Famous last words:¬†“The inevitable DePaul annihilation is next.”Orange Fizz, 1/29/10.
Uh boy.
Orange Fizz this morning.“There, of course, are two things that scare any SU fan today; 1) A potential Syracuse letdown 2) DePaul’s 108-69 win over Syracuse on March 2, 2006, which is still the worst loss in Jim Boeheim’s coaching tenure.”
The 59-57 win over DePaul felt more like a loss, with the miserable Blue Demons holding possession for three potential game-tying shots before hoisting up a three-point prayer.
But, “survive and advance” is the theme in the Big East – just like when it counts in March.
Plus, the Orange zoomed ahead of the Demons when it counted, finally committing to aggressive defense to take the lead midway through the second-half.
While Syracuse is certainly not immune to a letdown after the Georgetown thrashing, one thing was particularly glaring: Andy Rautins’ decision-making in the crunch.
If he’s the supposed veteran leader of this team, how with a chance to put the Demons away do you A) throw a cross-court pass into the teeth of the defense, while careening into the paint (luckily being tipped out of bounds) and B) on SU’s final possession – out of a timeout – hoisting a contested three, despite being up by two, with nine full seconds left on the shot clock?
The Fizz finds it hard to believe that’s what Boeheim was looking for, up by a basket, out of timeout.
(Sigh) 21-1 still sounds pretty good. Even a nail-biter against DePaul counts in the win column.
