The
Orange opened up the contest scoring the first six points. With SU on top 6-4, the ‘Cuse held Cincinnati
scoreless for the next five minutes.
During that time, the Orange scored thirteen points to extend its lead
to 19-4.
After
a couple Cincinnati baskets, the Orange went on a 12-0 run to pull ahead
34-11. During the run, Paul Harris was
fouled hard on a break-away layup attempt by Bearcats forward Alvin Mitchell. When officials reviewed the
play they assessed Mitchell with an intentional flagrant foul and he was
ejected from the game. As Mitchell left
the court, he mockingly clapped to the 25, 139 fans in attendance. Not exactly a smart thing to do, especially
since the Bearcats were already trailing by twenty at that point.
For
the second straight game, Syracuse’s defense held its opponent to under twenty
points in the first half. In fact, Cincinnati’s
seventeen points was its lowest first-half output of the season. The Bearcats couldn’t solve the Orange’s 2-3
zone, shooting a paltry 6-of-30 (20 percent) from the field and only making one
of its fifteen three-point attempts. For
the ‘Cuse, Jonny Flynn scored twelve of his team’s 40 points.
If
there was any doubt about SU’s first half performance, all five starters scored
at least one basket in a 14-4 run to open the second half. The run gave the Orange its biggest advantage
at 33 points with the score 54-21.
Syracuse’s
defense fell asleep soon thereafter, allowing the Bearcats to go on an 11-0 run
to cut the deficit to 59-37. That was
about the only blemish for the Orange as it steady the ship a few minutes
later. Harris’ highlight reel alley-oop
dunk from Flynn put the Orange back up by thirty and reinforced the message
that SU is playing for an NCAA Tournament berth.
With
the Orange up big, the bench players saw time for the second straight
game. It was an impressive win for SU
who has now won two straight laughers and appears to be playing its best
basketball heading into the final stretch of the season before Selection
Sunday.
Some other
observations from Syracuse’s 87-63 win over Cincinnati:
· What a difference it
makes when the Orange commits itself to playing defense. Cincinnati just could not get anything going
on offense in the first half. While
Syracuse’s trapping didn’t cause many turnovers, it disrupted the Bearcats
rhythm which resulted in lots of missed shots.
SU turned those misses into fastbreak opportunities as it outscored the
Bearcats 21-2 in transition. It’s
absolutely scary to see this team operate on run with so many guards who can
shoot and also finish around the hoop.
· Another reason why the
Orange looked so good was because it held on to the rock. Turnovers have plagued this team so many
times this season, but not today. For
the game, SU committed only six turnovers.
The most positive sign has to be guard Eric Devendorf who only lost the
ball once while dishing out five assists.
· It was nice to see
freshman Kris Joseph play well when he got some playing time in the second
half. Joseph scored eight points on
3-of-6 shooting which included two trifectas.
The frosh has a smooth looking jump shot and if he could get a little
bit of confidence, he may be a little surprise for SU in tournament play.
· Offensively nobody
truly stood out because there was such a nice balance. Flynn led the way with seventeen points and
seven assists. He looks to be in
complete control on the floor. Fellow
Niagara Falls native Harris was right behind Flynn with 16 points. Devendorf struggled a little shooting
(4-of-12), but scored 13 points and distributed the ball well. The two big men played terrific for the
‘Cuse. Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson
each scored in double-figures, combining for 23 points on 11-of-13
shooting. Onuaku grabbed seven boards
and dished out a career-high three helpers while Jackson made all six of his
field goal attempts. And Kristof Ongenaet deserves some love. The Belgian
dove on the floor immediately after checking into the ball game. He led SU with nine rebounds and scored seven
points in nineteen minutes of action.
Syracuse
(21-8, 9-7 Big East) plays its final home game of the season against Rutgers on
Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. and
the game will be televised on ESPNU.