The only reason people think this team is dead is scheduling

[Orangemen]

(and of course piss poor effort at Gtown, but let's focus on the scheduling for now.)

We've lost 4 of 5 games right now. These also happen to be 4 of the 5 toughest games we've played this year (@ Ville being the other).

So what we've established right now is that we are behind Gtown and Ville, and we didn't win at Marq. Of those three, on a neutral court, Gtown and Ville would likely beat us, we'd likely beat Marq.

So let's look at the teams we can't beat. Gtown and Ville are solidly top 10. So we are clearly not a top 10 team right now. Marq is 10-15th (or s0). Right now we are not good enough to win at a top 10-15 team. Considering recent losses at UConn and Nova, maybe you can extend that list further.

But, IMO, what does that imply that we can do? We can beat a top 10-15 (or worse) team on a neutral court, and in our place. See games against ND, Cincy, Nova as evidence. As well as blowouts of De Paul and a recently hot PC team.

So what does this mean for our prospects? If nothing changes, we're clearly a top 25 team, and solidly in the tournament. Probably locked into a 5 seed right now. We've got a legitimate chance in any game against a team seeded 3 or worse on a neutral court. We'll need to be lucky, or have something about the team change in order to win against a 1 or 2 seed on a neutral court. Matchups, as always, will have a major impact on this, but generally speaking, there is no reason to say that we are dead to rights facing a team as high as 10-15 in the rankings right now.

So, our season isn't over, and we're not a bubble team either. We're not a juggernaut, but we're not sitting ducks either. We've got as good a chance as anyone at making the sweet 16 this year, beyond that, we need luck, fortunate matchups, or something in the team to change.

The BE is dead, time to bury this regular season along with it. It's a new season now, and we may still have something left to look forward to. I'm not expecting the FF, but we'll do better than the bubble or first round bust.

 

[CorduroyG]

louisville on a neutral court is a pick'em.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I don't disagree with you at all but how does that explain that we got totally blown out on Saturday. You can't believe that Georgetown is that much more talented than we are.

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[Knicks411]

louisville on a neutral court is a pick'em.

Vegas would not have it as a pick em right now. I think the game at the dome was just about a pick em. Lville is probably 6 pt favorites on a neutral site?

 

[NineOneSeven]

No. The only reason people think this team is dead is because they can't score. It's that simple. I don't care how good the opponents are, 39 points. That's it. Don't over think this. Every team we play in march is there for a reason--they are good enough.

 

[Orangemen]

No. The only reason people think this team is dead is because they can't score. It's that simple. I don't care how good the opponents are, 39 points. That's it. Don't over think this. Every team we play in march is there for a reason--they are good enough.

If we lost 91-69, people would still think we're just as dead. The lack of scoring was so pathetic that it's taken center stage. But the truth is 4 of 5 losses is killing the confidence around here.

 

[dasher]

If we lost 91-69, people would still think we're just as dead. The lack of scoring was so pathetic that it's taken center stage. But the truth is 4 of 5 losses is killing the confidence around here.

we had a 1 pt lead with 1 and a half to go against the Ville. The thing is, do you have any confidance that this team can score at the end of a close game? Or hit a free throw?

 

[rstone7727]

Orangemen, your thought process is way to logical and reasonable for this board. You should move along to the pay side.

 

[NineOneSeven]

If we lost 91-69, people would still think we're just as dead. The lack of scoring was so pathetic that it's taken center stage. But the truth is 4 of 5 losses is killing the confidence around here.

We are giving up 50s scoring and losing. That's a problem.

 

[Orangemen]

we had a 1 pt lead with 1 and a half to go against the Ville. The thing is, do you have any confidance that this team can score at the end of a close game? Or hit a free throw?

Against a bad defensive team, I'm confident.

Against a good defensive team, hell no.

Against anyone else, not so confident, but it's possible.

 

[anomander]

I don't disagree with you at all but how does that explain that we got totally blown out on Saturday. You can't believe that Georgetown is that much more talented than we are.

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i didn't have 1 problem with any our of losses except yesterday. we looked like we gave up yesterday, starting with the HC. IMO that is totally unacceptable. The other losses we battled the entire game, and actually led in spite of our leading scorer playing the worst ball of his career. that alone was enough for me to work with. however yesterdays performance was extremely disappointing. never even tried to press when we were down. no intensity on defense. it was easily the worst we looked all year on that end. that is the only question i have going into tournament time. i will be very interested to see how they come out wednesday. i really hope they come out and hammer them, or else it may really be time to worry. i will give them the benefit of the doubt though. g'town was totally amped up. it was arguably much bigger game for them. BT is not as bad as he has been playing. all he has to do is give us 12-14/g, and don't turn it over and we are a top 10 team, and are just as dangerous as anyone. take away saturday, there is no team that will run away and hide from us because of our defense.

 

[rstone7727]

I don't disagree with you at all but how does that explain that we got totally blown out on Saturday. You can't believe that Georgetown is that much more talented than we are.

Georgetown is a bad match up for us. At this point they would beat us 10-10 times because they always come to play against us. They take us moving on as an insult, you could see it in their faces, laughing & whooping it up like the defeated Goliath. We got blown out because Gtown came to play and we didn't, simple as it is.

 

[RICuse44]

There seem to be two camps developing here. There is the bump in the road camp and the downward spiral camp (which I happen to be in). The fact is that we are 5-6 since the Feb 2nd game against Pitt. In that span, we have lost to Gtown x 2, Pitt, Marquette, Lville, and UCONN. We have beaten St. John's, ND, the Hall, PC, and DePaul. I think we can all agree on that and consider that fact. I think we all can also agree that we are not an elite team and although there may not be any truly elite team in college bball this year we are not a top 10 team as evident by our recent run.

The bump in the road faction would then say its our recent schedule that is making us look worse off than we are. We are a top 25 team, just not a top 10 team. Top 25 teams can go 5-6 in that stretch. We have talent but this was neutralized by playing other teams with the same or slightly worse talent at home or by playing those teams when they were on the upswing and we were slumping. The team will figure out what they need to do and right the ship either for the big east tourney or for the NCAA. We also play in the Big East where bump and run basketball is ok. No blood, no foul.

The downward spiral camp are not syracuse.com trolls. Instead, we look at the following. Who have been our marquee wins this year? Lville, ND, SDSU (on an aircraft carrier where conditions definitely played a role and 3 point shooting was impossible), Nova, Arkansas, and Cinci. Maybe at this juncture you could replace Cinci with PC x 2. Our problem is thats it. We really haven't beaten anyone else. It just so happens that our schedule was set up to face our toughest competition at the end of the year. And when this team went up against good competition it faltered. Not miserably all the time like on Saturday but in each big moment it came up short. The big plays at the end of tight games in January against Lville and Cinci are distant memories. No similar big plays were made against UCONN, Lville, or Marquette. The problem is lack of intensity, lack of leadership, and lack of confidence. We lost the UCONN game because it meant more to them some say. Really? If that's the case then I really do not like this team's chances come tourney time, be it Big East or NCAA.

The downward spiral camp does not see the season as being over. As the American poet Rocky Balboa said "nuthins over til its over". Its just that this team for the past 6 weeks hasn't shown a backbone. Teams make the third day of the big east tourney and the first day of the NCAA tourney for a reason. They are good teams. They do not have marginal D1 talent. They have finished in the upper half of their league. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this team can grow up and man up for the end. For all the problems with MCW and Rak this year I thought they were the better two players for us on the court against Gtown. Maybe this team with some decent talent can come together and become better than the sum of its parts. Maybe we can stop going after EVERY pump fake. Maybe we can hit a 3. Hell, maybe someone other than CJ can hit a jump shot. You know, that shot where the other team jumps and shoots it and it goes in. Maybe we can get in transition a little more. Maybe we can atleast try to feed Rak (or DC2) when he has position in the post for a record 4-5 times in a single game to help offensive balance. Maybe we can flash Brandon to the free throw line against zone teams and leave the better statistical 3 point shooters on the outside is CJ and James. Maybe James and Brandon can realize they might only have 2 more games left to play that mean anything for the rest of their lives and break out of their slumps. Maybe GMac or Red or Hop can possess their bodies for these games. That's a lot of maybes. Hopefully I'm wrong and they make the semifinals plus of the big east and the sweet 16. The great thing about this whole thing is that the second season starts Wednesday with the third season and last chance at redemption starting next week. Win and shut everyone up, including me. Let's go orange.

 

[Hoov50]

I don't think the teams we have lost to are that good defensively. They are teams that take advantage of how games are officiated in the Big East. Many of the tactics used to defend us grab, shove, etc. are only allowed in the Big East and Big 10. In all other parts of the world at all levels these things are called fouls. That is why teams like Pitt, Louisville, Georgetown, even Marquette and Cincinnati can thrive in the Big East, but haven't won the NCAAs. Add to that the offensive fouls teams commit while screening at the top of the zone and you see some of the big reasons why we are losing.

I am not delusional enough to think we are a top 5 team, but I do think the way the Big East is officiated is a major factor in our current slump. You also have the fact that we are hesitant to get the ball inside even when Rak is having an excellent game and instead gun long three pointers. You can also say we don't and never have adjusted our game play accordingly based on how games are officiated or can't because we play zone and you have a team losing 7 of 12.

I also think lack of emotion and player leadership are large parts of the slump.

 

[NineOneSeven]

Georgetown is a bad match up for us. At this point they would beat us 10-10 times because they always come to play against us. They take us moving on as an insult, you could see it in their faces, laughing & whooping it up like the defeated Goliath. We got blown out because Gtown came to play and we didn't, simple as it is.

Bad matchup? Elaborate a bit for me.

 

[Knicks411]

Bad matchup? Elaborate a bit for me.

They are really good and we aren't right now?

I was just thinking, with the point about the schedule, I wonder what we would all be thinking if our BE schedule was reversed, and it was frontloaded. So we started out 5-6 and then closed 6-1 to get to 11-7.

 

[Orangemen]

They are really good and we aren't right now?

I was just thinking, with the point about the schedule, I wonder what we would all be thinking if our BE schedule was reversed, and it was frontloaded. So we started out 5-6 and then closed 6-1 to get to 11-7.

I think they are a bad matchup for us. Their defensive style of play is our kryptonite. Not many teams play defense like they do, but Pitt is in that group to.

Really happy that Pitt and Gtown are in our half of the BET bracket.

 

[mantonio]

What do you call a "good" defensive team?

G'town?
Marquette?
PITT?

Those teams are cheaters on defense, & the officials let it happen in the Big East.

They foul so much on every possession, the refs feel it's impossible to call it every time, so they call it once every four times, & this skews the perception of what is good defense.

When Syracuse faces a team like Pitt or G'town in the tourney, MCW & Triche will spending a ton of time at the freethrow line, & the other team will be in foul trouble.

 

[Chris02M]

georgetown is a bad matchup becuse they have 2 really good 3 point shooters and porter who we cant stop .

 

[Willy75]

Scheduling has a lot to do with making us look worse than we are at this juncture. It is very, very hard to win on the road this year and that's where 6 of our 8 losses have happened. Even with that we do match up ok with Marquette and Louisville.
I am concerned with the lack of mental toughness/leadership on this team and with a 2d round BET matchup with Pitt, who always gives us fits.
On an unrelated note is there a more classless jerk than Thompson, Jr? Can you think of any high-level coach who has gone through the same kind of antics directed towards an opponent?

 

[SoBeCuse]

i didn't have 1 problem with any our of losses except yesterday. we looked like we gave up yesterday, starting with the HC. IMO that is totally unacceptable. The other losses we battled the entire game, and actually led in spite of our leading scorer playing the worst ball of his career. that alone was enough for me to work with. however yesterdays performance was extremely disappointing. never even tried to press when we were down. no intensity on defense. it was easily the worst we looked all year on that end. that is the only question i have going into tournament time. i will be very interested to see how they come out wednesday. i really hope they come out and hammer them, or else it may really be time to worry. i will give them the benefit of the doubt though. g'town was totally amped up. it was arguably much bigger game for them. BT is not as bad as he has been playing. all he has to do is give us 12-14/g, and don't turn it over and we are a top 10 team, and are just as dangerous as anyone. take away saturday, there is no team that will run away and hide from us because of our defense.

I had a big problem with how we pissed away the Villanova game.

 

[Ghost]

i didn't have 1 problem with any our of losses except yesterday. we looked like we gave up yesterday, starting with the HC. IMO that is totally unacceptable. The other losses we battled the entire game, and actually led in spite of our leading scorer playing the worst ball of his career. that alone was enough for me to work with. however yesterdays performance was extremely disappointing. never even tried to press when we were down. no intensity on defense. it was easily the worst we looked all year on that end. that is the only question i have going into tournament time. i will be very interested to see how they come out wednesday. i really hope they come out and hammer them, or else it may really be time to worry. i will give them the benefit of the doubt though. g'town was totally amped up. it was arguably much bigger game for them. BT is not as bad as he has been playing. all he has to do is give us 12-14/g, and don't turn it over and we are a top 10 team, and are just as dangerous as anyone. take away saturday, there is no team that will run away and hide from us because of our defense.

I have a problem with more than one.

I had problems with what we did against Marquette and UConn (i think it was UConn) as well.

In both games we were playing well enough to win, and then with 5:00 or 6:00 left to go we stopped getting CJ touches, and the guards started taking too many quick shots and just generally playing a bit out of control. No clue why we didn't call a TO, or at least get CJ a touch in either one.

I also had a problem with the first G'Town game, and the UConn game (AGAIN) when JB insisted on pulling Rak after his first mistake when he was playing well in favor of Baye (which is fine, but in each game Rak should have been back in quickly), and we got obliterated both times while Baye was on the court.

Oh, and the 'Nova game.

 

[anomander]

I have a problem with more than one.

I had problems with what we did against Marquette and UConn (i think it was UConn) as well.

In both games we were playing well enough to win, and then with 5:00 or 6:00 left to go we stopped getting CJ touches, and the guards started taking too many quick shots and just generally playing a bit out of control. No clue why we didn't call a TO, or at least get CJ a touch in either one.

I also had a problem with the first G'Town game, and the UConn game (AGAIN) when JB insisted on pulling Rak after his first mistake when he was playing well in favor of Baye (which is fine, but in each game Rak should have been back in quickly), and we got obliterated both times with Baye on the court.

Oh, and the 'Nova game.

you aren't going to get any arguments from me when it comes to raks playing time. IMO he should only come out. If he can't breathe .

 

[Jasoncuse]

I think they're dead because they stink. Being unable to be strong with the ball or to score is not a recipe for success in the postseason. I really expect this team to be done by the end of the first weekend. If they can survive and advance, great, but it's hard to envision them finding the offense unless they get a good matchup...

 

[SoBeCuse]

I think they're dead because they stink. Being unable to be strong with the ball or to score is not a recipe for success in the postseason. I really expect this team to be done by the end of the first weekend. If they can survive and advance, great, but it's hard to envision them finding the offense unless they get a good matchup...

It's a problem and it is happening too much. It's with most of the players. Their moves are very predictable as well and good defensive teams can eat them alive.