Syracuse is now 33-2, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the
NCAA tournament. The Orange had a slight
scare in the first round to UNC – Asheville, but I would suggest that while the
score was indeed close, the outcome was very consistent with the Syracuse
basketball.
The casual Syracuse observer may not be aware of the pattern
for the Orange this season, but his is the team’s recipe for winning games:
1 – Let the opposing team jump to a 9-15 point lead early in
the game
2 – Then reel them back in, tying up the score towards the
end of the first half, or early in the second half.
3 – Pull away from the other team with a 7-8 point lead.
4 – Let the other team get back into the game to keep it
close. Often this is related to a couple
of ‘Scoop moments’ or the opposition closing their eyes and banking in a couple
of desperation three point shots as the shot clock expires.
5 - Play shutdown
defense the last two minutes of the game, closing the door on the opponent’s
ability to get back into the game.
There are variations within that framework, but it surely describes
many of the Syracuse games this year. It
has given many Orange fans a bit of anxiety, myself included, and even though I
have gotten to the point where I know that is how it is going to play out, it
still unnerves me.
Lost in the midst of the bad call controversy of the UNC
Asheville game was the outstanding defense by Syracuse in the last 21 seconds
of the game. The Bulldogs were down by
two possessions, and knew they would have to score twice. They came down the
court, and Syracuse played such stifling defense that for 10-12 seconds, very
precious time, the Bulldogs could not even get a glimpse of the basket. Finally out of desperation they tried to pass
the basket down low, the Orange intercepted the ball, and the game was
officially over.
The officiating, while bad, has clearly been proven not to
be the determining factor of the outcome of the game. The officials properly called the lane
violation, much to the fans dismay. And
they blew the out of bounds call; they should have called the foul for bumping
Triche, sending the Orange’s best free throw shooter to the line.
Even if the calls were bad calls, and even if the officials
had called them the other way (i.e. no lane violation, and gave the ball to the
Bulldogs on the out of bounds), I would submit the Orange still would have
won. It would have changed the
situations in the game in both instances, but the Orange have seemed to win all
those close games this year. They have
the knack for causing the crucial turnover, making the clutch shot, and
shutting down offenses when they must.
The Kansas State game followed the same formula, with the
difference being that the Orange offense was highly effective and efficient in
the second half, and the game became a blowout, so there was no late comeback.
For those who think Syracuse is overrated: they are
33-2. The object of the game is to win
games; they won one of the major conferences easily, won all their big games of
the season, and did not lose to anyone they should not have. They aren’t impressing people with their
style points, and they have had many ugly wins mainly because their offense can
be downright ugly at times and their defense makes other teams look ugly. The bottom line is they are winning
games. Even if they were to lose their
next game, that does not mean they are overrated; this is the NCAA tournament
and upsets will happen, with ultimately only one team winning six in a row.
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