Syracuse won't lose focus

Written by
Kevin Kelly

Quote:UC vs. Syracuse

Tipoff: 7 p.m. today, Fifth Third Arena
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLW-AM (700)

On Saturday, Notre Dame accomplished what the University of Cincinnati and its fans had hoped to do tonight at a sold out Fifth Third Arena – be the first to knock off undefeated and No. 1 ranked Syracuse.

Now the college basketball world waits to see where Jim Boeheim’s team lands in the polls and how his players respond against the Bearcats in a “Big Monday” game that starts at 7 p.m.

“I think given everything that’s been going on off the court, they’re a very resilient team,” said J.B. Reafsnyder, the former Lakota High School standout who played on the Syracuse team that lost to Kentucky in the NCAA title game in 1996.

“To stay as focused as they are this year, there’s some great leadership up there. And that definitely starts with coach Boeheim keeping them focused and with an eye on the goal, which is win the Big East and win a national title.”

The Orange opened this season with an unprecedented run of 20 consecutive victories that propelled them to No. 1 in both national polls by early December.

“They’re a unique team,” Syracuse ISP Radio Network analyst Matt Roe said. “They’re very deep. It’s not like a lot of teams that rely on one or two guys. This team, no one plays over 29 minutes. There’s only two scorers that score double figures – Kris Joseph and Dion Waiters. They’re just deep.”

Joseph, a senior forward, and Waiters, a sophomore guard who is considered one of the best sixth men in the country, average 13.6 and 13 points per game. They’re among seven players on Syracuse’s roster averaging at least seven points per game. Ten players average a dozen or more minutes.

“There’s just so many weapons and so many ways Syracuse can get at you,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said during last week’s Big East teleconference. “We really have to control the tempo. They can put 80, 85 (points) on the board, or 88 on the board, like rollin’ out of bed.”

The Fighting Irish controlled the tempo Saturday and held the Orange to a season-low 58 points. Notre Dame shot 50 percent from the field against Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone defense, which is holding opponents to just under 61 points per game.

Starting center Fab Melo did not travel with the team to Notre Dame and will not play against UC.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120.../301230023