Marquette

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Basketball

The Dag Bag – The blown over-and-back call

March 24, 2011 Wes Cheng

Yes, the official blew the call, but so did Scoop Jardine. When the pass sailed wide, Jardine tried to toe the halfcourt line, and you only do that if you think you’re about to be called for over-and-back. I can’t put myself in the place of an official, but I would think that how Scoop reacted when the play happened would only draw the official’s attention to it. It was also a bad pass from Dion. It’s easy to put the blame on the officials, but without Dion and Scoop’s mistakes, it never becomes a factor. The Orange can’t control the officials, but they can control what they do on the court.

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Jackson’s career ends on a sour note

March 22, 2011 Wes Cheng

Syracuse’s lone senior, and best interior player struggled through a seven point, four rebound performance as the Orange was ousted from the NCAA tournament by Big East rival Marquette, 66-62. It was Syracuse’s second-straight early exit and left Jackson frustrated afterward.

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Late turnover dooms Orange

March 21, 2011 Wes Cheng

Waiters’ in-bounds pass sailed wide, and Jardine tried to stop the ball from going into the backcourt. While it was unclear whether Jardine stepped behind the line with the ball in his possession, he was whistled for over-and-back.

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Orange will face Marquette (again)

March 20, 2011 Wes Cheng

The last (and only) time Syracuse was in this position, the year was 1987 and Sherman Douglas was throwing alley-oops to Rony Seikaly. That year, the Orangemen advanced to the national title game to play the Indiana Hoosiers. But before SU even got there, it defeated Providence for the third time that season in the national semifinals game. That is to say, Syracuse met another Big East foe in the NCAA tournament.

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Two second-round matchups to watch

March 15, 2011 Ian Halpern

This year, though, I am struggling to make my picks. In fact, I can’t even get past the first round. There are too many intriguing games and, while bad for my bracket, that’s great news for Gus Johnson and the heart-wrenching drama that makes March Madness the best few weeks of the year. Let’s take a look at two of the best first round matchups.

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A look at Syracuse’s matchups in the first two rounds

March 15, 2011 Jeff Irvine

Coming off a tough loss to Connecticut in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, Syracuse landed a No. 3 seed in the East Region of the NCAA tournament. Sound familiar? The year was 2003, and three weeks after receiving this draw the Orangemen hoisted their first national championship trophy. To see whether the 2011 Orange can repeat the feat, let’s keep in mind what it takes to beat them. The conventional wisdom says the biggest key to beating Syracuse is sinking 3s. In Syracuse’s five regular-season losses this year, their opponents shot 47 percent from beyond the arc. This compares with the 31 three-point percent that Syracuse held its opponents to overall, good for 25th best in the country.