, Vionca Murray. This year's class announced this week is ranked 13th in the country. The class includes four top 60 players and the 30th best Junior college transfer. The seniors, rank, and highschool: Tyler Ash, 24th, Liverpool in Syracuse. Shakeya Leary, 54th, New York City. Lynnae Lampkins, 58th, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Troya Berry, 59th, Flint. The Junior college transfer is Lynnise Nixon from Philadelphia.
I personally am very exciting for the future of Syracuse women's basketball. This program is clearly on the rise. Coach Q has this team headed in the right direction. It clearly showed at Midnight Madness. They showed a great ability to shoot and score.
The team started off the season by squeaking out a win over Coppin State, but in their second game, they were beaten pretty badly by 6th ranked UNC 97-72. The Orange can take many things out of that game. First, they hit free-throws, draining 25 of 29 shots. I had live stats up the entire game from collegesportstv and noticed the 'Cuse was outrebounding UNC the majority of the game. The Orange finished down 8 in rebounds, but showed great poise on the boards hauling in 24 offensive rebounds. The ladies also forced 27 UNC turnovers. The Orange shot just 29% for the game and 20% in the first half which was the major difference. If they shoot even 30% in the first half and 35% for the game, this is easily just a 10-15 game. To me, that is making great strides for a program that historically has rarely ever been able to complete with top notch programs.
The ladies are back in action Sunday against my hometown college of Bethlehem: Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Last year Syracuse went to Stabler Arena and lost a close game. Expect this year to be much different in Manley Field House.
Monday's Games of Interest
Today's GOI:
(13) Marquette 74, Chaminade 63. This game was within a few points late in the second half. Chaminade is a Division II team for anyone who doesn't know. That is just inexcusable on Marquette's part. Poor shooting performances and a scrappy Chaminade team kept the Silverswords in this til almost the very end.
Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck 70, Notre Dame 69. Notre Dame loses again, yesterday to Baylor, today to the Yellow Jackets. South Bend we have a problem. Those are two teams the Irish cannot afford to lose to early on if they want to be seriously considered a tournament team. They are going to have to really play well the rest of the non-conference schedule and put together a solid 11-7 or 12-6 in the Big East to have any chance of dancing with those two loses.
Belmont 85, Alabama 83. Belmont now has two wins over BCS schools: Alabama and Cincy. Go Atlantic Sun early in the year.
(13) Marquette 74, Chaminade 63. This game was within a few points late in the second half. Chaminade is a Division II team for anyone who doesn't know. That is just inexcusable on Marquette's part. Poor shooting performances and a scrappy Chaminade team kept the Silverswords in this til almost the very end.
Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck 70, Notre Dame 69. Notre Dame loses again, yesterday to Baylor, today to the Yellow Jackets. South Bend we have a problem. Those are two teams the Irish cannot afford to lose to early on if they want to be seriously considered a tournament team. They are going to have to really play well the rest of the non-conference schedule and put together a solid 11-7 or 12-6 in the Big East to have any chance of dancing with those two loses.
Belmont 85, Alabama 83. Belmont now has two wins over BCS schools: Alabama and Cincy. Go Atlantic Sun early in the year.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Ohio State Scouting Report
Ohio State enters Wednesday's game with Syracuse with a 2-0 record with a 91-68 win over UW-Green Bay and a 68-54 win over Columbia in the first two rounds of the Preseason NIT.
BUCKEYE OFFENSE: In those two games the Buckeyes ran a highly efficient offense, with a 122 rating, which means in 100 possessions they'd be expected to score 122 points. That's 14th in the nation right now, but when their opponents defensive strength of schedule is factored in, that rating drops to 105. Ohio State has held onto the ball very well this year, turning the ball over just 14% of the time. Syracuse turns the ball over 24% of the time. Ohio State only returns one legitimate three point threat from last year. Jamar Butler is 9-18 from three this year in two games. The rest of the team is just 8-26. The 2-3 Zone should work against OSU if Syracuse can make sure that they limit Butler's attempts from three. As long as the Orange do not let Butler try to shoot them out of the zone, they should be alright. The zone should also make OSU's 7 foot freshman center Kosta Koufus a non-factor. Another weakness for OSU's offense is their foul shooting. In two games, the Buckeyes shot a mere 61% from the line.
BUCKEYE DEFENSE: Ohio State's defense struggled against Columbia and UWGB in two aspects. The three point shot and an inability to force turnovers. They forced turnovers on only 13.9% of the opponents possessions, good for 330th in the nation. The three point shot accounted for 48% of OSU's opponents field goal attempts. OSU's effective three point FG% is good, but a high number of threes means an overall less efficient offense. The Adjusted efficiency rating for this defense is just 100.2. Two things OSU does well: Block shots and prevent offensive rebounds. The Buckeyes are 19th in the nation in percentage of opponents possessions that end in block shots (19%).
Overall, S.U. can win this game by playing an active two-three zone, letting OSU hoist threes as long as it's not Jamar Butler doing the shooting. The Orange also need to hold onto the ball and get good looks from three because OSU plays strong interior defense.
Thanks to Ken Pomeroy and Ohio State Athletics for the Statistics. Ken Pomeroy's blog can be found on the right.
BUCKEYE OFFENSE: In those two games the Buckeyes ran a highly efficient offense, with a 122 rating, which means in 100 possessions they'd be expected to score 122 points. That's 14th in the nation right now, but when their opponents defensive strength of schedule is factored in, that rating drops to 105. Ohio State has held onto the ball very well this year, turning the ball over just 14% of the time. Syracuse turns the ball over 24% of the time. Ohio State only returns one legitimate three point threat from last year. Jamar Butler is 9-18 from three this year in two games. The rest of the team is just 8-26. The 2-3 Zone should work against OSU if Syracuse can make sure that they limit Butler's attempts from three. As long as the Orange do not let Butler try to shoot them out of the zone, they should be alright. The zone should also make OSU's 7 foot freshman center Kosta Koufus a non-factor. Another weakness for OSU's offense is their foul shooting. In two games, the Buckeyes shot a mere 61% from the line.
BUCKEYE DEFENSE: Ohio State's defense struggled against Columbia and UWGB in two aspects. The three point shot and an inability to force turnovers. They forced turnovers on only 13.9% of the opponents possessions, good for 330th in the nation. The three point shot accounted for 48% of OSU's opponents field goal attempts. OSU's effective three point FG% is good, but a high number of threes means an overall less efficient offense. The Adjusted efficiency rating for this defense is just 100.2. Two things OSU does well: Block shots and prevent offensive rebounds. The Buckeyes are 19th in the nation in percentage of opponents possessions that end in block shots (19%).
Overall, S.U. can win this game by playing an active two-three zone, letting OSU hoist threes as long as it's not Jamar Butler doing the shooting. The Orange also need to hold onto the ball and get good looks from three because OSU plays strong interior defense.
Thanks to Ken Pomeroy and Ohio State Athletics for the Statistics. Ken Pomeroy's blog can be found on the right.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Sunday's Games
Sunday's Games an Orange fan might care about:
Temple 73, Marist 69 (OT). This is only relevant because Louie McCroskey scored 18 for the Red Foxes.
Seton Hall 111, Robert Morris 107 (OT). The Pirates improve to 2-0. The Big East is really coming out strong early on.
(6) Louisville 84, Jackson State 53. Jackson State went to the tournament last year, but they were still no match against the Cardinals. Earl Clark almost became the second Cardinal in two days to record a triple double. He finished with a 20-14-7 line. Louisville is coming out of the gate firing.
Rhode Island 74, UAB 69. The Carrier Dome bound Rams improve to 5-0 with a win in the Glenn Wilkes Classic at Daytona Beach.
West Virginia 106, Prairie View A&M 41. WVU dominates for Coach Huggins. Enough said, score says everything.
Villanova 70, Bucknell 64. Nova uses a 7-0 late when the game was tied at 57 to take control. The two Cory's, Fisher and Stokes don't score for Nova. The two freshmen were excepted to come in and make an immediate impact. At least for today, that did not hold true. Bucknell hit 15 three pointers in this one, good thing they aren't playing Boeheim's 2-3 zone this year.
Miami and Providence are playing right now. South Florida is at Florida State in a little bit. Baylor travels to Notre Dame at 8:30. Syracuse handily beat the Bears last year in the Dome.
Temple 73, Marist 69 (OT). This is only relevant because Louie McCroskey scored 18 for the Red Foxes.
Seton Hall 111, Robert Morris 107 (OT). The Pirates improve to 2-0. The Big East is really coming out strong early on.
(6) Louisville 84, Jackson State 53. Jackson State went to the tournament last year, but they were still no match against the Cardinals. Earl Clark almost became the second Cardinal in two days to record a triple double. He finished with a 20-14-7 line. Louisville is coming out of the gate firing.
Rhode Island 74, UAB 69. The Carrier Dome bound Rams improve to 5-0 with a win in the Glenn Wilkes Classic at Daytona Beach.
West Virginia 106, Prairie View A&M 41. WVU dominates for Coach Huggins. Enough said, score says everything.
Villanova 70, Bucknell 64. Nova uses a 7-0 late when the game was tied at 57 to take control. The two Cory's, Fisher and Stokes don't score for Nova. The two freshmen were excepted to come in and make an immediate impact. At least for today, that did not hold true. Bucknell hit 15 three pointers in this one, good thing they aren't playing Boeheim's 2-3 zone this year.
Miami and Providence are playing right now. South Florida is at Florida State in a little bit. Baylor travels to Notre Dame at 8:30. Syracuse handily beat the Bears last year in the Dome.
Games of Interest
This is irrelevant to Otto's Army, but not to S.U. fans. Here's some scores from over the weekend of some games that S.U. fans should care about. Overall, the Big East is 30-8 through Saturday's games.
(6) Louisville 104, Hartford 69. Terrence Williams records a triple double, but turns the ball over eight times for the Cardinals season opener.
South Florida 100, Florida Atlantic 69. South Florida gets their first win of the year behind Big East Player of the Year candidate Kentrell Gransberry's 21 and 9. The big man is averaging 15 and 11 in three games.
Siena 79, (20) Stanford 67. Stanford some how got into the tournament ahead of Syracuse last year, but this year the Cardinals fall to Siena, at Siena. Siena is the team that just lost to S.U. The win for the Orange looks a little better and will be an RPI booster.
Depaul 54, Northwestern 53. Depaul gets their first win of the year. They lost their opener to a MVC team for the second straight year.
Florida 88, Rutgers 53. Only thing of note here is JR Inman for the Scarlet Knights is good. The Junior Forward is averaging 20 and 8 this year and is the reason the Knights are 3-1 early.
St. Joseph's 57, Boston 48. Keep winning St. Joe's, they make Syracuse's win look better the more they win.
UMASS 93, UWGB 83. UMASS looks like they score at will early on here. They have jumped out to a 4-1 start averaging closer to 90 points a game. Their ability to score could give S.U. fits.
Rhode Island 80, Stetson 65. Rhode Island is undefeated so far at 4-0. The Rams square of with the Orange December 8th. They have a deep rotation with 8 players seeing 20 minutes a game so far.
Division II Alaska Fairbanks 62, Oregon State 60. Are you serious Oregon State? Everyone knew they were going to be bad, but that bad?
Virginia 75, (17) Arizona 72. S.U. goes to Virginia in December for probably their biggest game in the non-conference schedule. Sean Singletary is a great player, he led the Cavaliers with 24 points. UVA is also undefeated so far at 3-0. Something interesting to note, UVA has played 13 players in three games so far that have averaged at least 4 minutes a game. No player on that team is averaging more than 5 rebounds per game because of this depth.
Sunday's games will be up when those games are over.
(6) Louisville 104, Hartford 69. Terrence Williams records a triple double, but turns the ball over eight times for the Cardinals season opener.
South Florida 100, Florida Atlantic 69. South Florida gets their first win of the year behind Big East Player of the Year candidate Kentrell Gransberry's 21 and 9. The big man is averaging 15 and 11 in three games.
Siena 79, (20) Stanford 67. Stanford some how got into the tournament ahead of Syracuse last year, but this year the Cardinals fall to Siena, at Siena. Siena is the team that just lost to S.U. The win for the Orange looks a little better and will be an RPI booster.
Depaul 54, Northwestern 53. Depaul gets their first win of the year. They lost their opener to a MVC team for the second straight year.
Florida 88, Rutgers 53. Only thing of note here is JR Inman for the Scarlet Knights is good. The Junior Forward is averaging 20 and 8 this year and is the reason the Knights are 3-1 early.
St. Joseph's 57, Boston 48. Keep winning St. Joe's, they make Syracuse's win look better the more they win.
UMASS 93, UWGB 83. UMASS looks like they score at will early on here. They have jumped out to a 4-1 start averaging closer to 90 points a game. Their ability to score could give S.U. fits.
Rhode Island 80, Stetson 65. Rhode Island is undefeated so far at 4-0. The Rams square of with the Orange December 8th. They have a deep rotation with 8 players seeing 20 minutes a game so far.
Division II Alaska Fairbanks 62, Oregon State 60. Are you serious Oregon State? Everyone knew they were going to be bad, but that bad?
Virginia 75, (17) Arizona 72. S.U. goes to Virginia in December for probably their biggest game in the non-conference schedule. Sean Singletary is a great player, he led the Cavaliers with 24 points. UVA is also undefeated so far at 3-0. Something interesting to note, UVA has played 13 players in three games so far that have averaged at least 4 minutes a game. No player on that team is averaging more than 5 rebounds per game because of this depth.
Sunday's games will be up when those games are over.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Game Day
I am not afraid to post when I GOT THERE to the game. I have no problem if people beat me there anymore. For Fordham's game, I purposely left out when other groups got there, but made note that others were there. The point of this blog is to tell people about what goes on in Otto's Army and about our waits outside the Dome. The amount of time we spend there is very important to the story.
On a side note, if you have an issue with anything on this blog, please contact me in person or through phone call.
Thank you,
Jameson
On a side note, if you have an issue with anything on this blog, please contact me in person or through phone call.
Thank you,
Jameson
Friday, November 16, 2007
Fordham Wait
I got to the Dome at 8:30 or so and there were already three groups ahead of me. As of 11 o'clock, there are 6 groups there which means the front row is already taken up.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Good and Bads of Preseason NIT
Good: No Carrier Dome Ads, pure college basketball at its best. Two games involving solid teams each day.
Bad: 30 member band, one person can be Otto (he musta been deadtied by the end), smaller dance team and cheerleading squad, opposing fans in our student section, no running of the flags, and most of all that damn St. Joesph's Hawk that doesn't stop flapping his arms. He's got to be the most pathetic mascot ever, he literally doesn't do anything but flap his fake wings.
Overall, I'll pass on the Preseason NIT in the future when it comes to having it in the Dome. It was a home game with some strings attached. I'll take just normal home games down the road, we can schedule good opponents down the road if we want to instead of facing Ohio State, and the winner of most likely Washington and Texas A&M. Of course with the upsets already that matchup isn't guaranteed.
Bad: 30 member band, one person can be Otto (he musta been deadtied by the end), smaller dance team and cheerleading squad, opposing fans in our student section, no running of the flags, and most of all that damn St. Joesph's Hawk that doesn't stop flapping his arms. He's got to be the most pathetic mascot ever, he literally doesn't do anything but flap his fake wings.
Overall, I'll pass on the Preseason NIT in the future when it comes to having it in the Dome. It was a home game with some strings attached. I'll take just normal home games down the road, we can schedule good opponents down the road if we want to instead of facing Ohio State, and the winner of most likely Washington and Texas A&M. Of course with the upsets already that matchup isn't guaranteed.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Syracuse 72 St. Joesph's 69
It looks like we could be in for some long waits outside the Carrier Dome if the team keeps playing like this. The seniors got there at 9:30, followed by the new freshman group, and then us at 10:30.
The game was amazing again. The student section is getting really loud really early in the year. It's great. We opened the Go Orange chant to the entire crowd with the student section pointing around the Dome to the rest of the crowd yelling GO! hoping the rest of the crowd responses with Orange. It worked alrite, the enthusiastic people out there do it but not too many other people.
My simple breakdown of the game, again we don't have the greatest vantage point, is that we need to cut down the turnovers. The really bad ones that aren't going to lead to baskets even if the pass goes through need to stop. I don't mind the occasional Alley-Oop when the game is tight because it sucks the crowd back into the game. I don't like the fact that Boeheim isn't using his bench. Scoop should be seeing 10 minutes or so and Rick should see around the same, probably more towards 15. Kristof should get probably 5. After that I don't care if anyone steps out there. It definitely showed in the last 10 minutes, the guys were getting tired. They were as efficient on offense. They also were getting a little lazy in the 2-3 zone. The forwards were not stepping up as quickly on the wings, leaving the guards hung out to dry. That right there in my mind was the fatigue.
We will be back friday. A good friend of mine Jordan "Shut Up"malis (inside joke) will be singing the nation anthem and she's damn good. So go to the game and listen to her...oh and watch a great team on the side.
The game was amazing again. The student section is getting really loud really early in the year. It's great. We opened the Go Orange chant to the entire crowd with the student section pointing around the Dome to the rest of the crowd yelling GO! hoping the rest of the crowd responses with Orange. It worked alrite, the enthusiastic people out there do it but not too many other people.
My simple breakdown of the game, again we don't have the greatest vantage point, is that we need to cut down the turnovers. The really bad ones that aren't going to lead to baskets even if the pass goes through need to stop. I don't mind the occasional Alley-Oop when the game is tight because it sucks the crowd back into the game. I don't like the fact that Boeheim isn't using his bench. Scoop should be seeing 10 minutes or so and Rick should see around the same, probably more towards 15. Kristof should get probably 5. After that I don't care if anyone steps out there. It definitely showed in the last 10 minutes, the guys were getting tired. They were as efficient on offense. They also were getting a little lazy in the 2-3 zone. The forwards were not stepping up as quickly on the wings, leaving the guards hung out to dry. That right there in my mind was the fatigue.
We will be back friday. A good friend of mine Jordan "Shut Up"malis (inside joke) will be singing the nation anthem and she's damn good. So go to the game and listen to her...oh and watch a great team on the side.
Syracuse 97 Siena 89
From the front row perspective, this team is going to be really, really exciting to watch. The players started the diamond hand gesture above their heads to signal the formation of a dynasty. It seems kind of cocky, but the student section loves it for the most part. It's something that is really connecting the student section and the players. It seems this year the players are more fan friendly. From the front row, we chant all their names at different times through the pregame, during the game, and post game, and we get a response. This team truly has the talent and attitude to be something really special.
For my game analysis, granted we have a very distorted view of the game from the front, is that we are going to try to win as many games possible 90-85 instead of 65-60 like past years. This may be fun to watch, but it doesn't mean it's better basketball. There will be many games in the Big East where we might not be able to just outscore the other team. But anyways, Jonny Flynn, wow. He wasn't suppose to be a great slasher, he wasn't suppose to be a bigtime three point threat. I know it was only one game, but man did he show off some major skills. Donte Green appeared to struggle offensively, but he was only 4-10, not terrible, but he still finished with 14 points. Paul Harris showed tenacity grabbing 15 boards, a career high for him. Rick Jackson is as an anonymous front row would say, "The steal of this Class." I agree with him. The kid has a sweet lefty baby hook. Don't see that too often for sure. It's happened almost every game so far including the exhibitions, but when Kristof and especially Scoop step on the floor, the opposing team steps up pressure with double teams. It caused two straight Scoop turnovers, and with Boeheim's quick lease, it sent him to the bench for the rest of game.
Tomorrow we'll be back out there. I'm guessing some people will be there as early as 10 A.M. in line, if not earlier.
For my game analysis, granted we have a very distorted view of the game from the front, is that we are going to try to win as many games possible 90-85 instead of 65-60 like past years. This may be fun to watch, but it doesn't mean it's better basketball. There will be many games in the Big East where we might not be able to just outscore the other team. But anyways, Jonny Flynn, wow. He wasn't suppose to be a great slasher, he wasn't suppose to be a bigtime three point threat. I know it was only one game, but man did he show off some major skills. Donte Green appeared to struggle offensively, but he was only 4-10, not terrible, but he still finished with 14 points. Paul Harris showed tenacity grabbing 15 boards, a career high for him. Rick Jackson is as an anonymous front row would say, "The steal of this Class." I agree with him. The kid has a sweet lefty baby hook. Don't see that too often for sure. It's happened almost every game so far including the exhibitions, but when Kristof and especially Scoop step on the floor, the opposing team steps up pressure with double teams. It caused two straight Scoop turnovers, and with Boeheim's quick lease, it sent him to the bench for the rest of game.
Tomorrow we'll be back out there. I'm guessing some people will be there as early as 10 A.M. in line, if not earlier.
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