Syracuse @ Georgetown & Arizona @ Gonzaga
14 SYRACUSE @ GEORGETOWN
Syracuse Orange
C DaJuan Coleman:
6.5
Coleman
had his best game of the season against Georgetown. I knew it would
be necessary he see more minutes against the Hoyas, who can play a
pretty big lineup. Coleman scored 10 points, shooting 3-5, and making
all four of his free throw attempts. He grabbed five rebounds, all of
which came on the offensive end. The trouble was defensive
rebounding, like it was for everyone on the team. He couldn't keep
Georgetown's bigs away from the basket. Coleman also turned the ball
over four times.
F Tyler Roberson:
7.5
Roberson
was the only positive part of the team in the first half. He had 10
points in the first frame. Unfortunately, he slowed down in the
second. Roberson finished the game shooting five of seven, and making
all five of his free throw attempts, scoring a total of 15 points. He
also had eight rebounds. Roberson did put up a good effort. He needs
to contribute like this more often, even when Syracuse is shooting
well. Unfortunately, Roberson doesn't have the size to take on
Bradley Hayes himself.
F Malachi
Richardson: 3.5
Richardson's
shooting % continues to plummet. He made just one shot, while
attempting eight, and this was the first game this season in which he
failed to make a 3pt shot. Richardson scored just two points. The
freshman's confidence looked visibly shaken this game, especially in
the second half. He was missing jump shots badly every time he threw
one up, and was called for offensive fouls on multiple occasions
while driving to the basket. Worst of all, Richardson drove to the
basket, and actually got a blocking foul called (it was close), and
he missed both free throws, at a key juncture of the game. I don't
have inside information in regards to the psyche of Malachi
Richardson, but I would consider benching him next game. He was no
help to the team in the second half of this game; he was shot
mentally. I'd bench him, give Joseph his shot, or play big with Lydon
and Roberson on the wings. Then bring Richardson off the bench, and
see how he responds. It could reinvigorate him (or, it could bring
his confidence down further. But, if he's that frail mentally, I'd
rather know now). Richardson did grab a couple steals, and brought
his turnovers down to two. Both of those were the aforementioned
charges.
G Trevor Cooney: 5
Cooney
shot 3-12. Last game I'd give him 10 shots without complaining, but
anything above will draw my ire if he isn't shooting well. Well, I'm
not going to be so hard on
him. Many of his shots came late in the game, when Syracuse was still
down by quite a bit relative to the time on the clock. He did shoot
three for nine from 3pt range, and made both his free throws. He also
stole the ball twice, and had three assists and three rebounds.
Still, if he's going to take 12 shots, I'd like him to be scoring 15
points.
G Michael Gbinije: 9
If
Gbinije keeps up this form, he will enter the ACC season as one of
the favorites to be player of the year. Gbinije continues to play
exceptionally well, but he needs his teammates to step up their game.
The fifth year senior shot 7-16, 3-8 from 3pt range, and 6-7 from the
charity stripe, totaling 23 points. He's now averaging 20 points per
game. Gbinije stepped up his game down the stretch, scoring 13 points
in the final ten minutes of the game. He finished the game with five
rebounds, and five assists. He also only turned the ball over once,
which is nice to see against a tough opponent.
F Tyler Lydon: 5.5
Lydon
did not have his most effective game. In fact, he has struggled
offensively in both of Syracuse's losses this week. He shot 3-7
against Georgetown (including 1-3 from 3 pointers), for seven points.
Lydon isn't going to surprise anyone moving forward, and he will not
get as many open looks as he received earlier in the season. Syracuse
will need to do a better job of working to get him open. Lydon
struggled with Georgetown's bigs. Hayes and Derrickson consistently
got inside of Lydon to grab boards, especially on the offensive end,
giving the Hoyas extra looks. Lydon is becoming a good shot blocker
though; he got two more this game, and does a good job getting
steals, with his long arms, and solid hands.
G Franklin Howard:
5.5
Good
for Howard for getting to play down the stretch. He gave Syracuse a
different look, and was able to grab four rebounds due to his size.
He pushed the tempo of the game, and took the ball straight to the
basket in transition. He got his first two field goals of the season,
finishing with four points, on eight attempts. Howard also had two
assists.
Team Rating: 5.90
A
lot will be made of the NCAA's decision to have Boeheim's suspension
begin immediately. However, Syracuse shot just 25.9% from 3pt range,
despite taking 27 shots from there. They were also out rebounded,
especially in the first half. Syracuse allowed Georgetown to have as
many offensive rebounds, as the Orange had defensive rebounds.
Meanwhile, yes, Syracuse had 18 offensive rebounds themselves, but
that was facilitated by the team missing so many shots in the first
place. I said before after the loss to Wisconsin, Syracuse was
overrated this past week in the polls. They'll either be ranked
23-25, or unranked next week, and I think that's about right right
now. I think it makes sense that this team has gone 2-2 against
quality opponents, beating Uconn and Texas A&M, while losing to
Wisconsin and Georgetown. Losing to Georgetown in D.C. isn't even an
upset. The season begins anew when Syracuse travels to Pittsburgh on
the 30th. Thus far they have two quality wins, and no bad
losses. I'll take it.
I
liked that Hopkins rotated players down the stretch. Boeheim will
typically leave the same five players in the game down the stretch,
regardless of the situation, but Hopkins mixed things up. My
complaint last game was, Boeheim doesn't make adjustments in game.
It's refreshing to see changes made as Syracuse tried to come back
down the stretch.
Georgetown Hoyas
C Bradley Hayes: 9
Hayes
does not always receive consistent playing time, and his minutes will
often depend upon the flow of the game, and opponent. He proved to be
a valuable asset against Syracuse though. Hayes dominated the Orange
inside, scoring a season high 21 points (8-12). He had eight total
rebound, and four on the offensive end. He scored a couple of times
after grabbing his own rebound.
F Marcus Derrickson:
8.5
Derrickson,
like Hayes, does not play more than 20 minutes consistently, despite
starting. He came up big against Syracuse though, especially on the
glass, where he had ten rebounds, and defensively; he drew three
offensive charges just outside the restricted area in the second
half. Derrickson also scored 13 points on 4-7 shooting, including
making two of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
F Isaac Copeland: 7
Copeland
got his usual 14 points, shooting 5-9. But, was quieter than the two
big men, particularly in the second half.
G LJ Peak: 4.5
Peak
struggled against Syracuse, and the zone. He shot just 1-5, scoring
three points. He also fouled out with more than three minutes
remaining in the game.
G D'Vauntes
Smith-Rivera: 5
Smith-Rivera
has struggled at times this season. He's coming off a 30 pt effort,
but shot just 3-9 from the field this game, scoring 11 points. He did
have five assists against Syracuse, but also turned the ball over
four times.
C Jessie Govan: 5.5
Govan
did not play much this game, because Hayes was so effective. He
played just 11 minutes, but did manage four rebounds, and an assist
in that time.
F Reggie Cameron:
6.5
Cameron
continues to be a reliable scorer off the bench. In 14 minutes he
shot 2-3 from the field, and made 4-5 free throws, to finish with
nine points.
G Tre Campbell: 7
Campbell
received more minutes than usual, because of Peak's foul situation.
He scored six points, while adding three assists, and three steals.
Those are nice contributions from them.
Team Rating: 6.85
Georgetown
now has two quality wins, against Syracuse and Wisconsin, although
they still have that bad loss to Radford (see Syracuse fans, it could
be worse). They played great against their Big East rival. Dominating
inside, and on the boards. They also got just enough shooting, while
aided by Syracuse's own inability to make consistent jump shots.
Georgetown still needs D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera to get going
consistently. If he can become reliable, and play like he did last
season, along with Copeland's solid shooting, and the way Hayes and
Derrickson played against the Orange, this team could be very good.
Arizona Wildcats
C Dusan Ristic: 6.5
F Ryan Anderson: 7
G Allonzo Trier: 8
G Kadeem Allen: 4
G Gabe York: 9
F Mark Tollefsen:
5.5
G Parker
Jackson-Cartwright: 5.5
G Elliot Pitts: 5
Team Rating: 6.85
Gonzaga Bulldogs:
F Domantas Sabonis:
8.5
F Kyle Wiltjer: 9.5
G Eric McClellan: 5
G Josh Perkins: 5.5
G Kyle Dranginis: 5
G Silas Melson: 4
Team Rating: 6.65
I'm not going in depth on this game. I watched it, but I wasn't watching it with any intention of analyzing the game. I just really wanted to see these two teams play. Arizona looked great coming back to win this one on the road. I thought Arizona would be great this year because of the incoming freshmen, even with Ray Smith's injury they have three top-50 freshmen. However, it's been seniors Gabe York and Ryan Anderson leading Arizona thus far. York's performance down the stretch, and complete confidence in himself, was impressive, and really fun to watch him play. Alonzo Trier was one of the best players I watched last summer. He's a dynamic offensive player. Gonzaga's bigs are really good. Wiltjer looks like he can be the best player in the nation, and Sabonis is great inside. However, the rest of this team, the backcourt, isn't good enough to make the Bulldogs a top-ten team. Sorry. It's too bad Karnowski and Tarczewski were unavailable for this game. But, at least each team was missing a big man.
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