Orange Crush Squeezes Johnnies

The matchup was hyped as a battle for Empire State supremacy, as fourth-ranked Syracuse sought to prove once and for all that they were the face of New York college basketball, while St. John’s wanted to show the Orange and fans across the state that they have not left yet.  Unfortunately for the Johnnies, their Big Apple wasn’t as juicy as the Orange.

Using their world-famous 2-3 zone defense and athleticism that has become a trademark under longtime coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 in the Big East) shook off a lackluster start and exerted their muscle at a venue that usually doubles as a de facto home arena for the Orange; overpowering St. John’s (10-5, 3-2) down the stretch to prevail by the final of 76-59. Four Orange players scored in double figures, led by Kris Joseph (18 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Brandon Triche. (15 points and four assists) Scoop Jardine added 14 points and six assists while his high school teammate Rick Jackson added yet another double-double to his ledger with 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Despite the win, the head coach was far from ecstatic.

“We need to improve a lot,” said Coach Boeheim in his postgame press conference, and he directed that comment toward his big men, who were largely nonexistent with the exception of Jackson.  Nonetheless, Syracuse outplayed the Red Storm in nearly every aspect of the game, shooting 57 percent from the field (31-of-54 overall and 63 percent in the second half) and 45 percent (9-for-20) from beyond the arc, showing that the Johnnies still have not mastered the art of the zone defense that the Orange has perfected over the years.  Of the nine trifectas, Triche led the way with three of them.  “If he doesn’t shoot within the first ten minutes, he waits to see if we need him,” said Boeheim of the guard that he felt showed the biggest improvement on the team when I spoke to him at the Big East’s preseason media day in October.  St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin deflected more praise toward the sophomore guard after his electrifying performance at Madison Square Garden.  “Brandon Triche is a microcosm of the whole Syracuse team,” said a dejected Lavin after the game.  “You don’t notice him for a stretch and then he steps up.”

Justin Brownlee (13 points) was one of the few who stepped up for St. John’s, who were done in by a 2-for-12 performance from long range.  Dwight Hardy drained both triples for the Storm, finishing with 12 for the game.  St. John’s started out strong, leading 17-9 at one point; but things spiraled out of control for the boys from Queens shortly thereafter, as the Orange ended the first half on a 26-7 run that included the final ten points of the opening stanza.  “When you’re playing the No. 4 team in the country, you can’t get down too many points,” said D.J. Kennedy, who finished with just four points.  Teammate Justin Burrell expanded on that observation, adding that the team is “not supposed to let their emotions affect them.”  Burrell also felt the Storm missed executing a key to victory by failing to defend from outside.  “We definitely didn’t close to the three-point line hard enough,” said Burrell.  Perhaps the biggest indicator of the disparity between the two teams came on the glass, where Syracuse picked up 28 defensive rebounds to just 12 offensive boards for St. John’s, a nuance that was discussed before the contest as a potential deciding factor.

“Our counter punching wasn’t up to par for the Big East,” remarked Steve Lavin after the game, noting Syracuse’s game-breaking run going into the intermission.  However, his senior leader put a positive spin on the loss.  “We just have to go back to the drawing board,” said Kennedy. “Tomorrow’s a new day in the Big East. We just have to look forward to the next game.”  That game comes against Notre Dame, who defeated St. John’s 76-61 on their home court at the Joyce Center just four days ago. The Fighting Irish will travel to the Garden for the back end of a home-and-home matchup that concludes Sunday afternoon.

Below, in a new feature to the postgame recap, are some lasting impressions from this game; featuring insights on what developed during the game, as well as plays and players that made an impact.

Lasting Impressions

• The Orange started to fire with eight minutes left in the first half after Kris Joseph drained a three to cut the Red Storm lead to five. (17-12) The trifecta started a 10-0 run capped off by a running slam from Brandon Triche that gave the Orange their first lead, one they ultimately held for good.
• Speaking of Triche, his matchup against Dwight Hardy was the difference in the game. Triche emerged from this battle victorious; which he did by going 6-of-11 from the field (3-for-6 from downtown) compared to a 4-for-15 effort (2-of-7 from long range) from Hardy. Triche will be a special player (not that he isn’t already) if he stays for both of his remaining years, and is on his way to being the next Gerry McNamara for Boeheim and the Orange. In fact, Triche already has a major accomplishment after just a year and a half in an Orange jersey: He has made some fans forget about former Orange marksman and current New York Knick Andy Rautins; who, ironically enough, shared a backcourt with Triche at Jamesville-DeWitt High School in upstate New York.
• Calling Joseph’s number again here, because he provided the icing on the cake much earlier than anyone probably anticipated with his dunk that came with 11:30 in regulation.  The slam put Syracuse ahead 52-35; and although the teams played to a 24-all tie for the remainder of the night, it effectively killed all momentum that the Johnnies had prior.
• It seemed as though Justin Burrell was the only player getting involved on the glass for St. John’s throughout most of the second half, and the lack of rebounding initiative only helped Syracuse down the stretch on their way to picking up 28 defensive boards to just 12 on the offensive side for the Storm.
• Shot selection is still a critical aspect of the game for St. John’s.  Many times in this game were there instances where the Johnnies chucked up mid-range jumpers and NBA-range threes in an attempt to cut into the Syracuse lead.  Maybe they would have been better served going inside and taking it to a relatively undersized Syracuse lineup, but hindsight is 20/20.
• Finally, for those not sure of whether or not Syracuse is a legitimate contender, this game should be Exhibit A of why they are.  This clearly wasn’t the best effort from the Orange, but they showed they were the better team; and come March, that’s all you need to do.  Syracuse has yet to hit their best stride in my opinion, and could seriously be a Final Four team in two months’ time.