sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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International Kite Day started in India, where it takes place in the northwestern state of Gujarat, and is most widely celebrated in the city of Ahmedabad. The festival is known as Uttarayan in the Hindi language, and it is also called Makar Sakranti in parts of India. It celebrates the changing of the seasons from winter to summer, as well the upcoming harvest of winter crops. People come from countries all over the world to celebrate. The kites that are associated with the festival symbolize the spirit of gods awakening after their winter sleep.
Kite flying was originally done by royalty and the wealthy in India; at one time kings hired trained flyers to fly kites for them. Today people of all classes and backgrounds fly kites in India. Many people make kites weeks in advance of the festival, and kites get flown on the weeks surrounding the festival as well. The most common kites are simple, being made of lightweight colored paper with bamboo frames. Besides traditional kites, some have Bollywood stars or social messages on them. Kite strings are often covered with a mixture of rice and ground glass, which helps with "kite fighting". This is a game that takes place during the festival when flyers try to cut each other's strings and knock down their kites. For this reason many people have extra kites as backups, just in case their kite is taken down.
SU News
Syracuse basketball vs. Florida State: What to know (PS; $; Waters)
Syracuse will get its first return game of the season when Florida State comes to the Carrier Dome on Saturday.
The Seminoles (9-5 overall, 3-2 ACC) will be looking to avenge a 63-60 loss to Syracuse on Dec. 4 in Tallahassee. The Orange outscored Florida State 39-28 in the second half of that game.
Syracuse (8-8, 2-3) comes into Saturday’s game off a solid 77-61 win over Pittsburgh last Tuesday. The win snapped the Orange’s three-game conference losing streak.
Florida State is riding high after its 65-64 win over Miami on Tuesday. Miami was undefeated in conference play and had just taken down Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. But freshman Matthew Cleveland came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points and RayQuan Evans sank two free throws with less than a second left to secure the win.
Syracuse and Florida State are scheduled to tip-off at 3 p.m. Here are five key things you need to know about the matchup:
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Jim Boeheim says son Jimmy will petition NCAA for 5th season (PS; Curtis)
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim alluded on his weekly radio show to the possibility that his oldest son, Jimmy Boeheim, could return to Syracuse for a fifth season.
The longtime Orange coach said the school plans to petition the NCAA to allow Jimmy Boeheim to play during the 2022-23 season.
Jimmy Boeheim, who played for Cornell from 2017-20 before transferring to Syracuse, sat out last year because the Ivy League canceled its 2020-21 basketball season.
A caller on Boeheim’s radio show asked if Jimmy would be allowed to come back for an extra season since the NCAA granted every 2020-21 athlete an extra year of eligibility due to the coronavirus. However, Ivy League athletes were denied that same privilege because of the league’s longstanding policy against granting athletes a fifth year of eligibility.
“I think he should be allowed to come back because they weren’t allowed to play last year,” Boeheim said on TK99. “Everybody else that played got that year and a free year.”
“So that hasn’t been clarified? the caller responded. “So, technically there is a chance. That’s an issue that I think some writer out there can probably investigate.”
“Well, no. We’re applying, we’re going to apply,” Boeheim started before he was interrupted by the caller.
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Midseason oddity -- Syracuse Orange at .500 after 16 games (AP)
Jim Boeheim is in uncharted territory midway through his 46th year at Syracuse - his Orange are a .500 team, and that's never happened at this juncture of a season.
He blames it mostly on the failings of his signature zone defense, which has to be a source of immense frustration for a man who made the 2-3 virtually synonymous with his name and the postseason successes of his teams.
''Our defense has been horrendous,'' Boeheim said. ''There's no excuse, really, at any stage of the season, to make some of the defensive mistakes that we're making.''
Syracuse (8-8, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) ranks last in the ACC - 309th nationally - in scoring defense, allowing 75.6 points per game, and opponents have hit 173 3-pointers in 517 attempts (both figures lead the nation), a conversion rate of 33.5% that ranks 205th among 350 Division I teams.
The second half of a win against struggling Pittsburgh (6-10, 1-3) on Tuesday night offered a glimpse of what the zone can do when the players are in sync. The Orange limited the Panthers to 2-of-10 shooting from deep, 5 of 21 overall, and pulled away to a 77-61 victory in what was a one-point game at halftime.
More importantly, perhaps, burly John Hugley was held in check. The 280-pound sophomore, who leads the Panthers in scoring (15.1), finished with eight points on 1-of-6 shooting.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...65f0da-7505-11ec-a26d-1c21c16b1c93_story.html (washingtonpost.com; AP)
Florida State Seminoles (9-5, 3-2 ACC) at Syracuse Orange (8-8, 2-3 ACC)
Syracuse, New York; Saturday, 3 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Syracuse hosts the Florida State Seminoles after Buddy Boeheim scored 24 points in Syracuse’s 77-61 victory against the Pittsburgh Panthers.
The Orange have gone 6-2 at home. Syracuse scores 78.4 points and has outscored opponents by 2.8 points per game.
The Seminoles are 3-2 in conference matchups. Florida State is second in the ACC with 10.1 offensive rebounds per game led by Malik Osborne averaging 2.3.
The teams meet for the 10th time in conference play this season. The Orange won 63-60 in the last matchup on Dec. 4. Cole Swider led the Orange with 16 points, and Caleb Mills led the Seminoles with 16 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Joseph Girard III averages 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Orange, scoring 13.6 points while shooting 45.1% from beyond the arc. Boeheim is averaging 18.9 points and 3.8 assists over the past 10 games for Syracuse.
Mills is scoring 12.6 points per game with 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Seminoles. Matthew Cleveland is averaging 7.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 49.4% over the past 10 games for Florida State.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orange: 5-5, averaging 78.3 points, 31.6 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 8.4 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 44.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.6 points per game.
Seminoles: 6-4, averaging 73.0 points, 31.6 rebounds, 12.9 assists, 9.4 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 43.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Orange Weekly: SU hoops gets a needed win, SU football’s new QB (video) (PS; video; Axe & Waters)
No matter who the Syracuse University men’s basketball team played on Tuesday night, it felt like the Orange just needed to win.
SU got the 77-61 victory over Pittsburgh, evened its record at 8-8 and now moves on to face a Florida State team that it defeated once already this season but also a Seminoles team that handed Miami its first ACC loss this week.
Syracuse.com’s Brent Axe and Mike Waters discuss that and more on the latest episode of “Orange Weekly” presented by Crouse Health.
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Inside Buddy Boeheim’s Three Wishes cereal commercial as boxes hit the stores (DO; Shetty)
Standing on the court built in his childhood home, Buddy Boeheim drilled a 3 and turned to a camera to say his line. But he messed up, saying “Three Swishes Cereal.” On the next try, same mistake. Then it became, “Three Wishes Syracuse” before going back to “Three Swishes Cereal.” Finally, on take 44, Buddy nailed the line: “Three Wishes Cereal.”
Of course, it was all a part of the commercial, a little “easter egg” for Syracuse fans that the co-founder of Three Wishes, Ian Wishingrad, added to the script. In reality, Buddy said they only did about five or six takes. Wishingrad said athletes are rarely good actors, which makes filming commercials tough. But with Buddy, it was different.
“The whole thing was done in like an hour and a half,” Wishingrad said. “I’ve never done something so fast before.”
The commercial was an immediate success after it was released last July, earning 100,000 organic views, Wishingrad said. But it wasn’t just Buddy’s acting skills that caught the eye of viewers: the cereal box next to him at the end of the commercial had Syracuse fans craving for a spoonful of Three Wishes — a brand that Buddy eats himself.
“It had people running into Wegmans going ‘I want the Buddy box,’” Wishingrad said.
But Wishingrad couldn’t satisfy Syracuse fans’ cravings immediately. Printing and producing the boxes took six months, and the Buddy cereal boxes finally hit Wegmans’ shelves on Tuesday and are also available online, at the Carrier Dome and at the SU campus store. The commercial may be a half-year-old, but it provided a glimpse into the off-court personality of one of Syracuse’s biggest stars.
“I was expecting (the commercials) to be cringey almost, but he’s doing a good job. He’s a pretty good actor. He’s selling it well,” said Jimmy, Buddy’s brother. “He’s the goofiest kid I know. He acts like a 10-year-old half the time. It’s awesome. … (The commercial) definitely fits his personality.”
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Syracuse Basketball: Analyst praises big-man commit’s defense – fabulous! (itlh; Adler)
Syracuse basketball 2022 three-star commit Maliq Brown continues to earn positive praise from national recruiting analysts for his play during the 2021-22 campaign.
The latest remarks come from national analyst Jamie Shaw, who was checking out the recently held 2022 Chance Harman Classic in Floyd, Va.
The 6-foot-9 Brown, a top-30 power forward in his class according to , is a senior at the Blue Ridge School in St. George, Va. His team, in the 2022 Chance Harman Classic, lost to Centerville High School out of Centerville, Ohio, according to this tweet.
However, Brown’s performance, particularly on the defensive end, was something that Shaw has discussed in detail. Let’s have a look at what the national analyst had to say.
Big man Maliq Brown will be a welcomed addition to the Syracuse basketball zone.
Brown, by the way, committed to Syracuse basketball last October over other finalists Georgetown, Penn State, Virginia Tech and N.C. State.
The analyst wrote that “the defensive end is where Brown shines the most,” and I’m really pleased to hear this, because as we all know the Orange has struggled in its zone for the better part of the current stanza.
Shaw isn’t the first recruiting analyst or scout whom I’ve seen make comments about how the Syracuse basketball signee is always hustling and runs the floor well. Experts commend Brown’s defensive instincts and rebounding ability.
He’s athletic and physical in the paint, according to analysts, and that is something ‘Cuse fans should feel excited about as Brown and four other 2022 players get set to arrive on the Hill next season.
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Syracuse Basketball: Jim Boeheim sheds light on rotation of ‘Cuse big men (itlh; Adler)
After his team convincingly defeated long-time rival Pittsburgh by 16 points on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim shared some insights on the Orange’s forwards and centers during his post-game press conference.
I’d like to point out that following this win for the ‘Cuse (8-8, 2-3), a sizable amount of Orange fans voiced frustration on social media regarding the lack of playing time for freshman forward Benny Williams, who according to ESPN statistics earned four minutes of court action.
To that end, redshirt sophomore center/power forward John Bol Ajak also played about four minutes, and that was a head-scratcher for many ‘Cuse fans.
Another reserve, sophomore center Frank Anselem, was on the floor for seven minutes, and he was solid. Anselem tallied three rebounds and one steal.
So what’s to make of the Syracuse basketball frontcourt situation?
Regarding Ajak, Boeheim said that he has played the best of the reserve forwards of late during Orange practices. The head coach noted that Ajak has high energy, and he sets screens and moves without the ball well.Boeheim added that Williams is struggling. The whole debate over Williams’ playing time in the 2021-22 campaign has proven a point of contention among a lot of ‘Cuse fans.
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Technical Tidbits 1/14: Basketball team gets first ACC win (fromtherumbleseat.com; Mura)
There’s mostly basketball news to talk about for today’s Tidbits. However, there were a couple of other Tech sporting news items that I wanted to mention. Georgia Tech track and field will be in Nashville, Tennessee for the Commodore Challenge. After that, the team will compete in the Carolina Challenge the following Friday. This article has more information on that. I was wondering, are there any Tech football players (past or present) who have participated in track and field as well?
The Yellow Jackets volleyball team has been a source of a lot of buzz after its deep run in the NCAA tournament. In the other piece of news I wanted to mention, volleyball head coach Michelle Collier announced the signing of Cara Bianco to the team’s 2022 roster. Welcome to The Flats!
Finally, before getting into today’s Tidbits, I wanted to say that there are several things I’ve learned over the past week. For example, pigs can fly, the fat lady has sung, and, well, bulldwags can win a national championship. Yeah, crazy things happen on occasion but it’s nice knowing one thing remains the same. #THWG
The AJC sometimes has some intriguing articles, and I’m particularly fond of those penned by Ken Sugiura. This particular one caught my eye because of its title and I wanted to include it in today’s Tidbits.
Georgia Tech men’s basketball head coach Josh Pastner certainly has some thoughtful ways to motivate and inspire his team. This story about how he found inspiration in the Japanese art form of kintsugi is a great example of his insights and thoughtfulness. I have to agree, the basketball team has had a lot of setbacks this season and I didn’t even realize the extent of it until reading the article. Hopefully, as Pastner and the coaches try to piece together a competitive team, some of their moves pay off.
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College basketball conference power rankings: Big 12 is best among major conferences; ACC is struggling (cbssports.com; Boone)
The ACC has only one team inside this week's AP Top 25 poll, tied for the fewest among all leagues considered to be included in the major seven conferences in college hoops. The Big 12, Big Ten and SEC lead the way with five teams in the AP Top 25. One could use this simple metric to argue that, based on the poll, the ACC is the worst power conference and the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC -- in some order -- are the best.
And maybe if you used that argument you'd be right.
But there's more than meets the eye if you want to really roll up your sleeves and rank conferences. Context is needed – like who teams in the league have played, efficiency margins, injuries and more.
I'm here to deliver exactly that. So, behold, a comprehensive ranking of the top seven college hoops leagues lies below. This ranking takes into account the eye test to some extent but it was mostly compiled based on efficiency data from KenPom.com and BartTorvik.com, as well as an extensive dive into how each team in every conference fared during nonconference play.
OK. Enough talk. Let's hop in.
1. Big 12
- Big 12 teams in AP Top 25: 5 (No. 1 Baylor, No. 9 Kansas, No. 15 Iowa State, No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 21 Texas)
- Record vs. ranked teams in nonconference play: 7-6
- Key Big 12 wins in nonconference play: Baylor over Michigan State (Nov. 26) and Villanova (Dec. 12); Oklahoma over Florida (Dec. 1) and Arkansas (Dec. 11); Kansas over Michigan State (Nov. 9); Texas Tech over Tennessee (Dec. 7); West Virginia over UConn (Dec. 8); Iowa State over Xavier (Nov. 24), Memphis (Nov. 26) and Creighton (Dec. 4)
2. Big Ten
- Big Ten teams in AP Top 25: 5 (No. 7 Purdue, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 16 Ohio State, No. 25 Illinois)
- Record vs. ranked teams in nonconference play: 7-7
- Key Big Ten wins in nonconference play: Michigan State over Loyola Chicago (Nov. 24) and UConn (Nov. 25); Ohio State over Duke (Nov. 30); Wisconsin over Houston (Nov. 23); Purdue over North Carolina (Nov. 20) and Villanova (Nov. 21); Maryland over Florida (Dec. 12)
3. SEC
- SEC teams in AP Top 25: 5 (No. 4 Auburn, No. 12 LSU, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 24 Alabama)
- Record vs. ranked teams in nonconference play: 6-4
- Key SEC wins in nonconference play: Alabama over Gonzaga (Dec. 4) and Houston (Dec. 11); Auburn over Loyola Chicago (Nov. 25); Kentucky over North Carolina (Dec. 18); Tennessee over North Carolina (Nov. 21) and Arizona (Dec. 22); Georgia over Memphis (Dec. 1)
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Midseason All-ACC 2021-22 Roster; led by Paolo Banchero, Armando Bacot and Alondes Williams - ACCSports.com (accsports.com; Geisinger)
While the majority of the conference schedule remains unplayed, the 2021-22 college basketball season started a little over two months ago. With this as the de facto (and imperfect) midpoint of the season, Brian Geisinger and Josh Graham teamed up to put together their individual midseason All-ACC Rosters.
Geisinger and Graham have 20 selections each — First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention. There’s plenty of overlap between the two rosters; however, there are some key differences, too. Under each selection, there’s at least one advanced statistic — along with the player’s pertinent per game averages.
Keep in mind: these lists aren’t complete. There’s a lot of basketball left to be played. Things will change and shift.
There are also only 20 slots available. Unfortunately, this makes things tough in a 15-team league, which — even in a down year — has plenty of talent, overall. Some good players will miss the cut, now and at the end of the year.
Brian Geisinger
First Team
- Paolo Banchero, Duke
- 1.04 points per post-up possession (48.7 FG%), 1.04 points per spot-up possession
- Wendell Moore Jr., Duke
- 1.06 points per pick-and-roll possession (65.9 eFG%); 1 of 5 high-major players with 20% usage, 25% assist rate, 35 3P% (50+ 3PA)
- Alondes Williams, Wake Forest
- 0.94 points per isolation possession, Wake Forest has scored 1.07 points per pick-and-roll possession when Williams has passed it to a teammate that’s finished the possession
- Armando Bacot, North Carolina
- 1 of 3 high-major players with 12% offensive rebound rate, 27% defensive rebound rate, 5% block rate and 60 2P% — along with Zach Edey (Purdue) and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky)
- 1.25 points per post-up possession (65.5 FG%)
- Dereon Seabron, NC State
Second Team
- Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech
- 1.13 points per pick-and-roll possession (62.9 eFG%)
- Jake LaRavia, Wake Forest
- 1.19 points per spot-up possession (61.3 eFG%), 67 FG% on cuts
- Caleb Love, North Carolina
- 44.2 3P%, 50% of Love’s 3PM are unassisted (17 of 34)
- Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech
- 62 FG% on non-post-up FGA around the basket, 50.8 FG% on post-up FGA
- Kameron McGusty, Miami
- 1.33 points per spot-up possession, No. 3 among ACC players with 50+ possessions (Dane Goodwin, Caleb Love)
Third Team
- Isaiah Wong, Miami
- 1.05 points per pick-and-roll possession (53.7 eFG%), No. 1 among ACC players with 50+ possessions
- Mark Williams, Duke
- 15.4 percent block rate (No. 4 nationally), only 19.5 percent of opponent field goal attempts are coming at the rim vs. Duke (per CBB Analysis)
- Malik Osborne, Florida State
- 41.3 3P%, 83.9 FT%, 64.1% true shooting (No. 75 nationally)
- Malik Williams, Louisville
- Reece Beekman, Virginia
- 4.1% steal rate (a top 55 number nationally), 1.8 fouls committed per 40 minutes
Honorable Motion
- Trevor Keels, Duke
- 1.11 points per pick-and-roll possession
- Jayden Gardner, Virginia
- 26.9% usage, 10.2% offensive rebound rate, 20.3% defensive rebound rate
- PJ Hall, Clemson
- 1.14 points per post-up possession (55.9 FG%)
- Blake Wesley, Notre Dame
- Notre Dame’s offense with Wesley on the floor: 112.0 points per 100 possessions
- Notre Dame’s offense with Wesley on the bench: 102.5 points per 100 possessions
- John Hugley, Pittsburgh
- 120 post-up points, No. 10 nationally and No. 1 in the ACC (49.3 FG%)
Close Calls
- RJ Davis, North Carolina
- Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame
- Hunter Cattoor, Virginia Tech
- Charlie Moore, Miami
ACC Roundup - NC State’s Best Game? (DBR; King)
In Wednesday’s ACC Action, Notre Dame walloped Clemson, 72-56, Georgia Tech got its first conference win at BC 81-76, Virginia clipped Virginia Tech 54-52 and NC State surprised Louisville 79-63.
Surprised a lot of people actually, not least of all because Dereon Seabron, who has been superb all season, barely scored at all in the first half and still, State really had minimal trouble with the ‘Ville.
When he did roar to life in the second half, finishing with 15, State, a team without its best big man and playing with a ton of mostly unrefined young players, absolutely handled Louisville.
In State’s last game, against Clemson, Seabron had 27 and Thomas Allen 10. The rest of the team? Twenty-eight points. State shot 31.7 percent and 32.1 percent from deep.
This time? Terquavion Smith hit 24. Jericole Hellems had 19. Even Ebenezer Dowuona, who had to step in for Manny Bates, got six.
And Seabron had his 15.
But check this out.
State held Louisville’s starters to 11 points.
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Other
In this Jan. 31, 2019, file photo, Lou Rodriguez, of Syracuse, bundles up as he walks down South Salina Street as the wind chill hit 13 below zero. Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.comGlenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com
‘Dangerously cold wind chills’ as low as 30 below possible in CNY; warning issued (PS; Coin)
Update: The National Weather Service has upgraded the wind chill watch to a more serious wind chill warning.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The coldest air of the winter so far could combine with strong winds to create wind chills as low as 30 below zero in Central New York this weekend.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind chill watch for Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Lewis, Oswego and Jefferson counties from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon.
“The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes,” the alert said.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 5 below zero in Syracuse early Saturday. That would make it the coldest day of the season so far. The coldest to now was last Saturday, when the temperature dipped to 3 below.
Wind gusts could reach 23 mph early Saturday. The high temperature on Saturday will be just 6 degrees, the weather service said.
Sunday morning will be nearly as cold, with temperatures again dropping below zero.
“This will be a prolonged very cold conditions,” the weather service said in the wind chill warning. “This could lead to pipes freezing.”
A major winter storm could hit Upstate New York on Sunday night and bring heavy snow Monday and more lake effect snow through Tuesday.
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