Game 31: Syracuse
Mar. 6, 2009
For all the Marquette Golden Eagles have accomplished in their four seasons in the Big East, there's still one big hole in their resume: a victory over the Syracuse Orange.
Granted, the teams have only played twice, but Syracuse owns a 2-0 mark over MU -- a 70-58 victory at the Bradley Center on Jan. 7, 2007, and an 87-72 victory at the Carrier Dome on March 8, 2008.
It's a little nugget that even Dominic James was surprised by when I informed him of it on Friday, and for the Golden Eagles a game they really need in order to get back onto some solid footing heading into the Big East Tournament next week.
"We just need to finish," said Wesley Matthews. "We’ve got to understand that our margin for error is zero. Pittsburgh’s probably a No. 1 seed, we’re beating them by nine at their place. UConn’s probably going to be a No. 1 seed, we’re beating them with 6:56 left at our place. Louisville’s going to be a high seed, a projected Final Four team, we’re within one possession with them the whole night at their place. And that’s without one of the best point guards in America.
"We’ve just got to work on finishing. We’re taking shots that we don’t necessarily need, and we can’t quite absorb right now without ‘Nic in the lineup."
MU is guaranteed the fifth seeding, and a game at 1 p.m. Central on Wednesday against either Georgetown, Notre Dame, Seton Hall or St. John's. The field will sift itself out by later Saturday night, with Louisville at West Virginia capping the regular season.
In Syracuse (79.9 ppg) and MU (79.1 ppg), you've got to the two highest-scoring teams in the Big East. In the Orange, you have a cast of characters that's as solid as any around, according to coach Buzz Williams.
"I think 1 through 7 they’re as talented as any team in our league," he said. "Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf, Paul Harris, the two big guys inside – literally I think they’re just as talented as anybody we’ve played. And I know that Louisville and UConn and Pitt are all really good. But from a talent perspective, I think those seven guys are really good.
"I don’t know that they’re even aware that it’s Senior Day. And if they are, it was probably just a passing thought. I don’t think it matters."
Flynn leads five players averaging in double figures at 17.0 ppg, while Harris and Arinze Onuaku average 7.9 and 7.5 rebounds per game, respectively.
The No. 25 Orange, which will be fighting to earn a No. 6 seeding in the Big East Tournament, also has a pair of gunners in Andy Rautins (77 three-pointers) and Devendorf (57).
You can find the rest of the
team stats here. Syracuse is best known, of course, for its 2-3 zone. It stymied MU in the teams' two previous meetings, but the Golden Eagles have shown a much-improved ability to score against such alignments this season.
"I had a guy tell me in early January tell me that he thought Jim Boeheim was the smartest coach he’d ever met, and that was because of the statistical analysis he did on his team and the opponent’s team, which is, I think, probably how the 2-3 zone began to be known as Syracuse defensively," Williams said. "They’re so long and they’re so wide, that it’s hard to penetrate the gap because they’re playing it high on the floor. And it’s not just their front line – it’s their back line that’s up as well – and they play really high out on the wing, those two wing guys.
"We’ll have our hands full because it’ll be hard for us to get paint touches because they’re so long and athletic."
Matthews echoed Williams' sentiments.
"They’re tough," he said. "They have a lot of talent. They’ve got just as much talent as anyone in the country, and we’re going to have to play. Just because it’s our Senior Day doesn’t mean they’re going to give us the win. They’re playing for a seed, they’re playing to get better, they’re playing for the win just like we are. The same thing’s at stake for both of us."
Also, anyone watching the game on TV should take note that WMLW announced Friday that unless it's a blowout down the stretch, it will air the UConn-Pitt game in its entirety. That begins at 11, meaning it will probably leak over into MU's starting slot of 1.
No worries, though. The start of the MU game would then move over to Channel 41 until the UConn-Pitt game concludes.
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