NEW YORK – The season hasn’t been an easy one for St. John’s. But there has been a competitive spark and tough battles, even in losses to highly regarded teams as UConn and Duke. Last night it was quite the opposite, as Syracuse thoroughly dismantled the Red Storm 87-58 at Madison Square Garden. The Orange grabbed the lead early and never looked back, and were dominant in virtually every phase of the game.
The three keys to this contest:
- The 2-3 zone. Syracuse’s trademark 2-3 was very active. Maybe there have been nights that hasn’t been the case, but the Red Storm caught Syracuse’s ‘A’ game on the defensive end. St. John’s struggled to get good looks or finish against the zone. The Red Storm shot 39 percent (21 of 53) for the game. Outside shooting was not there as St. John’s was 5 of 16 from three. The 2-3 also aggressively forced turnovers, which resulted in transition opportunities for the likes of Jonny Flynn (a game-high 21 points) and Eric Devendorf (17 points).
- Syracuse just played extremely well overall. They shot 64 percent from the field and forced St. John’s into 19 turnovers without the benefit of full court pressure. The Orange had 56 points in the paint and shared the ball by assisting on 25 of their 37 field goals. Flynn (8 assists) and Devendorf (6 assists) paced the Orange in that category.
- St. John’s trailed 39-18 at the half. The Storm came out early in the second half and had a number of defensive stops. On the offensive end they couldn’t capitalize to chip into the lead, and once Syracuse got going again it was too late. “We got stops the early part of the second half,” St. John’s coach Norm Roberts noted. “We didn’t take advantage of getting the score back (manageable) then we got frustrated. That’s something you can’t do in this league.”
Paris Horne led St. John’s with 17 points. The Red Storm fell to 13-15 (4-11 Big East), while Syracuse improved to 20-8 (8-7). A crowd of 11,148 was on hand. A good portion were Syracuse fans with ‘let’s go Orange’ chants making it sound like a Syracuse home game.
“I praised our fans after Sunday (a home win over Seton Hall),” Roberts said. “We have good fans but there is nothing to stop Syracuse fans from walking up and buying a ticket.” True, but it seemed a great number of them did in relation to St. John’s followers.
Notes
- Former Syracuse star Pearl Washington was seated right next to courtside. On one play Flynn scored on a great move and a fan yelled, “yeah Pearl” to which Washington turned, smiled and nodded his head yes.
- Syracuse enjoys MSG, as the Orange are 82-76 at the Garden. Jim Boeheim is now 62-43 at the “world’s most famous arena”. “The 62 wins is more than Isaiah (Thomas) had here,” said one courtside neighbor.
- The win also marked the 31st time Jim Boeheim has recorded a twenty-win season during his illustrious Syracuse tenure. “I only worry or think about the next game,” Boeheim said when asked to comment on his milestone. “I only worry about getting us ready and prepared to play our next game. It’s one game at a time.”
- Boeheim also spoke about his team’s 8-7 conference record and the upcoming postseason. “We have lost five games to teams in the top 12,” he said. “Just because you do not beat those teams doesn’t mean you aren’t good. You might be 14th. If a team wins nine if ten against unranked teams does that make them a good team? Not necessarily so. I think the (NCAA) Selection Committee needs to look at the whole season and not emphasize how you finished up (down the stretch).”
- Not one to forget: When Malik Boothe and Paris Horne were asked if they will remember this game, the St. John’s duo quickly and emphatically replied, “yes.”
