[Rosiak's Blog] Recap: Syracuse

[ToddRosiakSays]

Recap: Syracuse


Mar. 7, 2009  




Once a scourge on the fast break themselves, the Marquette Golden Eagles are now finding themselves struggling mightily to slow down opponents in that area.

It's yet another area in which Dominic James' absence is affecting MU, which has now lost four straight games for the first time in more than five years.

The Golden Eagles allowed Syracuse to score 22 fast-break points in the Orange's 86-79 overtime victory at the Bradley Center on Satuday -- the most an opponent has scored in that manner all season.

"We miss 'Nic offensively. Most people who study it realize that," said coach Buzz Williams. "But if you really study it, we miss him defensively more than we miss him offensively. And with that being said, the last three games we've given up more transition points (42) than we had in the previous 10 games.

"We've got to stop points in transition. We miss his presence defensively, particularly when it's a dead-ball or full-court situation because he applies so much pressure. Instead of them initiating offense with their heels on the three-point line, whoever Nic's guarding is ready to get rid of it before he crosses half court.

"So our team has changed more defensively than it has offensively. So the things we need to work on are getting back in transition, stopping the ball. We have to shorten the game from a defensive perspective because we can't afford, with the margin we have, to give teams...

"UConn, at Louisville, at Pitt...33% of the 245 points that were scored were in transition. Can't do that. Can't do that. Can't do that."

Added Wesley Matthews: "That just hurts. There was a stretch in the first half where we were scoring, getting stops in the half-court, but we were trading buckets every time because they were just running it back down at us."

-- Maurice Acker's turnover with MU up, 70-69, came on the heels of a turnover the Golden Eagles forced on the other end, when they got the Orange's Rick Jackson on a five-second violation.

Acker's pass was a bad one, but give some credit to Jonny Flynn for reading it all the way, laying back enough to entice Acker into throwing it, and then making the move to grab it and go the other way for the layup and the foul.

"Good read by Flynn." Williams said. "You have to shorten the distance of the pass against zones, and when they're so high on the floor, they're playing the next pass. They anticipated it well."

-- The Golden Eagles got themselves back into the game in the second half by ratcheting up the defense. Part of the equation was using some full-court pressure, that helped force the Orange into a series of turnovers.

That pressure came back to bite them a bit late in the game, after Jerel McNeal's three gave MU a 73-72 lead with 17.9 seconds left. Syracuse was able to throw over the top of the press on the ensuing possession, and Jackson wound up knocking down 1 of 2 free throws on the other end.

That one free throw wound up sending the game into OT.

"We were telling our guys to make sure they catch it in front," said Williams. "Flynn goes long (passes it to Jackson) and they score."

-- A classy way to send out Dominic James, giving him the opportunity to be announced as a starter one last time on Al McGuire Court.

It was a move that was held close to the vest up to game time, and one suggested to Williams by media relations director Scott Kuykendall.

"The best way we could honor 'Nic one more time without it being a violation or without it being disrespectful to the game," Williams said. "Scott let everybody know. Coach Boeheim knew, the three officials knew, the coordinator of officials knew, the scorer's table knew, I guess he called the NCAA, the Big East, let them know."

James, by the way, has been cleared for travel and will make the trip to New York with the Golden Eagles for the Big East Tournament. The team leaves early Monday afternoon.

-- Giving up 63.0% and 56.3% shooting to their last two opponents, the Golden Eagles have been able to keep themselves in both games with terrific performances on the offensive glass.

MU had 13 offensive boards leading to 18 points at Pittsburgh, the No. 1 offensive-rebounding team itself in the nation, then followed up with an incredible 23 leading to 33 second-chance points against Syracuse.

Jimmy Butler had an amazing 10 by himself en route to a career-high 14.

"For us to get 23 offensive rebounds says a lot about the hearts of our guys," Williams said. "Twenty-three offensive rebounds -- that's not based on our length and our athleticism. That's based on our heart. You can't quantify that."

Matthews agreed.

"We've got a lot of heart," he said. "Jimmy played the best game of his career at the perfect time. It was who wanted it more? We needed every possession, every rebound, and it was just a matter of going and getting it.

"At this level, in this conference, there's no technique to it. It's just going up and doing it."

Butler's 38 minutes were 10 more than his previous high, which he established against Western Carolina.

"I can't say fatigue was a big factor," he said. "I was tired at times, but whenever we'd go on a little run, the momentum would start shifting and fatigue wasn't a factor anymore. Playing a lot of minutes did surprise me but Coach was like, 'You're playing well, so I'm going to keep you out there.'

"I hope to keep doing that."

-- Coming in shooting just 31.1% from the free-throw line, Arinze Onuaku was a perfect candidate for the 'Hack a Shaq' treatment.

In fact, MU tried a couple times -- hard -- to foul him when he was on the court late in the game, but couldn't draw the whistle.

"We were trying," said Williams, who was tight-lipped about the officiating. "Jimmy got the message. He ran him all the way out of bounds. I guess they didn't (blow the whistle). They were both standing out of bounds."

Onuaku finished 0 for 4 from the line overall.

-- With his 25 points, McNeal has now scored 20 or more points in 20 of 31 games on the season.

By comparison, Dwyane Wade had 21 in 33 games -- including six in the post-season -- in his junior season at MU.

McNeal also moved past Dean Meminger into second place on MU's senior-season scoring list, with 623. He needs 67 more to break Tony Smith's record of 689.

-- Williams remains encouraged by how hard the Golden Eagles are playing.

"We're trying. I can't fault our guys' effort," he said. "There's just no margin. Jimmy has definitely stepped Mo has definitely stepped up. Cooby, he could have played a minute or two more. I wanted to play Chris (Otule) because I thought that he matched up -- when they were playing those two big guys all the time -- just from a size perspective just to bang around a little bit.

"But I think all of our guys, including our staff, have been accountable. It hasn't bounced our way the last four games. And so we can quit, or we can keep working and try to figure out how to handle it and give ourselves a chance for success."

-- MU now will face the winner of Georgetown-St. John's at 1 p.m. Wednesday.

Neither is an ideal scenario: the Hoyas are 0-2 against MU, of course, and bring all kinds of length and athleticism to the table. The Red Storm, meanwhile, will be playing on their home court.

"We're lucky to have a bye, to get that extra rest, to get that extra preparation on what we need to do, to get back together as a team," Matthews said. "We've had good games against both teams. It's going to be tough whoever we play, either way.

"Georgetown, they're going to play with an edge. St. John's, they're going to be at home. It's March."

-- Syracuse remains the only team MU has not defeated since joining the Big East in 2005-'06. The Golden Eagles are 0-3 now against the Orange over that span...MU is 0-3 in overtime games the past two seasons. It hasn't won one since Jan. 21, 2007 at No. 6 Pittsburgh...Matthews registered his first ever double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds...Syracuse scored 48 points in the paint, most by an MU opponent all season.

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