Saturday's Shootaround: Watch out for the Orange

Syracuse 87, UNC 71: Now that the Orange have steamrolled both UNC and Cal, do you believe in them yet? The last two days, the Cuse have thoroughly dominated the favorites from the PAC-10 and the ACC. They have a line-up perfectly suited for their zone offense - long, strong, and athletic. They have interior scoring, a dead-eye shooter, and a stud on the wing. Their point guard situation is looking better and better with each possession. A week into the season, you have to consider the Orange the favorite in the Big East and a legitimate threat to make a Final Four as they remind me quite a bit of Louisville from last season.

Wesley Johnson dunked on Tyler Zeller early in the first half.
(photo credit: Rush the Court)

The first half of last night's game was a back-and-forth affair. Syracuse jumped out to an 11-2 on the strength of some hot shooting by Wesley Johnson, but UNC responded by going on an 11-0 run of their own. After Syracuse once again built up a 10 point lead, UNC made another run, taking a 39-37 lead into the half. The second half was a completely different story. In the first eight minutes, Syracuse caught fire, going 10-14 from the floor. But it was their defense that allowed them to blow this game open. During that span, UNC was 0-13 from the field with six turnovers as Syracuse went on a 22-1 run and never looked back.

Wesley Johnson looked like an all-american at times last night. He finished with 25 points and 8 boards, hitting 4-8 from three. The one thing that concerned me a bit with Johnson last night was that, after hitting his first three threes, he seemed to become to reliant settling for jumpers. He can shoot, there is no question of that, but his reputation coming in to Syracuse was that he could go away from his ability as a slasher. Just something to keep in mind.

Syracuse looked great in transition once again last night, as their forte thus far in the season is forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets running the floor (Rautins once again proved his mettle, finishing with 11 points, 7 boards, 7 assist, and 7 steals). UNC, who has had turnover problems all season, once again gave the ball away far too often. The Heels are not a bad team by any stretch. Their big guys (led by Ed Davis and his 16 and 10 last night) are very good, and Will Graves and Marcus Ginyard both have shown flashes of being competent scorers on the wing. But until UNC stops making live-play turnovers (live-play turnovers mean that play doesn't stop with the change of possession. A travel or throwing a ball out of bounds is a deal-ball turnover, having someone strip you of the ball or jump a passing lane is a live-play turnover), the Heels are going to have a tough time winning big games.


Ohio State 76, Cal 70: Evan Turner proved once again that he is the most versatile player in the country. He scored 26 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and handed out 6 assists as the Buckeyes rolled over the Bears, going up by as much as 24 points. Turner also once again proved why he is not yet a "point guard". Here is a perfect example: Cal made a huge run at the end of the game to make things interesting down the stretch. With the lead right around 8-10 points in the final couple of minutes, Ohio State had four straight possessions where they took a difficult shot with at least 15-20 seconds left on the shot clock. Two of those shots were from Turner. At the end of a close game, you want to be using as much clock as possible to shorten the game and reduce the number of possessions your opponent as left. If Turner was a "real" point guard, he takes the ball dribbles the clock down, and gets into an offense with 10-15 seconds left on the clock - not with 25-30.

Ohio State is not very deep right now. They only got 22 minutes and 5 points off their bench last night. While Diebler, Lighty, and Buford all played decent basketball last night, when they do have off nights or get into foul trouble, will the Buckeyes have someone to bring in? The same goes for Dallas Lauderdale. Lauderdale was dominant last night, blocking 7 shots and scoring 8 points.

Cal is really going to miss Theo Robertson. Without him, they essentially have two scoring threats on their roster, and just one (Jerome Randle) that can really create for other. Don't get me wrong, Randle proved last night why he is one of the best point guards in the country, but unless another offensive weapon steps up (Jamal Boykin, Markhuri Sanders-Frison, Jorge Gutierrez, even Omondi Amoke) Cal could find themselves in a big hole by the time Robertson returns.


Villanova 71, Dayton 65: When it is all said and done, Corey Fisher, not Scottie Reynolds, may be the best guard on the Villanova team. Fisher finished yesterday's game with 18 points on a series of tough drives through the paint. As Villanova held on during a furious Flyer comeback. Dayton was down 54-36 with 14 minutes left in the game, but using defensive toughness and some timely hot shooting, Dayton was able to cut the lead to 62-60. Fisher hit four straight free throws down the stretch, however, to help hold off Dayton.

After seeing a couple games from both Dayton and Villanova, I am not completely sold on either team. I love the toughness, the defensive and rebounding ability, the athleticism, and the depth of the Flyers, but are they going to be able to score enough point to beat the big boys? With Villanova, their strength last season was their versatility on the defensive end, which created match-up problems on offense. But with guys like Dante Cunningham and Dwayne Anderson gone, where do the Wildcats get that from? Hopefully, it will be in the form of Reggie Redding in the second semester.


Ole Miss 86, Kansas State 74: Chris Warren scored 27 and Terrico White added 25 has the Rebels shot 63% in the second half (56% on the game) to beat K-State. The Wildcats got 18 and 10 from Curtis Kelly and 17 each from Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen, but it was too little too late as the majority of those points came with the Wildcats down double digits in the second half. Kansas State was held without a basket for over five minutes early in the second half, which allowed Ole Miss to open up the lead.


Paradise Jam

• Purdue 74, South Dakota State 63: In their first game without Lewis Jackson, the Boilermakers were out-toughed and out-played by SDSU. The difference late in the game was Purdue turning up their defense, as the Jackrabbits turned the ball over 12 times in the second half. E'Twuan Moore had 22 points to lead Purdue.
• St. Joe's 84, Boston College 80: Garrett Williamson scored an and-one on a breakaway lay-up with 38 seconds left to give St. Joe's a 79-76 lead, then proceeded to hit 5-6 free throws to ice the win over BC. Joe Trapani had 20 in the win.
• DePaul 60, Northern Iowa 52: The worst team in the Big East beat the best team in the MVC? Not a good sign. Mac Kowshal had 12 points, 19 boards, and 4 assists in the win.
• Tennessee 105, East Carolina 66: Tennessee's uptempo style of play is working, huh? They broke 100 again, as Scottie Hopson had his second straight 25 point night.
  

Puerto Rico Tip-off consolation bracket

• Georgia Tech 70, George Mason 62: Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors both posted 18 point nights as a 13-0 run early in the second half game the Jackets a 43-23 led they wouldn't relinquish.
• Boston U. 71, Indiana 67: It is going to be another tough year in Bloomington. Indiana was up by as much as nine in the second half, but 21 and 5 from John Holland and 14 and 13 from Jake O'Brien was too much for the Hoosiers down the stretch.
  

Other notable results last night:

• Michigan State 75, Toledo 62: Draymond Green scored 15 points to lead a balanced Spartans attack. MSU got up 27-12 early, but Toledo was able to hang around during the second half, cutting the lead to single digits a couple times.
• Washington 80, San Jose State 70: Quincy Pondexter is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. He had 30 and 15 last night, including 13 straight to start the second half as the Huskies held on against the Spartans.
  
• Michigan 77, Houston Baptist 55: Michigan got 25 and 22 from Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims, respectively, but let HB hang around for far too long.
• Clemson 89, UNC-Greensboro 67: Trevor Booker has 17 points to lead the Tigers. Its early, and Clemson hasn't played anyone yet, but they are 32-71 on the season from three.
• Niagara 82, Howard 77: Anthony Nelson had 18 while Rob Garrison and Bilal Benn both had 17 points to lead the Purple Eagles.
• Tulane 63, Penn State 60: Not a good start for the Nittany Lions, as they have now lost two in a row.
• Miami FL 67, UNC-Wilmington 60: The Hurricanes were up just 62-58 with under a minute left, but forced back-to-back Seahawk turnovers to seal the win. Malcolm Grant had 18.
• UCF 84, Auburn 74: Will the SEC West ever be good again? This game wasn't even as close as the final score indicates. UCF improves to 3-0.
  
• Arizona State 104, San Francisco 65: Rihard Kuksiks had 27 points to lead the Sun Devils.
• Florida 80, Troy 58: Kenny Boynton had 23 as the Gators pulled away in the second half after trailing at intermission.
• La Salle 84, Davidson 70: Think they miss Steph Curry? The Wildcats are 0-3. Rodney Green had 21 points, 10 boards, and 4 assists to lead the Explorers.
  
• Arkansas 81, Appalachain State 72 OT: Marshawn Powell had 29 and 7 boards, but walk-on Stephen Cox missed two free throws with 21 seconds left that forced OT.
• Maryland 82, New Hampshire 55: Greivis Vasquez struggled again, with just 8 points, 6 boards, and 2 assists, but Landon Milbourne (24 points) and Sean Mosley (13 points, 10 assists) played great.
• Louisiana Tech 74, Miami OH 62: And the Redhawks lost the Kentucky by two?
• Memphis 92, Tennessee Tech 59: Elliot Williams had 23 to lead the Tigers in a rout.
• UCLA 75, CS Bakersfield 64: UCLA struggled once again, but Drew Gordon's 19 points led five players in double figures as UCLA pulled away down the stretch.
  
• Vanderbilt 72, St. Mary's 70: Clint Steindl missed a three at the buzzer as Vandy was able to hold on against an impressive Gael's squad. Jeff Taylor had 19 and 7, while Omar Samhan had 25 and 18 as he greatly outplayed AJ Ogilvy.