sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 26,553
- Like
- 115,586
Welcome to Houseplant Appreciation Day!
Created by The Gardener's Network, Houseplant Appreciation Day is for caring for and giving a little extra attention to your houseplants, or to begin growing some if you have none. It's the perfect time to focus on them since winter precludes you from gardening outside. It's also shortly after the new year, meaning you've probably already taken down your Christmas tree or other holiday decorations, leaving your house pretty bare—perhaps you find a neglected houseplant in the corner, or perhaps your find nothing at all. Common houseplants include aloe vera, bamboo, spider plants, rubber plants, and African violets. Houseplants are perfect for in homes because they can grow with low light, low humidity, and in cooler temperatures.
SU News
Syracuse basketball defeats Clemson 61-53: Brent Axe recap (PS; Axe)
Mr. Miyagi would have been proud of the effort by the Syracuse University men's basketball team in a 61-53 win over the Clemson Tigers on Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome.
No, Syracuse didn't use the "wax on, wax off" or "paint the fence" methods or drop the crane kick to beat the Tigers, but the Orange did adhere to Miyagi's advice to young Daniel LaRusso about how life needs balance.
Syracuse got at least 9 points from all five starters against Clemson, with none going over 14, to grab its 11th win of the season (11-4) and second in ACC play (2-0). Coming off a win over Notre Dame in which Tyus Battle, Oshae Brissett and Elijah Hughes combined for 58 of Syracuse's 72 points, it was welcome relief to see the Orange's box score balanced out.
Syracuse has won four straight games and may feel a little momentum building, thought it now settles in for a busy stretch where it will host Georgia Tech on Saturday at the Dome then head for *gulp* No. 1 Duke on Monday night.
"We're getting better," Syracuse senior guard Frank Howard said after the Orange's win on Wednesday night. "People are excited to get better. It's that change of attitude and sense of urgency that's done a good job."
...
Syracuse gets 14 points from Hughes, beats Clemson 61-53 (centredaily.com; Frank; AP)
On a night when Syracuse's trademark zone defense was effective against Clemson, coach Jim Boeheim's lesser-known press helped the Orange to their fourth straight win.
Elijah Hughes had 14 points to lead four Syracuse players in double figures and the Syracuse beat Clemson 61-53 Wednesday night, holding the Tigers to a season-low in scoring.
Tyus Battle and Frank Howard scored 12 points apiece and Marek Dolezaj chipped in with a season-high 10 for Syracuse (11-4, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which scored 20 points off 17 turnovers by the Tigers (10-5, 0-2 ACC).
"No one had a huge night, but we were all just being aggressive and looking for our shot, trying to make something happen on the offensive end," Battle said. "That's how we have to play."
...
Clemson Basketball: Tigers Fall To Syracuse (shakinthesouthland.com; Priester)
Clemson took to the road Wednesday night for the first time in ACC play, heading up to Syracuse and falling to the Orange 61-53. The loss drops the Tigers to 10-4 on the season and 0-2 in ACC play. With Virginia set to visit Littlejohn on Saturday, this team is realistically looking at an 0-3 start to conference play. Syracuse has now won four straight, improving to 11-4 (2-0 ACC) on the season.
Clemson struggled to score against the 2-3 zone as the Orange held the Tigers to more than 20 points below their season average. Clemson turned the ball over 17 times and shot just 36% from the field. From beyond the arc, it wasn’t any better as the Tigers shot just 5-20.
Marquise Reed led all scorers with 16, but shot only 5-13 from the floor and 2-5 from three. Shelton Mitchell had another off night, shooting just 2-11 and 1-5 from beyond the arc and finished with just 5 points. Elijah Thomas and Aamir Simms pitched in 13 and 9 points respectively, both on 4-6 shooting, and both fouled out. Simms picked up his fifth foul with over 7 minutes still remaining in the game.
...
Syracuse Uses Center Revival to Top Clemson – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Aki)
Syracuse continued its torrid run into the ACC slate with a 61-53 win over Clemson in its conference home opener. The victory pushes the Orange to 11-4 and 2-0 in ACC play.
The glaring takeaway from the win came at the center position. For starters, Paschal Chukwu registered his first “did not play” of the season as a healthy scratch. After a couple of frustrating performances, it seems like Jim Boeheim has finally seen enough of the former starter. In his place, Dolezaj remains undefeated as the starting center and had a very productive night. He spread himself out with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. The sophomore also had a huge block to put the game away with a minute left. Dolezaj has brought a much more diverse skillset to the floor since assuming the starting role four games ago. He did all of this despite going against one of the bigger bodies in the conference in Elijah Thomas, who stands at 6-foot-9 and 245 pounds. Dolezaj’s overall performance was one that Boeheim called his best of the season.
With no Chukwu, that left Bourama Sidibe as the first one off the bench for the Orange in the frontcourt. He provided a solid night with three blocks and four points in 16 minutes of reserve.
...
Syracuse Basketball stays perfect in ACC with impressive win over Clemson (cnycentral.com; Tamurian)
Clemson took an early 5-2 lead over Syracuse just over two minutes into the game.
It's the last time they'd be on top of the Orange the rest of the game.
Syracuse a 10-0 run and never looked back en route to a 61-53 victory over the Tigers on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Orange is now 11-4 overall and 2-0 in the ACC.
Syracuse's win over Clemson is solid without question, but it's the way they outplayed the Tigers that's a nice sign for the rest of the season.
The Orange forced 17 turnovers while holding Clemson to just 35% shooting (25% from three point range)
Syracuse had four players in double figures with Elijah Hughes leading the way with 14 points and seven rebounds. Tyus Battle and Frank Howard scored 12 points each.
...
Wake Up Call with Dan Tortora (podbean.com; radio; Tortora)
EPISODE 6 OF 2019 PART 3 - Coach Q Weekly Feature on WakeUpCall, focusing this time on a Strong ACC Start, Earning Respect, & Positive Non-Conference Play
Chances Tyus Battle Returns to Syracuse Next Season – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Gross)
On May 30, 2018, Tyus Battle announced he was coming back to Syracuse for his junior season, for another year playing with what promised (or not) to be a stacked team (with Darius Bazley). Given Syracuse fan’s experiences with Tyler Lydon and Malachi Richardson in the two years prior, Battle coming back felt like a real bonus. He was projected to be drafted in the 20’s by most experts.
This season, something important is happening that people aren’t talking about. Battle has slipped down draft boards. Here is where Battle is being projected by various media.
ESPN: 49 (JAN. 7)
ATHLETIC: 30 (DEC. 28)
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: 73 (JAN. 3)
Sport’s Illustrated’s Jeremy Woo accompanied his low ranking for Battle with a fairly scathing blurb. “In many ways it feels like Battle has plateaued at Syracuse after returning to school, and though he has a good build and has been a useful college scorer, he does not project with a ton of upside moving forward,” Woo wrote.
If projections hold, the New Jersey native would likely want to play out his senior year at SU.
I would expect Battle to move back up draft boards before season’s end, however. His drop may have been a reaction to inexplicable shooting woes to start the season. That appears to have been a really really bad slump, and nothing more. Recently, Battle has been scoring at extremely efficient rates, and his jump shot actually looks improved from last season. He’s 39 % from three, excluding the opening four games of the season. His field goal percentage is eight points higher than last year, at 48%.
...
Virginia Tech basketball: Hokies pass first ACC road test in win over Georgia Tech (gobblercountry.com; Manning)
The No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies learned how tough life on the road is in the ACC as a top-10 team on Wednesday night, narrowly escaping an upset bid by the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, with a 52-49 win. The Hokies are now 14-1 on the season and improve to 3-0 in ACC play.
The Hokies controlled the game early, jumping out to a 11-2 lead, until the Jackets went on a run around the 10-minute mark. Guard Jose Alvarado had the hot hand for Georgia Tech, scoring 17 points in the first half.
Every time the Yellow Jackets would get close, the Hokies would get a bucket. Just before the half, the Hokies scored as time expired and went into the locker room with a 29-24 lead.
The second half was one of VT’s ugliest performances of the season. The Hokies scored just 23 points and missed several critical free throws. Even worse, VT was abysmal from three-point range, shooting just 18 percent from long range as the Hokies connected on just five of 27 attempts for the evening. For the game, the Hokies shot just under 30 percent as a team, while Georgia Tech shot 44 percent as a team.
...
Pitt outlasts Louisville in overtime, 89-86, for first ACC win since 2017 (cardiachill.com; Whaley)
If you enjoy close games with plenty of intrigue, you couldn’t have been more content with tonight’s Pitt-Louisville game. It was close throughout, had late gaffes, and a lot of ups and downs. But if you were watching as a Pitt fan, you probably have an additional gray hair or two. In the end, though, the Panthers (11-4) held on for a 89-86 win. It’s the team’s first ACC victory since March 7, 2017 when the team defeated Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament. Louisville falls to 10-5 on the season.
I’d love to hear from a few of you in the comments if you happened to be there. It wasn’t a sellout crowd or anything but there were times it felt like the ‘old’ Pete in the Howland/Dixon years when the team dominated at home. The atmosphere seemed pretty good and, at times, downright raucous.
The story of tonight, other than ending the winless ACC streak, was obviously the play of freshman Trey McGowens. Xavier Johnson and his 21 points and ten assists can’t be overlooked. But McGowens was the brightest star with a career-high and Pitt freshman record of 33 points, breaking the former record of Clyde Vaughan. When you look back over the history of the program with so many great players, that’s just a tremendous accomplishment.
...
THE BIG PREVIEW: Virginia vs. Boston College (strreakinglawn.com; Guttman)
In 2016, the Boston College Eagles had zero ACC wins. Last season, they had seven. They went from ranked 225th on KenPom to ranked 77th last year. That’s quite the improvement for head coach Jim Christian. So far this year, though, they are ranked 104th (though a few weeks ago, they were up to 62nd).
They are 9-4 so far this year, including an 11-point loss to the Hokies on Saturday in their ACC opener. They’ve also lost, at home, to 189th ranked Hartford and 194th IUPUI. Their best win is over Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Last year, they beat Duke at home and didn’t lose to anybody outside KenPom’s top 50.
The difference between last year and this year is the loss of Jerome Robinson (13th overall pick to the Clippers). Robinson was their leading scorer, and quite simply, their best player. Their best player this years is PG Ky Bowman. Bowman is 2nd in the ACC in scoring, 3rd in assists, and 9th in rebounds. He’s also tied for 13th in steals and 23rd in blocks. That’s pretty amazing, but even more so for a guy who’s listed at 6’1, 188. He almost never comes off the floor, and he’s dangerous both in the half court and in the open floor. Bowman is shooting just under 43% for the season, but part of that is a lot of contested threes he ends up with. He’s just a 33% shooter from deep this year, but he’s 38% for his career. When he’s open and his feet are set, he’s a very good shooter.
...
No. 13 FSU basketball ignites late and defeats Miami in ACC home opener (tomahawknation.com; Korosec)
The Seminoles struggled to make open shots throughout the majority of the game on Wednesday evening, but they were able to put the game away in the end and win 68-62. With a little over two minutes to go, Florida State led the Hurricanes by 10 points, but Miami responded by going on an 8-0 run. However, a Trent Forrest put-back, and a pair of free throws from M.J. Walker after a blocked shot sealed the deal. The Seminoles have now won their 39th home game of their last 41.
Coaches from Miami and Florida State came into the game sporting Coaching for Literacy’s bright green ties in order to promote the Fight for Literacy. Fans can support young readers in Tallahassee by making a donation for each assist the Seminoles make over a four-game stretch from January 9th-20th. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 59 percent of fourth-graders in Florida are not proficient in reading.
Florida State took a small lead at the end of the first half after Raiquan Gray drained a jumper as time expired, giving the ’Noles a 33-29 lead. Both teams were ice cold in the first 8 minutes of play, Florida State was just 3-12 from the field, including 0-4 outside the arc.
After being called for 12 fouls in the first half to just five for the visitors, the Seminoles continued that trend in the 2nd half. Had it not been for the freebies, Miami would have been blown out, as they outscored FSU by 10 on free throws.
...
Other
Syracuse is no stranger to snow. Here are five ways to deal with winter car problems like frozen locks or icy windows. Video by Katrina Tulloch
