Syracuse 71 Cincinnati 54

(Enquirer/Joseph Fuqua II)

The Cincinnati Bearcats (14-9, 5-6) were held to just 5 points the last 12 minutes of the game as the Syracuse Orange (23-1, 10-1) scored 28 en route to a lopsided Orange win. The Bearcats played pretty well until the 12 minute mark of the second half. Cashmere Wright hit a 3 and UC lead 49-43 at that time. UC would then commit 7 fouls in the next 5 minutes and go incredibly stagnant on offense. The last UC field goal was a Cash Wright jumper at the 8 minute mark, and the last points were Ibrahima Thomas free throws at the 6 minute mark. Steve Toyloy hit a free throw the possession before Wright. If one were to compare it to another game from this season, it would absolutely be the UAB game. In that loss, the Bearcats scored 6 points the last 11 minutes and were run over. That's pretty much what happened Sunday. Let's not sell the Cats completely short, unlike that game, they played hard. It's just when push came to shove, Syracuse shoved the Bearcats into a corner and kicked the crap out of them. All credit goes to Syracuse. They are legit, and really, really good. Despite only 5 points and 3 boards from Wesley Johnson, the Orange had plenty in the tank. Andy Rautins blocked Biggie McClain (pictured), and had 20 points. Kris Joseph came off the bench and outscored Cincinnati's bench by himself with 17. He hit a couple of huge 3s. 1 to give Syracuse the lead, and the other to give them a 10 point lead. He was great, just like Brian from Orange::44 predicted. He was also right on the money with what kind of team Syracuse struggled with, as this was a battle. Let's dive in and look at how it played out.

If you have followed the Big East this season, you know that one team has to build up a lead so the other team can storm back. UC did just that, bursting out to a 15-6 lead. On his 23rd birthday (happy birthday Ibrahima!) Ibrahima Thomas jumped all over the Orange with 7 of those points. Ibby scored inside, at the line, and from 3 point land. The 9 point lead lasted about 15 second before Scoop Jardine (11-6 assists) hit a trey. UC's offense went in the tank at this point as well. UC didn't score for nearly 7 minutes, and Syracuse creeped into the lead off an Arinze Onuaku lay up. Onuaku had 6 of the 17. After a timeout, UC jumped back in the lead with a Larry Davis 3. Lance Stephenson stepped in here and scored the next 6 for UC, around a Rautins triple, and a Joseph free throw, and the Cats lead by 3. After a Deonta Vaughn lay up, Rautins hit his 3rd 3 of the game, and Scoop Jardine followed with a 3 of his own and Syracuse retook the advantage. The teams traded a 1 point lead through the rest of the half, with Yancy Gates doing all the UC scoring. The last points were scored by Syracuse on a Joseph jumper for a 1 point lead, and a Jardine free throw for the 32-30 score at the half. Syracuse shot 12-27, 5-11, 3-9 at the stripe, and had 5 offensive boards, 15 total. They were lead by Jardine's 9, Rautins' 9, and Onuaku's 6-5. For Cincinnati, Ibrahima Thomas lead the way with 9-4, Lance Stephenson had 8-6, Gates had 6-4 with 3 of those offensive, and Vaughn had 4. UC shot 11-29, 3-9, 5-11 with 18 rebounds, 6 on offense. Extremely poor free throw shooting on both sides, but otherwise, pretty well played.

Half 2 started with Ibrahima Thomas tying the game, and Syracuse going on a run. Onuaku, Brandon Triche (his only 2), and Rick Jackson (5-10) pushed the lead to 6. Gates answered with 2 of his own, but Rautins hit another 3 to push the lead to 7 and cause a UC timeout. Whatever Mick Cronin said in the huddle worked, because UC came out on fire. Cashmere Wright (7) hit a lay up, Rashad Bishop (5) hit a 3, and Yancy Gates got a traditional 3 point play and UC was back in front. Wesley Johnson hit a pair of free throws to give the Orange the lead, but Bishop answered right back with a jumper. Then came the momentum swinging play of the game. After a Cashmere Wright missed runner in the lane, Lance Stephenson did this.

That brought 5/3 Arena to it's feet, and caused Jim Boeheim to call a timeout. Cash hit his 3 to make the score 49-43 and that's when the Orange buckled down. Syracuse got buckets from Rautins, Jackson and a free throw from Onuaku to pull within 1. Kris Joseph nailed the 3 for a 51-49 lead at 9:37. Steve Toyloy made 1 of 2, but Scoop Jardine answered with 2 of his own at the line. Cash scored off a jumper, but Onuaku got it right back. Rautins hit a pair at the line, and Joseph followed with a jumper that caused Mick to call timeout down 7 with 6:28 left. Ibby went aggressive to the rim and drew a foul, making both shots and cutting the lead to 59-54. Onuaku stripped Thomas on the next UC possession leading to a Rautins lay up, and after a Thomas miss, Joseph nailed the game deciding 3 for a 10 point lead with 4:42 left. The game ended with Syracuse scoring a basket off a Jackson tip in, and free throws made by Joseph (2), Rautins (2), and Jackson. Between the 12:25 mark, where Cash hit the 3, to the 7:09 mark, UC committed 7 fouls. Syracuse made 5 free throws in that span. Some of them looked a little touchy, but the fouls clearly flustered UC. The whistles seemed to kill UC's momentum. I'm not blaming this on the officials, I'm just pointing out that UC lost some of the fire, and Syracuse stomped the rest out. Just like elite teams do.

This was a good effort by UC. The bad part is, Syracuse's effort was a little better, and their better is on another level than UC. The Orange offense was on track the second half. Syracuse was 24-47 51%, 8-16, but only 15-26 at the free throw line. Syracuse had 28 boards, 8 offensive. Cincinnati shot 20-48 41%, 5-19, 9-18. UC had 28 rebounds, 9 offensive. But, UC had 11 turnovers to only 10 assists. 

We mentioned who lead Syracuse up top, so let's give credit to the UC men. Ibrahima Thomas had his best day in a UC uniform with 13-7. The 13 is a season high. Yancy Gates had 11-5. Lance went for 10-8. Cash had 7. Deonta Vaughn had 4 on 2-10 shooting, including 0-6 from deep. Bishop had 5-3-3, Larry Davis 3, and Steve Toyloy had 1 and that was the UC scoring day. 

The Bearcats have the week off before traveling to UConn next Saturday. The team needs a break to gear up for the crucial stretch run that's coming. At 14-9, the margin for error to make the NCAAs has gotten small. UC can only afford 1 or 2 slip ups, and they close at West Virginia, Villanova, at Georgetown. They need to lock wins down now. The game against Syracuse was a big missed opportunity because they had the Orange on the ropes midway through the second half. This team doesn't know how to finish. They also forget how to score. Any game where you go 6+ without scoring in one half, and 12 minutes with 5 points the next, that's a recipe for losing. 

Orange run past Bearcats

The Syracuse Orange (23-1, 10-1) went on a 28-5 run to close out the Cincinnati Bearcats (14-9, 5-6) this afternoon. The Bearcats took a 49-43 lead after Cashmere Wright (7 points) hit a 3, but the Orange would lock down UC with their zone. Cincinnati only had 1 field goal the last 8:15 by Cash, and 2 Ibrahima Thomas free throws with 6:04 left after that. Not scoring for 8 minutes against one of the best teams in the country is something you can't do. On his 23rd birthday, Ibrahima Thomas scored a season high 13 points. Yancy Gates had 11-5, and Lance Stephenson had 10-8. The Bearcats got nothing from Deonta Vaughn, 4 points. This was a big game that the Bearcats had a big chance to win, but once again the horribly inefficient offense reared it's highly efficient head. The Bearcats busted out to a 15-6 lead at the 14 minute mark, and didn't score again until 7:42 in the half, after Syracuse took the lead. Andy Rautins lead the Orange with 20 points , but Kris Joseph, 17-3 steals, hit 2 huge 3s. One to take the lead, the other to essentially ice it putting the Orange up 64-54. Scoop Jardine had 11-6 assists, and Arinze Oruaku had 11-6. Tough one to take. The margin of error to make the NCAA tournament is really slim now.

Know Your Opponent: Syracuse Orange edition

The Cincinnati Bearcats return home after the disappointing loss to Notre Dame Thursday to a visit from one of the best teams in the country, Syracuse. The Orange are 22-1 and are coming off a dismantling of Providence. Syracuse stud Wesley Johnson took a tough fall against the Friars, but looks like he's going to go today. Johnson is one of the front runners for national player of the year, and Big East player of the year. The Bearcats really need to put one in the bag after going in the tank against the Irish. Cincinnati has been a much better team at the big fraction, but they haven't played a team this talented this season. Yesterday, we asked Brian from Orange::44 some questions, and he did the same with me on his site, but let's take a deeper look inside the numbers between the Big East foes. If you want more views on the Orange, there are lots of good sites, but I recommend Brian's site, and the great Nunes' Magician. They are good people, good writers, and have good sites. 

Questions and Answers: Starring Brian from Orange 44

With the #3 ranked Syracuse Orange making the trip to 5/3 Arena to play the Bearcats tomorrow, Brian at Orange 44 and I thought it would be a great idea to ask each other some questions about the teams. I answered Brian's questions on his amazingly amazing blog right here.

(Pictured: Not Brian, although this is the average Syracuse fan. I kid Orange fans)

Bearcats Blog: Besides my pick for BE Player of the Year Wesley Johnson, who should we look out for on Syracuse?

 

Orange44: Lately you have to watch out for Kris Joseph. He has been sensational off the bench for Syracuse, including earning a career high 23 points against Providence on Tuesday. He, much like Johnson, can dunk the ball hard, and has the moves to take someone on the baseline. If Cincinnati fails to take him seriously, Joseph will get some easy buckets in the paint for the Orange.

BB: How does this SU team stack up to recent years?

 

O44: I hate to compare, especially this early in the season, but this team is the best team since the 2003 National Champion Syracuse team. They have inside and outside play, a bona fide star in Wes Johnson, good guards, and players that can score off the bench. The real improvement from last season has been on defense. With longer and bigger players in the famous 2-3 Zone, Syracuse is leading the league in steals and holding opponents to 64.6ppg. This, my friends, is a team that could go the distance.

BB: What type of team does Syracuse struggle with?

 

Teams that like to slow the pace of the game and play a half court offense. If teams take most of the time on the shot clock per possession and manage to score, this obviously helps limit Syracuse's possessions and could cause Syracuse to get out of their run-and-gun type of offense. We saw this kind of team at DePaul and Syracuse was down 18 points in the first half before coming back to win. Syracuse is brilliant in transition, so if you force Syracuse to take the ball out every time by scoring, you can limit a lot of easy buckets for the Orange. Additionally, any good three point shooting team has a chance against a team that plays the zone, but that hasn't seemed to help any teams this year so far.

BB: Are you going to take a chainsaw the the next analyst who brings up the LeMoyne game?

 

O44: Haha it's a formula that any analyst uses to call a game. They have to bring that up for some reason. The game didn't count, and frankly I didn't much care when it happened. If anything, I was happy for LeMoyne. Boeheim never takes scrimmages seriously in that he uses various defenses and plays and lineups he rarely tries in actual games. Can we all agree to just move on, seeing as Syracuse is well passed it?

BB: Follow up: Has that game made you worried of facing a lower seed come March Madness? I know it was an exhibition game, but has it planted some little seeds of doubt?

 

O44: None. Like I said earlier, Syracuse was playing defenses and schemes that they would never try in an actual game at this point. If Syracuse plays determined and uses it's strengths like they have been so far this season, lower seeds might give them a game, but I think it will be a big time team that eventually puts Syracuse to rest. Of course this is all premature talk. I'd just like to get out of the regular season first.

Thanks to Brian at Orange44 for the great answers. Just so you know, I asked the last question because I know that some people are going to have Syracuse going down early in March because of that. Especially the people who want a 16 to beat a 1, which Syracuse potentially is. Enough inside baseball, whatever that means, the Know Your Opponent will be up tonight, and if it's not, it will be up in the AM.