ATB: More Like Small Monday…
Posted by rtmsf on January 26th, 2010
Big Monday, Not So Much. And this is why they play the games. On paper, the two ESPN games tonight looked like tremendous matchups with the potential of both going down to the wire. Didn’t really work out that way, though. Perhaps better luck tomorrow night…
It had an 80s Feel at the Dome Tonight (The Post-Standard/Gloria Wright)
- #4 Syracuse 73, #7 Georgetown 56. It may not have been a classic, but the first matchup between the Cuse and Georgetown in twenty years with both teams residing in the top ten was certainly interesting. The Hoyas denigrated the Syracuse zone from the tip, jumping out to a 14-0 lead behind four threes and a layup that had the 25,000+ upstaters wondering when Jim Boeheim’s team was going to show up. The answer wasn’t long in coming, as Syracuse shook off the early doldrums and put together a 30-15 run of their own to take the lead before the half ended. From that point it was all downhill for JT3’s team, as the well with which the Hoyas had hit early jumpers ran dry throughout the rest of the game. The biggest problem for the Hoyas was that two of their primary scoring options — their star point guard, Chris Wright, and center, Greg Monroe — were completely ineffective tonight on the offensive end, scoring only fifteen points on 7-17 shooting (0-6 from three). Considering that Georgetown gets so much of its scoring from its starters (92%), they simply cannot afford off nights from these players (note: the Hoya bench contributed zero points tonight). As for Syracuse, their offense is incredibly efficient — in 15 of the Orange’s 21 games this year, they’ve shot over 50% from the field, and tonight was no exception (53%). They know what they’re good at and they force other teams to deal with it — most cannot, which means they better hope they’re having a strong shooting night against the confounding SU zone. Good luck with that. In terms of the Big East race, does this mean that Syracuse and Villanova are clearly the teams to beat? Hard to say because VU has had a very weak conference schedule to date, but we can state without equivocation that Syracuse is in the top tier of contenders.
- #2 Kansas 84, Missouri 65. When Kansas plays team defense like they did tonight against rival Missouri, there is nobody in America who can beat them. Not Kentucky, not Texas, not Villanova, not Duke, not Syracuse. It’s a testament to just how dominant their D was tonight that the Jayhawks could turn the ball over twenty-three times (vs. four for Missouri) and still have absolutely no trouble with the Tigers, whom they held to 28% shooting. Imagine what it would have looked like if they’d been more careful with the ball. The KU defense of course starts and ends with Cole Aldrich inside, and he was spectacular, nearly earning a trip-dub with 12/16/7 blks. Marcus Morris continues to come on strong with a 17/9 night in his fifth straight game of double figures as well. Mike Anderson’s Tigers never got into any kind of offensive groove after an opening 8-3 run, as there was often a sense that Kansas had a sixth defender on the floor to get out on the Missouri shooters. Since the loss at Tennessee three weekends ago, the Jayhawks have yet to play another tough road game, but they’ll have their hands full with Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente on Saturday night in the Little Apple. It says here that the brief issues of focus that KU had, in part because of Aldrich’s family matters, are put behind them and will be tough to beat more than once the rest of the year.
Other Games of National Interest.
- Western Carolina 100, Charleston 90. A wild offensive-minded game in the SoCon tonight, with Western Carolina giving Charleston its first loss in league play. Both teams put five players each in double figures, with the Catamounts hitting eleven threes and shooting 59% from the field while Charleston nailed a scorching nineteen treys on 57% shooting. The SoCon is more than likely a one-bid league this year, but with WCU possessing the scalps of Louisville and Charleston holding UNC’s, keep an eye on one of these two as a possible first-round darkhorse in March.
