Boeheim, SU vets laud contributions of 4 freshmen in win
NEW YORK — Scoop Jardine called Dion Waiters’ 3-pointer the spark that Syracuse needed. When Waiters drained the jumper with 11:40 left to play, the Orange was leading by just three points. It ended up winning by 14.
And Jardine said it all started with that shot.
‘The turning point was when Dion hit that 3,’ Jardine said. ‘We needed it at that time, and that gave us momentum.’
On the national stage, SU’s four freshmen all contributed in the Orange’s biggest win of the season. Waiters had the big 3, C.J. Fair had a pair of highlight-reel dunks, and the big men, Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita, each contributed inside.
For Syracuse to reach its potential this season, it will likely need its inexperienced freshmen to mature as they did Tuesday. And after the game, SU head coach Jim Boeheim had nothing but praise for each of the four.
‘I thought C.J. was great in the first half,’ Boeheim said. ‘I thought Baye was tremendous. Dion had a big shot. Fab was good, and he is getting better. He is more active.’
The four combined for just 13 points, but their influence on the outcome of the game went beyond the box score. In a game of runs, the Orange capitalized on the big plays generated by its freshmen.
And as the season progresses, the veterans are looking for their young teammates to mature to a point where they can be called upon in big-game situations such as Tuesday.
‘We’ve got a lot of great freshmen,’ SU forward Rick Jackson said. ‘Right now they’re just trying to prove themselves, and I think they’ll be big for us down the line.’
Matchup game
To Jardine, Syracuse’s win was about matchups. The Orange was playing a Michigan State team that allowed SU to go to its strengths: Jackson posting down low at the end of fast breaks led by Jardine, Waiters or Kris Joseph.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo acknowledged those matchups after the Spartans’ loss. But they were supposed to be matchups in which the Spartans were just as good. Just as tough. It was the No. 7 team playing the No. 8 team, or vice versa — depending on The Associated Press or ESPN/USA Today Top 25 polls.
It was supposed to be even. It wasn’t. His Spartans, who were supposed to be at least equals to Syracuse, turned into what Izzo termed as ‘pretty boys.’
‘We turned into a pretty-boy jump-shooting team instead of a blue-collar fist-fighting team,’ he said. ‘We got beat because Jim Boeheim’s team played a lot harder.’
That head coaching battle between Izzo and Boeheim was supposed to be even as well. Both are former national champions. Both preach what has brought their respective programs to the national forefront.
But with the loss, Izzo put the blame on himself. That was the paramount matchup where his team failed. One-on-one, he lost to Boeheim.
‘Our guys were not covering anybody,’ Izzo said. ‘That should solely go on me because the team doesn’t play hard enough. Tough enough. That’s the coach’s fault. One way or another, I am going to fix that.’
On Tuesday, Izzo couldn’t fix it. The Orange almost doubled the Spartans with 42 points in the paint to MSU’s 24. And behind the 3-point line, where the Spartans entered the game shooting a scorching 43 percent, Izzo’s team faltered. The Spartans shot just 7-of-24 (29 percent) in the game.
The poor numbers came via another matchup in the game. The most overarching matchup: SU’s 2-3 zone versus the Spartans’ offense, which shot at a 49 percent clip on the year entering Tuesday. But like MSU’s guards lost out to Jardine and like Izzo lost out to Boeheim, the Spartans surrendered to the zone. SU forced a few MSU shot-clock violations, as the Spartans failed to start up their half-court offense prior to the last 20 seconds of the shot clock each time down.
The zone forced MSU out of its comfort zone. And it was all about the little things to Joseph.
‘The little plays,’ Joseph said. ‘Just make the right plays, and that is what Coach wants, and that is what makes him happy.’
This and that
Jackson’s 17 points and 16 rebounds gave him his seventh double-double of the season. … All-Big Ten point guard Kalin Lucas struggled Tuesday, finishing with just eight points and two assists and turning the ball over six times. … The Orange played just eight players, including the four freshmen, cutting the rotation down from 10 earlier in the year. … Just a game after shooting 7-for-21 from the field, Jardine shot an efficient 7-of-9 against the Spartans.
Published on December 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm
