OrangeXtreme
The Mayor of Dewitt
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- Aug 15, 2011
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In the game you covered, Albany had a 6-2 lead at halftime, but lost to Syracuse. What happened?
I thought [junior] Ben Williams did much better at the faceoff dot. I thought he changed his technique. I thought the wings were much better for Syracuse – in particular, [junior long-stick midfielder] Scott Firman, No. 25. I thought they just really did a much better job at the faceoff dot to get possessions, and once they got their possessions, they were able to get into a rhythm, I thought they were much more aggressive offensively in the second half. They created slides by Albany after not really running by anybody and creating anything in the first half. And I thought they shot the ball a whole lot better against [senior goalkeeper] Blaze Riorden in the second half. It was a tale of two halves. Albany had a 6-4 lead at halftime in terms of faceoffs and really kind of controlled the game. And then Syracuse in the second half went on one of their patented runs, 5-1 in the third quarter. So they turned a 6-2 game into a 7-7 game and won the fourth quarter.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...crosse-analyst-mark-dixon-20160516-story.html
A lot of people are saying that Saturday’s quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Maryland and No. 8 seed Syracuse should be a game for championship weekend in Philadelphia. Do you agree?
I think on paper, yes. I think now with Syracuse being on a six-game win streak, you could make that argument. Do I think Syracuse deserved to be seeded eighth? Probably not. I think they should have been a little bit higher based on winning the [Atlantic Coast Conference] championship, but this is not a regular ACC year. the conference has never lost so many games than they did in 2016. This is a good Syracuse team, but this is not your quintessential Syracuse team. Are they capable of beating Maryland? Yes, they are. But before the tournament, would you have said they were in your Final Four without knowing that they would have to go through Maryland? I never picked Syracuse to be in the Final Four. On paper, I think there’s an argument, but in reality, I think this is a good quarterfinal game. The committee relied a lot on RPI, they relied a lot on the numbers, which is kind of like an admissions board relying solely on SAT scores. You’ve got to look at the whole picture, and I think to an extent, the committee looked at some other things. But Maryland is the best team in the country right now. They’re one of the favorites to get to Philadelphia, and they’re one of the favorites to get to Memorial Day, and they are the favorite to hoist the championship trophy when it’s all said and done. It’s all about opportunity. You’re not going to play any cupcakes in the quarterfinals because everybody’s had to win a game to get to this point no matter how they finished the regular season. So I think it’s a great matchup, but I don’t think it warrants Syracuse fans screaming bloody murder.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...crosse-analyst-mark-dixon-20160516-story.html
I thought [junior] Ben Williams did much better at the faceoff dot. I thought he changed his technique. I thought the wings were much better for Syracuse – in particular, [junior long-stick midfielder] Scott Firman, No. 25. I thought they just really did a much better job at the faceoff dot to get possessions, and once they got their possessions, they were able to get into a rhythm, I thought they were much more aggressive offensively in the second half. They created slides by Albany after not really running by anybody and creating anything in the first half. And I thought they shot the ball a whole lot better against [senior goalkeeper] Blaze Riorden in the second half. It was a tale of two halves. Albany had a 6-4 lead at halftime in terms of faceoffs and really kind of controlled the game. And then Syracuse in the second half went on one of their patented runs, 5-1 in the third quarter. So they turned a 6-2 game into a 7-7 game and won the fourth quarter.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...crosse-analyst-mark-dixon-20160516-story.html
A lot of people are saying that Saturday’s quarterfinal between No. 1 seed Maryland and No. 8 seed Syracuse should be a game for championship weekend in Philadelphia. Do you agree?
I think on paper, yes. I think now with Syracuse being on a six-game win streak, you could make that argument. Do I think Syracuse deserved to be seeded eighth? Probably not. I think they should have been a little bit higher based on winning the [Atlantic Coast Conference] championship, but this is not a regular ACC year. the conference has never lost so many games than they did in 2016. This is a good Syracuse team, but this is not your quintessential Syracuse team. Are they capable of beating Maryland? Yes, they are. But before the tournament, would you have said they were in your Final Four without knowing that they would have to go through Maryland? I never picked Syracuse to be in the Final Four. On paper, I think there’s an argument, but in reality, I think this is a good quarterfinal game. The committee relied a lot on RPI, they relied a lot on the numbers, which is kind of like an admissions board relying solely on SAT scores. You’ve got to look at the whole picture, and I think to an extent, the committee looked at some other things. But Maryland is the best team in the country right now. They’re one of the favorites to get to Philadelphia, and they’re one of the favorites to get to Memorial Day, and they are the favorite to hoist the championship trophy when it’s all said and done. It’s all about opportunity. You’re not going to play any cupcakes in the quarterfinals because everybody’s had to win a game to get to this point no matter how they finished the regular season. So I think it’s a great matchup, but I don’t think it warrants Syracuse fans screaming bloody murder.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/...crosse-analyst-mark-dixon-20160516-story.html
