Hey, we did beat a 6 seed and 10 seed w/o Melo...

[DNABB5]

and lost to a 7.

Here is what I am thinking/hoping/praying for.

The Seniors need to lead by example.

Really Good Scoop shows up. You know, the one hit his off screen threes that were so many daggers in the hearts of NC State or @Cincinnati. Kris likewise needs to not just be a perimeter player, and get some got back to the basket drive like the couple late game ones we've seen. And please, try to keep the dribbles off the foot/knee to less than 2 in the tourney.

I am really really really hoping that these two can the spearhead in a run to the FF. In this crazy season where Syracuse was marred with the current evils of sports with trifecta of shame, SJ and KJ are leading this, our greatest (hopefully not just regular) season. It seems like only yesterday I was in Memphis seeing Kris Joseph nail two back to back three's or Scoop come in and hit a 2 3's late in a losing effort with his old herky-jerk shot from the rafters here in Cincinnati...nostalgia aside...

I know they want this. There has been many times this year where we as fans certainly saw that our team knew they were better on the court and coasted. Really, it is true that NCAA basketball regular season is like one long scrimmage and the tourney is "when the lights come on"

I was talking to minicuse about Big Game James and how he was essential to a tourney run. He need to be in Pitt and Boston. A few 4-6 or 5-7 nights would be great.

Same goes with C.J. Fair who has not been everywhere of late. Pace was a huge key in 03 the comparisons have been made. He needs to step it up to mid season form.

A beautiful thing is that we are so deep. All the talk of losing Melo kill the defense. Well, giving up 67, 63 and 61 without his isn't exactly terrible.

All in is sweating right now Marsh but my chips have been in the middle since IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!!!

It seems everyone is counting Syracuse out now. I still like our chances.

Oh, and Rak's learning curve is gonna go exponential.

 

[mantonio]

I think people assume having Melo in there make the defense much tougher on opponents, & trim off a good 10 points, which puts less pressure on the offense to score so much.

We can look at this another way:

With Melo out of the picture, our opponents might be less inclined to attempt 3 pointers & long range 2's, in favor of feeding the post man who they assume will dominate the more mellow, Melo-less middle.

Now, let's say these teams do have some success on the interior, but the Syracuse "bigs" find a way to keep it relatively under control. And then let's assume the Syracuse guards & wing defenders can just focus on stopping any good looks at deep shots... You see where I'm going with this...

If you limit the opponents 3 point success, there is not one team that will beat Syracuse in this tournament. Syracuse has too much talent even without Melo to get beat straight up...

 

[Orangemen]

That's not gonna be the story though

Seth Davis said it last night. We beat Cincy, but we lost to ND and only beat WVU because of a missed goaltending call.

When you look at it that way, were definitely screwed...

 

[Marsh01]

and lost to a 7.

Here is what I am thinking/hoping/praying for.

The Seniors need to lead by example.

Really Good Scoop shows up. You know, the one hit his off screen threes that were so many daggers in the hearts of NC State or @Cincinnati. Kris likewise needs to not just be a perimeter player, and get some got back to the basket drive like the couple late game ones we've seen. And please, try to keep the dribbles off the foot/knee to less than 2 in the tourney.

I am really really really hoping that these two can the spearhead in a run to the FF. In this crazy season where Syracuse was marred with the current evils of sports with trifecta of shame, SJ and KJ are leading this, our greatest (hopefully not just regular) season. It seems like only yesterday I was in Memphis seeing Kris Joseph nail two back to back three's or Scoop come in and hit a 2 3's late in a losing effort with his old herky-jerk shot from the rafters here in Cincinnati...nostalgia aside...

I know they want this. There has been many times this year where we as fans certainly saw that our team knew they were better on the court and coasted. Really, it is true that NCAA basketball regular season is like one long scrimmage and the tourney is "when the lights come on"

I was talking to minicuse about Big Game James and how he was essential to a tourney run. He need to be in Pitt and Boston. A few 4-6 or 5-7 nights would be great.

Same goes with C.J. Fair who has not been everywhere of late. Pace was a huge key in 03 the comparisons have been made. He needs to step it up to mid season form.

A beautiful thing is that we are so deep. All the talk of losing Melo kill the defense. Well, giving up 67, 63 and 61 without his isn't exactly terrible.

All in is sweating right now Marsh but my chips have been in the middle since IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!!!

It seems everyone is counting Syracuse out now. I still like our chances.

Oh, and Rak's learning curve is gonna go exponential.

Well said and i am with you. Cant turn your back now. All in for me starts at 530 am when i leave for pittsburgh.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

 

[cusetown1]

That's not gonna be the story though

Seth Davis said it last night. We beat Cincy, but we lost to ND and only beat WVU because of a missed goaltending call.

When you look at it that way, were definitely screwed...

those games we shot like crap.

 

[longislandcuse]

This is why I still think we have a good shot and making it to the Elite 8 and letting the chips fall where they may against OSU in front of a home crowd in Boston. People say we cant beat K-State because they are going to kill us on the glass, well we beat WVU who is one of the best rebounding teams in the league w/out Melo.

We still have one of the best backcourts in the tourney and some of the best wing players. Have to pray Xmas/Keita step up. Its not like we were looking all that impressive with Melo down the stretch. FWIW Xmas played better than Melo against the giant frontline of UCONN. One can hope.

 

[cusetown1]

why are teams going to beat us on the glass? Fab didn't even try to rebound and Rak is great at rebounding. Rebounding will be better. Fab was too busy trying to block shots that were already coming down, and was out of position. This is a good thing. Good riddance.

 

[longislandcuse]

why are teams going to beat us on the glass? Fab didn't even try to rebound and Rak is great at rebounding. Rebounding will be better. Fab was too busy trying to block shots that were already coming down, and was out of position. This is a good thing. Good riddance.

If Rak plays the entire tournament like he did against UCONN then yes, but that is a biggggg leap to make. Plus it makes Keita the backup center, instead of Rak. I do think we need to give this team some credit. We still have the most talent in the East. If Rak can anchor the middle, I see no reason we cant get to New Orleans. Can Rak play an entire game like he did against UCONN? I do agree that Rak is a better rebounder than Fab.

 

[mike32768]

...only beat WVU because of a missed goaltending call.

Not to split hairs, but that call would have tied the game for WVU, not guaranteed their winning it.