2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeMBB | Back on track: After 1st loss to Ohio State, SU responds with important win against Washington
By Zach Schonbrun
Posted: 11/27/07, 12:40 AM EST Section: Sports
NEW YORK - Jon Brockman probably had no clue Rick Jackson was swooping in from above.
Washington's star junior forward Brockman thought he had a clear dunk from underneath the basket after lifting Arinze Onuaku in the air with a pump fake. But Jackson stretched his big, right arm and swatted the ball out to Onuaku, who promptly flung it down court to a streaking Donte Greene for a dunk.
It was the kind of statement play that proved Syracuse's young lineup wasn't going to sit back and let a loss a couple of days earlier erode its confidence. And it was the kind of athletic ball movement that signified what SU could do all evening against the Huskies.
With a blitz of fast-break basketball and a swarming defensive effort, Syracuse bounced back from its first loss of the season to win the consolation game at the NIT Season Tip-Off, beating Washington, 91-85, at Madison Square Garden on Friday. This after the Orange fell to Ohio State, 79-65, Wednesday night; the Buckeyes then lost to Texas A&M, 70-47, in the championship game Friday night.
Greene led SU with 23 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, Eric Devendorf averaged 16.5 points and Paul Harris averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds during the two games.
For a team full of inexperience and youth (its lone senior, Josh Wright, was absent for the third consecutive game), the contest against Washington turned out to be crucial in its consequence on perception. Lose, and the Orange would have a lot of questions heading back home. Win, and SU could prove it was capable of healing quickly.
"Good teams are going to lose. It's how you come back," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after Friday's game. "It's always that. That's always the case. How will your team respond?"
Though Ohio State was widely considered to be rebuilding after losing several key players from last season - most notably center Greg Oden - Syracuse looked like the younger, less experienced team Wednesday, as the Orange committed 16 turnovers, flung unwarranted 3-pointers and allowed the Buckeyes to shoot 49.1 percent from the field.
Washington's star junior forward Brockman thought he had a clear dunk from underneath the basket after lifting Arinze Onuaku in the air with a pump fake. But Jackson stretched his big, right arm and swatted the ball out to Onuaku, who promptly flung it down court to a streaking Donte Greene for a dunk.
It was the kind of statement play that proved Syracuse's young lineup wasn't going to sit back and let a loss a couple of days earlier erode its confidence. And it was the kind of athletic ball movement that signified what SU could do all evening against the Huskies.
With a blitz of fast-break basketball and a swarming defensive effort, Syracuse bounced back from its first loss of the season to win the consolation game at the NIT Season Tip-Off, beating Washington, 91-85, at Madison Square Garden on Friday. This after the Orange fell to Ohio State, 79-65, Wednesday night; the Buckeyes then lost to Texas A&M, 70-47, in the championship game Friday night.
Greene led SU with 23 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, Eric Devendorf averaged 16.5 points and Paul Harris averaged 11 points and 8.5 rebounds during the two games.
For a team full of inexperience and youth (its lone senior, Josh Wright, was absent for the third consecutive game), the contest against Washington turned out to be crucial in its consequence on perception. Lose, and the Orange would have a lot of questions heading back home. Win, and SU could prove it was capable of healing quickly.
"Good teams are going to lose. It's how you come back," SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after Friday's game. "It's always that. That's always the case. How will your team respond?"
Though Ohio State was widely considered to be rebuilding after losing several key players from last season - most notably center Greg Oden - Syracuse looked like the younger, less experienced team Wednesday, as the Orange committed 16 turnovers, flung unwarranted 3-pointers and allowed the Buckeyes to shoot 49.1 percent from the field.
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