Off Topic - Syracuse

[Kettle Creek Football]

Wow, I'm shocked, disappointed, frustrated, etc. Being a Bills fan is heartache enough!

 

Anyone else out there feel the same? Why the hell did they blow it? How did they blow it?

 

(I missed the first half.)

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

Wow, I'm shocked, disappointed, frustrated, etc. Being a Bills fan is heartache enough!

 

Anyone else out there feel the same? Why the hell did they blow it? How did they blow it?

 

(I missed the first half.)

I feel the same way...I am shocked and severely depressed about this. It was a VERY special season, for a VERY special team. I think Rick Jackson and Scoop Jardine blew the game at the end. If Jackson had gotten that loose ball and got the bucket, we would have been down by one possession, and then Scoop was not protecting the ball good enough at the end. Not to mention, we were taking hopeless shots in the 2nd half that we did not need, especially in the last three minutes.

 

 

Bottom line is...we did not have A.O. and that REALLY put a damper on this game. Nobody could stop their big men, most notably Gordon Hayward, or whatever his name is.

 

 

If only Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf came back for another season...instead they opted to NOT get drafted.

 

 

Nothing new for Upstate New Yorkers. Same ole song and dance..."Maybe next year," as we like to say!

[Max997]

how many we's was that?

 

Butler is a good team that hasnt lost since Dec 22

 

I dont care what league they are in, thats pretty good so how about giving them some credit instead of trying to figure out how Syracuse blew it...maybe they just lost to the better team tonight

[PromoTheRobot]

I'm actually quite pleased. Even though I went to SU for two years I've always had a dislike for the place. This also shows what a joke the NCAA selection committee has become. They let in fewer and fewer mid-majors every year and bloat up on alleged power conference like the Big Least. Now the NCAA wants to expand the tourney and make mid-majors play play-in games while they add even more power conference teams? Once the Cinderellas are gone, I shut the NCAA tourney off. The first two rounds are the only ones worth watching anyway.

 

PTR

[Kettle Creek Football]

I'm actually quite pleased. Even though I went to SU for two years I've always had a dislike for the place. This also shows what a joke the NCAA selection committee has become. They let in fewer and fewer mid-majors every year and bloat up on alleged power conference like the Big Least. Now the NCAA wants to expand the tourney and make mid-majors play play-in games while they add even more power conference teams? Once the Cinderellas are gone, I shut the NCAA tourney off. The first two rounds are the only ones worth watching anyway.

 

PTR

I agree that the first 2 rounds are the most exciting. I haven't even watched the final game 3 of the last 4 years.

[Indy Dave]

I'm actually quite pleased. Even though I went to SU for two years I've always had a dislike for the place. This also shows what a joke the NCAA selection committee has become. They let in fewer and fewer mid-majors every year and bloat up on alleged power conference like the Big Least. Now the NCAA wants to expand the tourney and make mid-majors play play-in games while they add even more power conference teams? Once the Cinderellas are gone, I shut the NCAA tourney off. The first two rounds are the only ones worth watching anyway.

 

PTR

 

You don't know what the hell you're talking about. The selection committee consists of the most honest, hard-working group of people in athletics. IF there is tournament expansion, the mission will be the same....take the best at-large teams to complete the bracket and join the automatic qualifiers. Conference affiliation has NOTHING to do with being selected as an at-large team. NOTHING. Maybe you should get a clue, or at the very least stop listening to members of the media who don't have one.

 

IF there is tournament expansion, the format will obviously change but there are not going to be "mid-majors" assigned to play-in games.

[PromoTheRobot]

You don't know what the hell you're talking about. The selection committee consists of the most honest, hard-working group of people in athletics. IF there is tournament expansion, the mission will be the same....take the best at-large teams to complete the bracket and join the automatic qualifiers. Conference affiliation has NOTHING to do with being selected as an at-large team. NOTHING. Maybe you should get a clue, or at the very least stop listening to members of the media who don't have one.

 

IF there is tournament expansion, the format will obviously change but there are not going to be "mid-majors" assigned to play-in games.

I think you will agree there are fewer mid-majors in the Big Dance than ever, and it's not because they aren't playing good ball. If you aren't from a major conference you have almost no chance of getting an at-large bid. Are you going to tell me the Big East deserved 7 at-large bids? Sorry. All you have to do is look at the brackets to see that there is a two-tiered system in college athletics.

 

PTR

[mob16151]

I think you will agree there are fewer mid-majors in the Big Dance than ever, and it's not because they aren't playing good ball. If you aren't from a major conference you have almost no chance of getting an at-large bid. Are you going to tell me the Big East deserved 7 at-large bids? Sorry. All you have to do is look at the brackets to see that there is a two-tiered system in college athletics.

 

PTR

 

 

I gotta agree. It seems like a 17 win team from a power conference(Big East ACC SEC etc) has a better chance at an at large bid than a 22 win school from somewhere like the Missouri Valley Conference.

[Indy Dave]

I think you will agree there are fewer mid-majors in the Big Dance than ever, and it's not because they aren't playing good ball. If you aren't from a major conference you have almost no chance of getting an at-large bid. Are you going to tell me the Big East deserved 7 at-large bids? Sorry. All you have to do is look at the brackets to see that there is a two-tiered system in college athletics.

 

PTR

 

First of all, the committee does not look at past tournament performance or tournament selection. It never figures into the equation. But since you brought it up, this year there are far greater mid-majors (even though no one on the committee ever uses that label because each team is judged as an independent) than there have been the last few years. Gonzaga, Utah St., New Mexico, UNLV, BYU, UTEP, Xavier, Richmond...all at-large teams not from the power six conferences. That's twice as many as last year.

 

If there was a bias towards power teams, wouldn't a 20+ win team that went 10-6 in the ACC been selected? How about a team that won its division in the SEC and came within an eyelash of winning the postseason tournament? Or a fourth-place team from the Big Ten?

 

Bottom line is, you better play a good schedule out of the conference and you better show you can have some success on the road, in and out of your league.

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

how many we's was that?

 

Butler is a good team that hasnt lost since Dec 22

 

I dont care what league they are in, thats pretty good so how about giving them some credit instead of trying to figure out how Syracuse blew it...maybe they just lost to the better team tonight

Yes, you are right...I said "WE."

 

Syracuse is my team. I used to go to camp there EVERY summer. Met Bernie Fine and Jimmy Boeheim. Actually, I had many conversations with them during our down time at camp. Played Mike Hopkins 1 on 1, same with Jason Cipolla, Lazarus Sims and John Wallace.

 

Just as WE all talk about the Bills and Sabres, referring to "WE."

 

And no, if Onuaku was playing...WE would have WON that game. I take NOTHING away from Butler, they are a good team...however, Syracuse was the better team this year...just not tonight, because WE were missing OUR most dominant force in the paint. Not to mention...'Cuse had 19 turnovers and Kris Joseph only had 6 points. That was HUGE.

 

Syracuse LOST this game...Butler did not WIN it.

 

 

Don't come on here for the sake of starting an argument...I will refer to MY TEAMS however the !@#$ I want. Plus, it's not like my assessment of what Syracuse did wrong, IS wrong...I am completely on point.

 

Nice try!

[FluffHead]

I think you will agree there are fewer mid-majors in the Big Dance than ever, and it's not because they aren't playing good ball. If you aren't from a major conference you have almost no chance of getting an at-large bid. Are you going to tell me the Big East deserved 7 at-large bids? Sorry. All you have to do is look at the brackets to see that there is a two-tiered system in college athletics.

 

PTR

 

you're wrong, mid majors got more at large bids this year than ever.

[IHFO]

i'm kinda sad that 'cuse lost, but i also picked butler to beat em in my bracket..i don't really think cuse played well the last few games going into the tourny.

[Rico]

Wow, I'm shocked, disappointed, frustrated, etc. Being a Bills fan is heartache enough!

 

Anyone else out there feel the same? Why the hell did they blow it? How did they blow it?

 

(I missed the first half.)

All you need to know

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

Yes, you are right...I said "WE."

 

Syracuse is my team. I used to go to camp there EVERY summer. Met Bernie Fine and Jimmy Boeheim. Actually, I had many conversations with them during our down time at camp. Played Mike Hopkins 1 on 1, same with Jason Cipolla, Lazarus Sims and John Wallace.

 

Just as WE all talk about the Bills and Sabres, referring to "WE."

 

And no, if Onuaku was playing...WE would have WON that game. I take NOTHING away from Butler, they are a good team...however, Syracuse was the better team this year...just not tonight, because WE were missing OUR most dominant force in the paint. Not to mention...'Cuse had 19 turnovers and Kris Joseph only had 6 points. That was HUGE.

 

Syracuse LOST this game...Butler did not WIN it.

 

 

Don't come on here for the sake of starting an argument...I will refer to MY TEAMS however the !@#$ I want. Plus, it's not like my assessment of what Syracuse did wrong, IS wrong...I am completely on point.

 

Nice try!

 

Yeah, they did actually. Butler didn't get disheartened when Cuse went ahead 54-50...they made the clutch shots when they had to, and shut down Syracuse's offense at the end of the game. That's a formula for a winning, and nobody seems to know the formula better than the Bulldogs, who are winners of 23 consecutive. Butler won that game.

 

My school, Cornell, also got bounced today by Kentucky so I know how you feel.

 

I'm choosing to reflect on an excellent season, and not dwell on the final loss. Syracuse made the Sweet Sixteen. Hundreds of programs don't get to say that this year. The Orange (just like my Red) had a spectacular ride of a season and really have nothing to be ashamed about, when the dust settles.

[Zulu Cthulhu]

At least you Cuse fans can get all your whining out early, instead of after the championship game when they would have got stomped by Kentucky.

[cåblelady]

That game was sooooooooooooooo depressing.

[Hirly5]

What a glorious game. Down with the Cuse. Good to see the once again over-rated Orange get beat down in the tourney. Better get ready for next years all SUNY non-conference schedule.

[Kettle Creek Football]

All you need to know

You're right. I like Boeheim but too often, he doesn't seem to make adjustments that go with the flow of the game. I couldn't believe it when they slowed it down with only a 4 point lead. They have never been a good half-court team. They need to push it down the court. Also, Rautins and Johnson were starting to get hot hands at the 3-pt line, but they both disappeared (before Andy fouled out).

[Dr. Trooth]

bottom line. this team played only 7. that's a lot of minutes for 7 guys to play, with a big east schedule and an rpi of 5. when ao got hurt, that increased the minutes of the other 6, and changed their roles (rautins was playing on the blocks in the zone), even though Riley gave them a decent 12 minutes. Even with ao they were beginning to wear down at seasons end. without him they were gassed and when a team like butler came out and attacked them defensively like they did, cuse was a step slower. 20+ turnovers says it all. they fought hard, but they just didn't have anything left.

[Mike in Syracuse]

I've watched every Syracuse game this year and I even got to attend a closed practice. Last nights game was a picture perfect example of what happens when you lose your poise in a tournament. I knew 3 minutes in that they were probably going to lose. They were extremely tight and seemed focused on not making mistakes instead of playing basketball.

 

Yes the loss of AO hurt but that wasn't the reason they lost the game. Their 1st two games gave them a sense of overconfidence and they panicked when the game was close. They lost because they lack discipline. Ricky Jackson went full retard last night and couldn't seem to stop throwing the ball out of bounds. Rautins has been amazing this year but took a couple of really bad shots and Scoop Jardine tried to win by himself.

 

My biggest criticism though is the fact that this team was unable to play man 2 man defense this year. They lived and died by the zone and teams have learned how to exploit it. When you can only do one thing teams will find your weakness and hammer you to death. Petino gave everyone a roadmap, Butler followed it.

 

It's a shame because this was one of the more talented teams Boeheim's had in a while. That said, JB looked tired last night. I'm wondering how long before Hopkins takes over?