#17 Syracuse Cuts the Rope with DePaul

Sorry I have not been able to write anything recently I have been pretty busy, but I am happy to write about this game. Syracuse was coming off of their worst losing streak of the season having dropped three straight. The game took place at the Carrier Dome where the Orangemen hosted unranked DePaul. It was evident that it was all Syracuse right from the jump. Having four of the five guys in the starting lineup scoring in double figures is always a good thing. It was a pretty dominant day on the boards especially in the first half. The outside shots were not falling for Syracuse, but there inside shooting and free throw percentage was very impressive. As the first half came to a close Syracuse was leading by 9 points where the score was 35-26. The second half was much of the same with the dominance on the boards leading to easy inside shots. The defense was very solid causing DePaul to turn the ball over 17 times. Syracuse had a scoring field day in the second half totaling in 43 points compared to the 31 from the opposing team. The final score was very lopsided due to the consistency of the Orangemen overall attack it ended up being 78-57 giving Syracuse their first win in quite some time. This really was James Southerland's game. He did not have any success from the perimeter, but his inside game scored him the bulk of his 22 points and he lead the Syracuse rebounding grabbing 10 boards. Michael Carter-Williams lead the defensive charge with 4 steals but only dishing out 5 assists which is sub par for him. C. J Fair is really looking like the best player on this team right now he is by far the most consistent of all the players. Lately even during the losing streak he had been scoring and rebounding more efficiently than anyone on the team. He dropped 16 points on DePaul and had 7 rebounds. Brandon Triche is starting to regain his confidence scoring 15 points with 4 assists to go along with it. Rakeem Christmas did not play well but it was his most impressive outing in a while with 5 blocks. The Orangemen have their final game of the regular season away at Georgetown. They will be looking for revenge after losing to them earlier. Then it is off to the Big East Tournament and then to the Big Dance where we will really see how good the Orangemen are this year.

James Southerland, forward for Syracuse