Keep on Winning...Keep on Winning...

One of the hot topics among Syracuse fans lately has been whether or not the current lull being experienced by the team is something to worry about.  Personally, I love being in this position; we are pretty much a lock for an NCAA #1 seed; we are 28-1 and a game away from clinching the Big East championship.  Yet, many fans think we are simply an average team and will be “bounced early” in the NCAA Tournament. 

There is only one thing I look for when determining if a team is a good team, whether or not they win games.  Most teams who have games when they don’t play up to their potential are going to lose a game or two.  I will be the first one to say that Syracuse has not always played up to potential this season, but guess what...they are 28-1! 

As a long time Syracuse fan I have always been frustrated by the way we seem to go through a mid to late season slump just about every year.  In fact, looking back to the 1998-99 season (I chose that year since that is when I was a freshman at SU and I didn’t want to take more time) all but three years we have had a slump that has led to at least four losses and as many as NINE.  The three years this has not happened were our championship year, 2009-10 when we were a top contender and would have won the championship had it not been for Onuaku’s injury, and this season.  In those slumps, there have normally been a few losses against good teams, but always at least one WTF loss.  (For those interested the slumps are listed below.)

My point, if you haven’t figured it out yet, is that this season we are winning games that in most “normal” seasons we would lose.  We are beating Rutgers at Rutgers and South Florida (who is a quality team this year) at home, and to top it off we have some very good wins sprinkled in (UConn, Louisville, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Georgetown).  With two games remaining, we have beaten EVERY team in the Big East except Notre Dame, who played out of this world against us while we played our first game without our starting center.  In most years at least one or two of these games would have been a WTF loss and one or two others would have been losses against “good” teams.  This season we have won ALL of those games.

In my experience Syracuse teams tend to have up and down seasons.  They will start very good in the pre-conference schedule and into the beginning of the conference schedule and then after a mid to late season slump, they then start to play well again.  In several seasons this resurgence has come too early, at the end of the regular season and into the Big East Tournament.  This season I am hoping our resurgence occurs at the end of the Big East Tournament and into the NCAA Tournament.  And until that resurgence I will gladly keep taking the “ugly wins.”  Since a WIN IS A WIN!

2010-11

(2-6)

@ Pittsburgh

Villanova

Seton Hall

@ Marquette

@ UConn W

@ South Florida W

Georgetown

@ Louisville

2008-09

(3-7)

@ Georgetown

@ Pittsburgh

Notre Dame W

Louisville

@ Providence

West Virginia W

@ Villanova

@ UConn

Georgetown W

Villanova

2007-08

(5-9)

@ Cincinnati

@ West Virginia

Rutgers W

Villanova

@ Georgetown

Providence W

@ DePaul W

@ Villanova W

UConn

@ South Florida

Georgetown W

@ Louisville

@ Notre Dame

Pittsburgh

2006-07

(5-5)

Pittsburgh

@ Marquette W

@ Rutgers W

Villanova W

Cincinnati W

@ St. John’s

@ Louisville

Notre Dame

DePaul W

@ UConn

2005-06

(4-9)

UConn

@ Villanova

@ Pittsburgh

Seton Hall

Rutgers W

@ UConn

@ St. John’s W

Cincinnati

Louisville W

West Virginia W

@ Georgetown

@ DePaul

Villanova

2004-05

(4-5)

@ Pittsburgh

Notre Dame W

UConn

@Villanova W

Pittsburgh

@ BC

St. John’s W

Providence W

@ UConn

2003-04

(3-5)
@ Seton Hall

Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech W

@ UConn

@ Providence

Rutgers W

@ Miami W

Notre Dame

2001-02

(4-8)

@ Tennessee

@ Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech W

@ Georgetown

@ Rutgers

West Virginia W

Pittsburgh

@ Notre Dame W

@ Seton Hall W

Georgetown

@ Villanova

BC

2000-01

(2-4)

@ BC

Seton Hall W

Miami

@ West Virginia

UConn W

@ Georgetown

1999-00

(5-5)

Seton Hall

@ Louisville

UCLA W

Pittsburgh W

@ St. John’s

Villanova W

Georgetown W

Notre Dame W

@ UConn

Georgetown

1998-99

(5-5)

St. John’s

@ Seton Hall W

@ UConn W

Villanova

Miami

@ Pittsburgh W

Notre Dame W

@ UCLA

@ BC W

UConn

We're Going to Boston!

In 2003, a year after graduating from Syracuse University, I decided to attend the NCAA Tournament games in Boston.  My sister and I made the four hour drive from Delaware County New York to Boston, Massachusetts.  On an unrelated note, my sister brought a grand total of TEN DOLLARS for this three day trip!  So I spent a ton of money on eBay to buy tickets (since I waited until Syracuse was officially assigned to Boston) and then had to fund a two person trip to Boston, all while working with substitute teacher pay.

This was the first time we had seen Syracuse play, in person, during the NCAA Tournament.  The first round game was an uneventful victory against Manhattan.  Manhattan played tough for a while, but in reality the game was never in jeopardy.  Round two was against a tough Oklahoma State team.  In the first half the Cowboys jumped out to a big lead and completely shut down Syracuse freshman stud, Carmelo Anthony.  Things didn’t look good, but a furious rally made the game look like an easy Syracuse twelve point win.

It should be noted that I also made the trip to Albany, this time with a friend who brought more than TEN DOLLARS and a mere two hour drive from home, to see the Regional Semifinal game against Auburn.  Unfortunately, a combination of a snowstorm and lack of funding kept me from attending the Regional Final game against Oklahoma.  I consider my attendance in three of the six NCAA Tournament games that year to be the good luck charm for the only Syracuse National Championship.

All of you fans can finally rest peacefully, because as long as Syracuse makes it out of the first weekend and is in the East Region I, the good luck charm, will be back at NCAA Tournament games.  This time, my wife, sister, brother-in-law and baby niece will be making the trip to Boston.  My wife who only puts up with Syracuse games because she is madly in love with me agreed to this trip for a simple reason; we are expecting a baby in July and she wanted a weekend getaway, since they will be few and far between after July.  She also volunteered to be the traveling nanny for my niece while the rest of us go to the games.

This finally brings me to the main “point” of this post; how we came about getting the tickets.  Things have changed since 2003.  Back then there weren’t many places on the internet to acquire tickets.  Now there are tons of places.  However, most of the places we looked for tickets wanted between $350 and $400 per ticket for both sessions.  So factoring in the ticket brokerage fee, shipping and other hidden fees we were looking at a minimum of $1200 for the three tickets.  This was doable, but we wanted to get tickets as cheap as possible.  From attending the 2003 NCAA games and a U2 concert a few years back I knew that there really aren’t bad seats in the TD Garden (or whatever it is called these days).

We continued to search internet ticket brokers looking for cheaper seats.  Finally, we stumbled across tickco.com and found all session tickets priced at $200.  This looked too good to be true, so I immediately questioned the validity of this site.  However, after some research I found less negative reviews about this site than most other ticket sites and most of the negative reviews had to do with the shipping methods, not the actual tickets.  So we decided to purchase these tickets for a total of about $750 including all the shipping and brokerage fees.

Our tickets were delivered within two days to my parents’ house, since a signature was required and the four of us actually going to the games would be at work.  My mother opened the envelope and found that we only had tickets to the first session!  We were not happy and immediately went to the website to make sure we had been looking under the “All Sessions” tab.  It looked like we were looking in the right place and should have been purchasing tickets to both sessions.  My sister, who paid for the tickets on her credit card since I didn’t want to fall victim to the TEN DOLLAR scam again, called the company.  Tickco.com looked up the listing and said we were correct we should have been purchasing tickets to both sessions.  Tickco then took our information so they could call us back and said they were going to contact the seller.

The next day Tickco got back to us and told us that the seller did not have, or claimed not to have, the tickets to the other session.  At this point things didn’t look good for us getting our session two tickets.  However, Tickco shocked us with their response.  Since the listing was considered a mislisting and we should have been purchasing tickets for both sessions they found us session two tickets and sent them to us at NO additional cost.  I was very impressed with their customer service and the way they handled the situation so quickly.

So to summarize this story; we are going to the games in Boston and because of a ticket seller’s mislisting we got the seats at an excellent aftermarket price!  Who knows maybe I will see some of you there!

Putting in the Time Until the Tournament

The last few weeks of every college basketball season are always the most dangerous for top level teams.  Teams like Syracuse, Kentucky and Missouri have put together excellent resumes and there is no doubt they will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.  The only doubt is what seed they will be given.  While some teams are playing to get into the tournament other teams are playing for seeding.

The reason the last few weeks are so dangerous is because of the way the rankings usually work.  Teams who lose late in the season have their losses remembered more.  For example Kentucky could lose two of their final games to finish the season with three losses and Michigan State could win out and finish their season with five loses, but because of when the losses occurred Michigan State could end up being a higher seed than Kentucky.   In reality Kentucky probably had, as a whole, a better season than Michigan State, but because of when the losses occurred Michigan State could be given the seeding nod.

I really believe this is the reason you seem some very good teams not playing up to their potential at the end of the regular season.  Teams are just trying to get through the last days unscathed and make it to tournament time.  At this point in the season there is no difference between a team that wins ugly and a team that runs away with a twenty-five point victory.  A win is a win!  As a Syracuse fans we should know that better than many fan bases since, in the past, we have had a habit of losing three or four conference games that we should win, at least on paper.

Teams like Kentucky, Syracuse and Missouri are just trying to put in their time and make it to the tournament relatively safe.  Sure, the players and coaches want to win the games to secure conference championships, undefeated home records and to send upperclassmen off with a win, but as much as they try to avoid it some of the focus has to be on the big prize, the NCAA Tournament. 

As a Syracuse fan I hope we can continue to win, I don’t care if it is by twenty points or a half court buzzer beater; a win is a win!  I look forward to playing against teams who never see the 2-3 zone like we play it and coaches who don’t coach against us year in and year out.  Syracuse’s style of play gives them an edge over most non-Big East teams.  Very few teams play the way Syracuse plays on either offense or defense. 

With that being said, many times tournament games come down to matchups just as much as talent.  A good matchup of styles can give a team with less talent the advantage over the higher seeded team with more talent.  That is why it is important to win late in the season any way possible and get a high seed.  In most cases that can delay those possible matchup problems until later in the tournament.

It's All About Matchups

Sports are all about match ups.  When a team match ups well with another team, you can just about throw the records out the window.   Sometimes the match ups have to do with personnel on the team and other times it has to do with coaching.  Some coaches just have the “answers” when going against certain systems, teams or other coaches. 

As a Syracuse fan I think we see this quite frequently.  Certain types of players, who may look average at best against other opponents look like All-Big East performers against Syracuse.  There seems to be two type of players that consistently hurt Syracuse; the shooter and the banger.

First let's look at "the shooter."  Even against Syracuse's normally stellar 2-3 zone a consistent long range shooter can cause serious problems.  This has gone on for as long as I can remember.  I don't have the time or resources to know this for sure, but I would wager that if you look through opposing record books Syracuse would be listed as the opponent under the record for most threes made by an individual in a game.  It always seems that at least 2 or 3 times a year a shooter will "catch fire" against Syracuse and hit 7 or 8 three pointers in the game.  Many times "the shooter" is not enough and Syracuse will still win the game.  However, it can be very nerve racking and frustrating as a fan.


The second type of player Syracuse struggles against is "the banger."  This player is physical inside and is not afraid to bump, shove or knee his way to the ball and basket.  The natural seams in the 2-3 zone allow "the banger" to be successful.  "The banger" can lead to the always present weaknesses in the zone (ie. rebounding) to become more obvious.  Again teams with "the banger" don't always beat Syracuse, but they do make the game much more interesting.


There are also types of teams that Syracuse does not normally match up with well.  These are the teams that slow down the pace and limit fast break and transition points.  As I have stated before Syracuse is at their best when they can run and get into transition and fast break opportunities.  When Syracuse has to consistently rely on their half court game they struggle greatly at times.


Disciplined teams can also find ways to score against the zone.  Many fans point to Rick Pitino as a coach who understands how to attack the zone.  Attacking the 2-3 zone is something that is Coaching 101.  Any coach worth anything knows how to attack a 2-3 zone.  You don't become a Division I basketball coach without the knowledge of how to attack the 2-3 zone.  If you did somehow sneak through the cracks you would only need to watch a halftime report of just about any Syracuse game and the analyst will gladly teach how to attack the 2-3 zone.  The difference with a coach like Pitino is he can get his team to put their egos aside and be patient for much of the game while attacking the zone.  Think of how many times teams attack the zone effectively for a possession or two.  Most of the time these teams get out of the game plan and become undisciplined.  Patience is a key asset for a basketball team and an asset that many teams do not practice on a consistent basis.


If a team has a few of the above mentioned factors they have a chance to beat Syracuse.  Fortunately many of the teams who have the most overall basketball talent are lacking the above.  Teams like Kentucky, Ohio State and North Carolina can beat Syracuse, but they play a similar game to Syracuse.  They like to run and survive on athleticism.  Overall they have the same or more basketball talent than Syracuse, but I like the match ups against these teams.  That doesn't mean Syracuse will beat these teams, but they are favorable match ups.  Teams like Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Louisville are more worrisome to me.  These teams are disciplined with the ball, play tough defense and have some shooters that can catch fire.


Given the right match ups Syracuse can go very far this season, but don't let rankings and/or seedings fool you.  Some of the worst match ups for Syracuse aren't going to be against the top ranked teams.

What time is it? It doesn't matter Georgetown still sucks!

Last night Syracuse defeated their arch rival Georgetown 64-61.  Not only is Georgetown a rival, which leads to close games, but they are also a legitimate top 15 team.  Syracuse had what should have been a comfortable lead late in the game against Georgetown.  I say comfortable, not because of a large point differential, but because of how the game had been played up to that point.  With between three and four minutes left in the game Syracuse decided running time off the clock was more important than scoring points.  This, at least in part, led to Syracuse not scoring a point for the final four and a half minutes of regulation.  This tactic has been endlessly debated on internet message boards for years and last night was no different.  Some fans blindly support the strategy while other fans blindly bashed the strategy.

What is the right way to deal with a lead late in the game?

One of the trickiest parts of all sports is what to do when you have a lead late in the game.  In football many teams use the prevent defense.  They allow shorter passes/runs, but protect against the “big play.”  On countless occasions ever year teams end up losing games because they use this strategy and a team drives down the field to score and win the game.  There are also countless times when this strategy works and the prevent defense does its job preventing teams from scoring.

In January of 1998 I had the opportunity to attend Super Bowl 32 in San Diego.  This was the game when Denver beat Green Bay 31-24.  I bring this game up because of a conversation one of Syracuse’s prodigal sons, Greg Robinson, had with Mike Shanahan at the end of the game (I am privy to this conversation thanks to NFL Films).  Robinson, who was the defensive coordinator, asked Shanahan how he should call the defense after Denver took the lead with about a minute and a half left.  Shanahan responded by saying, “Keep calling it the way you have all game.”  In this situation the strategy worked and Denver stopped Green Bay and won the game.  On a side note, I wish Robinson had asked Shanahan for input when he was the Syracuse coach.

The basketball version of the prevent defense is what many Syracuse fans refer to as “stall ball.”  Many teams choose to run the shot clock down to near zero when they hold a lead late in games.  Just like the prevent defense in football, “stall ball” is a strategy that has worked many times, but other times has cost teams victories.

There are several questions teams need to consider when determining how to handle leads late in games:

*How big is the lead?

*How much time is left?

*What are the strengths of the opponent?

*What are the team’s strengths?

Some fans and analysts agree wholeheartedly with former NFL Coach Herm Edwards, “You play to win!”  Playing to win can mean different things to different people.  To some slowing down the pace and running time off the clock is playing to win.  To others never letting up and continuing to score is playing to win.

I believe there has to be a middle ground.  It is not necessary for teams to try to run up and down the court/field, but there is something to be said for continuing to put pressure on opponents by scoring more points.  As a fan of athletics, it is frustrating for me to see a team completely change their game plan when they have the lead.  This is especially true for me when a team is really being dominant.  I have seen it countless times from high school to professional games when a team works to get a large lead and then completely goes away from their game plan in an effort to milk the clock away.  As a fan and coach this can turn a sure victory into a nail biter. 

I am not saying a team should run up the score when they are ahead of a lesser opponent.  However, I do believe that teams should continue to play “their game.”  I am a high school football coach and one of the things we have moved to for the last three years is a strictly no-huddle offense.  While we are not trying to have an Oregonian pace, we do try to speed the game up to pressure the defense.  One of our biggest challenges has been late in games when we have a lead and want to run time off the clock.  As a play caller, I get into a rhythm calling plays (especially when we are having success) and the players also get into a rhythm.  It has proven to be very difficult to suddenly try to slow down the pace.  On several occasions it has led to game becoming nail biters when we really should have been able to relax.  If I am seeing this while coaching/working with high school student-athletes, I can’t imagine the effect this can have on better trained athletes at the collegiate and professional levels. 

When push comes to shove, it is up to the individual team/coach to decide when and how it is appropriate to hold on to a lead.  The goal of all coaches and teams is to win the game.  The method used to secure the win is going to be different depending on many factors, but as the saying goes, “a win is a win.”  In reality some of the only people who care about a final score are the fans.  To the players and coaches they are looking for wins and constant improvement.  Having bad games, but winning can be very advantageous to a team.  It allows the team and coaches to see areas of weakness and attempt to fix those areas. 

Last night Syracuse beat Georgetown 64-61 in overtime.  Some say they won because they played “stall ball” the last three plus minutes of the game.  Others say they ended up having to squeak it out in overtime, because of “stall ball.” 

One thing is certain and should have been certain before this game: Syracuse is at their very best when they can score in transition and at their worst when they are forced into a slower pace where consistent half court success is necessary.  It should be noted that for as long as I can remember Syracuse has always been at their best when they are scoring in transition/fast break situations.  The difference is that, even with some of the better Syracuse teams, in the past when they were forced into half court games they lost.  This year when Syracuse is forced into half court games they still win, it isn’t pretty, but as they say “a win is a win.”