We got bullied a bit tonight...

[supp]

First time I felt all year that we got beaten to the loose balls more often than the reverse. Maybe the injuries played a role but these guys also played pretty physical. Perkins is a thug.

 

[Jake]

Buffalo is pretty physical and pretty talented. They will win a lot of games.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I watched Buffalo closely during warm ups. I knew they were athletic and could shoot the ball but didn't realize how physical they were. I was impressed with them.

 

[dasher]

I hate to be the guy that says this but Buffalo had this game marked on their schedule since the game was set. I don't blame them one bit for that. They have been in our shadow since they went D-1. this coming off a emotional win at g-town and this was a recipe for exactly what we saw tonight. Expect the same on Friday except even tougher. All day I was expecting a rough game. I'm glad we won.

 

[Cheriehoop]

There was one series where there were 3 separate collisions on one play. 6 players, 3 from each team lying along the court from basket to basket. Buffalo players were diving at SU players feet and legs for the ball. This was a game where players were going to feel these collisions for a while.

They dared Matt to shoot , it will be nice when he can confidently make a 15 footer. Paschal has to keep his arms up on both defense and offense. Buffalo has some good guards and their depth impressed me which allowed them to keep up that in your face pressure all game till the very end when 2 of their guards, Jordan and Graves finally fouled out. First game in a long time we didn’t dominate the boards, they beat us on the offensive boards 16 to 10. Their speed and aggression allowed them to surround our rebounders - poke, pull, constantly contesting even after when we grabbed a board to dislodge it, without them paying on the other end in transition.

 

[pearl31]

There was one series where there were 3 separate collisions on one play. 6 players, 3 from each team lying along the court from basket to basket. Buffalo players were diving at SU players feet and legs for the ball. This was a game where players were going to feel these collisions for a while.

They dared Matt to shoot , it will be nice when he can confidently make a 15 footer. Paschal has to keep his arms up on both defense and offense. Buffalo has some good guards and their depth impressed me which allowed them to keep up that in your face pressure all game till the very end when 2 of their guards, Jordan and Graves finally fouled out. First game in a long time we didn’t dominate the boards, they beat us on the offensive boards 16 to 10. Their speed and aggression allowed them to surround our rebounders - poke, pull, constantly contesting even after when we grabbed a board to dislodge it, without them paying on the other end in transition.

good observations.
our guys were not strong on the glass tonight - esp Brissett despite his big scoring (FT) game - he was largely invisible on missed shots

 

[cliftonparksufan]

There was one series where there were 3 separate collisions on one play. 6 players, 3 from each team lying along the court from basket to basket. Buffalo players were diving at SU players feet and legs for the ball. This was a game where players were going to feel these collisions for a while.

They dared Matt to shoot , it will be nice when he can confidently make a 15 footer. Paschal has to keep his arms up on both defense and offense. Buffalo has some good guards and their depth impressed me which allowed them to keep up that in your face pressure all game till the very end when 2 of their guards, Jordan and Graves finally fouled out. First game in a long time we didn’t dominate the boards, they beat us on the offensive boards 16 to 10. Their speed and aggression allowed them to surround our rebounders - poke, pull, constantly contesting even after when we grabbed a board to dislodge it, without them paying on the other end in transition.

What's also interesting is how many jump ball tie ups there were. Plus hopefully this was a big learning experience for FH. Officially only 5 turnovers but was in trouble many other times.

 

[reedny]

Buffalo did everything they could do, and they played very hard. On defense, Jordan, Clark and Graves were up in our jocks all night, creating havoc. On offense, they had 4 guys who could shoot and that they did (34 3 ptfga’s). After Clark hit a couple shots early, we defended them pretty well outside (they only hit 10 3’s), but their guards penetrated and that allowed them to score or get the ball into Perkins (who’s a load). They had him and Smith on the floor at the same time for a few minutes and their size made a difference, as we were only +2 on the glass. Perkins got blocked by Chukwu several times until he figured out that he could back him into the restricted area and overpower him. Chukwu and Moyer couldn’t seem to recognize that he was a lefty (know your personnel).

Overall, a gutsy performance by a very aggressive, quick and determined opponent. This was a game to survive, not to shine. Oshae finally started driving the ball down the stretch and his foul shooting (and a couple key buckets by FH) made the difference. But it was ugly.

W.

 

[SoBeCuse]

We won a good game. All this talk about UB and how they played dirty and are thugs. What is going on here? Would Nova, Cincinnati, WVU, Miami, Michigan St., and a handful of other teams play any differently? Hell no! South Carolina played the exact same way last year to a F4. Did anybody complain? Miami the same way in the ACCT. I would do the same damn thing. Faceguard/double Battle (South Carolina did the same thing with White last year), hound Frank, and bang our skinny guys around inside. I think this was a very good win against a good team like Boeheim said in the presser.

 

[Cheriehoop]

Wish we had more cleanly grabbed rebounds and made them pay for their aggression in surrounding , harassing our rebounders with some transition baskets. They didn’t seem to worry at all about us beating them downcourt which just encouraged them to hang around swarming our big guys.

Even in all the games we’ve dominated on the boards, sadly it hasn’t resulted in many easy transition baskets. That Missouri transfer guard Wesley Clark #10 played his first game against us for Buffalo which certainly helped them big time. He was their 2nd highest scorer with 15 points, including 3 three pointers and 6 assists adding another dimension and more guard depth that no other of their opponents had faced yet. (Nor game film for SU to see). So tough to totally compare against common opponents - they are a better team now.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Wish we had more cleanly grabbed rebounds and made them pay for their aggression in surrounding , harassing our rebounders with some transition baskets. They didn’t seem to worry at all about us beating them downcourt which just encouraged them to hang around swarming our big guys.

Even in all the games we’ve dominated on the boards, sadly it hasn’t resulted in many easy transition baskets. That Missouri transfer guard Wesley Clark #10 played his first game against us for Buffalo which certainly helped them big time. He was their 2nd highest scorer with 15 points, including 3 three pointers and 6 assists adding another dimension and more guard depth that no other of their opponents had faced yet. (Nor game film for SU to see). So tough to totally compare against common opponents.

IMO, that’s an easy answer. Frank doesn’t really push it. Lack of speed there. He’s playing WAY better than most of us thought but he hesitates too much and there are speed/quickness limitations out there with him.

 

[CraigForth]

Probably gonna get excoriated for this but...Does anyone else hate when Moyer spazzes the f out when he dunks or blocks or something. Too much wild leg kicking. I hate when Draymond Green does it and I always wondered if I would hate it if a player on a team I liked did it. Turns out I hate it just as much. I like passion, just reel it in a little big fella, he’s too important to the teams success to get hurt like Martin gramatica celebrating a made extra point.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

What's also interesting is how many jump ball tie ups there were. Plus hopefully this was a big learning experience for FH. Officially only 5 turnovers but was in trouble many other times.

Yeah .. maybe at some point by the time he graduates he’ll learn to value the ball

 

[CaptainJ]

Probably gonna get excoriated for this but...Does anyone else hate when Moyer spazzes the out when he dunks or blocks or something. Too much wild leg kicking. I hate when Draymond Green does it and I always wondered if I would hate it if a player on a team I liked did it. Turns out I hate it just as much. I like passion, just reel it in a little big fella, he’s too important to the teams success to get hurt like Martin gramatica celebrating a made extra point.

I love it! I hope he keeps doing it, as I enjoy seeing someone who truly loves the game and expresses it. I mean, Jordan sticking his tongue out mid flight might seem more dangerous to me.

The kid seems to have a lot of spirit in him, and after that dunk tonight, I was wondering if he might be the last chance I have to see a SU 360 dunk(RIP Fab). I value your opinion, and while it has some merit, I don't agree. I'm not going to censure you, and hope that nobody else does. The world evolves because of different opinions. Ive been considering using one of his antics as my avatar though, but after reading this, I dont want to tick off anyone that doesnt already despise me.

 

[FrancoPizza]

. Their speed and aggression allowed them to surround our rebounders - poke, pull, constantly contesting even after when we grabbed a board to dislodge it, without them paying on the other end in transition.

That’s my biggest beef with the coaching - there’s no instruction to push the ball anymore... even with one of our best rebounding teams ever. We’ve never been a great halfcourt team but 10-20 fast break points always helped to mask that deficiency. It’s almost as if JB doesn’t care - he never even mentions it like he’s given up on it altogether. We have Tyus Battle and we can’t even try to push it once in a while? Franky can’t be the excuse for everything. There are so many opportunities to get run outs and we’re just content to wait until everyone sets up.

 

[orangenauburn]

They and their coach called us soft amongst some eye opening comments

Check it out on Syracuse com

 

[STEVEHOLT]

They and their coach called us soft amongst some eye opening comments

Check it out on Syracuse com

They do realize they lost ? Do they want “brownie points” for keeping it close

No brownie points for non-SWAC teams in D1 ball

 

[jdubs30]

They and their coach called us soft amongst some eye opening comments

Check it out on Syracuse com

Jeez the guy sounds like a HS coach. Other than Perkins, none of those guys looked offensively (I know Massinburg is). If Perkins was so domiant how come he took 2 3s in the last 3 minutes instead of going to work in the post?

 

[Cheriehoop]

Buffalo coach on loss to Syracuse basketball: 'We felt like we were gonna win the game'

Pretty dismissive for a team that did lose. Look who is complaining about the officiating

 

[sufandu]

IMO, that’s an easy answer. Frank doesn’t really push it. Lack of speed there. He’s playing WAY better than most of us thought but he hesitates too much and there are speed/quickness limitations out there with him.

Is it Frank? The last time I remember us getting out on the break off of rebounds may be when Coleman was outletting to Thompson. In recent years, the only transition points we've generated have come off of turnovers, usually at the top of the zone.

 

[elimunelson]

We looked tired and Buffalo is a quality team. Wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the tournament.

That Town game sapped them, they are very young and are down a few bodies. Let’s hope to escape Friday and hope we are healthy for ACC play

 

[SoBeCuse]

Is it Frank? The last time I remember us getting out on the break off of rebounds may be when Coleman was outletting to Thompson. In recent years, the only transition points we've generated have come off of turnovers, usually at the top of the zone.

True. It’s Frank but then you had G and Ennis. Those guys didn’t push the ball either though G did at times. G I think like Frank was figuring things out on the fly and plodded/hesitated at times. Ennis just played methodically. That’s how he liked it.

 

[Trueblue25]

Buffalo played like a Big East team, physically and angry. We won a good game that we easily could’ve lost coming off an emotional G town win. Battle was not 100%, Frank was absolutely smothered and Chukwu/Dolezaj were pushed around down low.

We rose to the occassion and won because we are the better team.

Oshae Brissett is an absolute beast. The amount of contact he took on that second half and one was absurd, and his free throw shooting iced the game after Franks big 3. This team continued to show positive growth.

 

[NKR1978]

They and their coach called us soft amongst some eye opening comments

Check it out on Syracuse com

Our banged up "soft" players made winning plays. That's soft to them?

 

[pfister1]

They dared Matt to shoot , it will be nice when he can confidently make a 15 footer. Paschal has to keep his arms up on both defense and offense. Buffalo has some good guards and their depth impressed me which allowed them to keep up that in your face pressure all game till the very end when 2 of their guards, Jordan and Graves finally fouled out. First game in a long time we didn’t dominate the boards, they beat us on the offensive boards 16 to 10. Their speed and aggression allowed them to surround our rebounders - poke, pull, constantly contesting even after when we grabbed a board to dislodge it, without them paying on the other end in transition.

We got pushed around a bit on the boards too. I thought Marek got bullied, probably should have drawn a few fouls. I actually expected more from Oshae on the boards last night. Matchup must not have been as a big a rebounding mismatch as it typically is.