I still think we have a lot of talent

[dasher]

You'll keep being disappointed if next year's potential is your recipe for suffering through the present. Team will still be quite flawed next year when everyone is semi seriously saying title or bust. The zone has been figured out by even the most pedestrian teams... and why are we pinning everything on 1 defense that requires personnel combinations that we rarely seem to collect? It's like the football team trying to run the Alabama offense.

the zone has been figured out? Or does this team, because of it's flaws, small back line, make whatever defense it would be playing, easy to figure out?

 

[FrancoPizza]

the zone has been figured out? Or does this team, because of it's flaws, small back line, make whatever defense it would be playing, easy to figure out?

Does it really matter how things have gotten this bad? If it ain't working try something different. What's the worst that could happen, we might lose to Wisconsin and St. John's? Oh wait.

 

[Gormanite4L]

My thoughts are a simple adjustment of the defense to create rebounds and to get out in the open floor. If we move G down to the 3 on defense to help with the complete inability of rebounding by Mali we could atleast attempt to even the rebounding battle. Atleast this way we r longer on the top if we place Mali up top with Cooney and we all see G goes strong up for rebounds. I have seen enough of Mali out of position on the bottom of the zone which just leave huge holes for the opposition to rebound and get easy put backs. Any thoughts about this? I have seen too many games already where Mali plays a ton of minutes and ends up with 2 rebounds it's unacceptable

 

[jgeorge322]

Does it really matter how things have gotten this bad? If it ain't working try something different. What's the worst that could happen, we might lose to Wisconsin and St. John's? Oh wait.

zone has been pretty good lately. additional thoughts here?

 

[Townie72]

Talent doesn;t always equal wins, this is a very flawed team.

I think this is the key to understanding this season.

I think we have an excellent group of individual players. We saw some of this in the Bahamas.Malachi is a true talent.

But the team has weaknesses in key areas that other teams can exploit. The good news is that the team appears to be learning and playing better as a unit.

I don't know if we'll gel enough to make a difference in the rest of the season and the ACC Tourney. But there's a chance. At the end of this month we will be a better team than what we saw against SJU or Gtn or Pitt.

 

[Dave85]

I see a lot of average players.

I think the defense is playing better which is the difference. The offense has been okay.

 

[FrancoPizza]

zone has been pretty good lately. additional thoughts here?

They've made some adjustments to focus on rebounding and cutting out some of the easy layups, but it's still vulnerable especially when we have to rely on Lydon to man the middle against good front lines. In general though, the biggest thing is they're regaining confidence... and confidence is huge when it comes to shooting and executing down the stretch of tight games.

I just want this team to be playing good, solid basketball by the post-season. They can still wind up in the NIT even if they play well from here on out, simply because they dug a huge hole, so the usual barometers may have to be adjusted. But more importantly, playing well in March can really raise expectations significantly for next year.

 

[jncuse]

I just put money on Syracuse to win the title at 150-1. Not much...

 

[pulaski74]

I was going to respond in a few of the negative threads but at least this one is somewhat more positive. We all know this team has multiple layers of dysfunction due to under recruiting, scholarship reductions and JB's suspension but we are talking about college age athletes so let's stay positive and see how things play out. Do changes need to be made, of course, but it's not out of question this team is capable of stringing a bunch of wins together against quality opponents. I'm sure my view will not be shared by the majority.

college age is the key there, good job.

 

[NineOneSeven]

I just put money on Syracuse to win the title at 150-1. Not much...

How do I do this?

 

[jncuse]

How do I do this?

On line bet with Bet365. Not sure if they allow bets from Americans due to various laws. It is pretty legit


The most I could bet was just $13 for some reason. I think they cap the payout on this bet at $2,000, as they seem to only update the odds once a week.

It's silly because right now I checked and I could bet $1,250 on the Under 20 Hockey Game between hockey powers New Zealand and South Africa. (not that I would)

I wanted to bet more, as you don't necessarily need to win to get value from the bet. As the odds go up, you can cash and make money if the odds go up enough. And I believe the next time they update the odds Syracuse will be quite a bit higher.

 

[two3zone]

How do I do this?

Send me the money and I'll place the bet for you at the .

 

[NineOneSeven]

Send me the money and I'll place the bet for you at the .

Lol

 

[Townie72]

If it's wildly figured out how are we 35th in the country at fg% defense with 38%? Or did you mean SJU figured it out and got insanely hot from 3?

Of course, Pizza's silly claim about "the zone being figured out" isn't supported by the cold, hard facts. One wonders why anyone would make that kind of overblown and demonstrably false claim.

I lifted the following from a Pre-Duke Michael Burke piece I found on TNIAAM:

"Additionally, Syracuse is holding opponents to just 29% from 3-point range, which ranks 11th in college basketball. The Orange are also coming away with steals on 13.3% of possessions, which ranks third nationally, and blocking shots on 13.8% of possessions, which ranks 26th.

Syracuse is also still forcing teams deep into the shot clock. Opponents take an average of 19.4 seconds per possession to get a shot off against SU, which is the longest mark against any team in the country. Better yet, the Orange's defense gets better as possessions get longer. Opponents have an effective field goal percentage of 51.9 in the first 10 seconds of possessions, compared to 44.6 in non-transition offense and 38.1 when the shot clock is at five seconds or less."

 

[rrlbees]

Of course, Pizza's silly claim about "the zone being figured out" isn't supported by the cold, hard facts. One wonders why anyone would make that kind of overblown and demonstrably false claim. I lifted the following from a Pre-Duke Michael Burke piece I found on TNIAAM: "Additionally, Syracuse is holding opponents to just 29% from 3-point range, which ranks 11th in college basketball. The Orange are also coming away with steals on 13.3% of possessions, which ranks third nationally, and blocking shots on 13.8% of possessions, which ranks 26th. Syracuse is also still forcing teams deep into the shot clock. Opponents take an average of 19.4 seconds per possession to get a shot off against SU, which is the longest mark against any team in the country. Better yet, the Orange's defense gets better as possessions get longer. Opponents have an effective field goal percentage of 51.9 in the first 10 seconds of possessions, compared to 44.6 in non-transition offense and 38.1 when the shot clock is at five seconds or less."

That about sums it up.