Robbie Gillies, Author at The Juice Online

Orange defense folds in final minutes

February 10, 2011 Robbie Gillies

This one stings. This one stings worse than any other loss this season. It’s not just because it was to Georgetown. It’s not just because it’s a home loss (3rd in a row). It’s not just because the loss has huge ramifications in Big East standings. It’s because the Orange played a great basketball game for the first 35 minutes and then completely fell apart. Syracuse led 53-49 with 5:45 remaining before the Hoyas closed out the game on a 15-3 run to post their first win in the Carrier Dome since 2002.

An average performance for the Orange

February 5, 2011 Robbie Gillies

One word came to mind while watching Syracuse play South Florida: Average. This isn’t meant to be an insult. Syracuse beat South Florida, 72-49 and they did it by playing an average game. They had similar efforts against Pitt and Villanova but needed more than that to beat those teams. They didn’t need more than an average outing to crush the Bulls.

Syracuse’s national nightmare is over

February 3, 2011 Robbie Gillies

So THAT’S what it feels like. Man that is so much better than when they lose. They should just win every game so we don’t have to go through that again. It’s all puppies and roses after beating UConn, a top-10 team, on the road to snap a four-game losing streak. It had been 16 days since their last win. During that time, Egypt has crumbled into chaos, Syracuse has gotten 150 inches of snow and come to think of it, so has Charlie Sheen (hey-oooo! It’s never too soon to make fun of Charlie Sheen). So what were the differences between this game and the previous four?

Magical run an illusion?

January 30, 2011 Robbie Gillies

It was a magical run. It won game after game. The wins kept racking up. There was the opening win off NCAA Tournament darling Northern Iowa, winning the Legends Classic in Atlantic City, the brutal beatdown of Colgate, the crushing win over Michigan State, and beginning Big East play 5-0. This team was young and wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near as good as last year’s squad. And yet, it vaulted up to as high as No. 3 in the rankings.

Hazell returns to form, Syracuse regresses

January 26, 2011 Robbie Gillies

When a team like Seton Hall upsets a top-10 team on the road it means it played well. When a team like Seton Hall blows out a top-10 team on the road it also means just about everything went wrong for the opposition. The other thing it usually means is that that top-10 team probably shouldn’t be in the top 10.

Villanova’s frontcourt too much for Orange

January 22, 2011 Robbie Gillies

The loss to Pitt on Monday was a “good loss.” This loss to Villanova was unequivocally a bad one. The offense looked completely out of sync and the defense could do nothing to contain the Wildcats’ frontcourt players. Villanova controlled the game, never trailing after taking a 7-6 lead, at the 15:50 mark of the first half.

Some positives in Syracuse’s first loss of season

January 18, 2011 Robbie Gillies

This game was supposed to tell us something about the Orange. It was supposed to tell us whether it is a legit contender. But once Kris Joseph’s head ricocheted off the court over the weekend against Cincinnati, the idea that this game would determine whether it’s a championship-caliber team went out the window. Pitt once again had Syracuse’s number. The Panthers have won five straight and 13 of 16 against the Orange. Overall though, this was a positive game for the Orange in which there were a lot of positives to take away from the loss.

Bearcats lived by the 3, died by the 3

January 16, 2011 Robbie Gillies

It might not be how you start, but that can certainly help. The Orange jumped out to an 18-3 lead largely thanks to Rick Jackson’s dominance in the post. He had 6 of the first 11 points as Cincinnati made the curious decision not to double him. It’s amazing how far Jackson has come. Of course his scoring is up as his playing time has gone up and he’s developed quite a post game but what’s often overlooked is his ball handling skills and limiting mistakes. Last season he had an assist to turnover ratio of .88. This year he has nearly doubled that with a 1.64 A/T ratio. Those that play fantasy basketball are aware that that is quite a high number for a forward/center. He simply doesn’t make that many mistakes. Jackson finished 7 for 8 for 15 points and 11 rebounds. It was his 11th double-double of the season.

Cuse in a New York State of Mind

January 13, 2011 Robbie Gillies

A few members of the Orange came out of the locker room donning shirts that read, “New York’s College Team.” Apparently, they just happened to wear them to Madison Square Garden on the day they played St. John’s. Convenient. But the Orange backed up that kind of swagger and showed the Johnnies who’s still runs this town. They took this one, 76-59 to win their fifth straight against and 11th of 12 vs. St. John’s.

Typical weaknesses resurface

January 9, 2011 Robbie Gillies

After Syracuse beat Drexel in late December I wrote, “Recently, this team has shown no signs the normal weak spots Syracuse teams struggle with. Bad free throw shooting? … Poor three-point shooting? … Careless with the ball?” They had exhibited none of those normal weaknesses. But they reverted to those typical Syracuse flaws and then some against Seton Hall on Saturday. They wound up winning, 61-56 but it should’ve never been that close.