I don't know how Melo is the reason for this loss

[Guinness]

He could have helped on defense for sure but the offense was simply brick city. Too many bad jump shots being jacked up.

 

[mark79]

I think it is a big reason. Cooley went off on us because we lacked toughness underneath.

 

[JJReddawg]

He could have helped on defense for sure but the offense was simply brick city. Too many bad jump shots being jacked up.

I'm sure it was a large mental thing.

 

[Orangezoo]

chemistry for one on both ends of the court, also melo as a weapon in the pnr keeps teams more honest

 

[Guinness]

ND still only scored 65 points. Cooley had what 17 of those? Our offense is the reason we lost. Too many guys not able to hit a jumper.

 

[tptcuse]

and a bunch of missed layups.

 

[Orangemen]

Teams dont play well when bad things happen before the game.

Just ask Vermont in 05, Richmond in 89 or 90 or whatever.

This game was still fairly close at the end, and we didnt rebound or defend the inside worth anything.

This game was all about Melo.

 

[JLine]

He is the Craig Forth of this team. He anchors the defense, calling everything out and on offense he sets the screens and gives us a physical presence.

 

[mark79]

You're not counting rebounds, blocked shots, altered shots, forced charges, etc etc. He is not the only reason but his presence means alot to us.

 

[tbonezone]

i don't really think fab would have made a difference. but perhaps psychologically we never adjusted to his suspension.

 

[BuffOrange]

ND still only scored 65 points. Cooley had what 17 of those? Our offense is the reason we lost. Too many guys not able to hit a jumper.

Yah but an occasional offensive rebound once every dozen missed shots would've been nice.

 

[orangejunkie]

Disappointing loss but this is college basketball. SU, Duke, Baylor all go down. Would be awesome to be undermanned and get a win on Monday night against a very good Cincinnati team.

 

[RoysRunts]

The refs would have put Melo in Foul trouble before the 4 min mark, His not being there just another excuse for the refs to bone SU

 

[Knicks411]

Yah but an occasional offensive rebound once every dozen missed shots would've been nice.

Yeah thats where we missed him on offense. He may not have done much on the defensive glass, but we had 7 offensive boards out of 35 opportunities. We usually pull down about 38% of our misses, today it was 20%, and Melo is easily our best offensive rebounder.

 

[timkay99]

He could have helped on defense for sure but the offense was simply brick city. Too many bad jump shots being jacked up.

Wouldn't have helped much in the 1st half defensively besides controlling the paint and helping the rebounds. In the 2nd half, he would have been a massive factor. Notre Dame might have had a 10 point half.

Offensively, he makes a HUGE difference. Syracuse plays 4 on 5 at that end w/ Keita or Rak out there. Off screens, Melo is available as an oop guy. He can also make some moves underneath. He is also a better screener by far then Keita and Rak.

I think Syracuse wins this game with Fab.

 

[cuseguy]

Would have won with Melo. No question. Cooley just killed us tonight.

Proved to me that this team is going nowhere without Melo.

We miss his presence in the zone. Not his offense.

 

[orangefan13]

We have ran offense without melo in the game.

Today we ran the same lineups and didn't get it done today. Most nights we do.

 

[zhanjuzi]

I'm sure it was a large mental thing.

Indeed .. team chemistry went into the crapper.

 

[timkay99]

We have ran offense without melo in the game.

Today we ran the same lineups and didn't get it done today. Most nights we do.

Most nights Syracuse does it in 4 minute spurts. Hard to score consistently over 40 minutes playing 4 on 5 offensively. Especially with no fast break.

 

[mark79]

Melo might have made a 15 point difference in this game or maybe even more. He is usually good for 4 blocks. Figure two would have gone in so 4 points. He is good for 2-3 charges call that another 2 points. He would likely have scored 8-10 points. He probably would have come up with 8 rebounds or so again saving maybe 4 points lets say. I think some people may be underestimating his value to us. He also adds swagger to us which is a confidence thing.