#3 Syracuse defeats #14 Western Michigan:
Coming into the second round of the NCAA Tournament many people questioned Syracuse's stability after losing to teams that did not even make the tournament. In this game Syracuse looked like the team that defeated Duke, Pittsburgh, Villanova and other quality teams. From the start they played as if Western Michigan did not belong in the same gym as them. The offense was flowing early with buckets from Tyler Ennis and Jerami Grant as well as three point shooting from Trevor Cooney. Along with this Western Michigan has not faced a team of Syracuse's caliber all year and seemed to really struggle against the 2-3 zone. At the end of the first half the score was 40-21 with the Orange leading. In the second half the offensive flow continued with their four best players all continuing to score. Although they were able to score the Orange did let up a little on their defense after allowing 21 points in the first half they gave up 32 in the second. In the end they still beat Western Michigan in both half's and won by a final score of 77-53. It was an overall solid effort by Syracuse as Trevor Cooney lead all scorers with 18, Ennis and Grant had 16 and C.J. Fair had 14 and 11 rebounds. This was a nice first outing for Syracuse, but the round of 32 would be a much greater challenge.
#3 Syracuse loses to #11 Dayton:
The Dayton Flyers have played very well throughout the whole season and were ready to take on Syracuse after defeating Ohio State in the second round. In the early going the Orange were hitting anything but the bottom of the net. They almost hit a 5 minute scoring drought. Thankfully their defense was strong enough to keep them in the game going into halftime only trailing by 2 points. The first half of this game was one of the lowest scoring games in the history of college hoops at 20-18. In the early second half it appeared to be the same as the Orange could not convert on jumpers or even layups. As the half progressed Syracuse showed some life going on runs and taking back the lead at times. Three point shooting from the Flyers was able to give them the lead coming into the last possession of the game. The Orange put the game in the hands of freshman Tyler Ennis who rimmed out on a last second three point jump shot for the win. This game ended the strangest season for Syracuse. C.J. Fair finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Ennis finished with 19 points and 4 boards.
In the preview article it stated that the key for the Orange in the tournament was their shooting. In their first game vs. Western Michigan they shot 50% from the field and right in the next game they shoot 38% and lose. This team was able to defeat big time programs by having four or more guys knocking down shots. Without that they have trouble against many teams because they are not freakishly athletic. A prime example was back when the Orange defeated Duke in the Carrier Dome. Many guys stepped up for Syracuse and it seemed that they could not miss down the stretch leading to their victory. Their second game against Duke when they are not supported by incredible shooting it opened the door for Duke to use their athleticism to seal the win.
More people than just Syracuse fans saw how bizarre this season was for the Orange. They began the season 25-0 and things went south from their losing to Boston College. Georgia Tech, Duke and NC State in the ACC Tournament. Their stability was questioned heading into the big dance, but after their first game the Orange faithful hoped that the team that won all those games was ready to come back and win it all. They played well against Western Michigan, but then showed their inconsistency when they lost to Dayton in the round of 32. Midway through the season many people thought the Cuse were extremely hard to beat, but what few people realized is that many of their wins against teams outside the top 25 came by slim margins. It was only a matter of time until they slipped up and lost a few games it is just unfortunate that they happened to slip up at the wrong time. If their close call victories had come later in the season it could have ended much differently. It was obvious that they were not going to go deep into the tournament. Overall it was a successful season for the Orange, but I was much more proud of last years team that made a run to the Final Four.
Team Awards:
Offensive Player of the Year: For the second straight year senior, C.J. Fair is awarded with the offensive player of the year. After deciding to return for his senior season Fair had a nice season that trailed off a little in the end. Still he was able to make the all ACC First team. He averaged nearly 17 points leading Syracuse in the scoring department. He found ways to score by driving or taking jump shots. He delivered for the Orange game in and game out on the offensive end and is very deserving off this award.
Defensive Player of the Year: There was no unanimous answer here, but freshman point guard Tyler Ennis receives the defensive player of the year. A stat that sticks out for Ennis is his steals with 2.1 a game. There are players on Syracuse that rebound and Rakeem Christmas blocks shots, but the challenge that Tyler Ennis was presented with makes him stand out the most. Ennis rose to the occasion having to guard some extremely skilled guards in the ACC. It is nearly impossible to shut down guys like Marcus Paige, Lamar Patterson, and Malcolm Brogdon, but Ennis took on the challenge and neutralized them. Ennis' play earned him a spot on the ACC 2nd team this year. He had an amazing freshman season and will be successful no matter what he decides to do next year.
Unsung Hero: The unsung hero this year is Trevor Cooney. Cooney became a large part of the Orange success this year after playing limited minutes the year before. His outside shooting sparked life in Syracuse's offense. He averaged 12 points a game and lead the Orange in three pointers made. A trend that I saw looking through his statistics each game is that his best games occurred at the beginning of the season when Syracuse was winning all their games. As the season wore on he fell off a little bit and his shots were not falling. At this same time is when Syracuse began to lose there games. Many people overlook Cooney's play, but he was a big difference maker and his lack of production late in the season may have lead to the Orange's demise.
Most Improved Player: The most improved player from last season to this one is sophomore forward Jerami Grant. Grant posted an incredible 2013-2014 campaign making his name known and becoming and real contributor to Syracuse's success on both ends of the floor. He went from averaging 4 points and 3 rebounds last season to averaging 12 points and nearly 7 boards this year. His incredible athleticism lead to many amazing blocks and slam dunks energizing the Orange in stretches. Grant has a boat load of potential and will likely declare for this year's NBA Draft. As he continues to work on his strength and jump shot he will make great strides each season whether in the NBA or NCAA.
Most Valuable Player: Many may disagree with me, but the MVP for this season is C.J. Fair. Tyler Ennis was phenomenal and will probably get drafted higher, but Fair was the heart and soul of this Orange team. His numbers were solid and he was honored with first team all ACC. Beyond that Fair was the most valuable player of this team because of his leadership as well. He could have gone to the NBA last year, but decided to give it one more run. Fair was able to step up in big games and mentor the younger players on Syracuse making their team chemistry even stronger. The Duke game at Syracuse really showed just how incredible Fair is. Matched up against one of the toughest teams in the country is where he stepped up the most. He knocked down big time jump shots and made strong drives to the bucket to lead Syracuse to victory. He finished the night with 28 points and 5 rebounds. People can have their opinions on whether Fair made the right decision or not, but he was a positive influence on the younger Orange players and will most likely be drafted and have a nice NBA career.
It was very fun to cover this team this year and I appreciate all the support from you guys reading my articles. I look forward to covering this team next year where the team is looking pretty good with some stud recruits coming in.
Thank you and look out for offseason articles!
GO ORANGE!!!!!
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