SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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- Let’s start with some highlights from the game:
- This is what it is to be a Syracuse fan. Just when you get down on them, they remind you why you are a Syracuse fan.
- We now have five wins over #1 ranked teams, only one in the Dome: 65-63 over Georgetown there in 1985, 59-42 at Connecticut in 1999, (they had three guys out), 86-84 over Connecticut in the BET in 2006, (GMAC!), 70-68 at Louisville in 2013 and tonight. That’s three road wins over #1 teams!
- We’ve not beat Duke in Cameron twice since we entered the league. We’ve also beaten them twice up here. The Blue Devils seem to bring out the best in us.
- After the 0-12 start, it was 95-79, Syracuse.
- Duke is now 199-1 all time in games where they’ve scored at least 90 points. We are the ‘1’.
- The game itself was old fashioned basketball- end to end, wide open, players being able to show off their considerable skills. Basketball Like it oughta be. Williamson is an All-American but Battle is too. Hughes and Howard had huge moments. Chukwu played the game of his life. It would have been thrilling if we’d lost. And we didn’t…
- The game was all about offense but our defense had a lot to do with what happened. Duke is not a perimeter team but they attempted 43 three point shots and only 37 two pointers. When we attempted 33 against GT, that was too many. And that last possession was thing of beauty- we totally choked them off.
- We won the boards 53-48 against a physically stronger team. Chukwu had 18 of them. Brissett had 8, Hughes 5 and our backcourt had 10: Howard 6 and Battle 4.
- Battle had his all-time greatest game, personally leading the charge to get us back into it with 10 points and an assist for a trey in 3:02 during a run that took us from 2-14 to 17-16. He wound up with 32 points, making all kinds of shots: jumpers, floaters, bank shots, treys. He also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
- Hughes had an amazing first half with 18 points, including 4 of 5 treys, the last on an instantly legendary 80 footer to close the half, (and we needed it in the end). The longest shots I’ve seen made in Syracuse games: a 40 footer by Gillon to beat Duke at the Dome in 2017, Pearl’s 50 footer to beat BC in ’84, a 60 footer to end the half against North Carolina at the Dome in ’84 by Dr. Sonny Spera, that 70 footer Cleveland state used to beat us in the Dome in 2008 and this one which I would estimate to be the longest at about 80 feet.
- Frank Howard came alive in the second half, scoring a team-leading 14 points, (in that half). He wound up with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He also played the last 34:24 with 3 fouls without getting another.
- Paschal Chukwu had 10 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks. He also got to the line 8 times, which allowed him to hit four vital free throws even though he’s not a good fouls shooter. And he played the last 24:01 with only 1 foul after getting three of them in the first half. That means that he, (and Howard), were in the right place at the right time on defense and that they got there first. We couldn’t have won it without them.
- It was Buddy Boeheim that made the shot that gave us the lead at 39-37. I thought to myself “Julie gets an assist there.”
- It wasn’t a game for Marek Dolezaj but he did contribute one memorable play: the 185 Slovak took a charge from 285 pound Zion Williamson. I saw him on the bench after that with a dazed look on his face and I don’t think he came back in. it brings to mind the story of when Mike Scioscia met Bo Jackson. Mike was known as baseball’s “brick wall” catcher against whom no one could score when he blocked the plate. Bo Jackson was, well, Bo Jackson. Late in mike’s career he was with the Angels and blocked the plate when Bo was steaming in from third. They collided but Mike had the ball in his hand rather than his glove. Gary Carter used to say that the ball can be knocked out of your glove but if it’s in your hand, you might die in the collision but they will bury you with a baseball in your hand. It worked for Mike, who was flattened but Bo was out. They helped mike up and as he walked off the field, receiving congratulations, he told his teammates “I won’t EVER want to do that again.”
12-5 and with 14+ to go
LET’S GO ORANGE!
- This is what it is to be a Syracuse fan. Just when you get down on them, they remind you why you are a Syracuse fan.
- We now have five wins over #1 ranked teams, only one in the Dome: 65-63 over Georgetown there in 1985, 59-42 at Connecticut in 1999, (they had three guys out), 86-84 over Connecticut in the BET in 2006, (GMAC!), 70-68 at Louisville in 2013 and tonight. That’s three road wins over #1 teams!
- We’ve not beat Duke in Cameron twice since we entered the league. We’ve also beaten them twice up here. The Blue Devils seem to bring out the best in us.
- After the 0-12 start, it was 95-79, Syracuse.
- Duke is now 199-1 all time in games where they’ve scored at least 90 points. We are the ‘1’.
- The game itself was old fashioned basketball- end to end, wide open, players being able to show off their considerable skills. Basketball Like it oughta be. Williamson is an All-American but Battle is too. Hughes and Howard had huge moments. Chukwu played the game of his life. It would have been thrilling if we’d lost. And we didn’t…
- The game was all about offense but our defense had a lot to do with what happened. Duke is not a perimeter team but they attempted 43 three point shots and only 37 two pointers. When we attempted 33 against GT, that was too many. And that last possession was thing of beauty- we totally choked them off.
- We won the boards 53-48 against a physically stronger team. Chukwu had 18 of them. Brissett had 8, Hughes 5 and our backcourt had 10: Howard 6 and Battle 4.
- Battle had his all-time greatest game, personally leading the charge to get us back into it with 10 points and an assist for a trey in 3:02 during a run that took us from 2-14 to 17-16. He wound up with 32 points, making all kinds of shots: jumpers, floaters, bank shots, treys. He also had 4 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal.
- Hughes had an amazing first half with 18 points, including 4 of 5 treys, the last on an instantly legendary 80 footer to close the half, (and we needed it in the end). The longest shots I’ve seen made in Syracuse games: a 40 footer by Gillon to beat Duke at the Dome in 2017, Pearl’s 50 footer to beat BC in ’84, a 60 footer to end the half against North Carolina at the Dome in ’84 by Dr. Sonny Spera, that 70 footer Cleveland state used to beat us in the Dome in 2008 and this one which I would estimate to be the longest at about 80 feet.
- Frank Howard came alive in the second half, scoring a team-leading 14 points, (in that half). He wound up with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He also played the last 34:24 with 3 fouls without getting another.
- Paschal Chukwu had 10 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks. He also got to the line 8 times, which allowed him to hit four vital free throws even though he’s not a good fouls shooter. And he played the last 24:01 with only 1 foul after getting three of them in the first half. That means that he, (and Howard), were in the right place at the right time on defense and that they got there first. We couldn’t have won it without them.
- It was Buddy Boeheim that made the shot that gave us the lead at 39-37. I thought to myself “Julie gets an assist there.”
- It wasn’t a game for Marek Dolezaj but he did contribute one memorable play: the 185 Slovak took a charge from 285 pound Zion Williamson. I saw him on the bench after that with a dazed look on his face and I don’t think he came back in. it brings to mind the story of when Mike Scioscia met Bo Jackson. Mike was known as baseball’s “brick wall” catcher against whom no one could score when he blocked the plate. Bo Jackson was, well, Bo Jackson. Late in mike’s career he was with the Angels and blocked the plate when Bo was steaming in from third. They collided but Mike had the ball in his hand rather than his glove. Gary Carter used to say that the ball can be knocked out of your glove but if it’s in your hand, you might die in the collision but they will bury you with a baseball in your hand. It worked for Mike, who was flattened but Bo was out. They helped mike up and as he walked off the field, receiving congratulations, he told his teammates “I won’t EVER want to do that again.”
12-5 and with 14+ to go
LET’S GO ORANGE!
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