Return to an Orange Crush?

Saturday’s early action presented a matchup between highly rated opponents. Syracuse tried to defend their usual home court dominance against Notre Dame. Understandably two Syracuse articles in one week doesn’t show a well rounded effort on our part, but we’re calling em like we see em. Syracuse showed signs of a well rounded team, making you wonder if they can finally make some noise in March. They corrected all their issues from the Georgetown game midweek and came out firing against a Notre Dame team that continually looks vulnerable. With about a minute to go in the game, ESPN showed that Cuse was ahead 41 to 11 on fast break points. Rallying off the home crowd, Syracuse continually attacked off missed shots and they should continue to do so for easy points in the future. When in half court sets, they dropped things down to Onuaku and the results were noticeable.

Eric Devendorf will be the thing holding Syracuse back. Relegated to a bench role since returning from suspension, Devendorf needs to realize his role in the offense. As Notre Dame made a run in the second half, Devendorf shot the ball on four straight possessions without it being within the flow of the offense. He only made one out of the four shots and allowed ND to get within 5 points. Order was restored when Flynn became the primary ball-handler again and the offense seemed more in sync. Syracuse needs the offensive game Devendorf provides because they don’t have any similar player, but he needs to do it within the offense. As a senior, this should’ve clicked by now. Besides that, foul shooting could be an Achilles heel as well.

Spare me if you’re upset I ignored Notre Dame’s performance. They have no depth. How far can two guys carry a team?