MBB: Syracuse 58, Pittsburgh 56

[moonpie23]

man……'Cuse's defense is so dang TIGHT…….it's ridiculously difficult to get into that zone…


pitt is playing hard…..up 5 with 8:10 to play……..cuse is relentless….

[Bluedog]

Who should we be for? I can't decide...I guess I'm for Pitt as I don't want to hear anymore about how 'Cuse is going to go undefeated this season. Nah gonna happen (even if they win this game). And maybe it makes our road dismantling of Pitt look even better.

[uh_no]

man……'Cuse's defense is so dang TIGHT…….it's ridiculously difficult to get into that zone…


pitt is playing hard…..up 5 with 8:10 to play……..cuse is relentless….

which makes it all the more ridiculous how much we scored against them :)



I think our regular season hopes are all but gone, but would LOVE to see them finally go down....kenpom had a great piece about how much an easy schedule affects the liklihood of going undefeated

[moonpie23]

tied up with 6:42

[dukelifer]

tied up with 6:42

CJ Fair is a clutch player. Jeez!

[moonpie23]

'Cuse's defense will expose your team's ball movement deficiencies

[toughbuff1]

Wow that reminded me of Whittenburg to Charles.

[jimrowe0]

CJ fair turning it on. Pitt up by 1

[dukelifer]

CJ fair turning it on. Pitt up by 1

Syracuse is great at the end of games. The players are better under pressure.

[moonpie23]

some clock tomfoolery!!!

[dukelifer]

Ennis again. Cannot kill this team

[-jk]

'Cuse down one, Ennis on the line for two. Ten seconds. Quite the game...

-jk

[moonpie23]

as expected…..cuse up by 1…..10.8 left……



blame it on me….

[dukelifer]

'Cuse down one, Ennis on the line for two. Ten seconds. Quite the game...

-jk

Trailing almost the whole game and now up 1

[-jk]

and Pitt on the line for two, down one. Four seconds left.

-jk

[moonpie23]

this might be ugly for pitt….back up by 1, with 4.4 left...

[dukelifer]

and Pitt on the line for two, down one. Four seconds left.

-jk

Pitt up 1 - 4.4 sec to go.

[-jk]

Why did Pitt call that TO? Last one... Shouldn't they have covered this before?

-jk

[dukelifer]

Why did Pitt call that TO? Last one... Shouldn't they have covered this before?

-jk

Unbelievable

[CLW]

WOW!

[toughbuff1]

Wow what a shot by Ennis. Onions!

[moonpie23]

heartbreak…………………….

[jimrowe0]

Damn it

[-jk]

Wow, indeed...

-jk

[dukelifer]

Never seen a team play so clutch in every game. Just amazing

[Newton_14]

Great shot but Dixon is still an idiot for calling that timeout. Unbelievably stupid.

[Atlanta Duke]

Pitt will not put the points on scoreboard yet

Well Duke can try to knock them off

At some point you lose one of these

[FerryFor50]

Syracuse lucks its way out of Pitt. Oh well.

[dairedevil]

Yowza! What a finish - so sad for Pitt after leading almost the entire game.

[burnspbesq]

Ennis at the buzzer. Officials reviewing. Now it's good.

[Bluedog]

Wow...what a shot.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

heartbreak…………………….

Pitt really is becoming the new Maryland.

The inferiority complex grows.

[moonpie23]

austin rivers…….

[burnspbesq]

From almost the same spot on the floor as Dockery's game-winner against VaTech.

[BD80]

Reminded me of a shot that Duhon once hit

[Newton_14]

From almost the same spot on the floor as Dockery's game-winner against VaTech.

I was thinking Evan Turner from OSU a few years back...

[arnie]

WOW!

The Orange will fall soon with a big thud- hopefully!

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Syracuse lucks its way out of Pitt. Oh well.

But the 'Cuse's luck must run out at some point, right?

[dukelifer]

Syracuse lucks its way out of Pitt. Oh well.

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.

[Bluedog]

From almost the same spot on the floor as Dockery's game-winner against VaTech.

Dockery's shot came off an inbounds with 1.6 seconds left, Syracuse had 4.4 seconds for the play. Shows you how well Duke executes. Although Dockery's shot was a further away and way better if we're being completely honest. ;)

[FerryFor50]

But the 'Cuse's luck must run out at some point, right?

Not looking promising. We shall see!

[Duvall]

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.

Well. They'll be an underdog at least twice, and possibly again in the ACC Tournament.

[mph]

Wow! Big time shot by Ennis. The more I see of Jamie Dixon the less I like the way he carries himself both on the sideline and after the game.

[FerryFor50]

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.

Yea at least they are doing it against actual competition, as opposed to Wichita St.

[Bluedog]

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.

I'll take the opposite position - I definitely see them losing in the regular season. Kenpom gives them a 2.6% percent chance of finishing the regular season undefeated (admittedly, that was before the Pitt game, so I expect it will shoot up to something about 10%). They definitely could lose @Duke, @Uva, @FSU. They certainly have won a lot of close games!

[dukelifer]

But the 'Cuse's luck must run out at some point, right?

Sadly it is not luck. Ennis has done this time after time. If Ennis gets hurt or fouls out- then their luck will run out.

[FerryFor50]

Dockery's shot came off an inbounds with 1.6 seconds left, Syracuse had 4.4 seconds for the play. Shows you how well Duke executes. Although Dockery's shot was a further away and way better if we're being completely honest. ;)

To be fair, it was a really friendly clock...

[freshmanjs]

Well. They'll be an underdog at least twice, and possibly again in the ACC Tournament.

their chances of winning at Duke just increased materially through the addition of the rescheduled duke-unc game 2 days prior.

[Newton_14]

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.
That's because you never have any faith in Duke, sadly. The other team, be it UNC, Syracuse, UVA, Pitt, is always better than Duke so we have no chance to beat them.

I will certainly be watching Duke and Syracuse fully believing Duke can and will win. It's not like Syracuse is some powerhouse team and Duke is some slouch with no chance of beating them.

[kAzE]

How is that kid so clutch? Dude has 8 points all game then scores the last 5 points to win the game . . . he does this every time. Amazing.

[FerryFor50]

Sadly it is not luck. Ennis has done this time after time. If Ennis gets hurt or fouls out- then their luck will run out.

Eh, making a 5 foot runner (or free throws) is a whole different ball game than a 30 foot heave with defenders on you.

[Son of Jarhead]

Not only was that timeout by Dixon a bad idea (it allowed Syracuse time to refocus), but after calling it, you allow Ennis to receive it easily and then don't stop him from coming up the floor or force him to give the ball up? Just what did you talk about in that timeout, Jamie?

[dukelifer]

Well. They'll be an underdog at least twice, and possibly again in the ACC Tournament.

Cuse has a history of under achieving in the big dance but they have all the ingredients this year.

[dukelifer]

That's because you never have any faith in Duke, sadly. The other team, be it UNC, Syracuse, UVA, Pitt, is always better than Duke so we have no chance to beat them.

I will certainly be watching Duke and Syracuse fully believing Duke can and will win. It's not like Syracuse is some powerhouse team and Duke is some slouch with no chance of beating them.

I have faith but I am not happy with the schedule now. That is a tough double for Duke.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Wow! Big time shot by Ennis. The more I see of Jamie Dixon the less I like the way he carries himself both on the sideline and after the game.

Agreed. Before the final play, the reff motioned for Dixon to step back off the court and then, almost in defiance, Dixon walks in front of the referee to emphatically call his final time out.

Of course, it ends up costing him the game likely.

How immature.

[FerryFor50]

Not only was that timeout by Dixon a bad idea (it allowed Syracuse time to refocus), but after calling it, you allow Ennis to receive it easily and then don't stop him from coming up the floor or force him to give the ball up? Just what did you talk about in that timeout, Jamie?

No kidding. I would have doubled Ennis a made someone else take that shot.

[FerryFor50]

Agreed. Before the final play, the reff motioned for Dixon to step back off the court and then, almost in defiance, Dixon walks in front of the referee to emphatically call his final time out.

Of course, it ends up costing him the game likely.

How immature.

I think it was actually because he waited to see how Syracuse set up. He out thought himself. Gave Syracuse time to compose themselves. Should have let them rush it...

[dukelifer]

Eh, making a 5 foot runner (or free throws) is a whole different ball game than a 30 foot heave with defenders on you.

Sure - but he was under control on that. Pitt played it well but he made a tough shot.

[erc128]

Cuse will lose @Duke and @UVA. @Maryland is no walk in the park either

[Newton_14]

Cuse has a history of under achieving in the big dance but they have all the ingredients this year.

And after beating Mich St you had UNC as a likely FF team and better than Duke. (Which in college hoops, upsets happen weekly and UNC certainly is capable of upsetting Duke, but they are not the better team by a long stretch).

Syracuse is good but tonight showed again, that they are beatable. Were it not for a brain dead Pitt coach, they would have lost tonight. Duke could have easily won the first matchup. If Rasheed makes the free throw on the potential 4 point play, his 3 at the buzzer wins it instead of tying it.

Miami took Syracuse to the wire twice and they are flatout terrible talent wise.

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Sadly it is not luck. Ennis has done this time after time. If Ennis gets hurt or fouls out- then their luck will run out.

Hitting a near-halfcourt shot at the buzzer requires as much luck as it does skill, otherwise we would see it happen much more often.

I certainly respect Syracuse. But they have caught some lucky breaks this year.

[FerryFor50]

And after beating Mich St you had UNC as a likely FF team and better than Duke. (Which in college hoops, upsets happen weekly and UNC certainly is capable of upsetting Duke, but they are not the better team by a long stretch).

Syracuse is good but tonight showed again, that they are beatable. Were it not for a brain dead Pitt coach, they would have lost tonight. Duke could have easily won the first matchup. If Rasheed makes the free throw on the potential 4 point play, his 3 at the buzzer wins it instead of tying it.

Miami took Syracuse to the wire twice and they are flatout terrible talent wise.

And lazy (or tired) defense/offense by Pitt.

[FerryFor50]

I certainly respect Syracuse. But they have caught some lucky breaks this year.

Like not getting called for an obvious foul on a dunk? Getting Duke's top 3 players to foul out? While no one on your team fouls out? Your foul prone center getting the benefit of the doubt on two flops?

Need I go on? ;)

[Atlanta Duke]

Sadly it is not luck. Ennis has done this time after time. If Ennis gets hurt or fouls out- then their luck will run out.

Look on the bright side - if Ennis continues to play like this Duke will not need to deal with him after this season since he will be one and done

[BlueDevilBrowns]

Like not getting called for an obvious foul on a dunk? Getting Duke's top 3 players to foul out? While no one on your team fouls out? Your foul prone center getting the benefit of the doubt on two flops?

Need I go on? ;)

You read my mind. Amazing!

[roywhite]

And lazy (or tired) defense/offense by Pitt.

Agreed; there was the play with C.J. Fair hitting the 3 from the corner and Patterson failed to get out on him....just kind of ambled over. And numerous times in the second half where Pitt stopped attacking, and ran the shot clock down too far before getting into a shot attempt. In one sense, Pitt looked comfortable playing against the Syracuse zone, and they gained the lead. But didn't have it down the stretch, and their coach didn't have it, either.

Syracuse is beatable and I think Duke is the team to do it, if it doesn't happen before then.

[FerryFor50]

Agreed; there was the play with C.J. Fair hitting the 3 from the corner and Patterson failed to get out on him....just kind of ambled over. And numerous times in the second half where Pitt stopped attacking, and ran the shot clock down too far before getting into a shot attempt. In one sense, Pitt looked comfortable playing against the Syracuse zone, and they gained the lead. But didn't have it down the stretch, and their coach didn't have it, either.

Syracuse is beatable and I think Duke is the team to do it, if it doesn't happen before then.

Yep. That Patterson play looked like the infamous "last game" of pickup ball. You know, the one where the last game should have been the previous game?

They also got a little unlucky on the last sequence where they had some offensive rebound tips that didn't drop.

[roywhite]

Boeheim had to be pleased when Jamie Dixon called that last time out. Worst decision by a coach since......Roy rented a house to Will Graves?


**stole that line from a poster on TDD. just what was Dixon thinking?

[Henderson]

Boeheim had to be pleased when Jamie Dixon called that last time out. Worst decision by a coach since......Roy rented a house to Will Graves?


**stole that line from a poster on TDD. just what was Dixon thinking?

Dixon needs to go the way of his long-time mentor, Ben Howland.

[DevilYouthCoach]

Did anyone notice the incredible non-handshake from Jamie Dixon to the Syracuse coach at the end of the game? Does he have any idea how to make eye contact? He did the same thing to Coach K, I think. I don't believe I have never seen a poorer sport than Dixon. I was prepared to like Pitt being in the ACC -- I love James Robinson, he's my son's Facebook friend -- but Dixon seems to be truly obnoxious and it feels creepy just to watch him.

[ice-9]

But the 'Cuse's luck must run out at some point, right?

The game they are most likely to lose -- against us in Cameron -- became a lot easier now that we have the UNC away game a mere two days before we play Syracuse after today's postponement.

It appears luck is wearing Orange this season.

[ncexnyc]

Sorry, but good teams make their own luck. I find the whining on this board very annoying and more suited to IC.

I thought we were over the, "Hood got fouled" garbage from a few weeks ago, but it seems some of you can't accept a done deal. Grow up and move on.

[SirBlueDevil]

Good Morning Blue Nation!

I don't profess to be a svengali when it comes to coaching college ball on any level but even i wouldn't have called a time out after my team took the lead and left 4 seconds on the clock knowing the other team had used up all of theirs!

Albeit honorable for coach Dixon to yet again take full responsibility for a tough loss as he had to do against our blue devil match up, i'm pretty sure the fans and students of Pitt would much rather he learn quickly from game costing mistakes rather than continue to take responsibility for bad coaching at crucial times!

Looks as though it'll be up to our blue devils to give the orangemen their first taste of reality within the perks of riding a natural high!

[dukelifer]

Look on the bright side - if Ennis continues to play like this Duke will not need to deal with him after this season since he will be one and done

Not athletic enough. He is a great college guard but not sure how his game will translate.

[mpj96]

Not athletic enough. He is a great college guard but not sure how his game will translate.
He sure seems like a lock to me. And one cool customer. Pitt had them down at the end of the game and he was smiling.

[tbyers11]

Sorry, but good teams make their own luck. I find the whining on this board very annoying and more suited to IC.

I thought we were over the, "Hood got fouled" garbage from a few weeks ago, but it seems some of you can't accept a done deal. Grow up and move on.

Good teams do make their own luck and Syracuse is a very good team. However, if you keep playing one possession games that come down to the final seconds or let inferior teams hang around until the last few minutes (vs Miami, twice) you introduce a high degree of randomness that can affect the outcomes of games. If you keep winning those, IMO, you are a bit lucky. No matter how good Tyler Ennis is there is a large degree of luck in hitting a pull up 35 footer with a guy in your face. It's not a high percentage shot.

I think there is a large degree of luck involved in Syracuse still remaining unbeaten. 1) Their hardest conference games were all back loaded on the schedule. 2) They got 3 or 4 questionable calls at the end of regulation/OT all their favor against Duke. Ref whistles have a big degree of luck. (To address the bad calls throughout the game even out those at the end of the game mantra. Yes, they sort of do, but you have a lot more game time to overcome the effects of a questionable call with 5 min left in the 1st half than one with 12 seconds left in the game). 3) Ennis' shot was lucky. You give him that scenario over and over again and I bet he hits 2 or 3 out of 10.

Syracuse has played very well so far but still has had several things fall in their favor to still be unbeaten.

[devildeac]

Pitt had a similar last 2 minutes against them at the Dome. IIRC, they led by 3 with about 1:30 or 2:00 to go and ended up getting outscored 10-2 down the stretch and losing 59-54. Last night, they were outscored 7-0 in about 80 seconds near the end of the game, turning a 54-48 lead into a 54-55 deficit after Ennis hit 2 FT after a drive.

[dukelifer]

He sure seems like a lock to me. And one cool customer. Pitt had them down at the end of the game and he was smiling.

I am not sure about his shooting. The NBA is a very different game.

[roywhite]

Pitt had a similar last 2 minutes against them at the Dome. IIRC, they led by 3 with about 1:30 or 2:00 to go and ended up getting outscored 10-2 down the stretch and losing 59-54. Last night, they were outscored 7-0 in about 80 seconds near the end of the game, turning a 54-48 lead into a 54-55 deficit after Ennis hit 2 FT after a drive.

Watching Jamie Dixon in action....I better understand why Pitt has under-performed their NCAA seeds. He loses his cool, makes bad decisions, doesn't have a good handle on things.

[Billy Dat]

Huge tip of the cap to Ennis. I agree that I would have tried to force anyone but him to beat me, but Fair was doing a pretty good job of "one man wrecking crew" himself down the stretch. I figured that when Talib Zanna, a sub 70% free throw shooter went 5 for 5 in the final 6 minutes and also had that Lorenzo Charles two pointer, that it was Pitt's night. But, the Cuse magic continues.

I was watching some of the screening action that Dixon employed against the Zone and thought it was really good. A few times, he had the ball extended wide strong side and slipped a pick behind the far defensive guard at the elbow. Two quick swing passes later, there were driving lanes and freed up 3s on the formerly weak side. They also managed some really nice high low action where the big catching at the foul line immediately dumped a bounce pass to the second big who began to seal his man when the first entry pass was made. It was timing dependent and Pitt got a few layups out of it. Dixon may come off like an idiot with his demonstrative flamboyance, but it looks like he has learned how to attack that orange 2-3 over the years. Alas, I agree that final time out seemed like a bad idea at the time.

[rsvman]

No kidding. I would have doubled Ennis a made someone else take that shot.

Like, for example, Cooney?


Ennis said in the post-game that he felt he could get himself in a position to make that shot because Cooney's defender had to stay with Cooney.

Calling the time-out was stupid, but I'm not sure doubling Ennis would've been a great idea, either, especially if it left Cooney with the last shot. A priori, I'd rather have Ennis take the long shot than Cooney, and I'd wager Dixon thought the same thing. (A posteriori, I guess I'd choose Cooney, since Ennis's shot went in.) ;-) But you have to judge the rationality of any decision based on information that was available BEFORE the decision was made, not on information that you have at hand now.

[flyingdutchdevil]

Sorry, but good teams make their own luck. I find the whining on this board very annoying and more suited to IC.

I thought we were over the, "Hood got fouled" garbage from a few weeks ago, but it seems some of you can't accept a done deal. Grow up and move on.

Agree 100%. Syracuse has the best profile of any team in the ACC. Right now, they are all but guaranteed a top 2 seed in the ACC Tourney and, even if they lose 2 games, they will most likely be a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

This year, they have the best coach, the best balance, and the best schedule. Is this due to "luck"? Some of it is, but they have shown consistency from day 1.

Furthermore, this is an incredibly likable Syracuse team. Ennis is my favorite non-Duke player this year. For someone who is considered the MVP of the best team in America, he is incredibly down to earth.

[roywhite]

I was watching some of the screening action that Dixon employed against the Zone and thought it was really good. A few times, he had the ball extended wide strong side and slipped a pick behind the far defensive guard at the elbow. Two quick swing passes later, there were driving lanes and freed up 3s on the formerly weak side. They also managed some really nice high low action where the big catching at the foul line immediately dumped a bounce pass to the second big who began to seal his man when the first entry pass was made. It was timing dependent and Pitt got a few layups out of it. Dixon may come off like an idiot with his demonstrative flamboyance, but it looks like he has learned how to attack that orange 2-3 over the years. Alas, I agree that final time out seemed like a bad idea at the time.

Good comments about some of the things Pitt did well. Pitt looked familiar with what they were seeing and produced some nice looks. Pitt also did some good things on the offensive boards. As the second half went on, I thought Pitt was too slow to get moving toward the basket, and ran into shot clock problems. With a change in plans for our game, I'd guess our staff watched the Pitt--Syracuse game and may have picked up a thing or two.

[FerryFor50]

Like, for example, Cooney?


Ennis said in the post-game that he felt he could get himself in a position to make that shot because Cooney's defender had to stay with Cooney.

Calling the time-out was stupid, but I'm not sure doubling Ennis would've been a great idea, either, especially if it left Cooney with the last shot. A priori, I'd rather have Ennis take the long shot than Cooney, and I'd wager Dixon thought the same thing. (A posteriori, I guess I'd choose Cooney, since Ennis's shot went in.) ;-) But you have to judge the rationality of any decision based on information that was available BEFORE the decision was made, not on information that you have at hand now.

No, like the guy in bounding. Doubling Ennis doesn't mean you leave the other guys open. Just the inbounder, who is trailing the play.

[rsvman]

No, like the guy in bounding. Doubling Ennis doesn't mean you leave the other guys open. Just the inbounder, who is trailing the play.

Perhaps.

On the other hand, we've seen how well not guarding the inbounder has worked for other teams in the past.

And with 4.4 seconds left, the inbounder wouldn't necessarily have to "trail the play" the entire time.

All I'm saying is that double-teaming Ennis would not have necessarily been an obvious strategy for Pitt, nor would it have automatically resulted in a Pitt victory. Figuring out what to do in any situation is inherently easier once the situation has already played out.

[greybeard]

An undefeated team is making the season interesting. I do not see them losing in the regular season.

Let's let them play it out. They have at least one pretty good challenge coming up. :cool:

[FerryFor50]

Perhaps.

On the other hand, we've seen how well not guarding the inbounder has worked for other teams in the past.

And with 4.4 seconds left, the inbounder wouldn't necessarily have to "trail the play" the entire time.

All I'm saying is that double-teaming Ennis would not have necessarily been an obvious strategy for Pitt, nor would it have automatically resulted in a Pitt victory. Figuring out what to do in any situation is inherently easier once the situation has already played out.

The order of guys I'd have worried about:

1. Ennis (the ball handler/PG/distributor)
2. CJ Fair
3. Cooney

The other guys are tertiary, with the inbounder being the last guy I'd worry about.

It took Ennis over 2 seconds to get to where he could launch the shot. If they deny Ennis, they have to have a less comfortable ball handler take it up court. Maybe they run out of time before getting a shot off. Maybe they turn it over. Ennis is the absolutely last person I want getting the ball in that scenario.

[Newton_14]

The order of guys I'd have worried about:

1. Ennis (the ball handler/PG/distributor)
2. CJ Fair
3. Cooney

The other guys are tertiary, with the inbounder being the last guy I'd worry about.

It took Ennis over 2 seconds to get to where he could launch the shot. If they deny Ennis, they have to have a less comfortable ball handler take it up court. Maybe they run out of time before getting a shot off. Maybe they turn it over. Ennis is the absolutely last person I want getting the ball in that scenario.
I agree and I don't feel it is hindsight. Everyone on the planet knew Boeheim wanted Ennis to get the ball and do what he did. They were only down 1 so did not need a 3 and we have seen players get all the way to the paint in 4.4 seconds. You double Ennis and make someone else have to take it up the court, even Fair or Cooney. I still can't get over calling the Timeout there.

Anyway, done deal now. But absolutely a game Pitt should have won.

[Atlanta Duke]

Vice President Biden apparently is no longer concerned about carrying western Pennsylvania:)

Vice President Joe Biden called Ennis on Thursday to congratulate him on his "amazing 35-foot buzzer-beater" that kept the Orange unbeaten. The vice president's office tweeted a photograph of Biden at his desk while on the phone with Ennis.

Biden received his law degree from Syracuse.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10452146/tyler-ennis-syracuse-orange-gets-phone-call-vice-president-joe-biden

[jv001]

I agree and I don't feel it is hindsight. Everyone on the planet knew Boeheim wanted Ennis to get the ball and do what he did. They were only down 1 so did not need a 3 and we have seen players get all the way to the paint in 4.4 seconds. You double Ennis and make someone else have to take it up the court, even Fair or Cooney. I still can't get over calling the Timeout there.

Anyway, done deal now. But absolutely a game Pitt should have won.

My wife and I watched the last 4+ minutes of this game. I told her that Syracuse has the mojo going and will come from behind and win. Then on the last play, I told her, Dixon better do what ever is necessary to keep Ennis from getting the inbounds pass. Well we all know how that turned out. The Orange will lose their first game in Cameron on Feb. 22nd. No amount of luck will help them. GoDuke!

[SoCalDukeFan]

I don't have a problem with Pitt calling the timeout. I would guess that Syracuse had practiced what to do in late game situations and would just execute. PItt wanted time to set up the defense.

While I have not studied Syracuse this year, my understanding is that in these situations Ennis gets the ball. In my opinion he should have been closely guarded and double teamed and the ball sent somewhere else. There were two guys kind of defending him after he had the ball. My guess is that Dixon told them not to foul.

It is easy to criticize Dixon but in reality Ennis made a great long distance shot.

SoCal

[Atlanta Duke]

Luke Winn breaks down the last play in his weekly power rankings column (Syracuse at #1)

Syracuse's No. 1 option was a baseball pass to C.J. Fair, who had cut hard toward the ball, then reversed course, hoping (but failing) to shake his man....
Pitt prevented the bomb to Fair ... but everything else it did was questionable.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20140213/power-rankings-syracuse-arizona-wichita-state-florida-villanova/

[roywhite]

Luke Winn breaks down the last play in his weekly power rankings column (Syracuse at #1)

Syracuse's No. 1 option was a baseball pass to C.J. Fair, who had cut hard toward the ball, then reversed course, hoping (but failing) to shake his man....
Pitt prevented the bomb to Fair ... but everything else it did was questionable.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-basketball/news/20140213/power-rankings-syracuse-arizona-wichita-state-florida-villanova/

Thanks for posting; interesting breakdown of a breakdown.

Also interesting to see Winn's comments on Duke from that link.


Duke is third in kenpom.com's rankings almost entirely on the power of its offense, which has a chance to rank as not just the No. 1 scoring attack of this season, but also the No. 1 offense of the whole efficiency era (2003-present). I went through kenpom's archives to try to identify similarly structured teams, and found eight that ranked in the top two in adjusted offensive efficiency while sitting outside the top 75 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The Blue Devils' closest comps are Chris Paul-led, 2003-04 Wake Forest, and T.J. Ford-led 2002-03 Texas:



No surprise to the local numbers geeks who track this sort of thing, but I didn't realize Duke's offensive efficiency rated that high.

[FerryFor50]

Thanks for posting; interesting breakdown of a breakdown.

Also interesting to see Winn's comments on Duke from that link.



No surprise to the local numbers geeks who track this sort of thing, but I didn't realize Duke's offensive efficiency rated that high.

What I noticed was that none of the teams hr listed won the NCAAs... :(

[kAzE]

In light of Tyler Ennis' ridiculous play over the course of this season, I think Duke could take a page from his book and learn from what he's been able to accomplish. He's the best player on the best team in the country right now, and he's been THE difference in Syracuse being 24-0 versus them being 20-4. In case you aren't yet aware of what he's been doing, these are his stats in the last 5 minutes or overtime in a 1 possession game:

8-9 FG Shooting
1-1 3FG Shooting
14-14 FT Shooting
6:0 Assists:Turnovers

Those are numbers which are insane for any player, let alone a true freshman. For comparison, let's just juxtapose Tyler Ennis and Quinn Cook. Both are listed at 6'2", 180 pounds. Both have similar athletic ability, as well as ability to handle the basketball. One could even say Quinn Cook is the superior passer. Despite all these similarities, I don't think anyone would put them on the same level right now. Obviously, Ennis is the superior defensive player. He's just a menace defensively, and has one of the highest steal rates in the country. I'm not going to knock Cook too much for that, because he has been good on defense at times, and it's just not one of his strengths.

The bigger and more important distinction between these two guys, in my opinion is all about the mental approach each has towards the game. If you watch Tyler Ennis play, he's basically the Terminator. (Not a bad nickname for him, actually) He has one expression on his face the ENTIRE game, no matter what happens. He could have just made a huge shot, and while there's still time left on the clock, his face is blank. He's always calm, and barely even smiles. In fact, the first time I've ever seen any type of emotion from him whatsoever was immediately following that 36 footer to bury to Pitt. I think that's what makes him so good late in games. He just doesn't get flustered, doesn't feel panicked or rushed at any time. He just makes great decisions because he's just focused on the current play, instead of that mistake he made 3 minute ago.

Cook, on the other hand, wears his emotions on his sleeves, jersey, shoes, and tattooed on his face. When he makes a big shot, he'll make sure he lets everyone know. That's great, that can fire up teammates and home crowds, but similarly, when he makes a big mistake, or something doesn't go his way, he gets really upset, displays poor body language, and starts making poor decisions and forcing things. I think this is why his level of play fluctuates so drastically from game to game. When Cook is good, he's one of the best players on the floor, when he's bad, he's awful. In summary, I think if Cook wants to improve his consistency, I think he's really got to learn to check his emotions. Some guys can really play with a lot of emotion, but for a point guard, I think being stone faced is the way to go.

I also wanted to touch on end-of game situations, and how we've been handling those in close games this year. I posted this in the Pittsburgh post game thread awhile back, prior to the Syracuse game:


I think what Lar77 is saying here is that we don't have the type of strong closer that Syracuse has in Ennis. That kid makes very few mistakes and always seems to make clutch plays when the game is on the line. While that part of our game is not a weakness, it's definitely not a strength the way it is for Syracuse.

For the past few games, our primary ball handlers when we are trying to close out a game are Sulaimon and Hood. Even though Cook is probably the best ball handler, he doesn't have the ability to get to the rim and create a good shot for himself, which is something those other guys have the ability to do. The problem, of course, is that Sulaimon just can't seem to convert on those great looks that he creates for himself. I assume he's been finishing those plays in practice, which is why we keep going back to him.

In the the Pitt game alone, Sulaimon had at least 3 really nice drives, one at the end of the 1st half, one on a fast break, and one late in the 2nd half where he had a clear look at a layup and couldn't convert. He got fouled on at least 1 of those drives, and it wasn't called, but he had a good opportunity to finish all 3 of those layup attempts.

On the other hand, Hood is not as quick or as good a ball handler as Sulaimon, but has a knack for hitting really tough shots. However, he does sometimes drive into a bad situation and turn the ball over, which has happened probably 2 or 3 times in clutch situations, the most memorable one being that last drive he made against ND that could have tied the game. So, while we do have 2 pretty good guys who we can call on at end-of-game situations, none of them is the ideal guy for the role of "closer," that is, until Sulaimon starts finishing those plays.

So, in that regard, I think Syracuse has a slight advantage in that they have a dynamic guy who you can really trust with the ball late in the game, who is just as capable of creating scoring opportunities for himself and others, and hits really clutch shots with regularity. In the Miami game, which turned out to be a close one, he grabbed a loose rebound with his team down 46-47, took it the length of the court and converted on a contact layup plus the foul. In the game against Pitt, he hit 2 clutch layups that ended up sealing the game for his team. Boeheim said once in an interview that he's actually surprised when Ennis misses late in games. That's pretty amazing when a coach has that much confidence in a freshman at the end of a close game.

The biggest development since then has been Sulaimon's improved ability to handle the ball, drive, and finish. It's also hard to forget when he took it the length of the court and hit that 3 in the Syracuse game to send it to overtime. Sulaimon has really stepped up and become the best play maker on the team in recent games, and I think now that Cook is playing less, his legs aren't as tired, and as a result, his outside shot is starting to pick up some steam. If Cook can start shooting in the 40's percentage wise, this offense would move up another level into some crazy territory, efficiency-wise. With him and Hood on the wings, that's going to leave Sulaimon a ton of space to get in the paint and do his thing.

We still don't have a guy who can make great decisions consistently with the ball like Ennis, and Sulaimon isn't as good of a free throw shooter, but we have more options than Syracuse, and WAY better shooters. So in light of our recent play, I think I'm going to revise my earlier stance. There's absolutely no reason we can't be just as good a team in late game situations, and possibly even better when we reach our ceiling as a team. It will never be as good a defensive unit, but our rebounding is really quite good, especially against the zone, and our offense is like a video game offense. Despite the 2 day turnaround after playing at Chapel Hill, I can easily see us handing the Orange their first loss in Cameron on the 22nd, and I would expect us to be favored by Vegas. I'm hoping for a great game, and possibly a tiebreaker game in the ACC tournament. It's just a great, great match up. Go Duke!!