On the Morning of Selection Sunday

My takeaway from Friday night’s loss to UConn is bad and good. Bad first: this loss once again exposed the team’s inconsistency. Take Brandon Triche for example – he led all scorers with 22 in the quarterfinal win over St. John’s, but then disappeared on Friday. Against UConn, he scored only four points, on 2 of 9 from the field. Last year, someone (Bilas? Kellogg?) described the strength of the Orange as their go-to-guy being whichever guy was open, making it harder for teams to defense them. But that worked well only because several players were consistent offensive performers. Teams could not leave Rautins or Wes open at the three-point line; if they did, those guys could hit open threes, and could do so consistently. Inside, teams could not cover AO with one guy. Against most teams, if AO could catch the ball down on the block, it was an easy two.

This year, however, even though a number of different guys have the ability to score, no one performs with predictable consistency. Even Jackson lacks a dependable finish down low. And as good as Joseph or Jardine can look on one night, they can look just as lousy in the next game. So to go deep in the post-season requires an offensive consistency that the Orange haven’t really shown all year long.

On the other hand, I was pleased to see the comeback in regulation – the fact that even down six points with under thirty seconds to play, they did not give up, and as inconsistent as they had been all night, Scoop managed to hit back to back threes to close that gap and force overtime.

And the other good news, of course, is that they will be playing in the NCAAs; and they should end up with a decent seed (As of this morning, Joe Lunardi predicts a four); and there were times this year when I questioned whether they would even make the post-season. Look at Michigan State, who lost in last year’s championship game; who came into the season ranked number two overall; but who melted down (should probably stay away from that metaphor right now), and will end up playing in the NIT. Cuse played so poorly early in the year, they were lucky to beat William & Mary. And they went into such a deep tailspin in January that I thought it possible they might never recover. Remember how dismal the Seton Hall game was?

So all things considered, especially their inconsistent nature, I’m as pleased as I could be on the morning of selection Sunday. My prefernce is that they play on Thursday and Saturday – so I won’t miss the opening game on Friday while traveling. And sometimes the committee tries to give teams who play late in this week an extra day of rest. For example, I fully expect UConn to open up on Friday, after having played on five days in a row. Pretty good tourney for them. But losing in the semis in NY has worked out for the Orange in the past. And for this year’s team, I like that they received one more dose of humility before the tourney opens. And as things worked out, they got a pinch of self-confidence in that recipe as well. So, humility, hard work, determination to play forty minutes, a touch more consistency in the outside shooting, and self-confidence if they fall behind in the second half. That’s the recipe for getting to the sweet sixteen. After that it would have to be luck. But for me, a trip to the sweet sixteen after all they’ve been through will be a successful season. Go Orange.

Melo

G-Man wrote me earlier with this remarkable statistic: Fab Melo has scored 22 points over the past two games. He had ten in the regular season finale against DePaul – then a career high. And today in the Garden, twelve points against St. Johns, another career high. Those twenty-two points were more than his total point production in all the Big East conference games before DePaul. And I have to agree with John – the Orange don’t win today without Melo. Rebounds, some key blocks in the first half, a beautiful pass to an open Rick Jackson late in the game, leading to an easy bucket. Help at both ends of the court.

Tomorrow night, Cuse plays UConn in the semis. Everyone kept talking about the six overtime marathon from two years ago, but what I remember is that in 2003, Cuse ended the regular season on a hot streak – six in a row to my recollection, including a couple tough road wins -- but then lost to UConn in the Big East semifinals. At this point, I don’t think it matters all that much whether they win any more Big East games. I think today’s win cements a three seed, and while it’s always nice to beat UConn, I’d rather they get one more dose of humility before the NCAAs start.

A couple more observations about today’s win. The biggest difference between the two halves today was, in my opinion, the turnovers. A dozen turnovers in the first twenty minutes, and it’s hard to beat anyone when you’re giving the ball away that much. But after intermission, only three turnovers in the final twenty minutes. And that was the biggest reason they outscored the Johnnies by double digits in the second half. Plus I can remember at least three blown lay-ups in the second half – two after nice feeds from Jardine. Meaning, of course, that they could easily have put up more points in the second half. Always room for improvement.

Another big factor were the blocks. Cuse gets a lot of credit for the two-three, for forcing turnovers when teams try to sneak the ball inside; but even when the ball gets inside against this zone, there aren’t a lot of easy buckets. Cuse had ten blocks today, to St. John’s one. Rick Jackson led the way with four, and wasn’t it nice to see him get some credit for the great year he had? Really, he deserved first team Big East, in addition to defensive player of the year. All the first teamers were big scorers, but what about all those rebounds Jackson pulled down all year long?

I continue to be amazed by this late season surge, and I hope they carry it over, not so much in the remainder of the Big East, but next week, when the NCAAs start. I’d be the happiest guy who ever had to eat his own words. Go Orange.

Ten Deep

Late in the first half of yesterday’s blowout win over Depaul, the Orange had only bench players on the floor. Mookie and Waiters at the top of the zone, Fab Melo in the center, and Southerland and C.J. Fair playing the wings. And the best part was that by half-time, all of them, along with all five starters, had scored. Now I know Depaul is the only truly bad team in the conference, and that the Cuse had an easier time of it yesterday than in almost any other game this year. Still, it was encouraging to see so many guys contributing.

Fab Melo bounced back from his meltdown of a couple weeks ago, and scored a career high ten points. Actually ten points was more than I think I’ve seen him score in all the other home games I have attended this year, combined. Not only that, he grabbed a few rebounds, and came up with a steal and a block. He still managed to commit four fouls in 15 minutes, but I have to admit, he showed some decent low post moves. Good footwork.

Because Depaul chose not to play defense, the Orange shot over seventy percent from the field. Seven for nine from beyond he arc. They were hot. They missed only one free throw all afternoon. And the zone generated a number of turnovers that led to easy baskets. So that’s a good formula for a win – solid shooting from the outside, plus fast break points. Rick Jackson was good for 14 in the paint; some of those came off extra passes. It seemed like the team was trying to give him a great sendoff , it being his last game in the Dome and all. He got a great ovation wen he was introduced before the game, and once again when Coach took him out with a few minutes to go. It was a nice touch. He’d been on the bench for several minutes, and the game was out of reach. But with about four minutes to go, Boeheim put Jackson back on the floor, so that he could take him out and let the fans show their appreciation.

And speaking of last games in the Dome, it was my last game in the seats. Section 108, Row K, Seats 110 and 111. My dad, my uncle Joe, and I have been there for thirty one years, by my count. But no more. It was a nice way to go out – a blowout win, the most points of any game this season, in fact, the biggest margin of victory in Big East history.

So the regular season has ended with twenty-five wins; with the Orange ranked number 12 in the polls; with a double bye for the Big East Tournament and another day of rest before the post-season; and with Joe Lunardi picking them right now as a three seed. I think they keep that three if they win their first game in the Garden, and fall no further than four if they lose. But to play deep into March, they’ll need that combination they showed yesterday – defensive intensity in the zone, and good outside shooting. Go Orange.