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[QUOTE="General20, post: 140280, member: 724"]
I thought Cooley did a great job coaching and Providence did a great job executing.  Boeheim did everything right too.

Coaching the game is not like playing the game, there is not always, or even usually, a clear victor.  Some times a coach does something that directly costs his team the game, but most games are simply a clash of equally effective strategies (in theory) that come down to player execution and have little to do with what the coach does.

Providence is not a very good team and they hung around the #1 team in the country all game despite Syracuse shooting nearly %60 from three.   They will never get much credit for it, but that might be the greatest accomplishment Providence has all year.  Have you seen their upcoming schedule?  Things are going to get brutal for the Friars.

I was most impressed with their off the ball movement on offense early in the game.  It was maybe the best I have ever seen.  Most teams try to hold the ball against Sryacuse, but all year holding the ball longer has meant making more turnovers against our aggressive zone.  Providence ran around so much they had Melo's head spinning and he had a couple early fouls after some confused and bad play early against guys he should have dominated.

Of course, in the second half Providence resorted to jumping into our big guys and praying for a foul while making a circus shot.  Time after time the refs obliged (dont they know that rewarding play with no intention other than drawing a foul ruins a game?).  I have no respect for that kind of basketball.  But I do respect how Providence took care of the ball and hustled against us.
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