Virginia Game Preview (2/26/22 at Noon)

[ivorytower]

I really am all in! I just want to make the point that if we lose to UVA, but we play well and are competitive, then I feel good about the direction Gait is taking the team. I was surprised and impressed that we kept it close with Maryland in what is supposed to be a rebuilding year for Cuse. And without Owen Hiltz!

Lars Tiffany has shown that losing games early in the season is less important than building toward a strong finish at the end of the season. Obviously, we need to win some games but being ranked #9 is a bonus for me given all the handwringing in the off-season.

Oh - and I agree - please bench Cook. I can't stand it anymore.

Cook is playing out of position to help the team as presently staffed . He made some positive plays in Maryland game

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

Cook is playing out of position to help the team as presently staffed . He made some positive plays in Maryland game

On the ride, especially. Offensively, he held onto the ball way too long. But he wasn’t the only one.

 

[ivorytower]

They played Wisnauskas too much like a dodger at certain points. It was bizarre.

No they didnt. Murphy played Winauskaus fairly well. Responsibilities and Instincts of a third defender tend to be that of help defender and you cant give Winny any space to catch whether stationary or on move

 

[ivorytower]

On the ride, especially. Offensively, he held onto the ball way too long. But he wasn’t the only one.

Yep, offense stagnated at times not only because of Maryland D but because ball wasnt moving around crisply on perimeter.

 

[DoctahLexus]

Good lawd. Really shouldnt have to be explained, he's sprints off his man to pick up a deadly open shooter without having the split second of breaking down. Winny moves and that is the followup attempt from behind. You see same when defenders run out to open three pt shooters

Nope. The approach was too aggressive and he gave away the middle of the field for no reason. Then on top of it he did a move that is only going to work on a d3 player with a pocket from 1985, not Logan Wisnauskas.

 

[ivorytower]

It wasn't a approach but a run out to a open shooter. Breaks down and late to missile already launched , sprints to right and Winny cuts to right. Been there . Winny tucks his stick in and holds despite being touched , bounces off Saam, then Dami and another to finish. Sometimes just gotta tip your cap

 

[ClvrUsrnm]

It wasn't a approach but a run out to a open shooter.

That is an approach.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

5 Things to Know: Syracuse at Virginia - Syracuse University Athletics

Syracuse hits the road for the first time this season, heading to Klöckner Stadium to face No. 2 Virginia on Saturday in Charlottesville. Here's five th...

cuse.com

 

[Faegan]

Yep, offense stagnated at times not only because of Maryland D but because ball wasnt moving around crisply on perimeter.

And the passing was pretty average to bad at some key points during the game. A lot of low balls instead of up in the box, which kills the ability of the offense to get the defense moving and out of position. Maryland's D is phenomenal at shooting doubles and even triples and you can never take advantage of it if you're not perfectly in synch and making really crisp passes that are right on the stick. They recover that quickly.

 

[CuseNHouse]

Regarding your second point I think you are correct. Felt like Maryland won every contested GB situation. I know I've been beating this drum for a few years now but it still doesn't appear to have changed and like you're saying this team has to be better on the wings. Once again if Phaup isn't winning the draws clean he gets no help. At this point I'm seriously questining how these guys are being coached in that facet.

This is where we miss Fernandez...he came up with a lot of GBs .,,Clary is also very good here and we need him to really get in the mix

 

[ivorytower]

Olexo was fine. Phaup gobbled up twelve gb's and he gathered two , has 8 gb's in 2 games, Clary has a total of 4gbs in seven games , Fernandez avg. slightly over 2 a game . Yes, advantage to Maryland in scrums but one game, what short stick on wing best replaces Dearth equally important . Certainly have enough good atheletes to choose from. Also noticed that both wings went when ball went back beyond mid line, in past years, one wing held back from doing so to limit breaks overhead , New tact should allow more wing gb's but also increases exposure to more opponent breaks into unsettled defense . Maryland too often had fast breaks and that was with Phaup winning most ..UVA always plays up tempo n noticed Duke is playing faster this year . Bares watching , might have to adjust tactics against certain teams .

 

[Cuse All-In]

Olexo was fine. Phaup gobbled up twelve gb's and he gathered two , has 8 gb's in 2 games, Clary has a total of 4gbs in seven games , Fernandez avg. slightly over 2 a game . Yes, advantage to Maryland in scrums but one game, what short stick on wing best replaces Dearth equally important . Certainly have enough good atheletes to choose from. Also noticed that both wings went when ball went back beyond mid line, in past years, one wing held back from doing so to limit breaks overhead , New tact should allow more wing gb's but also increases exposure to more opponent breaks into unsettled defense . Maryland too often had fast breaks and that was with Phaup winning most ..UVA always plays up tempo n noticed Duke is playing faster this year . Bares watching , might have to adjust tactics against certain teams .

Excellent points. If Lars is smart, he will be changing up from their game plans of last year where they tended not to play up tempo.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[ivorytower]

Keep us guessing but if Im Tiffany Im not playing Moore until its absolutely certain that his hammy is healed, otherwise he runs the risk of losing him for better part of season if there is a recurrence which is possible because Moore goes hard. Its a regular season game in Feb agaisnt arguably, excuse me for saying so, the 5th best team in acc . Not like UVA doesn't have depth . Think we likely see Dickson and perhaps Shultz in Moore's place

 

[Hoo's That]

Keep us guessing but if Im Tiffany Im not playing Moore until its absolutely certain that his hammy is healed, otherwise he runs the risk of losing him for better part of season if there is a recurrence which is possible because Moore goes hard. Its a regular season game in Feb agaisnt arguably, excuse me for saying so, the 5th best team in acc . Not like UVA doesn't have depth . Think we likely see Dickson and perhaps Shultz in Moore's place

Against Towson, Dickson played A, and Schutz moved from 2M to 1M, replacing Dickson.

 

[OrangeXtreme]

 

[wgdsr]

maybe been said, but something to watch:
possession, clearing/riding, turnovers, transition.
in 2021, cuse largely had the possession advantage. game 1, tilt on faceoffs and bumped with rides. game 2, huge tilt on faceoffs. uva didn't really turn it over much either game, or as much as usual, largely because they rarely had the ball.

gun to my head, highest probability is it'll be somewhat even faceoffs. unless phaup just is in lasalla's head or a matchup problem, lasalla's good and phaup isn't elite every game out.

so riding/clearing... clearing was a problem for the hoos last year and supposed to be addressed. but they've struggled with it worse so far this year, preseason and now in season against competition that will only get better.
flip side, their tenacious ride has been back at 2019 levels. could dictate a lot on saturday.

last, transition... i'm assuming the breakouts maryland had last week will be addressed, but one of the more surprising things i saw were the 3, 4, 5? times cuse pulled up or didn't press when they had numbers or 4v4, etc. watching maryland get up and down more than the orange was not something i was expecting in the 1st gait-led big game.

 

[Zack80]

Keep us guessing but if Im Tiffany Im not playing Moore until its absolutely certain that his hammy is healed, otherwise he runs the risk of losing him for better part of season if there is a recurrence which is possible because Moore goes hard. Its a regular season game in Feb agaisnt arguably, excuse me for saying so, the 5th best team in acc . Not like UVA doesn't have depth . Think we likely see Dickson and perhaps Shultz in Moore's place

It is a league game and UVa lost to Syracuse 2 times last year, so I don't know about holding Moore out if he seems ready. The high is listed at 50 degrees in C-ville which seems reasonably warm. There probably is some chance he will be a part-time player. A positive for Syracuse is that even if Moore plays, he probably has not practiced a lot this week, and could be a little off his game.

 

[Hoo's That]

UVa's Game Notes (all 39 pages). Matt Moore is listed as a probable starter.

 

[Goin' Deep]

gonna be cool in C'ville today,,,mid 40s, cloudy.
track could be a bit sloppy from recent rain.
LGO!!!!!!