sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to ACC Tournament Judgement Day!
Michael Young scored 17 points and fellow senior Jamel Artis added 11 points and nine rebounds as Pittsburgh rode its two seniors to a 61-59 victory against Georgia Tech on Tuesday night in the first round on the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
The 14th-seeded Panthers (16-16) play sixth-seeded and No. 21 Virginia on Wednesday night at Barclays Center.
No. 11 seed Georgia Tech (17-15) closed the season losing four of five, putting its hopes of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament in peril.
Artis and Young were kept out of the starting lineup and on the bench for the first 10 minutes of Pitt’s season-finale loss to Virginia on Saturday for what coach Kevin Stallings called a violation of team rules.
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SU News
Grossman: John Gillon will dictate what kind of postseason Syracuse is in for (DO; Grossman)
All the mood swings of Syracuse’s season correlate with the performance of one player.
John Gillon usually doesn’t straddle the line between goat and G.O.A.T. In most games he’s either been ineffective or terrific. The Good John Gillon authored some of SU’s signature memories this year: stunning Duke, downing N.C. State in overtime with 43 points and jumpstarting the Orange’s revival with consecutive wins against Miami and Pittsburgh. The Bad John Gillon ran Syracuse’s offense astray in road losses to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Louisville.
Whichever version of the senior point guard shows up this postseason will be paramount for SU. It could spell the difference between NIT and NCAA Tournament.
“We go as John Gillon goes,” head coach Jim Boeheim said after Gillon beat the Blue Devils. “… When he’s good, we haven’t lost.”
Gillon’s already left an indelible mark in his only year with the Orange. Now his final act is to dictate what kind of March SU will have. Whether it’s memorable or forgettable comes down to him. Gillon’s been the lynchpin all season, just as he will be when Syracuse (18-13, 10-8 Atlantic Coast) plays Miami (20-10, 10-8) in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday at noon in the Barclays Center.
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Syracuse men's basketball opponent preview: What to know about Miami (DO; Schneidman)
In a rematch of early January’s tilt in the Carrier Dome, eighth-seed Syracuse (18-13, 10-8 Atlantic Coast) faces ninth-seeded Miami (20-10, 10-8) in the second round of the ACC tournament Wednesday at noon. The winner advances to the quarterfinals to face top-seeded North Carolina at the Barclays Center on Thursday at noon.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Hurricanes before Wednesday’s matchup.
All-time series: Syracuse leads, 17-7
Last time they played: The Orange held Miami to below 30 points in each half in a 70-55 win in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 4. Andrew White and Tyler Lydon scored 22 and 20, respectively, to lead the Orange and Miami turned the ball over 15 times. Syracuse shot 56.8 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from 3, on top of hitting 12-of-14 from the foul line. Sharpshooter DJ Vasiljevic was Miami’s only player in double figures, and all 18 of his points came from behind the arc.
The Miami report: After sliding into the AP Top 25 before the last week of the regular season, Jim Larranaga’s team dropped its last two games of the regular season against Virginia Tech and Florida State. The Hurricanes had four separate two-game losing streaks during the regular season, and SU will be tasked with trying to deal Miami its first three-game slide. The Hurricanes are one of the top-20 defensive teams in the country, according to Kenpom.com, but Syracuse has already showed that rank can mean nothing against the Orange.Senior Davon Reed took home All-conference honors, making the All-ACC Third Team and All-ACC Defensive Team.
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Beat writers offer split predictions for ACC tournament matchup against Miami (DO; Staff)
Eight-seeded Syracuse (18-13, 10-8 Atlantic Coast) is slated to play against ninth-seeded Miami (20-10, 10-8) on Wednesday at noon. SU played one game this year at Barclays Center, which it lost to South Carolina in late November.
Here’s how The Daily Orange beat writers think the game will unfold.
Connor Grossman (18-13)
Category 5 Bubble Status
Miami 73, Syracuse 68
Credit Syracuse for knocking off a Miami team that’s only gotten better as the season’s gone on. The Hurricanes own upsets over UNC, Virginia and Duke since losing to the Orange in January, and will flip the script against SU on Wednesday. With one of the best defenses in the ACC, Miami might not have to do much more than to shut down Andrew White a la Duke and Louisville. White included, everything about Syracuse is a tossup outside the Carrier Dome. Expect a nerve-wracking Selection Sunday after another early exit in the ACC tournament.
Matt Schneidman (14-17)
Signed, sealed, delivered
Syracuse 74, Miami 68
The Orange needs a win against the Hurricanes to lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament, in my opinion. Right now I’d put them at about 65 percent in. Bruce Brown and Davon Reed have flown under the radar as threats in the ACC, but Syracuse gets just enough from a red-hot Andrew White and the often consistent Tyus Battle. SU may not stand a chance against No. 1-seed North Carolina, but it doesn’t matter after simply reaching the tournament quarterfinals.
Paul Schwedelson (19-12)
Blustery conditions
Miami 67, Syracuse 66
I can’t pretend to estimate what percentage chance Syracuse has of making the Tournament. A loss against Miami though will make for a sweaty Selection Sunday for SU fans. The Orange hasn’t made anything easy on itself all season and it’s hard to think that’ll change. Syracuse has faced four opponents twice this year and didn’t sweep any of them. It’s tough to beat a team twice and the Hurricanes settled into a nice groove in the second half of conference play, knocking off North Carolina, Duke and Virginia. The weather in Syracuse recently has been all sorts of ridiculous and the Orange’s forecast is even murkier.
Dajuan Coleman’s career comes full circle after Carrier Dome sendoff (DO; Schwedelson)
As Dajuan Coleman walked out of the Carrier Dome tunnel on Saturday, fans leaned his way to ask for photos and autographs. They soaked in the moment, perhaps watching Coleman for the final time step onto the court. One hour and 20 minutes before Coleman’s final regular season game in the Dome, cheers from the community that raised him wouldn’t let Coleman’s name fade as easily as his knees.
Doctors told Coleman after his second major left knee surgery in fall 2014 that he’d never play basketball again. Still, he recovered well enough to play in all 37 games last season. This year, as his body wore down, he’s played in only 17 games. But the former five-star recruit chose Syracuse over Kentucky out of Jamesville-DeWitt (New York) High School because he wanted to play at home. He wanted to have moments like he experienced on Saturday.
“This is my hometown. This is my favorite team growing up,” Coleman said. “… That was the main thing that motivated me (after injuries). Just getting back to playing, the fans, just being in the Dome.”
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College basketball: Syracuse wants to make mark in ACC Tournament (watertowndailytimes.com; Manganiello)
If there is anything to take away from the past year, it is that there are no guarantees in life.
But if No. 8 Syracuse University takes down No. 9 Miami in the second round of the ACC Tournament at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn today, the Orange should make the NCAA Tournament.
The present reality of Syracuse (18-13, 10-8) — one win and in — was unforeseeable before these two teams met Jan. 4. The inciting incident of the team’s season, Syracuse defeated Miami, 70-55, at the Carrier Dome following two of the more disappointing losses in program history.
In the worst home loss of the Jim Boeheim-era, St. John’s hit a dozen 3-point field goals in a 93-60 shellacking Dec. 22. The loss dropped Syracuse to 7-5 — the first time the Orange had lost five nonconference games in program history.
After the holidays, Syracuse traveled to Boston College for its ACC opener. The Eagles ended a 20-game conference losing streak — 664 days between ACC wins — with a stunning 96-81 victory over the Orange. A 30-point scoring barrage coupled with nine assists by reigning ACC freshman of the year Ky Bowman put Boston College over Syracuse for the first time since 2005 — as members of the old Big East.
As erratic as this season has been for Syracuse, defeating the Miami Hurricanes (20-10, 10-8) in January stands out as a defining moment. The version of the Orange that showed up against the Hurricanes closely resembles the team that went 10-7 down the stretch in the ACC, securing victories over nationally ranked teams like Florida State, Virginia and Duke.
Does Syracuse Need a Win in the ACC Tournament? – Student Section Sports (studentsectionsports.cmo; Karp)
No.
Syracuse does not need to beat Miami in the ACC Tournament Wednesday night. A win wouldn’t hurt the Orange, of course. Any victory SU can obtain from now until the NCAA Tournament would be icing on the cake. As long as Jim Boeheim’s squad doesn’t get blown out—say by 30 or 40 points—its March Madness ticket will remain punched.
What makes me so confident Cuse has secured a spot in the Big Dance? It’s true the Orange have some bad losses on its resume. Okay, some very bad losses—notably against UCONN, Boston College and St. John’s. But no other team on the bubble has beaten the high quality teams Syracuse has.
Right now, SU is competing with Providence, Wake Forest, Rhode Island, Xavier, Seton Hall, USC, Vanderbilt, and VCU to lock up a spot in the tournament. Syracuse has six wins against teams ranked in the top 50 in RPI. No other team has more than five. Three of those wins were against top 25 teams. No other team has more than two.
As far as the BPI metric is concerned, Syracuse ranks No. 31 in this category behind only Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons, however, lost to the Orange head-to-head earlier this year and have a record of 1-7 against top 25 teams. As I said, unless Miami obliterates Syracuse, the Orange is in.
But there is no reason why Syracuse would get steamrolled against Miami. SU held the Hurricanes to just 55 points en route to a 15-point victory back on January 4. That loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for Miami and sparked a stretch of which the team dropped four of its next five games. For Syracuse, that win was a turning point.
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Syracuse Basketball: Not Every Team Has Figured Out Andrew White (itld.com; Esden Jr)
After back-to-back lackluster games many thought that teams have figured Andrew White out. Following a huge Senior day performance, that’s no longer the case.
After the Louisville game, head coach Rick Pitino said that he treated Syracuse basketball grad-transfer, Andrew White, like he couldn’t dribble. They attacked him and forced him to use his left hand.
For the past two games it seemed like maybe teams had figured out Andrew White’s game and how to neutralize him. Well after his showing on Senior day, it’s fair to say not every team has figured him out.
After the game, White talked about the “law of averages”. Throughout his career he’s been an efficient scorer and more times than not that has been the case this season outside of a few outliers.
While White has had “hot streaks before”, none quite like the record breaking one he had against the Yellow Jackets. Do you know how many SU legends have come through that door? White is an oddity as a Senior in this program.
While he’s only been with the program a couple months and yet, he’ll be fondly remembered as if he’d spent his entire career here. White scored the most points inside the Carrier Dome in history on Saturday. Sit and think about that for a second.
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Miami Hurricanes unveil new Adidas basketball uniforms for March 2017 (caneswatch.com; Porter)
Another March, another Miami-Adidas basketball uniform unveiling.
The Hurricanes announced new men’s and women’s uniforms for tournament play, with shoe graphics pattered after the Doppler radar, school-themed hashtags and “French terry wipe-zones” for players’ hands.
Take a look:
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Other
Man lived undetected for 9 years in 2-room shack he built near Syracuse's highways (PS; Hannagan)
Thousands of people everyday in Syracuse passed near a hand-built, two-room shack where a homeless man lived for nine years, and drivers didn't even know he was there.
The shack is within the city limits where you can hear trucks rumbling past on the interstates. It sits in a wooded area hidden in a swale where water runs through during wet weather.
The wood structure has a foundation, two doors and a window. It's walls are plumb and the boards fit snugly together keeping out the wind and the rain. The slightly sloping roof is covered with tar paper.
It's one of the most unusual living arrangements used by a homeless person the Syracuse Rescue Mission has seen, said Jim Hawley, an outreach case manager for the group. Homeless people tend to live in tents, under bridges or in lean-tos, he said.
"It's sturdy, well built like a camp," Hawley said. "It is amazing. It's not a backyard shed he's made. Even so, he shouldn't live like that."
Hawley and Amber Vander Ploeg, the mission's director of emergency services, took a reporter from Syracuse.com to the shack last week. With the encouragement and help of the Rescue Mission, the man who is in his 50s has moved into an apartment, but he occasionally returns to his former home, Hawley said.
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