The Downside - Pitt 3 | Syracusefan.com

The Downside - Pitt 3

SWC75

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- Axeman is explaining the NCAA situation and made these two points, based on what Joe Lunardi said: Lunardi has us as the last team in the field of 68 but that only holds up if nobody plays their way into the field in the next four days. Lunardi also has a “rule” which says that a team with a losing conference record, (including the conference tournament), doesn’t get in. We are 9-10. Based on that, expect to be in the NIT.


- They just point out on Axeman that the lowest at large seed we’ve ever gotten is an “8”. “Every time we’ve left it up to the committee, we’ve gotten snubbed.” I wouldn’t even call it a snub this time.


- We more than broke even on the boards after being pounded the first two games because a team that was 0 for 11 in their last game from the three point arc went 8 for 20.


- The little things: I don’t know what the record is for missed dunks and lay-ups in a season or what the record for rebounds that come right to your guy that are bobbled or ripped out of your guys hands but I’m sure we set them this season and extended them today. We also had three straight trips to the foul line when we made one and missed one and then lost the game by a single point. In a one-point game, it all matters.


- The last play: It’s been pointed out that when you have Richardson inbound it takes him out of the play on the other end and eliminates an option. But Lydon might have bene an option, too and Mike Lindsley suggested he should have been the throw-in man. I get that Pitt was going to deny the ball to Gbinije. I agree that getting the ball to a player cold off the bench who has been shooting poorly so maybe Richardson would have bene a better option. Cooney dribbles over to the sideline and then has to dribble back in toward the center of the court. If he’d gone right there he might have been able to pass the ball to Lydon or even Roberson, (and we needed only a two pointer to win). I like the idea of shooting with 2 seconds left because we had time for a follow-shot. If his miss had bounded to the right, Roberson becomes Lorenzo Charles but it bounced to the left instead. That’s basketball.


- JB is always bad-mouthing the press, (I mean the full-court press), but it got us back into the game today against a point guard, (James Robinson), with an incredible 4.4-1 assist to turnover ratio, (153-35). As soon as we catch up, we stop doing what got us back in the game. This team can press effectively. All our teams can press effectively. We recruiting, athletic players. But the coach just doesn’t believe in it, even when it works. It could be a huge weapon if we used it proactively but JB only uses it in desperation. There’s a lot more upsides than downsides with Jim Boeheim but that’s my biggest criticism of him. And he played on a team that pressed for 40 minutes!


- Tyler Roberson was limited by foul trouble. But that wasn’t all that limited him. He’s one of our few guys who can really bang with Pitt but in 18 minutes he got 2 rebounds and got one shot off. I do think there’s a way to light a fire under this guy: Matthew Moyer. But he won’t be here until next year.


- Cameron Johnson in the first two games: 25 minutes played, 3 for 8 from the field 9 points. Today: 32 minutes, 8 for 16, with 4 three pointers, 24 points. And we lose by one.


- Everybody will remember the last play but we should also remember Howard’s turnover with 1:08 to go after we’d tied it and Jeter punching his missed free throw out of bounds with 8 second left so we have to inbound the ball: we can’t beat them down court.


- It was still another game where we have a chance to build up a big early league but due to missed shots and turnovers we let the other team stay within range and when they make their comeback, they take over the game. A 24-14 lead became a 34-48 deficit. That’s 10-34 folks. If we’d been by 15-20, and we could have been, we don’t have to make such a huge comeback.


- We are now 0-2 in the ACC tournament in three years. We are 20-24 in our last 44 ACC games. I don’t think they are impressed.


- Yes we were 4-5 without Boeheim and then won 8 of 9. But we won 8 of 9 against the easiest part of the conference schedule and wet back to losing when the opposition got better. Axeman is making the point that the contrast between their record without Boeheim and their record with him was a big point in SU’s favor. But now the contrast has dimmed and the vertical hold is on the fritz.

- Maybe we'll get in a play-in game - with Pitt!


- In the end, we just weren’t good enough this year. We got little out of the center positon and not a lot more out of the power forward or shooting guard positons. Lydon and Richardson had fine freshmen years but spent much of the time not playing their natural positons. We didn’t have a a true point guard, (Howard could become one but is very much a work in progress). They could have done the little things better and some different strategies might have helped, (the press, the high post), but in the end, this just wasn’t one of Syracuse’s better teams.
 

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