Balanced Scoring

22-1. Who would have thought that possible? It is unprecedented in Syracuse basketball history, this year’s squad being the first ever to reach 23 games with only one loss.

A combination of factors have brought the Orange to this point. They are playing outstanding defense most every game. My hat off to coach Jim Boeheim for getting this year’s squad to buy into the defensive scheme. The squad doesn’t have the individual talent level as last year’s team, but they have far more guys willing to play defense and willing to play Boeheim’s defense. I think the exhibition loss to LeMoyne, where the Orange played straight man-to-man defense for the whole game may have helped convince the players; I’ve got to believe the cagey veteran Boeheim had that in mind.

It is a veteran team, in the sense that two players are in their fifth year of college basketball (Andy Rautins and Arinze Onuaku), another is in his fourth year (Wesley Johnson), and two others in their third year (Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine). They have not played together as a unit for a long time, but they do have a lot of practice time and exposure to college basketball. And that helps.

Syracuse also has a very balanced and deep team. Boeheim is going only 7-8 players deep per game, but the talent of those 6th-8th players is excellent. Jardine could be starting for Syracuse, and Kris Joseph would likely be starting at several other programs. Mookie Jones would be a very nice starting shooting guard in other programs (he still has to learn to play some defense, and to pass the ball, to get more playing time this year).

Seven different Syracuse players have scored 20 or more points in a game this season. No other Syracuse team has ever done that. That means that on any given night, there are seven guys on the court who can not only lead the Orange in scoring, but also do it with some solid scoring. The list includes the five starters (Triche, Rautins, Jackson, Johnson, Onuaku) and the top two reserves (Jardine & Joseph). Johnson, Joseph and Jackson all have double-doubles this year (points, rebounds), also helping out up front.

There have been other Syracuse teams with six players who scored 20+. The last team to do it was 1981-1982 when Leo Rautins, Erich Santifer, Tony Bruin, Gene Waldron, Ron Payton and Sean Kerins all pulled the trick. The previous to that was the 1976-1977 squad (Boeheim’s first) with Roosevelt Bouie, Louis Orr, Jimmy Williams, Ross Kindel, Larry Kelley and Dale Shackleford all meeting that number. That team came very close, with Marty Byrnes reaching 19 points in a game.

The first Syracuse team to have six players who scored 20+ in a game was the 1967-1968 squad. Vaughn Harper, George Hicker, Wayne Ward, Ernie Austin, Richie Cornwall and Frank Hamblen all performed the feat that season. That team was beset with personnel issues (a few suspensions) and some infighting that ultimately led to a losing season.

There have been a few teams with five players who scored 20+ in a game. The last was the 2007-2008 team with Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, Donte’ Greene, Arinze Onuaku, and Paul Harris. That team also had four players score 20+ points in one game (in a 107-100 loss to UMass on November 28, 2007).

Another notable team with five players was the National Championship team in 2002-2003 (Carmelo Anthony, Gerry McNamara, Hakim Warrick, Kueth Duany and Billy Edelin), further confirming it was not a one-man team as many erroneously tend to remember.

The golden era of Syracuse hoops, 1986-1989, had three consecutive seasons with players scoring 20+ points in a game. And there have been eleven other teams with that distinction in the Boeheim era.

The 1999-2000 squad also had five players who scored 20 in a game. Etan Thomas, Damone Brown, Ryan Blackwell, Tony Bland and Preston Shumpert . Senior point guard Jason Hart, who was certainly capable of scoring 20 points in a game (he had done it previous seasons) had a personal season high of 19.

The 1999-2000 squad is very similar to this year’s Orange squad. It was a veteran team with three seniors starting (Thomas, Blackwell and Hart), all having been starters for at least three years, and two juniors (Brown and Allen Griffin). It had a very balanced offense with five players scoring in double digits, the leader being Thomas with only 13.6 ppg. The squad was very deep with eight players playing virtually every night. One of the reserves, Griffin, had been the starting shooting guard the previous season, and Shumpert was probably the best offensive player on the team, and he came off the bench.

The squad had five different players who rotated at the guard position (Hart, Bland, Griffin, Shumpert and DeShaun Williams), whereas this year’s team has three guys sharing that position.

The 1999-2000 squad played outstanding defense. Etan Thomas would be named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Jason Hart was an outstanding ball hawk, and Blackwell was a solid low post defender. Brown, Bland and Shumpert were all long players, ideal for the Syracuse zone defense. The team kept 22 of its opponents under 70 points; only one team scored more than 80 points and that was Louisville with 82.

That squad would start the season 19-0, and would get to as high as #4 in the polls. They would go 5-3 down the stretch in the Big East season, and would win the Big East regular season title with a 13-3 record (24-4 overall). They would unexpectedly bow out to Georgetown in the first round of the Big East Tournament, then beat Samford and #19 Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. They would play #2 ranked Michigan State, in Michigan, in the Sweet Sixteen. Syracuse would have a fourteen point lead, which the Spartans would eventually knock away at and tie the game up at 58-58 with six minutes to go. The Orangemen then collapsed, and the Spartans scored the last seventeen points of the game to win 75-58. Michigan State would go on to win the National Title. Syracuse, had them down, and let them slip away.

The 1999-2000 squad finished on a disappointing note… but clearly they were a good team, one capable of doing a lot of damage.

The Orange take on Cincinnati tomorrow at 2:00. Let’s hope they can continue their season in unchartered waters, and go to 23-1.

This and That... and the Orangemen are 19-1!

No one particular issue on my mind this week… some here are some random thoughts.

• I assume I’m in the same class as many other Orange fans these days, but I really enjoy watching these guys win. The extra pass on several occasions, the blocked shot when needed, a Wes Johnson highlight play or two a game. The 2009-2010 Orangemen are a lot of fun to watch. And of course, being 19-1 helps out with that enjoyment. But I think they would be fun if they were 13-6.

• Jim Calhoun, I hope what ails you is over soon. It is good for the Big East and SU basketball to see you prowling the Husky sidelines. We all need our familiar villains, and you are ours. 558-205 at UConn, with a 254-135 Big East regular season record, and 282-151 overall Big East record (including BET). I’m glad Jim Boeheim overtook your total wins by one before you were sidelined, but I do hope you are back soon.

• Has anyone at Syracuse ever thrown a consistently harder pass than Andy Rautins? He’s throwing bullets all over the court. Sometimes his teammates aren’t breaking for the pass or going where Rautins thinks he is going, and SU ends up with a bad turnover. But those passes he does complete just amaze me. And I love how this year’s team always gives that extra pass, rewarding the trailing teammate on the fast break. That was a complaint of mine last year, and I think that type of passing is a sign of a champion team.

• Seven blocked shots by Rick Jackson against Marquette. I love to see Jackson and Arinze Onuaku step up big against a small front line. Though the two biggest blocks of the game had to belong to Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins. Johnson’s was spectacular, and I’m not sure what was more amazing about Rautin’s block: the difficulty in it, or the fact the he could even do it.

• One thing I love about Syracuse this year is their ability to dominate a game even when they are not playing the perfect game. 22 turnovers and 1-8 from three point range would normally kill a team. But they Orangemen dominated the boards with a 46-21 edge. And what I really liked was the hustling by the Orangemen to get all the loose balls. The trademark of the UConn and Pitt programs has always been their ability to grab all the loose balls; they seem to out hustle their opponents to gain every advantage they can get. It was very nice to see Syracuse on that side of the point of view for a change.

• Hard to believe it, but if Syracuse had played with even half a decent effort of defense in the early part of the second half of the Pitt game, they could be undefeated right now. The Pitt loss was all about Syracuse not trying in the second half and then putting themself in a position where they had to scramble in the end.

• Lot's of support out there for Jamie Dixon for coach of the year for what he has done with Pitt this year. And it is an amazing job. He did lose four starters and a couple of All-American candidates. But let us keep in mind that he did have a deep bench and a Final Four caliber team last year, so there was some talent returning. It was going to be a tough year for Pitt, but it was not bereft of talent. Jim Boeheim had a similar situation, losing three starters including the #5 overall NBA pick in Jonny Flynn and four of his top seven players and Syracuse was ranked #6 in the preseason Big East, and not ranked in the AP or ESPN polls. They are now 19-1, #5 in the country. I'm not saying Boeheim is a better candidate than Dixon for coach of the year; but I am saying the Dixon is by no ways the undisputed front runner. I think a lot of sportcasters forget how far Syracuse has come this year.

Milestones Revisted January 2010

Syracuse is off to a 17-1 start. This is the fifth time the Orangemen got off to a 17-1, or better start. In 2004-05, they started out 20-1, in 1999-00 they started out 19-0, in 1986-87 they started out 17-1 and in 1979-80 they had a 21-1 start.

They have already beaten 3 top 10 teams this season. Only five other times has a Syracuse squad beaten 3 or more top 10 teams in one season. The last time was 2002-2003, where they beat 5 top 10 teams. 1988-89 and 1989-90 saw the Orangemen beat 4 top 10 teams. And 1990-91, and 1995-96 saw the Orangemen beat 3 top 10 teams.

As of today Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has 816 career wins, which ties him with Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun for the sixth winningest all-time Division I Men’s basketball coach. Jim Phelan is ahead of them both at 830, a number that is achievable but tough for both coaches to get this year. Obviously, Calhoun and Boeheim will continue to trade this one on-and-off.

Boeheim also continues to be the winningest Big East coach ever with 315 wins (by far the most), and Syracuse is the winningest program in Big East history with the same total.

Andy Rautins is having a stellar all-around season, a stat stuffing year. He’s on pace for 195 assists (assuming 37 games for SU this year), which would be the 11th best season in Syracuse history. He would also surpass his father Leo, whose top season had 192 assists. Rautins is also on pace to pass his father in points; he trails Leo by 147, and Andy’s current pace will have him around 1,081 points compared to Leo’s 1,031.

Rautins currently has 227 career 3 point field goals, making him #3 all time at Syracuse. He trails Preston Shumpert by 22, an amount he should easily get to get himself to #2. Gerry McNamara is secure at #1 with 400.

Rautins is also on pace for 84 steals, which would be 6th best in SU history; he’d have a shot a Eddie Moss at #5 with 85 steals.

Arinze Onuaku broke the 1000 point barrier earlier this season. He’s now at 1,075 career points, #51 all time at Syracuse. He just passed Vaughn Harper, and is 4 behind Pete Chudy. At his current pace, Onuaku will end somewhere around 1,264 career points, just ahead of Paul Harris at #34 on this list.

Onuaku has 726 career rebounds, tying him for 18th with Wendell Alexis. Next on the list is Todd Burgan with 755. Onuaku will end up with around 807 career rebounds, putting him 15th on the list just ahead of Dave Bing, and behind Harris.

Onuaku is currently breaking his single season field goal record he set last year, at 67.5% (81-120) this year; last year he was 66.7%. His career percentage is now 64.6% (468-724), extending his own school record for players with 400+ attempts. He also continues to obliterate the school career free throw percentage, for worst ever. Onuaku is 17-39 this year, or 43.5%, which actually raises his career percentage to 39.3% (139-354). This record is fairly secure, as he has virtually no chance of raising his percentage above Terrence Roberts’ 48%/

Wes Johnson is on pace for 621 points this year, which would be good for 18th on SU’s single season list. He’s also on pace for 324 rebounds, or 14th on the single season list.

The single best 3 pt percentage for a season is Matt Roe with 47.4% in 1990-91 (he was 83-175). Johnson is currently shooting 44.6% (25-56) which would be second best ever (50+ attempts). However, Roe shot from a shorter distance; Johnson’s percentage would be the school record from the current distance. Brandon Triche is hitting at a greater clip 44.9% (22-49), so he would surpass Johnson.

Brandon Triche is averaging 10.5 points a game. He would become the 15th Syracuse freshman to average 10+ ppg. Triche is looking to make some other marks on the all-time SU freshman list with 389 points (10th), 115 assists (8th), and 45 three point field goals (6th).

Early Season Dominance

Syracuse is off to a 12-0, the best start since the school went 19-0 in the 1999-2000 season. They are the 10th Orangemen squad to start out the season with twelve wins. I covered all the fast starts in Syracuse basketball a few years ago, so I won’t readdress the issue now. As I had mentioned a few days ago, I was in the process of putting together new information on OrangeHoops.org regarding Syracuse’s performance against ranked teams, and that is now completed.

I’m sure it seems Syracuse is always off to a fast start under Jim Boeheim. And that is not an illusion. With Syracuse’s win tonight against Oakland, the Orangemen are 308-38 in November and December under Boeheim. That’s an 89% winning percentage.

Boeheim’s critics will point out that as evidence of how inflated his record is. It is true that Syracuse does play its share of ‘easy’ games in November and December, just like every other major Division I school. However, it is not true that Boeheim’s winning percentage in these two months is solely the result of playing the easier competition. Syracuse has an outstanding record against ranked teams in November and December. The Orangemen are 22-13 versus top 25 teams in those two months; since the 1988-89 season he is 20-7 versus top 25 teams in the first two months.

Folks, that’s an outstanding number. If you are winning half of your games against Top 25 teams on a regular basis, you are doing an outstanding job. Syracuse has been 11-4 in November, and 11-9 in December against the Top 25. The fact is the Orange win in November and December, regardless of who they play. They have some aberrations (a Cleveland State here, a Drexel there). But you get the point.

Now I realize it is only what you accomplish in March that really matters. But Boeheim does have a National Championship and three Final Fours under his belt. Few coaches have that. And in his three championship games he coached against Bobby Knight, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams. That’s a trio of Hall of Famers he met in the title game.

Overall, Boeheim is 111-123 versus Top 25 teams. Against the best teams in the country, he’s winning 47% of his games. The Orangemen are 46-61 against the Top 10 teams in the Boeheim era. They are winning 43% of their games against the best 10 teams in the country. The Orangemen in that same time span are 17-39 against the Top 5 teams in the country. So when a Boeheim coached team plays one of the five best teams in the country, they’ll win 30% of the time. Basically, they have a one in three chance against the best of the best. I think you have to be pretty good to win at that level.

Boeheim coached teams are 65-78 versus teams ranked higher than the Orangemen (since 1986-87 they are 55-58 against that group). They are winning 45% of the games, on a regular basis, against teams reportedly ranked better than the Orangemen (and this includes when the Orange weren’t ranked and their opposition was). So Jim Boeheim teams are almost even money in games against the better team.

Overall, Jim Boeheim has coached against 287 Top 25 teams. His squad has been ranked in 676 games of the 1099 games he has coached.

Look, Boeheim has his coaching flaws. And his teams have lost some games we thought they were locks in. But they have also won several games they were not supposed to win.

As a side note, I thought there was some interesting ranking information regarding all four of Syracuse’s Final Fours. The 1974-75 squad was never ranked during the regular season; the AP named them #20 during the first round of the NCAA tournament. The 1986-87 team started the season out at #15; they were #10 entering the NCAA tournament. They would be #2 ranked North Carolina in the tournament, and lost eventually by a basket to the #3 ranked Indiana Hoosiers.

The 2005-2006 Orangemen were not ranked to start the season, and reach the Top 25 on December 15th. They would beat #4 ranked Kansas in the tournament, and lose to #2 ranked Kentucky in the final.

The 2002-2003 Orangemen were not ranked to start the season, and would not enter the Top 25 until January 18th. They would beat #3 Oklahoma, #5 Texas and #6 Kansas to win the National Championship.

So being unranked in November, like this year, can lead to a nice ending. Let’s hope so.

New Feature @ OrangeHoops on Ranked Teams

I have been working recently on a new feature at OrangeHoops that will show Syracuse’s all-time record versus AP Ranked Teams and each Syracuse coach’s individual record. I am also updating the game results pages of OrangeHoops to show the ranking of Syracuse and their opponent for each game.

I have not finished this feature yet; it is a somewhat slow process of getting the data, and updating each page as I translate the results. However, I wanted to announce this early as I have been receiving a lot of questions from loyal Syracuse fans (and readers!) on Syracuse’s performance with regards to ranked teams. I’ve completed the data from the 1948-1949 season through the 1995-1996 season. As a footnote, AP weekly voting did not start until 1948-49.

Once I’ve finished this ‘small’ project, I’ll do some of my customary analysis and commentary. But I wanted to get some of this information out to you all now, as the existing data will help answer many questions.

Just to wet your appetite, here are some highlights in Syracuse basketball history regarding ranked teams:

Syracuse first played a ranked team on February 9, 1949 when they played #20 Duquesne. Syracuse beat the Dukes 65-58 that day. Jack Kiley would lead Syracuse with 21 points.

Syracuse first played the #1 ranked team on March 13th, 1950 versus Bradley in the NIT. Bradley would win that game 78-66, and that would be the last game coached by Lew Andreas who retired after 25 years. As a side note, if you have ever wondered why there are references to the NIT once being as important as the NCAA, take note that Syracuse was playing the #1 team in the country in the post-season NIT. In other words, the #1 ranked team was not even in the NCAA tournament in 1950.

Syracuse’s first win against a Top 10 team occurred the next year, as Syracuse beat #8 Bradley 76-75 on March 31, 1951 to win the National Campus Tournament Championship (a third post season tournament that only hung around for a couple of years). Syracuse would trail in that game 18-0, before making a remarkable comeback. Jack Kiley would lead Syracuse with 12 points.

Syracuse’s first win against a Top 5 team did not occur until March 1, 1983 against Villanova, when the Orangemen beat the #4 Wildcats 79-70 at the Carrier Dome. Erich Santifer would lead the Orangemen with 21 pts.

Syracuse’s first win against a #1 Team was on January 28, 1985 against Georgetown. Syracuse beat the Hoyas 65-63. Rafael Addison would lead the Orangemen with 26 points.

The first time Syracuse was ranked #1 was the 1987-1988 preseason ranking. Syracuse would play #3 ranked North Carolina in the Tip Off classic, and lose a close one 96-93. Rony Seikaly would lead the Orangemen in scoring with 23 points.

The Orangemen were ranked #1 for 11 games over 6 weeks in 1989-1990, from November 27th until January 8th. They started that year at #3 in the preseason poll, but moved to #1 before playing any games as #1 Missouri and #2 LSU lost early November games. Their last game as a #1 ranked team was on January 6th, 1990 versus the unranked Villanova Wildcats. The Orangemen lost that game 93-74.

The last time Syracuse beat a #1 team was on March 7, 2006 when the beat Connecticut on their historic Big East Title run, with the Orangemen winning four games in four days to take the title by Gerry McNamara’s MVP performance.

A Win over Florida

The Orange are now 9-0, having knocked off their third top 15 team of the season. The Orange should go to 12-0 before the start of the Big East season on December 29th, but of course, upsets do happen. It was only a year ago that a 9-0 Syracuse team did lose to Cleveland State, at home.

I had mentioned three years ago that there were fifteen teams in Syracuse history to start a season 10-0. A win over St. Francis will make this year’s squad the 16th to accomplish that feat. Brandon Triche’s cousin Jason Hart was the starting point guard on the last Syracuse squad to win its first ten games, the 1999-2000 squad. That team would eventually go 19-0 before losing its first game.

Brandon Triche’s uncle, Howard, would help the Orangemen start out 15-0 in the 1986-1987 season. Only a jump shot by Keith Smart in the final seconds prevented the Orangemen from winning the National Championship that year. And Andy Rautins' father, Leo, help lead the 1982-1983 Orangemen to an 11-0 start.

Speaking of Andy Rautins, he is simply putting up some amazing statistics early in this season, despite playing only about 24 minutes a game. Rautins now has 49 assists and 19 turnovers after the first nine games of the season. Now keep in mind that Andy Rautins is a shooting guard, a guy who many thought was too slow and too weak to play major Division I basketball. He is on pace for roughly 200 assists for the season, with 80 turnovers, a 2.6 assist to turnover ratio. If Rautins were playing 39-40 minutes a game, he would be averaging about 9 assists a game. Jonny Flynn last season, playing 39-40 minutes a game, had 6.7 assists per game, and a turnover/assist ratio around 2.0.

Rautins is shooting 48% from three point range, 25-52, after having an off-night going 2-7 against Florida. He had no steals, which was unusual for this season for him; Rautins has 30 steals for the season. Jonny Flynn led the Orange last season with 54 steals, for the entire 38 game season. Rautins current pace puts him at around 120 steals for the year. The Syracuse record is 101 by James Thues in 2001-02. And keep in mind, that Rautins is only playing 24 minutes a game right now.

I don’t anticipate those numbers to hold up all season, but it really points out how well Rautins has been doing.

Rick Jackson had an outstanding first half last night. I love the fact that Syracuse is feeding the ball inside to Jackson and Onuaku this year. Good things happen when you offensively get the ball near the hoop. Offensive rebounds happen (Syracuse had 16 last night), opposing defensive players get in foul trouble, and the perimeter shooters get open looks. I like how Kris Joseph is defining his own role as the fast wing player who plays when the Orange need speed over size (Onuaku, sit down). Another stellar night by Wes Johnson (17 pts, 10 rebounds).

The Orange are fun to watch this year. They are playing a good brand of team basketball right now, and I hope that attitude stays with the squad all season long.

By the way, the Florida game is a neutral court game as it was part of the SEC/Big East Challenge, and was played on neither school’s home court. It’s not like the University of Florida is anywhere near Tampa; it’s a massive 132 miles away, a 2 hour 6 minute drive. Syracuse is 1144 miles away (an 18 hour 30 minute drive). Then again, I’m sure Dick Vitale and company would point out that Florida had to drive the whole 132 miles, while Syracuse simply had to drive about 12 minutes to the Hancock Airport, then fly to Tampa, and then drive a few miles to the Tampa arena. Definitely no home court advantage for Florida in this one, unlike Syracuse which has Madison Square Garden in its back yard (it’s very big back yard). All sarcasm aside, I don't mind this game being a neutral court game; it was on a 'neutral' court. Just remember to give Syracuse the same respect about its other two 'neutral' court games at Madison Square Garden.

Geography 101

The Syracuse Orange are now 6-0, after putting away Columbia in the second half of Friday night’s game at the Carrier Dome. Wesley Johnson was exciting on offense, Andy Rautins had his usual stellar defensive effort, and Jim Boeheim moved in to sole possession of 7th place on the all-time win list with win # 805.

I would like to take a break, to educate all the youth of America who are being educated by Professor Dick Vitale on the proximity of Madison Square Garden to Syracuse University. He likes to reiterate each and every year that Syracuse ‘never’ leaves NY state before the Big East season, as if that is a tremendous home field for Syracuse. I will of course agree that the following statement is indeed correct:

“Syracuse and Madison Square Garden are indeed both in New York State”

For those unfamiliar with the geography of New York, that is about the only thing in common with New York city and Syracuse. Syracuse University is 249 miles driving distance from Madison Square Garden (per MapQuest). It is a 4 hours 22 minutes away.

Syracuse is not on a subway line from New York City. Many people from Syracuse have never been to New York City. I had never visited New York City until I was 20 years old. Roughly 27% of the Syracuse city area is covered by trees, and the city receives more snowfall than any other major US city with 115 inches of snow a year. The immediate areas surrounding Syracuse are known for apple orchards, wineries, and dairy farms.

Syracuse is closer to the states of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut than it is to New York City. It is closer to Canada, than it is to the Big Apple.

Of the original 8 Big East Schools, guess which university is the furthest from Madison Square Garden? Yes, the answer is indeed Syracuse. Here’s the list with their Mapquest driving distance.

St. John’s – 0 miles (The Red Storm play some home games at MSG)
Seton Hall – 19 miles
Villanova – 96 miles
UConn – 142 miles
Providence – 180 miles
Boston College – 216 miles
Georgetown - 229 miles
Syracuse – 249 miles

In the new Big East alignment, Rutgers is added to the above list at only 14 miles. And just for the heck of it, here are three non-Big East schools of note: Temple is 96 miles, University of Maryland is 222 miles and Penn State University is 239 miles away.

Syracuse is closer to Toronto, Ontario at 245 miles. It is virtually the same distance to Montreal, Quebec at 252 miles. And Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 245 miles. And Hartford, Connecticut at 256 miles. Erie, Pennsylvania, at the far western corner of the state of Pennsylvania is 238 miles away.

Anyhow, I hope you all get the point. Yes, Syracuse is in New York State. But unless you count all the cities just mentioned as 'home' games for Syracuse, then please don't apply the same standard to Madison Square Garden. That goes to you too Mr. Vitale.