Colgate Season to Date: The Red Raiders are off to a pretty good start this year, posting a 6-3 record through the first month and a half of the season to go with a middling RPI rating of 158. Their losses to Dartmouth and Marist were by a combined 6 points, but they were slaughtered by Notre Dame 94-63. Their best win was a 76-73 victory over Cornell, which is currently ranked #126 in the RPI.
Meet the Red Raiders:
## |
Player |
GP-GS |
Mpg |
FG% |
3PT% |
FT% |
RPG |
APG |
PPG |
13 |
Roemer, Kyle |
9-9 |
33.3 |
.451 |
.439 |
.731 |
4.6 |
1.6 |
19.2 |
32 |
Waddy, Daniel |
9-9 |
28.3 |
.419 |
.375 |
.674 |
3.6 |
2.7 |
10.0 |
04 |
Chones, Kendall |
9-9 |
22.0 |
.558 |
.400 |
.750 |
4.4 |
1.7 |
9.3 |
22 |
Pounds, Tim |
9-9 |
23.3 |
.547 |
.714 |
.706 |
2.2 |
1.4 |
8.3 |
42 |
Minchella, Peter |
9-9 |
14.7 |
.563 |
.000 |
.500 |
3.3 |
0.4 |
2.7 |
34 |
Morse, Willie |
9-0 |
17.1 |
.471 |
.462 |
.875 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
6.4 |
40 |
Jonson, Ben |
8-0 |
17.4 |
.469 |
.000 |
.882 |
3.0 |
0.8 |
5.6 |
02 |
Woodhouse, Alex |
9-0 |
19.9 |
.419 |
.000 |
.556 |
5.1 |
1.6 |
4.0 |
01 |
Chones, Kyle |
9-0 |
11.2 |
.591 |
.600 |
.000 |
1.6 |
0.3 |
3.6 |
Total |
|
9 |
--- |
.476 |
.458 |
.700 |
34.8 |
14.2 |
70.7 |
Opponents |
|
9 |
--- |
.414 |
.371 |
.614 |
31.4 |
12.8 |
66.8 |
As with most teams from smaller conferences, a majority of Colgate's scoring comes from the perimeter. Kyle Roemer, a 6-3 swingman from the De La Salle program in California, is the team's most dangerous player. He can score off the dribble is also a very good shooter. Daniel Waddy and Tim Pounds also average nearly double digits in the scoring column and complement Roemer from the perimeter. The muscle up front is provided by Kendall Chones, Alex Woodhouse, and Peter Minchella. These three players stand 6-7, 6-8, and 6-10 respectively, so the Red Raiders have some decent size. Unfortunately for head coach Emmett Davis, none of them are remotely as athletic as Syracuse's frontcourt players.
Game Outlook: This game boils down to one thing only: prepare for life without Eric Devendorf. Without question, the most important thing tonight is to escape with a victory while giving a good long look at how various players can fill new roles. Andy Katz reported yesterday that Boeheim's initial plan is to move Paul Harris into the backcourt and start freshman forward Rick Jackson up front. This move makes the Orange a much bigger team, but it takes Harris away from the basket for rebounding and also makes a team a step slower in transition. As such, the offense shouldn't be expected to be as explosive, but there are some potential defensive gains here.
To make sure the Orange have enough bodies to weather potential injuries or foul problems, Boeheim has decided to burn the redshirt that was originally going to be used on Sean Williams. The big man from California has obviously not seen any action in any of the team's 10 regular season games, so he'll be expected to learn on the fly. Williams may provide just what this team needs in the back of the zone, but don't look for him to be very effective on the offensive end yet. Also, his game conditioning will be well behind that of his teammates, so extended minutes aren't likely unless there is major foul trouble ahead of him.
The loss of Devendorf also puts a lot of pressure on freshman G Scoop Jardine, who will likely be seeing increased minutes. Jardine has shown flashes of being a positive contributor this year, but he has also shown many segments of wild play. He will really need to calm down and play more under control for this SU team to succeed this year.
Paul Harris will also get significant minutes in the backcourt, which will put more pressure on him to handle, shoot, and score. This may not be such a good thing, as Harris is at his best as a glue guy who makes the others around him better players. He has struggled at times in his college career when he tries to do too much and shoulder too much of the offensive load. It will be interesting to see how he and Jonny Flynn play together as the primary ballhandlers, reprising their roles from three years ago when they won a New York State high school championship playing for Niagara Falls.
Even without Devendorf, this Syracuse team shouldn't have many problems putting away Colgate. Last Saturday's game was a serious step in the right direction in terms of keeping focus and making sure the opposing team didn't make a run to get back into the game. The lesson was learned at a tremendous cost, but hopefully it cares over tonight while Boeheim tries out new players in different roles. Syracuse 89 Colgate 71.