The Upside

[SWC75]

- We beat Davante Gardner,71-26

- We also beat his teammates, 71-48. As a matter of fact, we held them to 13 for 40 shooting, (32.5%).

- It was actually a pretty good comeback game from the Georgetown game. Instead of shooting 34% from the field, we shot 47.5%. Instead of going 4 for 20 from the arc, we went 8 for 24. We had 19 assists instead of 8. The numbers in the box score don’t look bad at all, except we just came up a bit short on the score.

- Carter-Williams had 14 points and 5 assists. Triche only scored 8 points but had 8 assist vs. 3 turnovers. Fair was terrific, going 8 for 11 from the field, scoring 20 points and getting 7 rebounds.

- We led most of the way, by as much as 11 points. It was nice comeback game spoiled by a terrible 6 minute stretch in which we were outscored 2-15, turning a 7 point lead into a 6 point deficit and forcing us to use desperation tactics the final three minutes- tactics that almost worked. It wasn’t a bad game, (we were much better than we were against Georgetown). It was a lousy 6 minutes.

- The problem a lot of people had is that after the splendor of the 2010 and 2012 teams, we think we are going to contend for the national title every year. This team isn’t as good as last year’s team. It’s not one of the best teams in the country. It’s one of the better teams in the Big East. We play almost nothing but close games and we are going to lose a few of them. If we take that perspective, there’s no need to get so angry.

22-6 with 3 and more to be done.

LET’S GO ORANGE!

 

[CuseTroop]

Thanks SWC. We all needed that

 

[jdubs30]

Good post!

 

[richard levy]

"think we're going to contend for the national title", that and which players have NBA potential, the two common themes that drive SU fans through every season

 

[AccuRater]

-The problem a lot of people had is that after the splendor of the 2010 and 2012 teams, we think we are going to contend for the national title every year. This team isn’t as good as last year’s team. It’s not one of the best teams in the country. It’s one of the better teams in the Big East. We play almost nothing but close games and we are going to lose a few of them. If we take that perspective, there’s no need to get so angry.

Well said, SWC. Facts, logic, wisdom and perspective as always.

I'm still angry.

 

[SoBristol]

- SWC said: The problem a lot of people had is that after the splendor of the 2010 and 2012 teams, we think we are going to contend for the national title every year. This team isn’t as good as last year’s team. It’s not one of the best teams in the country. It’s one of the better teams in the Big East. We play almost nothing but close games and we are going to lose a few of them. If we take that perspective, there’s no need to get so angry.

Well said, SWC. Facts, logic, wisdom and perspective as always.

It isn't just SU fans who had high expectations, and it wasn't all based on 2010 or 2012.
The team has been ranked in the top 8 all the season. CJ is the real deal. MCW was the boy wonder and a lottery pick as a 6ft-6 PG, Brandon had high scoring games (better now than Scoop & Dion, right?), and remember that game at Arkansas when James shot lights out? Rak showed some improvement -- he would provide inside scoring by March, wouldn't he?

The close games and road losses provided clues; we were a donut team. In the last 5 minutes of tough games, we had MCW & Brandon -- not Scoop & Dion.

Still, you can understand the disappointment when Porter and Gardner can't be stopped, and MCW, Brandon and James can. Cream rises.

 

[SBU72]

-
-The problem a lot of people had is that after the splendor of the 2010 and 2012 teams, we think we are going to contend for the national title every year. This team isn’t as good as last year’s team. It’s not one of the best teams in the country. It’s one of the better teams in the Big East. We play almost nothing but close games and we are going to lose a few of them. If we take that perspective, there’s no need to get so angry.

22-6 with 3 and more to be done.

LET’S GO ORANGE!

I agree that the team isn't as good as last years. I thought going into the year that people's expectations were to high. One reason why the team is in the top 10 up until Monday is that the quality of college b-ball is down this year. Nobody seems to be consistent. Heck Duke as a #1 got beat by what 27?!
I am surprised that you did not mention getting a better game from the center position on the offensive end (9 pts) and 11 rebounds. Not spetacular but better than the past few games.