House Money, But Here's Why I Like Our Chances

[cuse522]

Now we're REALLY playing with house money. Anytime you're a win away from the Final Four, it's crushing if you lose, but obviously this team has exceeded expectations and gifted us with an awesome run as fans. Yes, we'll be sizable underdogs Sunday, but there are a few reasons I really like our chances.

1. We haven't had a complete game yet. When Richardson, Lydon, G and Cooney all bring it offensively and Roberson does his thing defensively, we can hang with anyone. I thought for sure we'd need that to happen to make the Sweet 16, but some upsets cleared our path and now we're three games in and haven't had to have a complete game. That said, everyone on that list has played at the level we need them to at one point or another in this tournament. If they do it all at once Sunday, we have a great shot.

2. These guys seem to relish having a chip on their shoulder. Every step of this tourney this team has been able to have that extra motivation. Almost everyone will be predicting chalk on Sunday. They hung with UVA on the road down to the wire, so they know they're capable, and they'll be annoyed hearing they can't do it.

3. Jim Boeheim is 4-2 in the Elite 8, and 4-1 as the lower seed in the Elite 8. Every time Syracuse has made the Elite 8 as a 3-seed or lower under Boeheim, they've gone to the Final Four. Tony Bennett has never been to the Elite 8 before. Virginia overall is 2-3 in the Elite 8, but 0-2 since the field expanded to 64+ teams.

4. Tyler Lydon has grown immensely as an offensive threat since the first UVA game. He was averaging 8.6 pts and 6.5 reb through that game. Since, he's averaged 12.5 pts and 6.1 reb. Before that game he had 9 double figure scoring outputs in 21 games, since he has 9 in 14 games... and that's against tougher competition.

5. We'll have the crowd on our side - I would suspect there are way more SU alums in Chicago than UVA, especially of the basketball fan variety... We'll also have all of the casual fans pulling for the 10-seed upset.

6. This game isn't in Charlottesville. Virginia is 45-3 at home in the last three years. This year they went 15-0 at home, they're 5-6 on the road and 9-1 on a neutral court. Sure, we haven't beaten them since we've been in the ACC, but 2 of those 3 games were on the road. We shouldn't read TOO much into that.

7. Virginia hasn't been totally tested in the tournament yet. Sure, they played close games in the ACC Tourney, and this team has been tested throughout the year against tough competition. They're very good... But this team hasn't faced the pressure yet of a back and forth game in the closing minutes in the NCAA Tournament. Butler was within a few points late, but UVA led the final ~10 minutes. We came through the fire tonight, so we know what it's like.

What do you all have for some reasons to be confident going into Sunday?

 

[McNabb2Brominski]

UVA looked really good and really dominate against ISU in what was almost a home game for ISU. We will need to play a complete game to have a chance at winning this one.

 

[cuse522]

UVA looked really good and really dominate against ISU in what was almost a home game for ISU. We will need to play a complete game to have a chance at winning this one.

I don't disagree, hence reason number 1! They're very good, but we can hang with them. 538 gives us a 31% chance, FWIW.

 

[jdubs30]

We played them very good in Charlottesville this year. We owe them a L. They will feel all the pressure there's no doubt about it. They are an extremely good team but we seem to be playing on a different level than we have all year. I expect everyone else to pick UVA to win and that's fine -- but we will be right there.

 

[cuse522]

We played them very good in Charlottesville this year. We owe them a L. They will feel all the pressure there's no doubt about it. They are an extremely good team but we seem to be playing on a different level than we have all year. I expect everyone else to pick UVA to win and that's fine -- but we will be right there.

We're definitely playing on a different level defensively... We've had everyone we need to put their offensive output together do it at some point in this tournament, but we may need it all at once from here on out. I do expect a close game today, and I love that everyone is going to pick UVA.

 

[Flacusian]

It's like this. The laws of Karma simply cannot be withheld from manifesting although it sometimes appears as so... eventually things come back into alignment. Syracuse has been on the "#$%#$" end of the stick from a Karmic perspective for quite some time. One could make the argument that we've been responsible for our own luck and rightfully so, but not all of it. Some of the things which we've had to deal with which were Karmic-ally negative;

Arinze goes down with a knee injury when it looks like we are on a collision course with a 2nd Chip.
Fab Melo becomes an armed nuclear warhead of a player and another run at a title is thwarted
McCullough blows out his ACL and he's barely unpacked his luggage in Cuse... does not return for a 2nd season and one of the highest rated prospects ends up contributing virtually nothing to the program.
The Fine mess casts totally negative aspersions across the entire program and we are the recipients of negative press without anything ever factually being proven. We lose a long time cog in our coaching staff and JB ends up embroiled in a lawsuit which is in the very least distracting.

So things are piling up... on the Karmic garbage heap of experience and as if it's not enough... for nearly a decade the NCAA has focused it's rifle sights on our program and are hell bent on digging up SOMETHING... ANYTHING... because after 10 years you better come up with something right? They end up deciding to punish the program and most specifically JB for 1. a violation based on not enforcing a drug policy which we weren't really required to have in the first place and 2. Coming down on JB for the Nebulous violation of "Lack of institutional oversight"... whatever the hell that means. They strip him of over 100 wins and come down with the harshest punishment ever meted out by the NCAA to a coach.

The Karmic pooh ball by this time is huge and mostly undeserved...

so...that brings us up to now... and the universe and the laws of Karma are poised to kick in such that everything is brought back into perfect harmony... All of this nonsense can become tied together and dispensed with in a beautiful and fitting way... as the Syracuse Orange Basketball team marches toward what seems like an impossible accomplishment of running through the 2016 NCAA tournament and capturing their 2nd National Championship under the coaching of James Arthur Boeheim.

So it is fitting and Karma can't be denied y'all! So please don't anyone be surprised when we win tonight.

 

[cuse522]

It's like this. The laws of Karma simply cannot be withheld from manifesting although it sometimes appears as so... eventually things come back into alignment. Syracuse has been on the "#$%#$" end of the stick from a Karmic perspective for quite some time. One could make the argument that we've been responsible for our own luck and rightfully so, but not all of it. Some of the things which we've had to deal with which were Karmic-ally negative;

Arinze goes down with a knee injury when it looks like we are on a collision course with a 2nd Chip.
Fab Melo becomes an armed nuclear warhead of a player and another run at a title is thwarted
McCullough blows out his ACL and he's barely unpacked his luggage in Cuse... does not return for a 2nd season and one of the highest rated prospects ends up contributing virtually nothing to the program.
The Fine mess casts totally negative aspersions across the entire program and we are the recipients of negative press without anything ever factually being proven. We lose a long time cog in our coaching staff and JB ends up embroiled in a lawsuit which is in the very least distracting.

So things are piling up... on the Karmic garbage heap of experience and as if it's not enough... for nearly a decade the NCAA has focused it's rifle sights on our program and are hell bent on digging up SOMETHING... ANYTHING... because after 10 years you better come up with something right? They end up deciding to punish the program and most specifically JB for 1. a violation based on not enforcing a drug policy which we weren't really required to have in the first place and 2. Coming down on JB for the Nebulous violation of "Lack of institutional oversight"... whatever the hell that means. They strip him of over 100 wins and come down with the harshest punishment ever meted out by the NCAA to a coach.

The Karmic pooh ball by this time is huge and mostly undeserved...

so...that brings us up to now... and the universe and the laws of Karma are poised to kick in such that everything is brought back into perfect harmony... All of this nonsense can become tied together and dispensed with in a beautiful and fitting way... as the Syracuse Orange Basketball team marches toward what seems like an impossible accomplishment of running through the 2016 NCAA tournament and capturing their 2nd National Championship under the coaching of James Arthur Boeheim.

So it is fitting and Karma can't be denied y'all! So please don't anyone be surprised when we win tonight.

Alright, I like it. The only thing I feel I have to say is karmically, JB and the program got punished for some ticky tack stuff with the drug policy, but they also got away with some stuff before that which couldn't be proven around 07-08. Anyone who was around the program that year or dialed into the rumors probably has some awareness of it, but nothing was ever proven enough for the story to come out publicly.

So you could say karma-wise, the punishment was kind of deserved. The rest, though, if you buy into karma, we do deserve an unexpected run like this.

 

[cuse62]

Coach Babers is there, believe without...

 

[cuse522]

Needless to say, I'll be posting another one of these this week. Let's see how I did - spoiler, I saved the best for #7.

1. We haven't had a complete game yet. When Richardson, Lydon, G and Cooney all bring it offensively and Roberson does his thing defensively, we can hang with anyone. I thought for sure we'd need that to happen to make the Sweet 16, but some upsets cleared our path and now we're three games in and haven't had to have a complete game. That said, everyone on that list has played at the level we need them to at one point or another in this tournament. If they do it all at once Sunday, we have a great shot.

Still haven't!

2. These guys seem to relish having a chip on their shoulder. Every step of this tourney this team has been able to have that extra motivation. Almost everyone will be predicting chalk on Sunday. They hung with UVA on the road down to the wire, so they know they're capable, and they'll be annoyed hearing they can't do it.

We actually got a little pre-game love, but this one was and will be in play again.

3. Jim Boeheim is 4-2 in the Elite 8, and 4-1 as the lower seed in the Elite 8. Every time Syracuse has made the Elite 8 as a 3-seed or lower under Boeheim, they've gone to the Final Four. Tony Bennett has never been to the Elite 8 before. Virginia overall is 2-3 in the Elite 8, but 0-2 since the field expanded to 64+ teams.

Trends hold!

4. Tyler Lydon has grown immensely as an offensive threat since the first UVA game. He was averaging 8.6 pts and 6.5 reb through that game. Since, he's averaged 12.5 pts and 6.1 reb. Before that game he had 9 double figure scoring outputs in 21 games, since he has 9 in 14 games... and that's against tougher competition.

11 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks.

5. We'll have the crowd on our side - I would suspect there are way more SU alums in Chicago than UVA, especially of the basketball fan variety... We'll also have all of the casual fans pulling for the 10-seed upset.

This had to be a factor during the comeback, right?

6. This game isn't in Charlottesville. Virginia is 45-3 at home in the last three years. This year they went 15-0 at home, they're 5-6 on the road and 9-1 on a neutral court. Sure, we haven't beaten them since we've been in the ACC, but 2 of those 3 games were on the road. We shouldn't read TOO much into that.

They're 9-2 on a neutral court, now. The good news for them is that their next game should be in Charlottesville.

7. Virginia hasn't been totally tested in the tournament yet. Sure, they played close games in the ACC Tourney, and this team has been tested throughout the year against tough competition. They're very good... But this team hasn't faced the pressure yet of a back and forth game in the closing minutes in the NCAA Tournament. Butler was within a few points late, but UVA led the final ~10 minutes. We came through the fire tonight, so we know what it's like.

Nailed it.

 

[cuse522]

Now we're REALLY, REALLY playing with house money. Anytime you're a win away from the national title game, it's crushing if you lose, but obviously this team has exceeded expectations and gifted us with an awesome run as fans. Yes, we'll be sizable underdogs today, but there are a few reasons I really like our chances.

1. We STILL haven't had a complete game yet. When Richardson, Lydon, G and Cooney all bring it offensively and Roberson does his thing defensively, we can hang with anyone. I thought for sure we'd need that to happen to make the Sweet 16 and to make the Final Four, but some upsets cleared our path, we got it done other ways, and now we're in the Final Four and haven't had to have a complete game. That said, everyone on that list has played at the level we need them to at one point or another in this tournament. If they do it all at once Saturday, we have a great shot.

2. These guys seem to relish having a chip on their shoulder. Every step of this tourney this team has been able to have that extra motivation. Almost everyone will be picking UNC today. We’ve proven we can play with them for stretches, we need to do it for a complete game.

3. Jim Boeheim is 3-1 in the Final Four. He’s 1-0 as a lower seed in the Final Four and 2-1 as the same or higher seed. Roy Williams has gone to seven Final Fours, he’s 3-2 as the same or higher seed and 1-1 as a lower seed.

4. Malachi Richardson grew immensely in my opinion in that stretch during the comeback against UVA. I view him as a sophomore now, as I posted separately, and I think he is ready to thrive in his role as “the man,” in crunch time.

5. We'll have the crowd on our side - there will be more UNC than Syracuse fans, but the majority of the rest of the crowd will be pulling for the upset most likely. We have plenty of critics in the media, but in the arena we should have more support.

6. It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season, plus the first two games were closer than people realize.

7. UNC is not a great defensive team, they ranked 122nd in scoring defense. Obviously that doesn’t account for pace/efficiency, but UVA ranked second in scoring defense. We tend to struggle against those types of teams, although we got past Virginia. In my opinion, the way the ‘Cuse is playing defensively right now, we can slow down just about anybody. I don’t expect to hold UNC to ~60, but we should also have an easier time scoring against them than UVA. UNC averages 83 points per game. I think 70 is probably the number. We lost the first meeting 84-73, and the second 75-70. If we can hold them to 70 or fewer, we’ll have a decent shot. I believe the way we’re playing right now, we can do that.

Keep in mind that at the Carrier Dome, it was Boeheim’s first game back and we lost by 11. You could make the case that his first game back was not going to be one in which we performed as well. Then we lost by five in their house. We should do better on a neutral floor.

What do you all have for some reasons to be confident going into today?

 

[721Comstock]

Now we're REALLY, REALLY playing with house money. Anytime you're a win away from the national title game, it's crushing if you lose, but obviously this team has exceeded expectations and gifted us with an awesome run as fans. Yes, we'll be sizable underdogs today, but there are a few reasons I really like our chances.

1. We STILL haven't had a complete game yet. When Richardson, Lydon, G and Cooney all bring it offensively and Roberson does his thing defensively, we can hang with anyone. I thought for sure we'd need that to happen to make the Sweet 16 and to make the Final Four, but some upsets cleared our path, we got it done other ways, and now we're in the Final Four and haven't had to have a complete game. That said, everyone on that list has played at the level we need them to at one point or another in this tournament. If they do it all at once Saturday, we have a great shot.

2. These guys seem to relish having a chip on their shoulder. Every step of this tourney this team has been able to have that extra motivation. Almost everyone will be picking UNC today. We’ve proven we can play with them for stretches, we need to do it for a complete game.

3. Jim Boeheim is 3-1 in the Final Four. He’s 1-0 as a lower seed in the Final Four and 2-1 as the same or higher seed. Roy Williams has gone to seven Final Fours, he’s 3-2 as the same or higher seed and 1-1 as a lower seed.

4. Malachi Richardson grew immensely in my opinion in that stretch during the comeback against UVA. I view him as a sophomore now, as I posted separately, and I think he is ready to thrive in his role as “the man,” in crunch time.

5. We'll have the crowd on our side - there will be more UNC than Syracuse fans, but the majority of the rest of the crowd will be pulling for the upset most likely. We have plenty of critics in the media, but in the arena we should have more support.

6. It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season, plus the first two games were closer than people realize.

7. UNC is not a great defensive team, they ranked 122nd in scoring defense. Obviously that doesn’t account for pace/efficiency, but UVA ranked second in scoring defense. We tend to struggle against those types of teams, although we got past Virginia. In my opinion, the way the ‘Cuse is playing defensively right now, we can slow down just about anybody. I don’t expect to hold UNC to ~60, but we should also have an easier time scoring against them than UVA. UNC averages 83 points per game. I think 70 is probably the number. We lost the first meeting 84-73, and the second 75-70. If we can hold them to 70 or fewer, we’ll have a decent shot. I believe the way we’re playing right now, we can do that.

Keep in mind that at the Carrier Dome, it was Boeheim’s first game back and we lost by 11. You could make the case that his first game back was not going to be one in which we performed as well. Then we lost by five in their house. We should do better on a neutral floor.

What do you all have for some reasons to be confident going into today?

We were down 3 - with the ball - with < :30 left in their house.

G had 7 TO's in that game, Mali had 4, and we shot 5/20 from 3 - and we still were right there at the end.
Gotta imagine we're going to improve on ALL of that this time around.
And our D is much improved since then too.

Carolina hasn't faced ANY game pressure in this entire tournament.
We're battle-tested after the last 2 games.
You saw what game pressure did to Zaga and UVA...

Gotta like our chances in a neutral site that happens to be a DOME.

 

[Rage4CUSE]

We were down 3 - with the ball - with < :30 left in their house.

G had 7 TO's in that game, Mali had 4, and we shot 5/20 from 3 - and we still were right there at the end.
Gotta imagine we're going to improve on ALL of that this time around.
And our D is much improved since then too.

Carolina hasn't faced ANY game pressure in this entire tournament.
We're battle-tested after the last 2 games.
You saw what game pressure did to Zaga and UVA...

Gotta like our chances in a neutral site that happens to be a DOME.

Roy Williams teams have never been a big fan of pressure. He should honestly have more then just 2 Championships.

 

[jdubs30]

We were down 3 - with the ball - with < :30 left in their house.

G had 7 TO's in that game, Mali had 4, and we shot 5/20 from 3 - and we still were right there at the end.
Gotta imagine we're going to improve on ALL of that this time around.
And our D is much improved since then too.

Carolina hasn't faced ANY game pressure in this entire tournament.
We're battle-tested after the last 2 games.
You saw what game pressure did to Zaga and UVA...

Gotta like our chances in a neutral site that happens to be a DOME.

People who are pumping Carolina tonight have clearly ignored that game. We didn't play well, still put up 70 (along with everything else you mentioned). Paige is playing great now though, way better he was during that game -- but I will live with Paige beating us, I don't want to get ebat in the paint

 

[Cuse_1999]

We were down 3 - with the ball - with < :30 left in their house.

G had 7 TO's in that game, Mali had 4, and we shot 5/20 from 3 - and we still were right there at the end.
Gotta imagine we're going to improve on ALL of that this time around.
And our D is much improved since then too.

Carolina hasn't faced ANY game pressure in this entire tournament.
We're battle-tested after the last 2 games.
You saw what game pressure did to Zaga and UVA...

Gotta like our chances in a neutral site that happens to be a DOME.

And we were called for 6 charges

 

[cusetown1]

I'm confident because we are turning into a 2nd half team. During all of our losses minus Georgetown and St John's we played very well in the first half. Now if we can put the two together watch out ! Also, we took gonzaga 's best shot a team that had won 9 in a row and many had as a final 4 team at the beginning of the year. We also just beat one of only 2 teams in the top 10 in offense and defense in the country . For 32 minutes UVA gave us their best shot, hitting tough shot after tough shot and we still won. And I still think UVA is better than UNC! The UVA game proves it ain't about how hard you can hit, but about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward !

 

[bozophobe]

Please...no more use of the term "house money." Even if used correctly.

Ever want to smack Lindsley?

 

[cuse522]

Good stuff, I'll add one more big one: depth perception. It's hard for a lot of teams to shoot in a football stadium because there's so much space behind the backboard. Even though the court isn't in the middle of the field at the Dome, our players are used to dealing with the same thing.

 

[Day2]

The number one reason why we win this game: Roy Williams.

Players feed off their coach's demeanor. Williams doesn't handle pressure well, so his players don't handle pressure well. They don't really win close games.

Williams refuses to adjust to the zone. He said it himself (paraphrasing), "We don't take what you give us, we take what we want." I don't think he's won three in a row against us because he figured out the zone. I think he's won three in a row based on talent alone, not unlike the tournament game with Kansas in 2001. This game should be close because Williams will stubbornly try to fit a square peg in a round hole.

I get the feeling Williams will retire after the season, in part because of his health and in part because of the impending sanctions. I believe it will weigh heavily on his mind in the second half and I don't think he will respond well to it.

Williams coached his last game at Kansas against us. Let's send him into retirement.

This will be my last post before the game, for an obvious (or maybe not-so-obvious) reason.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Now we're REALLY, REALLY playing with house money. Anytime you're a win away from the national title game, it's crushing if you lose, but obviously this team has exceeded expectations and gifted us with an awesome run as fans. Yes, we'll be sizable underdogs today, but there are a few reasons I really like our chances.

1. We STILL haven't had a complete game yet. When Richardson, Lydon, G and Cooney all bring it offensively and Roberson does his thing defensively, we can hang with anyone. I thought for sure we'd need that to happen to make the Sweet 16 and to make the Final Four, but some upsets cleared our path, we got it done other ways, and now we're in the Final Four and haven't had to have a complete game. That said, everyone on that list has played at the level we need them to at one point or another in this tournament. If they do it all at once Saturday, we have a great shot.

2. These guys seem to relish having a chip on their shoulder. Every step of this tourney this team has been able to have that extra motivation. Almost everyone will be picking UNC today. We’ve proven we can play with them for stretches, we need to do it for a complete game.

3. Jim Boeheim is 3-1 in the Final Four. He’s 1-0 as a lower seed in the Final Four and 2-1 as the same or higher seed. Roy Williams has gone to seven Final Fours, he’s 3-2 as the same or higher seed and 1-1 as a lower seed.

4. Malachi Richardson grew immensely in my opinion in that stretch during the comeback against UVA. I view him as a sophomore now, as I posted separately, and I think he is ready to thrive in his role as “the man,” in crunch time.

5. We'll have the crowd on our side - there will be more UNC than Syracuse fans, but the majority of the rest of the crowd will be pulling for the upset most likely. We have plenty of critics in the media, but in the arena we should have more support.

6. It’s tough to beat a team three times in a season, plus the first two games were closer than people realize.

7. UNC is not a great defensive team, they ranked 122nd in scoring defense. Obviously that doesn’t account for pace/efficiency, but UVA ranked second in scoring defense. We tend to struggle against those types of teams, although we got past Virginia. In my opinion, the way the ‘Cuse is playing defensively right now, we can slow down just about anybody. I don’t expect to hold UNC to ~60, but we should also have an easier time scoring against them than UVA. UNC averages 83 points per game. I think 70 is probably the number. We lost the first meeting 84-73, and the second 75-70. If we can hold them to 70 or fewer, we’ll have a decent shot. I believe the way we’re playing right now, we can do that.

Keep in mind that at the Carrier Dome, it was Boeheim’s first game back and we lost by 11. You could make the case that his first game back was not going to be one in which we performed as well. Then we lost by five in their house. We should do better on a neutral floor.

What do you all have for some reasons to be confident going into today?

I'm confident because JB is a master and will have these kids loose and ready to play. Plus, his game plan at the Dean Dome nearly worked. Berry saved UNC shooting lights out. I fully expect us to come out aggressive on both ends of the floor and take the game to them. If we can control the tempo, protect the ball, stay out of foul trouble, and not give them easy buckets, we can pull off another shocker.

Plus, I believe this team is playing special right now. It's almost like that Kemba UConn team that no one picked to do anything, but the brackets fell, they got hot, and the match-ups played in their favor. I think JB will have a solid gameplan to take UNC out of what they do best and limit their possessions. Plus, I think we take it to their bigs on the offensive end. Mal can take guys like Johnson, Hicks and Jackson off the dribble. I think we drive early and often and make this a FT shooting game.

Rebound, take care of the ball, and stop their transition ...everything else falls into place.

 

[JarHeadJim]

 

[two3zone]

We're Syracuse. We don't play with house money, we're not a Cinderella, and we're not a lovable loser.

Nobody is rooting for us because we're a 10 seed, we're not a mid major, we're freaking Syracuse. Think anybody outside of Cuse nation is going to shed tears if we lose?

We're the millionaires sitting at the craps table wanting to win, having/winning "house money" means nothing to us, winning does.