With 2nd half Cooney we are def NCAAT team and possible top 25 team

[Alsacs]

We definitely showed good heart and grit last night. Our rebounding let us down but we played well. If we got more offense in the first 10 minutes we likely win as well.


Good job by Rak, Cooney, Gbinije. Joseph played like a true freshman but he had good and bad.

We have some progress and atleast can feel good about a NCAA tournament season.

 

[Millhouse]

We definitely showed good heart and grit last night. Our rebounding let us down but we played well. If we got more offense in the first 10 minutes we likely win as well.


Good job by Rak, Cooney, Gbinije. Joseph played like a true freshman but he had good and bad.

We have some progress and atleast can feel good about a NCAA tournament season.

yep, it's nice to worry more about whether joseph can improve today. who knows if anything will persist but for now, i'm just looking for less to worry about

 

[RF2044]

Its amazing what happens when you hit a few jump shots [and not just Cooney].

Loved Patterson's energy yesterday, too--if only we could get him to knock down a shot or two, it would really go a long way toward helping improve the offense.

 

[anomander]

I'm still pretty skeptical. We showed a ton last night, but we still have some major issues.

1. We can't shoot. Unfortunately that isn't going to change. Cooney will have his game that he is on, but we need consistency.

2. Turnovers. This could be improved upon, but it will take some work.

3. Rebounding. I was impressed by our defense last night, but you have to rebound to close out the possession. If Roberson can't stay on the floor and Mike has to play the back of the zone we are at a disadvantage on the glass. We don't have an MCW who can help from the guard position on the glass.


I believe we could beat anyone on any given night, but we could also get beat by anyone. I hope in wrong, but I think we will have some very good games, but some bad games as well. Lack of consistency could keep us out of the top 25, and a deep tournamnt run.

 

[Cusefan0307]

99 percent of teams are going to lose the number 17 team in the country on the Road.

Turnovers and Rebounding were the difference. That can be corrected.

We're going to beat good teams this year eventually. Hopefully it starts at Nova.

 

[longislandcuse]

Last night showed we "can" be much better than last year come tourney time (provided we make the tourney).

-2nd half Cooney was awesome and if he can shoot around 40%, this team becomes very difficult to defend.
-Rak was a monster and is showing that he's that good.
-CMac had a rough game BUT really started showing off towards the end. He's going to be a monster towards the end of the season.
-G. He needs to be our primary ball handler in crunch time. Our only perimeter player capable of creating his own shot. Those drives he had last night were impressive.

What needs to really improve..

-The defense. They are awful at guarding the perimeter. Only Patterson seems to be a solid defender up top.
-Joseph. Needs to be better. Plain and simple. I know he's only a freshman but he's playing like a freshman at Providence, not a freshman at a Syracuse level school.
-The role players in limited minutes. Looks to be 2 guys, Roberson and Patterson. Johnson maybe here and there. I thought they did ok last night. No clue why we forced the ball to Roberson a few times but he had a few nice plays and we need him to improve. Patterson didn't do much on offense but his defense was smothering.

All in all, last night sucked but it gives much reason for optimism. We can do some damage if we get to the tourney with this team and how I assume they will develop however we have to get there to do any damage.

 

[donniesyracuse]

The NCAA tournament field is now sixty-eight. I am not worried. If the field was sixty-eight in 2007, that team would have made it.

 

[HOFCeluck]

If the turnover margin was just bad instead of flat-out awful, we win.

 

[longislandcuse]

If the turnover margin was just bad instead of flat-out awful, we win.

The 2 at the end were so ridiculous, I think they gave me temporary paralysis. I couldn't even move I was so blown away.

 

[CaptainJ]

If the turnover margin was just bad instead of flat-out awful, we win.

Honestly, you could make a point that with as little as ONE turnover less we could have won the game.

 

[RF2044]

If the turnover margin was just bad instead of flat-out awful, we win.

Agreed.

Funny thing is, since 2012, we've won a TON of games by being on the other end of the turnover margin. We'd play teams who rose to the occasion against our superior team, but would have 15 turnovers to our 6, and we'd eke out wins. Its happened literally dozens of times since 2012.

Last night, we were on the opposite end of that equation. Too bad, because as you point out it cost us the "W"

 

[longislandcuse]

Agreed.

Funny thing is, since 2012, we've won a TON of games by being on the other end of the turnover margin. We'd play teams who rose to the occasion against our superior team, but would have 15 turnovers to our 6, and we'd eke out wins. Its happened literally dozens of times since 2012.

Last night, we were on the opposite end of that equation. Too bad, because as you point out it cost us the "W"

This team won't force many turnovers playing defense the way they played last night. I know they'll get better but that perimeter D was rough. Kaleb Joseph plays perimeter D like he has imaginary pockets on his shorts and is taking a stroll down the sidewalk.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Agreed.

Funny thing is, since 2012, we've won a TON of games by being on the other end of the turnover margin. We'd play teams who rose to the occasion against our superior team, but would have 15 turnovers to our 6, and we'd eke out wins. Its happened literally dozens of times since 2012.

Last night, we were on the opposite end of that equation. Too bad, because as you point out it cost us the "W"

Someone asked me in the game thread when the last time was a Syracuse team has NOT been sloppy with the ball. Which was confusing because I've always thought that in general we were a team that was pretty good about valuing the ball.

 

[RF2044]

Someone asked me in the game thread when the last time was a Syracuse team has NOT been sloppy with the ball. Which was confusing because I've always thought that in general we were a team that was pretty good about valuing the ball.

I don't know about historically [the 2010 team, just for an example, which many regard as being the "best" offensive collective unit we've had in the modern era of the program, turned the ball over a LOT]. But it has definitely been a trend in recent years. It became a stark data point in 2012 [our 34-3 year], and was highly noticeable each of the last two years, as well.

 

[CorduroyG]

The NCAA tournament field is now sixty-eight. I am not worried. If the field was sixty-eight in 2007, that team would have made it.

Gotta say I'm a little worried already. I don't see us beating nova so that's at least 3 losses before conference play. We got a brutal 2nd half ACC schedule so we'll probably be racking up quite a few L's heading into tourney time. It's gonna be absolutely imperative to take full advantage of the soft early part of ACC schedule.

Beating St. John's is very important. I remember people were downplaying the importance of the Iowa game. This team is gonna have many losses, we need every win we can get, especially against bcs schools to build up the resume. I have a strong feeling come February we're gonna be one of those "have work to do" teams on espn to make the dance.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Gotta say I'm a little worried already. I don't see us beating nova so that's at least 3 losses before conference play. We got a brutal 2nd half ACC schedule so we'll probably be racking up quite a few L's heading into tourney time. It's gonna be absolutely imperative to take full advantage of the soft early part of ACC schedule.

Beating St. John's is very important. I remember people were downplaying the importance of the Iowa game. This team is gonna have many losses, we need every win we can get, especially against bcs schools to build up the resume. I have a strong feeling come February we're gonna be one of those "have work to do" teams on espn to make the dance.

You have to win games no matter what. Michigan may finish with maybe one home loss all year. They might be the second best team in the Big Ten when all is said and done That wasn't a bad loss last night.

This team is going to beat good teams. Everyone needs patience. We get a lot of good teams in the Dome this year. Miami, Louisville, Virginia, and Duke all come to the dome. We will win at least two of those games. We just need to keep improving.

I expect to win Saturday, and I still think we can beat Villanova. That's a game Roc will dominate. People have complained for years about our schedule, we finally have a schedule like Michigan St. this year, we are going to have some losses. We are going to have a top 5-10 schedule in the country when the season is over. If we are 10-3 at the end of the Non-Conference who cares. I remember Louisville having non-conference records like that and still making the final four. Can we quit with the NIT talk unless we are on the bubble in February.

 

[dollarbill44]

IF we play like last night, I have confidence this team will be solid come March. If we revert back to missing every single outside shot, we will struggle. I hope Cooney got his mojo back in the 2nd half last night and that it carries forward. Without his 3s last night we lose by 15, so we need him to be solid when we play against tougher competition.