sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
- 26,553
- Like
- 115,592
Welcome to Ben Franklin Day!
Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was born on this day in 1706, in Boston, making today Ben Franklin Day. He was a polymath, or expert in many subjects. Some of the titles that could be given to him are inventor, scientist, politician, diplomat, civic activist, printer, author, postmaster, and mapmaker. He also founded or was a part of many organizations and groups.
SU News
Syracuse benefits from guards’ rebounding in ACC play (DO; Heyen)
Duke’s Alex O’Connell fired a shot from the wing early in Monday’s second half as Syracuse battled the No. 1 Blue Devils. Standing above the right elbow in Cameron Indoor Stadium, Frank Howard tracked the shot as it bounced off the rim. Two of the Blue Devils’ highest leapers, Zion Williamson and Javin DeLaurier, crashed hard toward the basket from the perimeter.
But Howard drifted down into the lane, anticipated a rebound off the back of the rim and snatched it before Williamson, who was sprinting in for a put-back slam. Howard’s movement and anticipation were subtle but also indicative of a trend that’s helped Syracuse to three wins in its first four conference games.
No. 1 Duke entered Monday’s contest against Syracuse (12-5, 3-1 Atlantic Coast) with the fourth-highest offensive rebounding rate in the country, per KenPom.com. The stats show the Blue Devils still executed on the offensive glass, but the Orange did enough to get to overtime and pull out a 95-91 win. Elijah Hughes, Tyus Battle and Howard all grabbed at least four rebounds and eclipsed their season averages.
“That’s what we haven’t been doing,” Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim said of SU’s rebounding after the win against Duke. “That was a big part of winning.”
...
Syracuse basketball recruiting target Qudus Wahab sets announcement date (PS; Waters)
Qudus Wahab, a 6-foot-10 senior at the Flint Hill School in Oakton, Va., will announce his college choice on Jan. 30, according to reports.
Wahab, a 230-pound center, has narrowed his list down to five schools. His list consists of Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Georgetown, Connecticut and Virginia Tech.
Miami Radio Host Loses Big Moneyline Bet on Duke College Basketball vs Syracuse (fanduel.com; Kaestle)
Duke came into this college basketball season with arguably the greatest freshmen recruiting class in college basketball history, snagging the top-three recruits in the nation in RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Zion Williamson.
The Blue Devils came out of the gate hot and looked like they were unbeatable with a roster chock full of NBA talent. That is until a very talented Gonzaga team beat them in the Maui Invitational just before Thanksgiving.
After that loss, Duke regained its footing and seemed to be in cruise control. It was sometime during that period that Miami radio host Andy Slater decided to pair up with a friend to bet Duke moneyline every game for the rest of the season. They started with $1,000 and the goal would be to roll over all of their winnings after each game, so their bankroll grew exponentially.
Well, come Monday night and they had turned their $1,000 investment into $1,712.33. They laid it all on the line, betting Duke to beat the visiting Syracuse Orangemen. Duke closed at 17.5-point favorites on most books with Slater and his buddy in line to profit just $79.64 on top of what they had already earned.
...
Keith Struder: Huge Win For Syracuse, Which I Still Don't Like (wamc.org; Strudler)
I need to get this out-of-the-way. I don’t like Syracuse basketball. Most of this distain is it logical and routed in the fact that I went to college in upstate New York at a place that wasn’t Syracuse, so listening to unending idolatry of everything related to the Carrier Dome left an enduring Mark. Beyond that, there’s no real reason to not like the Orange, other than the reasons anyone chooses to dislike any sports program, especially a marquee one led by a long time established and imposing personality like head basketball coach Jim Boeheim.
So generally speaking, I’m happy when the Orange loses. It’s kind of like a win for me. There’s actually theory behind that, but I will spare you the sociology lesson. During the NCAA tournament, I’m generally rooting for the University of Florida and whoever is playing Syracuse. It is what it is. But Monday night, there was actually a compelling reason to root for the Orange. And it wasn’t simply because they were playing Duke, another one of America’s most despised elite basketball programs. And it wasn’t because Syracuse was the underdog playing on the road. It was because of a fan. A Syracuse fan, a species which I hold in relative low regard. And apologies. Before the game, Syracuse super booster Adam Weitsman tweeted that he would donate $150,000 to three Boys & Girls Clubs in upstate New York if Syracuse won. That number actually turned to $175,000, because apparently Weitsman inadvertently forgot one club location. It wasn’t as if he was expecting to pay, as the number one ranked Blue Devils were heavy favorites over a rebuilding Syracuse program. But they won, and he will pay according to all reports. Which means that despite my frustration in Syracuse winning a game that could very well lead them towards an NCAA berth, it’s still hard not to be happy they won.
...
ACC Basketball: Top 5 players midway through 2018-19 season (bustingbrackets.com; Voynow)
ACC Basketball is the most dominant and complete conference in NCAA basketball today. Who are the top five players in the league right now?
Who are the best players in ACC Basketball, and why? There are six ranked teams in the ACC right now, and all are legitimate contenders to win the national title. Duke, Virginia, and Virginia Tech are all currently ranked in the top 10 in the nation, with Florida State (#11), UNC (#13), and NC State (#17) close behind. Other teams in the ACC are making their cases to the Associated Press as well.
Syracuse is now 12-5 following a monster win in Durham against the Duke Blue Devils. Pittsburgh is 12-5 and just secured their best win of the season against Florida State. The overall message here is that it’s conference play. Anything can happen on any given night across the country.
When I think about the best players in the conference, there are the immediate media legends like Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, of course. But there are many great players on teams that you may not expect, or think of off the top of your head. North Carolina and North Carolina State are loaded with young talent once again this season, while Louisville, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Syracuse, and Clemson among others all have one or two stars that could play anywhere in the country.
In the ACC, often times all the attention gets put on teams like Duke, UNC, and Syracuse. The Duke-UNC rivalry not only run the state of North Carolina, but the whole country stands still to watch it twice per year. The ACC is much more than just that, as it’s home to some of the best players and teams in the nation.
...
ACC Roundup - Louisville, Clemson Prevail (DBR; King)
Louisville fell behind early to Boston College but roared back behind a tremendous game from Jordan Nwora: the 6-8 sophomore scored 32 points, shot 12-16, had 10 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block.
That’s tremendous.
Louisville fell behind early, then went up by 23 only to see BC mount a rally of its own to cut the lead to just five before the Cards eventually won by 10.
Boston College might have made it more interesting if they hadn’t gone 7-23 from the foul line (30.4%).
The Eagles are competitive but still 0-4 in conference play.
Louisville, 12-5, isn’t a great team right now but could become a very good one.
After the big win at Syracuse last weekend, Georgia Tech hoped to follow up with another win at Clemson, but the Tigers weren’t biting.
...
BOZICH | ACC basketball notebook: Louisville & Virginia rising (wdrb.com; Bozich)
A loss to Pittsburgh (and perhaps a 13-point homecourt loss to Kentucky) explain why 33 voters failed to include the University of Louisville on their latest ballots for the Associated Press college basketball Top 25.
Five additional points would have bumped the Cardinals past Indiana into the 25th spot, a jump Chris Mack’s team will certainly make if Louisville beats Boston College Wednesday night and backs it up with a victory at Georgia Tech Saturday.
The computer rankings have not waited to give the Cardinals more love. The formulas used by Ken Pomeroy, Jeff Sagarin, Bart Torvik and the NCAA all have Louisville ranked from 21-to-23.
According to Pomeroy, Louisville has one credential only Kansas can match:
Two wins against Top 10 KenPom opponents.
...
Audio Vault | WTLA-AM (espnsyracuse.com; radio)
Syracuse basketball beat writer, Donna Ditota, joins the show to talk about Syracuse’s win over Duke and gives her thoughts on Paschal Chukwu’s big game.
Takeaways from NC State men’s basketball through four ACC games (technicianonline.com; Hough)
NC State men’s basketball has had a successful season so far, despite tough losses to Wisconsin, No. 12 UNC-Chapel Hill and Wake Forest. The Pack is still in a great position as ACC play begins to heat up. The team is 14-3 overall and 2-2 in conference gamesand is No. 17 in the country. Here are some takeaways from the season so far:
This year’s team has improved significantly from last season
At this time last year, NC State was 12-6 overall and 2-3 in ACC play. It did upset Duke and Arizona, but it also suffered inexplicable losses to Northern Iowa and UNC-Greensboro. The first two ACC games NC State played resulted in blowouts by Clemson and Notre Dame. NC State could beat good teams, but it would also lay massive eggs against mediocre ones.
This year, the Pack has only lost three games, all of which were competitive games, and two of them were against teams that have appeared in the top-25 rankings. The team ripped through the early part of its schedule, winning its first five games with an average margin of victory of 38.8 points. It dropped a road game to Wisconsin, but was able to convincingly win against the lesser teams on the schedule.
...
Following the ACC this season is a wild ride for college basketball fans (courier-journal.com; Yates)
The Atlantic Coast Conference is by far the best conference in men’s college basketball this year. But it’s also the most bizarre, in a good way.
Virginia has been the most consistent team. It has a 16-0 record, it's 4-0 in league play and its four conference victories have been by 13, 17, 20, and 22 points, respectively. Keep an eye on the Cavaliers’ game Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke.
Speaking of the top ranked Blue Devils, down one of their starters in Tre Jones, they fell in overtime to Syracuse, who lost to Georgia Tech by 14, who was edged by top-10 Virginia Tech. It gets better.
Wake Forest had a 7-8 record and 0-3 in the ACC but collected an upset over top-25 NC State on Tuesday.
More on the Cards: Where does Louisville fit in the ACC? It's anybody's guess
Louisville football recruiting: An update on the Cardinals' top targets
Pittsburgh went 0-18 in league play last year. This year, they’re off to a 2-2 start in the conference, a stretch that includes snapping a nine-year losing streak to Louisville and picking up an even bigger upset over a top-15 Florida State team.
Did I mention that same Louisville team dominated North Carolina by 21 points — a Tar Heels team that beat Pitt by 15?
Are you confused yet? Good, because that’s the ACC through the first three to four games of the season. It reminds me a lot of the old Big East.
My advice is to sit back and enjoy the ride.
Other
SU alum Bob Costas ‘quietly’ done at NBC after 40 years (PS; Herbert)
Syracuse University alumnus Bob Costas is officially done at NBC after 40 years, he revealed Wednesday.
“It’s all settled quietly and happily for all concerned,” the broadcasting legend told The New York Post.
Costas, 66, told the newspaper that he’ll continue working on the MLB Network, participating in next week’s Baseball Hall of Fame announcement in Cooperstown and doing about 20 games in the 2019 season. He’s also exploring a new sports/news interview-style show.
“If I do anything else, it will be a hybrid of my HBO show and [the late-night talk show] ‘Later,’” Costas told the Post.
Costas first joined NBC Sports in 1979 and had been NBC’s face for major sporting events for decades. He notably covered multiple Olympics, Super Bowls and World Series, but his role had been diminished in recent months after he used television as a platform to criticize gun violence in America and concussion concerns in the NFL.
Multiple outlets reported this past summer that Costas was discussing terminating his contract with NBC that ran through 2021.
“There was a very long period of time when NBC’s programming suited my interests and abilities very well, from ‘Later’ [his late-night talk show] to the news magazines to baseball, the NBA and the Olympics,” Costas said at the time. "And after deciding on my own to leave the Olympics after having done a dozen of them, you just look around and say, ‘What was once a perfect fit no longer fits that description.’ "
...
