I know people are down after the Louisville loss, but I saw a lot of positives to take out of that game. I view this team a lot like last year's... They're gelling and coming together at the right time, and if they get into the dance nobody will want to play them. I saw a team that had no quit whatsoever. Twice, I don't think we could have blamed them for quitting - the first time they got it to OT and had a shot to win it in regulation. The second time, they almost did it again. That never-say-die spirit is critical in March.
The last possession of regulation was frustrating, but the play call was fine with me... Gillon had a mismatch, he's a great free throw shooter, and I would have sent him down the lane looking for contact - especially given how poorly the team was shooting from the floor. If I am questioning Boeheim on anything in that game, it's how he didn't find 2-3 minutes to rest Gillon, Lydon and/or White. At the end of that stretch of games, getting those guys one break per half (30 seconds on either side of a media timeout, for example) could be huge.
Anyway, with that said, there's one improvement that I think the team is finally coming around on that could make all the difference... The defense. Boeheim was still down on the D last night, saying they can never get a stop when they need it - which may be true - but overall, I saw improvements.
Louisville shot 41% from the floor and under 31% from three. Those numbers match the season averages 'Cuse allowed last year. That also kept UL well below its averages... In conference play, they'd been averaging 46% from the floor and 38% from three.
I felt that the zone looked a little more active at times, and in particular I noticed White looking better in the zone than I thought he did the last few games.
If this team can become even mediocre defensively by SU standards, they could be an extremely tough out in the tournament. In particular, the ability to shut a team down for 4-6 minute stretches can do so much in the postseason as pressure mounts... That happened once or twice against Louisville.
One key, IMO, will be whether or not Boeheim has a willingness to go into the full court press earlier in games for 3-4 possessions if the zone is breaking down. It's a way to take the opponent out of their comfort zone, catch them off guard, and build a little momentum to get the energy back up on the defensive end.
It's a tough ask to get a team with one-and-done fifth year guys playing key roles to have a good 2-3 zone in this system (which will be an important consideration going forward into future years), but it may happen just in time.
Of course, they have to get into the tournament for it to matter... But, I'm optimistic despite the loss, and if this team makes the field of 64, nobody is going to want to play them the first two weekends.
The last possession of regulation was frustrating, but the play call was fine with me... Gillon had a mismatch, he's a great free throw shooter, and I would have sent him down the lane looking for contact - especially given how poorly the team was shooting from the floor. If I am questioning Boeheim on anything in that game, it's how he didn't find 2-3 minutes to rest Gillon, Lydon and/or White. At the end of that stretch of games, getting those guys one break per half (30 seconds on either side of a media timeout, for example) could be huge.
Anyway, with that said, there's one improvement that I think the team is finally coming around on that could make all the difference... The defense. Boeheim was still down on the D last night, saying they can never get a stop when they need it - which may be true - but overall, I saw improvements.
Louisville shot 41% from the floor and under 31% from three. Those numbers match the season averages 'Cuse allowed last year. That also kept UL well below its averages... In conference play, they'd been averaging 46% from the floor and 38% from three.
I felt that the zone looked a little more active at times, and in particular I noticed White looking better in the zone than I thought he did the last few games.
If this team can become even mediocre defensively by SU standards, they could be an extremely tough out in the tournament. In particular, the ability to shut a team down for 4-6 minute stretches can do so much in the postseason as pressure mounts... That happened once or twice against Louisville.
One key, IMO, will be whether or not Boeheim has a willingness to go into the full court press earlier in games for 3-4 possessions if the zone is breaking down. It's a way to take the opponent out of their comfort zone, catch them off guard, and build a little momentum to get the energy back up on the defensive end.
It's a tough ask to get a team with one-and-done fifth year guys playing key roles to have a good 2-3 zone in this system (which will be an important consideration going forward into future years), but it may happen just in time.
Of course, they have to get into the tournament for it to matter... But, I'm optimistic despite the loss, and if this team makes the field of 64, nobody is going to want to play them the first two weekends.
