Lucky to Win, and Leaving Us Uneasy

Driving home from the Dome yesterday, after the overtime win, I spoke with John and we told ourselves that the OT win was good preparation for the tournament. But after re-watching the end of regulation, I’m not so sure.

First of all, the Cuse went up seven with about six minutes to go when Kris Joseph hit his third three. They got three consecutive stops down at the defensive end, but could not add to the lead. Triche threw the ball away on an ill-advised full-court pass; then he missed a J; and then he had the ball stripped away. So with the crowd behind them, and momentum apparently in their favor, the Orange squandered an opportunity to add to their lead.

Next thing that happened was that Jackson drew his fourth foul and had to sit. As soon as Keita replaced him in the middle, Rutgers starting going inside on every possession, and chipped away at the lead. With under three to play, Cuse was down two. So that’s the second vulnerability; there won’t be any post-season wins if Rick Jackson can’t play the full forty minutes. And in the NCAAs, you never know how the game will get called. We get accustomed to these games where everyone bangs around underneath, without many whistles – Big East style. But what if they find themselves in a game where all those pushes and shoves under the boards become personal fouls? And will Jackson get the benefit of the doubt which he now enjoys as a result of his seniority?

Anyway, the Orange played good D, held a one-point lead with 25 seconds to play, and then made two complete bonehead plays that really should have cost them the game. First, Joseph left his feet in response to a ball fake from one of the Rutgers guards, who was at least 25 feet from the hoop. Totally unnecessary foul. We were lucky however, because the kid didn’t even pretend to throw up a shot, and it was only two foul shots, not three. So then the Orange bring the ball up court, down one, twenty seconds to play and Jardine attempts a bounce pass to one of the forwards, I think Joseph. For only the umpteenth time in the game, his bounce pass doesn’t get up above the knees. There was no way it could have been handled, but luckily, someone on Rutgers dove for it and knocked it out of bounds. One final possession led to Jackson’s second foul shot, which hit the front rim, bounced off the back rim, and somehow dropped through. Miraculously, Cuse had survived to play OT, where they finally pulled away, mostly thanks to their D, and the fact that fatigue kept Rutgers from hitting its threes.

But making those bonehead plays late in a tournament game, not just a home-court regular season game against a team at the bottom of the Big East standings, will probably result in a loss. And as much as I have liked Scoop in the past, I have to admit that he is not playing with a lot of sachel of late. Errant passes; poor spacing on the break; not shooting well; often not finding the open guy. He has not looked like the point guard who will steady this team as they play close games – think of Lazarus Sims. He’s shown that ability in the past, but seems distracted or unsure of himself this year. We get that steady play from Jackson, but he’s not playing the point.

Yes, I know that Pitt and Notre Dame lost; and that Nova barely escaped; and that every conference game is a battle. But here’s my prediction for the post season- regardless of seed. One and one; losing in the second round. The sweet sixteen this year will be an accomplishment; it’s possible though they are one and done. Sorry fans, but I just don’t have much confidence.

And speaking of predictions, I don’t think Fab Melo returns next year. The box score says he played one minute, but actually it was only five seconds. Boeheim put him in on the defensive end. He was totally flatfooted, and Rutgers blew by him for a lay-up. To compound the error, he committed a foul, so it was a three point play. But here’s the real issue. Coach pulled him immediately, and Melo did not leave the court without waving his arms to express his disgust with the coach. After the half, he didn’t return to the court with the rest of the team, but came out of the locker room about two minutes later. The kid is toast. And really, he just isn’t ready for D-1, certainly not for the Big East. He should have taken another year at prep school, or gone to a D-3 program. Next year, we have Keita and Riley returning, along with a highly touted recruit. But I don’t think Fab Melo will wear Orange in 2012. Too bad; there seemed to be so much promise.