Marek foul trouble was the difference

[MikeDamone]

We were up 3 with him and down 7 after he went out before half. Never led again. Goes to show you that an early foul 60 feet from the basket can come back to haunt you

 

[EastCoast2]

Dude, you don't need to start a new thread for every single one of your thoughts. There's usually a thread about your topic.

 

[marz09cuse]

I guarentee Syracuse out scored Duke while Marek and Chukwu were on the floor. Duke won while these players sat with foul trouble.

 

[Brooky03]

The difference was Duke being better. 10 out of 10 times this Duke team would beat this Syracuse team.

 

[billsin01]

The turnovers hurt too

 

[MikeDamone]

Dude, you don't need to start a new thread for every single one of your thoughts. There's usually a thread about your topic.

Yes

 

[upperdeck]

the first foul when he had no busines 60ft from the basket, ended up putting him on the bench when he got the next 2..

 

[NateW]

Dude, you don't need to start a new thread for every single one of your thoughts. There's usually a thread about your topic.

Is this not a good thread topic?

It was the single most important aspect of the game.

 

[Cowtown]

I guarentee Syracuse out scored Duke while Marek and Chukwu were on the floor. Duke won while these players sat with foul trouble.

Yep. Hopefully they learn from that.

 

[longislandcuse]

Is this not a good thread topic?

It was the single most important aspect of the game.

Agreed. Duke is more talented but, now that we grew up, we are also pretty damn talented (the 5 healthy players we have) and if Marek doesn't have early foul trouble, we win.

Zero doubt in my mind about that.

 

[NateW]

Agreed. Duke is more talented but, now that we grew up, we are also pretty damn talented (the six players we have) and if Marek doesn't have early foul trouble, we win.

Zero doubt in my mind about that.

That clusterbleep at the end of the first half changed the whole feel and momentum of the game. If Marek is in the game that does not happen.

I hope everyone comes back. Love this team. Need a year more mature Frank and a talent and depth infusion and watch out!

Edit: At the beginning of the season I said OB was the x-factor because I thought everything else would remain constant. But I was wrong, Marek was the x-factor. He grew into a helluva player.

 

[sugrad68]

We were up 3 with him and down 7 after he went out before half. Never led again. Goes to show you that an early foul 60 feet from the basket can come back to haunt you

Along with the missed FTs and the giving up of offensive rebounds in the 2nd half and 16 turnovers And missed open shots, although Duke missed many open shots at the end of the game. When you lose by 16 as SU did to Duke earlier, you don't dissect the game. When you lose by 4, every play takes on added significance. Just like 2 years ago, the run in the tournament overshadows a mediocre season. Team got just about all they could out of the players that took the court. On to next year.

 

[CorduroyG]

The difference was Duke being better. 10 out of 10 times this Duke team would beat this Syracuse team.

uh no. how can you say that after watching tonite? it was a 2 pt game with 10 seconds left!!! on a neutral court we'd win a couple

 

[NateW]

The difference was Duke being better. 10 out of 10 times this Duke team would beat this Syracuse team.

 

[Brooky03]

uh no. how can you say that after watching tonite? it was a 2 pt game with 10 seconds left!!! on a neutral court we'd win a couple

We'd win 1 if God felt generous.

 

[JeremyCuse]

The lack of a bench killed Syracuse. Im being nice when I say Moyer and Sidibe were awful, they had to give us something and unfortunately they didn't. Biggest thing moving forward is trying to find some sort of big for next year, cant count in Sidibe. Losing that kid to Seton Hall today hurt.

 

[longislandcuse]

That clusterbleep at the end of the first half changed the whole feel and momentum of the game. If Marek is in the game that does not happen.

I hope everyone comes back. Love this team. Need a year more mature Frank and a talent and depth infusion and watch out!

Edit: At the beginning of the season I said OB was the x-factor because I thought everything else would remain constant. But I was wrong, Marek was the x-factor. He grew into a helluva player.

If..no, when Marek develops a 3 point shot...omg. Sky is the limit for him.

Beginning of the season I thought he was a useful bench body. Nope. Dude has the ability to get to the NBA.

 

[longtimefan]

The difference was Duke being better. 10 out of 10 times this Duke team would beat this Syracuse team.

To quote Col. Henry Blake--"Horse hockey!"

Duke has better athletes. They might have better basketball players. But I doubt they have the better team.

 

[Brooky03]

To quote Col. Henry Blake--"Horse hockey!"

Duke has better athletes. They might have better basketball players. But I doubt they have the better team.

They have the better team. We played almost as well as we're capable of and still lost. Meanwhile, Duke did not play their best game.

 

[shandeezy7]

Agreed. Duke is more talented but, now that we grew up, we are also pretty damn talented (the 5 healthy players we have) and if Marek doesn't have early foul trouble, we win.

Zero doubt in my mind about that.

"Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind."

(Sorry I'm a little tipsy and this is what came to mind from your post. But also, Marek picking up his 3rd foul on a pretty dumb play by him - freshman mistake - really cost us big time at the end of the half. Need to be smarter there. Keep him in the game the rest of the half and we don't get outscored 10-0).

 

[Sherman20]

We were up 3 with him and down 7 after he went out before half. Never led again. Goes to show you that an early foul 60 feet from the basket can come back to haunt you

Agreed. We looked so much better with Doley at the free throw line/high post and running the zone offense through him. Once he went out of the game the offense stalled. Brissett needed to get himself in there when Marek was out but he didn’t. OB looked better in the middle in the second half.

 

[nycfan]

The difference was Duke being better. 10 out of 10 times this Duke team would beat this Syracuse team.

This is an asinine statement -- it was a 3 point game for the majority of the final minute and we had a chance to tie with the ball with 12 seconds left. And keep in mind we missed 3 dunks in the game--if we make a couple of those we probably win the game.

 

[cuseattle]

We were up 3 with him and down 7 after he went out before half. Never led again. Goes to show you that an early foul 60 feet from the basket can come back to haunt you

Agree with you. He really seems to have found something or some confidence. What a kooky great little floater he has.

 

[MikeDamone]

"Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind."

(Sorry I'm a little tipsy and this is what came to mind from your post. But also, Marek picking up his 3rd foul on a pretty dumb play by him - freshman mistake - really cost us big time at the end of the half. Need to be smarter there. Keep him in the game the rest of the half and we don't get outscored 10-0).

The 1st foul was the problem IMO. It was one of those frusturation fouls 60 feet from the basket. The 3rd one was bad only because he already had 2 fouls, but at least it was under the basket trying to prevent a layup

 

[Orangezoo]

It's amazing how key he became down the season stretch. He has a fantastic feel for the game in a high Post and baseline role a la the traditional euro style player.

If we can get enough shooting next year to get better spacing it's going to make him an even bigger threat when he comes back stronger and further developed. We will be very difficult to guard next year with Oshae and Marek able to operate in space. If he could become a threat from 3 as well that would pile on the benefits even more.