The Upside - Monmouth | Syracusefan.com

The Upside - Monmouth

SWC75

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- The name “Monmouth” scared me from the moment I saw it on the schedule, considering what they’d accomplished last year and the fact that our selection for the NCAA tournament was thought to have snubbed them. They were no problem at all.

- Jim Salatin twice said in the post-game show that the thing about this team that most impresses him is that they have improved with each game. Imagine how good they will be at this rate after 31 games!

- We won the game on defense, where we held a team averaging 78 points a game to 50 and for much of the game it didn’t look like they would get that far. And defense was the aspect of the team Jim Boeheim had been most concerned about. With rare exceptions we maintained consistent contact with their shooters and we used our height to stifle drives to the basket. The clawless Hawks shot 31% for the game and were 4 for 29 from the three point arc. In three games our opponents are 19 for 98 from the arc, (19%). And we’ve played teams that depend on that shot, (but can’t hurt us inside).

- Justin Robinson, one of the top guards in the country was 4 for 16 from the field and had as many turnovers as assists (4). He had -1 “net points”.

- Chris Brady, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds vs. South Carolina had 4 points and 3 rebounds against our big men.

- For much of the game we crushed them on the boards. At one point it was 31-17. It wound up a respectable 46-36 but that was long after the game had been decided.

- The Hawks had come back from a 16 point deficit vs. South Carolina to send the game into overtime. I waited for the comeback in this game and it never came.

- Andrew White III, (A-Trey or White Hot- take your pick), carried the team offensively with 18 first half points. He hit three pointer, two point jumpers, (which war=med my heart), and drove to the basket. He created his own shot with a dribble. He did everything you’d want to see including dishing four assists, grabbing 6 rebounds and making two steals.

- Taurean Thomspon reminds me of Wendell Alexis, a tall thin guy who can hit unblockable jump shots, pull down rebounds and block shots, (he also had two steals). But see the downside.

- DaJuan Coleman made his presence felt for the first time this year, pulling down 7 rebounds and scoring 7 points in his 15 minutes of play. He made some good moves to the basket and also a jump shot.

- Tyus Battle made 3 of 4 three pointers. The trajectory seemed a bit flat but they went in. He also had a couple of steals.

- Tyler Lydon played poorly on offense but pulled down 7 rebounds, blocked 4 shots and made two steals. He’s not a guy who goes into a funk if the shots are missing.

- Paschal Chukwu had his most impressive game, blocking two shots, getting 4 rebounds and a steal in 10 minutes. On one block he blocked the ball to one of our guards, who started a feast break that scored on the other end. That’s a four point play. That’s his offense.

- Out team scored 42 POP- points outside the paint, (not in the paint or from the line). That’s 59% of our points. And my heart was warmed to see us score 18 points in the “Twilight Zone” – two point jump shots between the paint and the arc. (Monmouth got none.) This team looks for open shots wherever they can be found and makes them. That makes it extraordinarily hard to defend against us. We knew where they were going to shoot from but they didn’t know where we were going to shoot from.

- I looked at the Monmouth bench and nobody was dancing.

3-0 with 28+ to go!

LET’S GO ORANGE!
 
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