Serves me right.
As I was putting together the previous post, Villanova got out to a 28-18 lead midway through the first half. But after a Casiem Drummond putback with 7:34 left made it 31-24, the Wildcats froze and the Orange roared to life.
Syracuse made three threes in a row at the same time as Villanova missed a trio from beyond the arc, surging into the lead for the first time all game. The run rolled on, and by the time Paul Harris hit two free throws with 4:28 left it was 15 straight for the Orange and a 39-33 lead.
Naturally, Syracuse went cold right then. The Orange only made one field goal between that point and Casiem Drummond's putback slam with 35.6 seconds left that made it 42-39 Orange.
But all that momentum disappeared in a hurry when a nifty layup by Scoop Jackson with just over a second left made it 44-39 at the half.
The full numbers went like this:
Syracuse shot 15-for-25 from the field (60.0%), including 4-for-8 from three-point range (50.0%) and 11-for-17 from two-point range (64.7%), and 10-for-14 from the free throw line (71.4%). Three offensive rebounds, 11 defensive rebounds, six assists, 11 turnovers, three blocks, eight steals and seven fouls committed.
That adds up to 40 possessions and 1.110 points per possession.
Villanova shot 16-for-29 from the field, including 2-for-7 from outside the arc (28.6%) and 14-for-22 from inside it (63.6%), and 5-for-6 from the line (83.3%). Two offensive rebounds, eight defensive rebounds, 13 assists, 10 turnovers, two blocks, nine steals and 12 fouls committed.
That also adds up to 40 possessions, and 0.979 points per possession. Quite efficient for both teams considering the high tempo.
The half's high scorer was Syracuse's Jonny Flynn with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, including 1-for-2 from the arc. Casiem Drummond led Villanova with 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting, all from two-point range.
As if we needed any further proof of how much the Wildcats missed him.
Comments (3)
Another terrible performance by a Nova team at "home".
Outclassed, outplayed, outworked, outmanned, outhustled, and yes, outcoached.
(Fans also outdone by the SU crowd too).
How many times did Nova miss the short pull-up jumper in the lane? Geez.
How many easy stickbacks and lay ups did they give up inside? This team plays absolutely no defense. Just ask Rutgers, Notre Dame, and now Jim Boheim.
What a total beatdown.
Shame on Jay Wright.
6 league losses already.
Not only will they miss the NCAA tourney, they now run the risk of missing the Big East Tournament.
What a sorry excuse for a team...His team is atrocious.
Posted by Scott | February 2, 2008 2:10 PM
Posted on February 2, 2008 14:10
FireJayWright.com
Posted by Paul | February 2, 2008 2:11 PM
Posted on February 2, 2008 14:11
By the way, Jay Wright should have dumped the "tracksuit" at the half, the same way the Duke fans ditched the "Go Green" shirts the other night.
Very disappointed with this team...
Posted by Bryce | February 2, 2008 3:48 PM
Posted on February 2, 2008 15:48