My Take

[sutomcat]

Bad crowd. Maybe 19K that actually showed up for the game, students did not represent well, nor did the townies and alums. It was a flat crowd too. The bad weather surely was a factor, as was the late start and the unattractive opponent. But still, it was a league game and there were only 4 home games left to watch this special team play in the Dome. Disappointed.

The students did do the car alarm drill again. Not as well coordinated as during the ND game. Appeared a number of students were hung over. I guess these things happen.

The NA was sung by a former contestant on The Voice. She did a slow, fairly soulful version that was well received.

The big news tonight was the injury to BMK, who suffered an injury to his knee. Matt Park said on the post game show that it was believed to be a not serious, minor sprain. JB said in his post game remarks that we would have to see how bad it was. Has the annual late season loss of a key center jinx hit again? Time will tell.

Clemson played man defense. They tried to play CJ and TC tighter than the rest of the team but lacked top notch defenders and both were able to get quality shots without much trouble. As was JG and TE for that matter. Not that impressive, especially given their troubles on offense. More on that later.

CJ had his best game as an Orangeman against Duke, then one of his worst against ND. He followed that game with a solid effort tonight. Rebounded well, played good defense, scored a lot of points, and continued his season long tendency to step up and get big baskets when SU needed them the most. It is getting very hard for him to not be the CPOY.

JG made a wild drive early in the game, threw up an out of control wild shot blindly over his shoulder in a bad attempt to draw a foul and the ball went in. He was okay on offense tonight, didn't shoot it great but got some big baskets and again was our best rebounder, especially on the defensive boards. SU has rebounded well on the offensive boards most of the season but not today. We miss BMK and DC2 here.

RC played pretty well today, scored some points inside, didn't rebound well on the defensive boards, which hurt us but did get some big boards on the offensive side to help offset that. He again got in foul trouble. Not much help from the refs, who were inconsistent, appeared to miss a lot of routine calls and looked confused most of the night. I hope they haven't worked together much in the past because they looked pretty clueless out there.

JG was forced to play center when RC got his fourth with 13 minutes and some change left in the 2nd half. He did fine there, helped by the incompetence of the Clemson big men. Clemson was really bad on offense. Give the SU defense part of the credit but the Tigers have to be one of the worst shooting teams in have seen in recent years in the Dome. They threw a ton of bricks up and the sheer ugliness of many of the shots helped them get a number of unlikely offensive rebounds. They were had no idea how to attack the zone and rarely made good passes. Ugly ugly ugly ball.

TC had a good game, made some nice 3s, got his usual handful of steals, continues to show an improved passing ability and even rebounded the ball well. TE had a lot of good looks but could not get them to fall. Finally made a couple good moves late to get baskets. Did run the offense well and as usual took good care of the ball.

BMK looked good in the limited minutes he played before heading to the locker room to have his knee looked at. He will really be needed against the Panthers, an (orange) nation waits breathlessly to see his status. Silent G had a good game, passed it well, was more aggressive but also suffered an embarrassing point blank rejection on a dunk attempt. At least he went at it hard, which has been a problem in the past.

TR had another chance to show something with some minutes in the 1st half. Didn't do much in his PT, was not a factor on the boards, mostly hung out at the perimeter where he threw up a couple of outside shots that did not fall. BJ and RP got a little PT late but were not able to get off any shots.

Not a great game for SU but they got the game done with a workmanlike effort. Conference games are rarely easy, this one was no exception and I for one was quite happy with the result. The only concern right now is with BMK.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I didn't think we played bad or great, but sometimes were so good we are boring.

 

[CusefanATL]

i was hoping that we already lost out annual center!

 

[OrangeXtreme]

Somehow I don't think our 3 guard lineup will work against Pitt.

The curse of the even numbered year.

 

[cuseguy]

Nice job. Interesting that you called Clemson an unattractive opponent. Based on their history, I would say, well, yes. Based on their 15-6 record this year, I would say no. Outside of Duke, Carolina, Pitt and Virginia, though, most of our ACC opponents will be unattractive.

 

[BuffOrange]

You didn't think we O-rebounded well?
I was just thinking this team is starting to remind of a Dejuan Blair Pitt team. Sneaky efficient offense, but largely because of 2nd chances.

 

[AlaskaSU]

not one fast break.

 

[cuseguy]

not one fast break.

We rarely get fast break points anymore. Everything in the half court.

 

[RF2044]

i was hoping that we already lost out annual center!

Me too...

 

[TexanMark]

Clemson has an outside shot at becoming a 12 seed in the NCAAs...they are not horrible. Their coach is doing a great job with the talent.

 

[sutomcat]

Clemson has an outside shot at becoming a 12 seed in the NCAAs...they are not horrible. Their coach is doing a great job with the talent.

They are kind of a Pitt Lite. Not very good offensively, play very physical., make you work for your baskets. I don't think many schools will blow them out.

If we hadn't shot well from the outside, it would have been a lot closer. Hope they finish strong and get a bid, if only to see the spectacle of a team playing in all purple uniforms again.

 

[SmilinBob]

The guy covering Cooney was fast but small...would have liked to have seen him post him. Fair was Fair which was needed. Grant stepped up to the big mans spot and did a solid job, Silent sliding to the 3...have to hope Roberson steps up here, very needed. Ennis struggled shot wise and the runner to the right while going hard to the left was an interesting choice of shots. One thing about this SU team...these guards rotate back very very well even when one pinches in.

Big time worried about Baye.

 

[pfister1]

I thought Ennis had one of his poorer games. Obviously he shot poorly 3 of 11 is not good for someone who is as conservative with his shots as he typically is. He also had some pretty good looks at 3s that I would like to see him take and hit that he passed on, he missed the two he did take. Maybe the Clemson defender was that good that he bothered Tyler's offense more than others have. I thought the one drive to the basket where he couldn't turn the corner on his defender and instead ended up throwing up a floater as he was headed towards the endline was really unusual for Tyler.

He was only credited with one turnover last night, but I think the scorer may be doing him the occasional solid now. I thought there were a couple of points in the game last night where he made lazy passes that should not have been made. A couple may have been knocked away but recovered and one was an entry pass to CJ that was probably credited as a turnover to CJ.

The great thing about Tyler is that you really have to be picky to find problems with his game. And in the last 5 minutes he did his usual terrific job of running the show and doing exactly what JB would want him to do.

I disagree with Tomcat about the offensive rebounding. I thought we did pretty well on the offensive glass. In fact I think we had offensive boards on our first three possessions of the second half and our first two buckets came off of second chances. I don't know if the stats would bear this out, but I felt like we rebounded at both ends much better in the first half than in the second half which would seem natural given that Xmas found himself in foul trouble or out of the game for a large portion of the second half.

I thought the officiating was strange last night. As I was watching the game I felt like the officials were whistling us like crazy for fouls. I am absolutely shocked this morning to see the box has us with 11 fouls and them with 10 total for the game. Given that the fouls were that close I also find it strange that they had twice as many free throw attempts as we did.

 

[HtownOrange]

Thanks, Tom. Appreciate the game summary.

 

[OttoMets]

I thought Ennis had one of his poorer games. Obviously he shot poorly 3 of 11 is not good for someone who is as conservative with his shots as he typically is. He also had some pretty good looks at 3s that I would like to see him take and hit that he passed on, he missed the two he did take. Maybe the Clemson defender was that good that he bothered Tyler's offense more than others have. I thought the one drive to the basket where he couldn't turn the corner on his defender and instead ended up throwing up a floater as he was headed towards the endline was really unusual for Tyler.

He was only credited with one turnover last night, but I think the scorer may be doing him the occasional solid now. I thought there were a couple of points in the game last night where he made lazy passes that should not have been made. A couple may have been knocked away but recovered and one was an entry pass to CJ that was probably credited as a turnover to CJ.

The great thing about Tyler is that you really have to be picky to find problems with his game. And in the last 5 minutes he did his usual terrific job of running the show and doing exactly what JB would want him to do.

I disagree with Tomcat about the offensive rebounding. I thought we did pretty well on the offensive glass. In fact I think we had offensive boards on our first three possessions of the second half and our first two buckets came off of second chances. I don't know if the stats would bear this out, but I felt like we rebounded at both ends much better in the first half than in the second half which would seem natural given that Xmas found himself in foul trouble or out of the game for a large portion of the second half.

I thought the officiating was strange last night. As I was watching the game I felt like the officials were whistling us like crazy for fouls. I am absolutely shocked this morning to see the box has us with 11 fouls and them with 10 total for the game. Given that the fouls were that close I also find it strange that they had twice as many free throw attempts as we did.

Gotta think that Ennis has hit a freshman wall.

Given that we've won the three games that he's been less than excellent, that's good - better now than in a month. Maybe he'll get his second wind on Wednesday.

 

[themorey]

Ennis hasn't been himself since the Duke game when he turned his ankle. Anyone else think its bothering him?

 

[STEVEHOLT]

Somehow I don't think our 3 guard lineup will work against Pitt.

The curse of the even numbered year.

actually, it might work better. better to try and go a completely different style vs pitt than to try and beat them at what they are strong at.

 

[Eagles20]

Ennis hasn't been himself since the Duke game when he turned his ankle. Anyone else think its bothering him?

I think it was the game before Duke, Wake Forest. He has seemed a bit fatigued to me the past few games, but even so he still has been pretty steady. I feel his defense has started to get alittle lazy, hasn't positioned himself well at times. I'm not saying I'm concerned cause he's a great talent and has been phenomenal, just my two cents.

 

[rrlbees]

Gotta think that Ennis has hit a freshman wall.

I said the exact same thing to Jake last night during the 2nd half. Just seems tired and everything is a bit off. He'll break down the wall soon and be back to what he was.

 

[OttoMets]

I said the exact same thing to Jake last night during the 2nd half. Just seems tired and everything is a bit off. He'll break down the wall soon and be back to what he was.

I think so. And that should carry him through the rest of the year.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Ennis hasn't been himself since the Duke game when he turned his ankle. Anyone else think its bothering him?

Could be. Good call. Most of us have tried to forget about that. I think hitting the freshman wall could be part of it, too. Tired players make more mistakes.

 

[Trueblue25]

I don't feel bad saying this, Our student fans are disappointing.

 

[orangefan13]

JB said we shot well at 44.4%. And that is well, but also note we had 8-12 shots that hit both sides or the rim inside the cylinder(half way down), or bounced off the rim softly atleast 3 times.

 

[moqui]

Ennis hasn't been himself since the Duke game when he turned his ankle. Anyone else think its bothering him?

ankle at Wake, touch of the flu before the Duke game . . . plus, he had been averaging 32 mpg and had gone 40 minutes just once all year; last 7 games he's averaging 38 mpg and played 40 minutes four times.

 

[kirbivore]

Nice job. Interesting that you called Clemson an unattractive opponent. Based on their history, I would say, well, yes. Based on their 15-6 record this year, I would say no. Outside of Duke, Carolina, Pitt and Virginia, though, most of our ACC opponents will be unattractive.

most casual fans know Clemson as a football school. I'm sure this was one of the least selected games in the second level of the 6 game mini packs.

Tier 1 - Duke or North Carolina
Tier 2 - Indiana, Nova, all other ACC games
Tier 3 - all other OOC games