Syra-cruisin …

Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 at 11:31 pm by Meerkat in BIG East Basketball, NCAA Basketball

#11 Georgetown 56

# 4 Syracuse 73

The Hoyas rolled into the Carrier Dome lookin to upend the surprising Orangemen. And when the guys in gray jumped out to a blistering 14-0 start … they seemed ready to spoil the big orange party. Stud Georgetown guard Austin Freeman was 5-5 with 3 bombs from behind the arc … and was THE reason the Hoyas exploded offensively.

But wait just a second. The Cuse’s 2-3 zone is not very effective when guys are unconscious from the arc –which Georgetown was. The Hoyas weren’t gonna shoot lights out all game. Reality set in and G-town woke up. The Orangemen would blast back and go on a 34-15 run to finish the half leading 34-29.

The Syracuse 2-3 zone tightened up and G-town was not getting the big shots from downtown anymore. Orangemen frontcourt guys PG Andy Rautins and SG Brandon Triche are both ’6 “4 (translation: long arms at the top of a zone def) … combine them with athletic freak SF Wesley Johnson (’6 “7) (NBA bound) … along with big men SF Rick Jackson (’6 “9), C Arinze Onuaku (’6 “9) and you got a stifling defense of tall-long-athletic kids that shut down passing/driving lanes while also challenging many a shot.

When Georgetown brought the ball down court for offense Syracuse made them feel like they were going to the dentist’s office for a drilling. Passing lanes were small. Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson seemed to be hawking around the lane for out-of-nowhere shot blocks and loose balls. The 2nd half was not fun for the Hoyas and with 10 minutes left on the clock, Cuse was up 55-40 and not looking back.

The swarming Orange defense led to many transition buckets. Syracuse shows an impressive unselfishness in the open floor … each player seems to have bought into the extra-pass philosophy. And defenses can’t leave deep threat Rautins by himself because the kid can drain from the 5th row (not like he needs to be open either, kid guns from guys’ faces as well).

The game was essentially over at 6:27 left when Hoya center Greg Monroe fouled out. With no threat inside, Cuse just had to pressure the guards to avoid a comeback. And when Hoya PG Chris Wright shot an airball at the front of a one-and-one with just under 6 minutes left, well, the crowd and players saw the writing on the wall. Welcome to drub town.

Syracuse looks to be scary-good. They are gonna shatter hopes for many teams in 2nd halves with their lock-down 2-3 zone, which could get tighter as the season goes on. I look forward to the late season matchup on 2/27 when the Cuse rolls onto the Main Line to try and stop Villanova’s PG Scottie Reynolds.