Comments on: Blueprint To Beat Undefeated Syracuse

By: Josh

Josh — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:50:44 +0000

Here is another tip:

“Go 11 players deep.”

Then again, Syracuse has snipers off the walk-on bench who can outshoot everyone.

By: Trotter76

Trotter76 — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:50:54 +0000

The guards on this team are doing a much better job of sagging to the free throw line from the off-side and then darting back out to defend the 3 than previous years. (And if you watch other teams try the 2-3 it looks pathetically slow in comparison). Dion especially has been doing a great job of double duty against the high post and the 3 pt line. This team is damn good.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:27:07 +0000

The zone lulls you into jacking threes. If they contest and close out, it’s actually a really hard defense to shoot at. The reason Cinci could struggle is that they don’t have a great option (potentially; I disagree a little about Kirkpatrick) to work in the middle. If you get to shoot inside out threes, you can make them. If you are going to throw it around the perimeter and shoot over guys ranging from 6’2″ to 6’9″, you’re going to be launching contested 25 footers. Those aren’t good shots. The only team on the schedule with somewhat comparable talent is UCONN. UCONN doesn’t have the depth, but they arguably have more high end guys (Lamb and Drummond). If they don’t have Boatright back, I think they’re in trouble (and I think Napier is going to start unraveling this thing). Every other game, SU will have better players, and more of them, than anyone they play (other than Kevin Jones). So it’s going to take another team playing great, and SU having an off night (which is reasonable to assume will happen). Bottom line is that from here out, no one on their schedule can beat SU IF they play well.

By: matt

matt — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 20:21:31 +0000

Play Syracuse zone. If teams insist on playing man, they have too many athletes that can break them down and finish at or above the rim. They aren’t good against a zone.

The defensive rebounding thing is less about the zone (that’s a silly myth) and more about two things; Kris Joseph being physical and they try to block so many shots. KJ is a great player, but he’s soft. If/when he owns his wing spot rebounding, this team doesn’t struggle at all to rebound. This will become more apparent as Melo improves each game. So KJ has to be tougher. But the bigger part is that they try to block every single shot that goes up. Understandably as they may be the best shot blocking team in the country (if teams shot a higher percentage of inside shots their bpg would go way up). However, these leaves guys out of position to rebound. SU needs to continue to improve in knowing when to just play positionally, make the other team take a tough shot, and then go get the ball.

UCONN on the road, L’ville on the road (L’ville is nowhere near as good as SU but they are so well coached), Cinci on the road; those are hang up games to be sure. I feel like WVU at home though is what’s gonna derail an undefeated season. Georgetown just doesn’t have the horses in the Dome.

By: zhayes9

zhayes9 — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:12:00 +0000

I’d be surprised too Brian. Think about the toughest games left: Cincy takes a lot of threes which can lead to long rebounds and Cuse in transition, Oriakhi/Drummond won’t be comfortable against the zone and Louisville can’t shoot.

It’s not in DC, but just as far as matchups are concerned, I like Georgetown’s chances as much as anyone.

By: kevin

kevin — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:07:34 +0000

Some of those stats are misleading, for one when SU has been in closer games, they have had some pretty good halfcourt,see the prov gam. the reason it hasnt looked so well as of late, is mainly do to the drop in 3 point shooting percentage, they started out cold in that area but then caught fire, with joseph, triche, southerland, and waiters bringin theyre avg above 40%, but the last 2 games they just havent been dropping,often good open shots that just popout, so that “weakness” might not be there too long. Also I pray that people start saggin jardine watch the game when they have (florida) and he killed them, also he is not as bad a ft shooter as his stats and has been making them of late. Also that marshall game wasnt really as close as the final score if you actually watched it, they were up like 20 with 5 mins left and they just let em shoot 3s the end of the game when the was really no chance. And melos foul trouble had more to do with how bad the refs were in the prov,marqutte, and pitt games then melo, also if the refs were accurate all those games would have been blowouts. MY keys- everyone on SU goes cold(10 are alot of people to be off at once)and have horribly onesided refereeing letting the other team get away with murder and SU get called for everything they do.

By: BOtskey

BOtskey — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:13:00 +0000

Great breakdown. Rebounding is huge because a team can control tempo. If you can’t slow the Orange down, you can’t beat them. However, Syracuse is so good at creating steals and bad passes by extending that zone out on opposing guards while relying on the big men to anchor under the basket.

I’d be surprised if Syracuse loses any of its remaining regular season games. They’re that good.

By: zhayes9

zhayes9 — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:28:30 +0000

Didn’t imply a team must perfect all 8 of these tasks to win. My goal was to simply examine some ways that a team can increase their odds of an upset.

I’d say Cincy is most likely. They’re playing a lot more 4-guard lineups with Wright, Dixon, Kilpatrick and Parker. Can be advantageous against a zone.

By: Dick

Dick — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:23:44 +0000

Beating Syracuse is easy. Just score more points than they do. Good luck.

By: Syracuse Daily Links – Wither The Big Heads? | Syracuse Sports & Living

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:41:13 +0000

[…] Blueprint To Beat Undefeated Syracuse « Rush The CourtAny hope of knocking off Syracuse begins and ends with limiting the Orange transition game. Boeheim has instructed his guards at the top of their 2-3 zone to always be active in the passing lanes in order to get deflections and race the other way. It’s no coincidence that two of their more competitive games- against Virginia Tech at MSG and the recent home victory over Pittsburgh – were two of the three lowest possession contests of the season. Pitt was able to limit the Orange to just 62 possessions despite a 13-0 run to begin the game and stayed within striking distance. […]

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:22 +0000

All 8 points are very valid, but easier said than done!

By: Max Strauss

Max Strauss — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:54:08 +0000

You posted eight things that one team has to do to beat syracuse… That’s hilarious, I doubt a team can do all of them in one game, but jeez. Who is most likely to beat cuse and complete all of these ”tasks”?