This board has lost it

[RF2044]

Problem is that we have been so good that most of us have dared to dream of a second National championship. It is fear of losing that dream that is causing all of the drama on the board. All of us share the same dream and the same fears that we may not accomplish that dream. It is interesting to see how people are dealing with it.

I get that--I understand why people feel this way, given how disappointing our postseason performance has been since winning it all.

But honestly I feel like in many cases, posters predict doom and gloom precisely for the reason you indicate--to prepare themselves for the worst so that if it happens, they won't feel as let down. Meanwhile, while they're wringing their hands from November - March, they've missed a hell of a season.

On top of that self-loathing, we also have a contingent of posters who feel that being uber negative about the team somehow makes them enlightened. Meanwhile, it appears that 90% of said posters don't watch another college game other than when SU plays, because many of those perspectives are out of whack. We're not the only team playing close games in the heart of the conference schedule. There's also a contingent of posters who don't seem to recognize that as a top ranked team, we get every other team's best shot--they're sky high to play us every game, so there is no easy game / night off for SU.

Scoop said it perfectly after the Stanford game: "Just win."

I don't care how, I don't care about style points. Just. Win.

 

[Cadillac]

Everyone's freaking because of the name on the other team's jersey. But USF has a head coach with experience. Gilchrist was a highly-regarded recruit. Collins was a find. If they win last night, they're probably an at-large team regardless of what happens from here on out.

That big run last night and the final few minutes against UConn, they're extreme examples of what this bored, tired, burned-out team can do (and recently too), we need to find and harness that, even for shorter stretches.

 

[cusetown1]

Style points are everything. Just like figure skating.

 

[orange79]

There's a difference between discussing flaws and proclaiming that we suck, we are borderline top 25, that we should be beating teams by 30 and if we aren't than we don't deserve our ranking, etc. Those are the types of posts that pop up on this board daily, and each one of those complaints demonstrates a distinct disconnect with the reality of college basketball, and how other teams are playing / struggling -- even the elite teams.

This. And I might add it's usually the same subset of posters. You'd think there was another team in existence that NEVER lost, NEVER had stretches where they didn't play well, NEVER 'flamed out' before the E8, NEVER lost a championship, etc. I think a lot of this is due to high expectations, but sheesh. The hyperbole and sheer vitriol is sickening. Chat room is even worse.

 

[Marsh01]

Chat room is even worse.

I can only imagine what it was like at 20-7.

My 11 year old was freaking out last night and I tell him the same thing it seems like every game. Games are 40 minutes. Not 10.

 

[texascpa]

Tell me what fan base (maybe aside from Kentucky) is completely confident? Do you really think that the play of this team wont improve in the next couple of weeks? What I love about this teams is we are finding ways to win games when we clearly struggle. We are witnessing one of the best defensive teams to ever play at Syracuse. I would rather be at times offensively challenged and defensively sound than the opposite.

We beat Georgetown, Uconn and Lousville in a 5 day span when EVERYONE on this board (yours truly included) thought there was no way in hell we would get all 3 wins. We have tournament experience that other teams dont have. After the Uconn game we have 1 game in 12 days prior to the first round ofthe BET. The rest will do these guys good and I am confident that JB puts the pieces back in place for a deep deep NCAA tourney run.

as the say goes: "offense wins games, defense wins championships"

 

[BuffOrange]

There's a difference between discussing flaws and proclaiming that we suck, we are borderline top 25, that we should be beating teams by 30 and if we aren't than we don't deserve our ranking, etc. Those are the types of posts that pop up on this board daily, and each one of those complaints demonstrates a distinct disconnect with the reality of college basketball, and how other teams are playing / struggling -- even the elite teams.

Which threads are these? I'm sure there are a couple, but I haven't seen multiples of them daily.

The thing is Boeheim himself has echoed many of the same concerns that these "self-loathing negative nancy's" have.
Michigan St struggling last night for the first time in a month doesn't do much to erase the doubt that we're heads & shoulders above everyone not named UK as many want to believe, when we've struggled in basically every game in that same span.

 

[br801]

But honestly I feel like in many cases, posters predict doom and gloom precisely for the reason you indicate--to prepare themselves for the worst so that if it happens, they won't feel as let down.

I also believe that many of the posters that predict gloom and doom are simply setting themselves up to get on here and beat their chests if the season ends short of a championship. Well, the percentages are certainly in their favor because no matter how well you are playing or how favorable your road to a title appears, obviously anything can happen in a single elimination tournament.

All I know for sure is that if this season ends with a loss, this board will become a cesspool.

 

[Sgt Cuse]

28-1 and the constant nitpicking is unbelievable. Last night the highlights here were we are the most overrated team in the country, Notre Dame would kill us if we played them again, we are destined for an early exit in the NCAA's, etc, etc, etc.

Every team is tired this tme of year.
Every team has at least one weakness that potentially could be exploited in the tournament
Every team has games where they struggle

Here is what every team doesnt have

A hall of fame coach
Senior leadership
28 wins
1 loss
a regular season conference championship
a #1 seed waiting for them in the NCAA tournament
the ability to play not up to par and still win
an undefeated record with our normal starting 5

Look I get that we are struggling in certain areas. The bottom line is that the regular season is all about putting yourself in a position where you have the best percentage chance of reaching a final four. We have accomplished that. We will be the #1 seed in the east playing basically a stones throw away for the first 4 rounds. Those arenas will be packed with Syracuse fans. How can people complain about this season? Are you kidding me? 28-1, top 2 in the country all year, no February swoon, big east champions, #1 seed, playing close to home. Jesus this is I dream about happening and now its happening.

Were we spolied as fans when we were blowing teams out? Is that it? Christ get over it. Winning games any way is all that matters.

All in.

Marsh - I think a lot of the nitpicking is because of high expectations and the constant extrapolation of this play into the NCAAT. A lot of people see the flaws and worry.

Lost in that perspective however, are the accomplishments of the season unfolding in front of them. Many view the NCAAT as the only barometer. They don't have the view, like SWC, of the various elements that could make a season special - like 30 wins, or a BE title.

I have really enjoyed this season. I think a lot of it for me has been because it feels to me like this team is overacheiving. The flaws of no player scoring from the blocks, no above average 3 ptr, and rebounding issues, have been present all season long. Winning with defense, and steals, is not what I'm used to. Yet the team keeps winning.

But even with all the regular season success, this Pitt/Butler type winning style guarantees very little in the NCAAT. The real advantage of continuing these wins for the NCAAT will be in the seeding and location. Should help, hope it does.

 

[dollarbill44]

The biggest concern I have is not necessarily how we are playing, but that we are getting away from one of our main strengths - our depth. I know JB addressed this in his post-game last night, but these last two games particularly, JB has gone with essentially a 6 man lineup. When we were getting 9-10 guys in routinely, we were running away at the end of games because our best 5-6 guys were still fresh at the end while the opponents were wiped out. I thought USF was actually fresher at the end of the game last night.

So, in a nutshell, I'm concerned that we are getting away from what got us to this point.

 

[Knicks411]

We arent playing great basketball right now. You are correct. Yet we are still winning. That alone should tell you something. This isnt a fluke that we are winning these close games. I actually am thrilled to see team after team putting us in a meat grinder and us having to constantly find ways to win games in ways we are not used too. What has happened the last 2 NCAA loses? We got put into a vice and never were able to grind out that victory. You dont think that all of these painful to watch games will help us in the tournament? Then throw in when we start making shots.

Here is the way I feel. Winning the close games against Louisville, Gtown; great. Those are the kind of teams we're going to have to beat to do something important. We, for the most part, have executed well in these games when we had to. (Though the end of regulation of both the Gtown and Louisville game, not so great offensively). We shouldn't be blowing teams like that out.

But USF and Rutgers are far from great teams. USF is ok, but the BE record is deceiving. So playing those teams close for 36 or 37 minutes (and I know Rutgers was on the road) doesn't make me feel all that great. We should be beating USF more easily than we did. Rutgers probably shouldn't have played us as close as they did. That stuff does worry me, and part of the reason it does is because we are 28-1. We are really good. If we weren't quite as good, these games wouldn't bother me because the expectations wouldn't be so high. So it's a bit of a catch 22.

 

[realorange]

In response to a question in another thread that said we were not playing the type of game it takes to win in the tournament, I asked just what type is it? We have won so many different ways that it makes you ask what type of game that might be. The constant factor is our defense. That drives everything else. We are not normally a shoot you out of the building offensive team. We've ground out a lot of wins and to me that's the mark of a great team; one that figures out a way to win.
We're seeing players lift their game: Scoop, CJ, KJo. BT and Fab seem to have leveled out, but not playing badly. My only real concerns are Dion and James. Dion has not played with the energy he showed early in a long time. I honestly question if he is going to return to the player we saw through early January. James is pressing a little too hard and needs to look for his shot in the flow of the game instead of feeling he needs to immediately connect on threes to justify his time on the court. Even if both of these guys don't step it up, I think we can still go a long way in the tournament, but it will be more difficult.
In the meantime, I'm loving what the team has done and marveling how they've never looked like they felt they were out of a game and then gone out and proved it.

 

[Marsh01]

But USF and Rutgers are far from great teams. USF is ok, but the BE record is deceiving. So playing those teams close for 36 or 37 minutes (and I know Rutgers was on the road) doesn't make me feel all that great. We should be beating USF more easily than we did. Rutgers probably shouldn't have played us as close as they did. That stuff does worry me, and part of the reason it does is because we are 28-1. We are really good. If we weren't quite as good, these games wouldn't bother me because the expectations wouldn't be so high. So it's a bit of a catch 22.

Good take. I also think you need to factor in that last night was USF's play in game. They had a chance to stamp their NCAA bid and we were going to get an above the line effort from them. I agree when we blew it open in the second half we should have stepped on their throats. Rutgers I am not too concerned over. Decent squad and they play completely different at home than they do on the road.

 

[raf4488]

There's a difference between discussing flaws and proclaiming that we suck, we are borderline top 25, that we should be beating teams by 30 and if we aren't than we don't deserve our ranking, etc. Those are the types of posts that pop up on this board daily, and each one of those complaints demonstrates a distinct disconnect with the reality of college basketball, and how other teams are playing / struggling -- even the elite teams.

Christ, as recently as two weeks ago and certainly for the majority of the year leading up to that point--most posters [correctly] pointed to this portion of the schedule that we're in as "THE GAUNTLET." Sure, our record was impressive, but let's wait and see how we handle that tougher, back loaded portion of the schedule before believing we're top 5 material.

Well, we've handled it pretty well. We've also played some tough defensive teams--and yet nobody seems willing to credit the opposition for playing us tough. We've found ways to win games on the road, we've found ways to close out tough games and win by double digits even in rock fights.

And despite how we've performed in THE GAUNTLET, people are miffed by the fact we aren't winning by 30, or blowing teams out like at the beginning of the year.

Perspective--and as Marsh points out, many have lost it.

This post is 100% correct. Spot on.

I think that many of those being unnecessarily negative are good fans, but after the last 2 years are so afraid of another premature tournament exit that they've lost perspective.

 

[tbonezone]

hey bottom line everybody's happy we're 28-1 and ranked #2 overall.
but i would guess the tones of many posts here are a general reflection of how one feels this team is currently trending (no not twitter hits). simply put do think that as we head down the homestretch we are improving as a team, flatlining or in fact slipping. i can respect all opinions and understand that a case can be made for any of these scenarios.

 

[pearl31]

Meanwhile, while they're wringing their hands from November - March, they've missed a hell of a season.

Yep.

 

[NKR1978]

I also believe that many of the posters that predict gloom and doom are simply setting themselves up to get on here and beat their chests if the season ends short of a championship. Well, the percentages are certainly in their favor because no matter how well you are playing or how favorable your road to a title appears, obviously anything can happen in a single elimination tournament.

All I know for sure is that if this season ends with a loss, this board will become a cesspool.

This does not apply to the more cautious posters in this thread (because I think they have legit concerns and aren't really being over the top about it), but to many of the nancies on this board seem to be excited about the "inevitability" of flame out and the chance to be proven right. There's no inclination that these posters even hope they're wrong.

 

[AirForceOrange]

I haven't really seen this mentioned...We need to realize that we are struggling against BE teams. Teams that we play every year and know how to play against us offensively (slow the game down, exploit the zone) and defensively. Once we hit the tourney, we will play against teams that are not used to playing against a zone, especially one like SU's. Although some of our weaknesses concern me, I believe our strengths greatly outweigh them.

Last night I realized something about this team. In the past if they started the first 10 min of game down 20-7, I would start channel surfing. However, with this team I knew they would come back. They just seem to have this toughness/confidence, where they know that whatever situation they are in, they will win. That is not something that can be taught or is skill. That comes from team depth, balanced scoring, trust in each other and an unselfishness to realize who is hot that game and get that player the ball.

I know the pundits keep harping about the rebounding issue, however at some point they will realize that this team can, and has already proven, that it can overcome a rebounding deficit and still win. From the beginning of the season they were harping about the team not have a go-to guy, I think they have proven that is not an issue, haven't heard the talking heads bring this up in a while.

 

[orangecuse]

I haven't really seen this mentioned...We need to realize that we are struggling against BE teams. Teams that we play every year and know how to play against us offensively (slow the game down, exploit the zone) and defensively. Once we hit the tourney, we will play against teams that are not used to playing against a zone, especially one like SU's. Although some of our weaknesses concern me, I believe our strengths greatly outweigh them.

Last night I realized something about this team. In the past if they started the first 10 min of game down 20-7, I would start channel surfing. However, with this team I knew they would come back. They just seem to have this toughness/confidence, where they know that whatever situation they are in, they will win. That is not something that can be taught or is skill. That comes from team depth, balanced scoring, trust in each other and an unselfishness to realize who is hot that game and get that player the ball.

I know the pundits keep harping about the rebounding issue, however at some point they will realize that this team can, and has already proven, that it can overcome a rebounding deficit and still win. From the beginning of the season they were harping about the team not have a go-to guy, I think they have proven that is not an issue, haven't heard the talking heads bring this up in a while.

Who knows...it really depends on the bracket we're in and how we match up. One thing for certain is that the tourney is a half court affair and no doubt early round teams (teams generally with lessor talent) we'll face will know the scouting report, if you want to have a shot at beating the 'Cuse, slow down the pace, don't turn the ball over and crash the boards...

 

[AirForceOrange]

Who knows...it really depends on the bracket we're in and how we match up. One thing for certain is that the tourney is a half court affair and no doubt early round teams (teams generally with lessor talent) we'll face will know the scouting report, if you want to have a shot at beating the 'Cuse, slow down the pace, don't turn the ball over and crash the boards...

In the past, yes, that has worked. However I believe this team shown numerous times that it can win grind it out, slow down game. All of the "close" games have been like this. I think teams are only helping SU now when they do this as this team gains more and more confidence when it wins these type of games.

 

[RF2044]

Who knows...it really depends on the bracket we're in and how we match up. One thing for certain is that the tourney is a half court affair and no doubt early round teams (teams generally with lessor talent) we'll face will know the scouting report, if you want to have a shot at beating the 'Cuse, slow down the pace, don't turn the ball over and crash the boards...

Agreed--the NCAA tournament is ALL about matchups.

 

[AirForceOrange]

Agreed--the NCAA tournament is ALL about matchups.

I agree too...however I think this team has proven that they can beat all different types of teams and win various types of matchups.

 

[orangecuse]

In the past, yes, that has worked. However I believe this team shown numerous times that it can win grind it out, slow down game. All of the "close" games have been like this. I think teams are only helping SU now when they do this as this team gains more and more confidence when it wins these type of games.

Yes, certainly the 'Cuse has proved they can grind it out. My main point is that if (for lack of better word) lessor teams want the best shot of beating us, this will be the obvious strategy, as arguably, no team in the nation runs the floor as well as us.

 

[BlackSquirrels]

I also think you need to factor in that last night was USF's play in game. They had a chance to stamp their NCAA bid and we were going to get an above the line effort from them. I agree when we blew it open in the second half we should have stepped on their throats. Rutgers I am not too concerned over. Decent squad and they play completely different at home than they do on the road.

There's no doubt SU's opponents are delivering maximum effort when they play SU. However, the thing that worries me is these teams aren't playing that well offensively. I don't mind close games or even losses against teams that happen to have hot shooting nights. That's basketball. Other than UConn, I wouldn't say any of SU's recent opponents have shot better than I expected going into the game.

 

[AirForceOrange]

Yes, certainly the 'Cuse has proved they can grind it out. My main point is that if (for lack of better word) lessor teams want the best shot of beating us, this will be the obvious strategy, as arguably, no team in the nation runs the floor as well as us.

True...that is their best shot...but this year it isn't working so far.