BUFFALO—Kris Joseph raced at the basket, noticing who was right in front of him. Standing in the paint was his older brother Maurice Joseph, in prime position to get posterized.
     

The elder Joseph didn’t turn around as Kris slammed home a massive dunk in the second half, saving himself from being a highlight on ESPN. Kris wasn’t done with the play, though. As he ran back, he steered toward his older brother, to finish the message.

      ‘I didn’t talk any trash, I just stared him down a little bit just having a little fun with it,’ Kris said. ‘He didn’t want to look back because he knew you get dunked on by your little brother, you don’t really want to look him in the eye.’

      The Joseph brothers played against each other for the first time in their collegiate career, with Kris’ Syracuse squad defeating Maurice’s Vermont team, 79-56. The younger Joseph outperformed his brother on the night with eight points and eight rebounds, compared to seven and three from Maurice, while ending Maurice’s collegiate career with the Orange victory.

      ‘I would love to see my brother go further into the tournament, but it’s just luck of the draw he had to play us first and we had to do what we had to do and that’s win the game,’ Kris said. ‘His career is over, I’m sure he’s going to keep working out and I wish for the best for him in anything he does in his next step or his next plans.’

      As luck would have it, the Joseph brothers were announced in succession during the introductions. Maurice waited at half court for his little brother, embracing Kris and saying a few words before tapping him on his head. Kris said his mother, Eartha Rigsby, was in the stands wearing a shirt saying, ‘Welcome to the Jo-Bro show or something.’

      During the game, the cordiality was gone. The brothers banged against each other at different points, and when it was all done, Kris walked off the court for a second-round date with Gonzaga Sunday afternoon.

      ‘As soon as we got on the court it was over,’ Joseph said. ‘Vermont vs. Syracuse. We were both trying to get a win for our respective teams and luckily enough we came out on top with this one.’

Triche finds his shot

Through most of Big East play, Brandon Triche has played second fiddle to Scoop Jardine. Stuck in a multi-month funk, he has remained the starter but has also struggled to stay on the court. 

Against Vermont, he regained his confidence with three 3-pointers in the second half to spark Syracuse’s offense in 23 minutes of action. Prior to Friday, he had only played 20-plus minutes in two of his last nine games. But after head coach Jim Boeheim instructed him to set his feet before shooting, Triche stepped up.

‘He went out and, you know, he listened,’ Boeheim said. ‘Amazing. He’s a good player. We need him to play good.’

For stretches, Triche and Jardine played simultaneously. With Arinze Onuaku’s return still unknown, the trend may grow. Both saw a healthy amount of minutes and delivered. Triche had gone nine straight games without scoring in double-figures. 

Now, Syracuse needs him to be more of a scorer. The newfound confidence is rooted in practice. Seeing the results is satisfying. Against the Catamounts, Triche shed a layer of tentativeness. 

‘Just being aggressive,’ Triche said. ‘It starts in practice. I’m gaining confidence just going to the basket and making shots. I’m just trying to translate it to the game.

Riley steps in

After DaShonte Riley’s first appearance, a quick three-minute cameo, he took his spot on the bench between a pair of assistant coaches. Arinze Onuaku leaned over to give the freshman some advice and the maturation continued. SU hopes its quick.

If Syracuse is going to last in the Tournament, it needs the freshman to grow up in a hurry. In Friday’s blowout, the Orange didn’t need much. Riley grabbed two rebounds, dished two assists and didn’t score in 12 minutes.

‘It was my first game back,’ Riley said. ‘You can practice a lot but there’s nothing like that game environment. Just getting accustomed to that.’

Riley saw some of Gonzaga’s win over Florida State, glimpses of their two seven-footers. There’s little time to relax for the raw big man.

‘They’re a pretty good team so we’ll have to get prepared tomorrow. We can’t underestimate. We need to do what we need to do.’

This and that
      Syracuse and Vermont are now 1-1 all-time, with both wins coming in the NCAA Tournament….Vermont won the turnover battle, 16 to 9…Syracuse had 24 assists and shot 10-of-22 from 3…James Southerland had four points, shooting 2-for-2 from the floor….Syracuse played 11 players in the game….Syracuse made 9-of-11 free throws in the game…Syracuse and Gonzaga have never played…Only one higher-seeded team in the West Regional lost, No. 4 Vanderbilt…Syracuse is one of four Big East (West Virginia, Villanova, Pittsburgh) teams still remaining…The Big 12 has the most teams left in the tournament with five.

Published on March 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm