3 keys to beating Villanova
IGNORE THE HYPE
Arinze Onuaku made the classic undersell.
Like athletes are supposed to do in the wake of a big game, the Syracuse center assured reporters that Saturday’s matchup against No. 7 Villanova will be treated just like any other. Preparing for the Wildcats was a lot like doing so for Providence or St. John’s.
‘We’re definitely pumped,’ Onuaku said. ‘But it’s just got to be another game on the schedule that we need to win. And with the fans behind us, it’s going to be good for us to go get a win.’
But the truth is, this isn’t just an ordinary game. And it’s not just because it will be played in front of the largest on-campus collegiate basketball crowd ever to decide supremacy in the Big East conference. Saturday, instead, is a chance to see how the No. 4 Orange handles the hype.
Of course, there’s no question Syracuse has played in the midst of high-pressure situations before – taking down North Carolina in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd required some gusto. Just like regrouping on the road against West Virginia and Notre Dame was a true indicator of the Orange’s maturity.
Those situations, though, happened before selling out the Loud House. Before tickets on eBay skyrocketed past $1,000, and before students tried to break out their camping gear nearly a week ahead of time to secure good seats.
Now, deservedly so, the bright lights are on the Orange. The team is a regular fixture on SportsCenter. Bracketologists address a No. 1 NCAA seed with inevitability. Even the most casual fans are out and interested, adding to the growing weight of expectation.
‘A lot of people have already been talking about it for a couple weeks now, and I think it’s finally coming – it’s the countdown now,’ forward Wes Johnson said after the Providence game Tuesday. ‘And before the game I was talking to a little kid and the mom was like, ‘Are you ready for Villanova?’ And I was like, ‘We have a game tonight!’ Everybody’s hyped.’
The stage has been set for Syracuse. Now, the Orange is a top dog, the toast of the town and required to impress during the biggest talent show of the year.
This means early mistakes in front of the record crowd will be magnified just as much as big shots will be celebrated.
Coming back from a large deficit – like the 14-point hole early against Georgetown – will become exponentially harder. The pin-drop silence that normally accompanies the Dome when the Orange is trailing will be 10,000 times stronger.
So, against the Wildcats, the Orange just needs to put all the hype behind it. Ignore the tournament ramifications that would accompany a loss. Forget the fact that stumbling in front of the College GameDay crowd would ignite a bevy of talking heads.
It’s about keeping their heads in a situation where the cards are already stacked against it.
‘It’s going to be a crazy, crazy game,’ Johnson said. ‘There has been a lot of hype for a couple of weeks now, so everybody is ready to see a fight, see a showdown now.’
UTILIZE THE FRONTCOURT
For stretches, they were unstoppable. In Syracuse’s 99-85 win over Providence, its big men could do no wrong. Arinze Onuaku did the damage early. And relying on a soft touch around the rim, lefty Rick Jackson finished the job late with a career-high 28 points.
The Friars had no answer. All night, SU maneuvered with ease down low, outscoring Providence, 56-34, in the paint. To beat Villanova Saturday, the Orange must prolong this game plan. Keep pounding the ball inside. Avoid a run-and-gun pickup game. Rather than engage in an up-and-down shootout with the Wildcats, Onuaku and Jackson must be entry points for the offense.
This is Villanova’s soft spot. After graduating do-it-all forward Dante Cunningham, ‘Nova has relied on Antonio Pena underneath. Pena is no slouch. He won’t be a mere construction cone on the court like Providence’s bigs – he has some finesse. But in sheer mass, Pena should be woefully overwhelmed. Onuaku and Jackson each have a considerable weight advantage.
No, the Orange cannot afford for the two to get into foul trouble. We saw the implications in Georgetown last week. DaShonte Riley sightings should be kept at a minimum this season. But Jackson and Onuaku must be aggressive, a memo Jim Boeheim has sent and re-sent in postgame press conferences all season. Against Villanova, SU must establish a punishing tempo.
While Onuaku is the elder of the two, Jackson is playing best of late. He has flashed the ability to take over games with a repertoire of stealth moves on the block. On one play Tuesday, he completely pivoted around Ray Hall to clear space for an easy finish. Other times, he banked in shots from five feet out. And other times, he put back misses.
On the court simultaneously, the duo can be a matchup disaster for opponents. Against Providence, there was no stopping them.
‘We just felt like every time we touched the ball, we’d score,’ Onuaku said. ‘So that was the goal: touch the ball and finish.’
It was obvious what SU’s objective was against a rail-thin Providence frontcourt. Players consistently made the extra pass, patiently waiting for an entry pass to open up. Onuaku scored eight of his 12 points in the first four minutes Tuesday, getting his baby hook to drop. The plan was simple. Guards fed the ball inside whenever they could.
So why stop? The Big East lacks a wealth of traditional low-post players this season, which may be why Villanova has been so successful. Its biggest flaw flies under the radar. The Wildcats are rarely rag-dolled underneath. When they were once, the results were ugly.
Against Georgetown’s Greg Monroe on Feb. 6, Villanova was pushed around. Monroe dictated the tempo of the game with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. With no remedy, Villanova was often forced to play Hack-a-Greg. And at the line, Monroe went 11-of-14 to seal the upset. His other clash with ‘Nova this year? Monroe recorded season-highs in points (29) and rebounds (16).
Thus, it’s time for Syracuse to do the same. Keep doing what worked in Providence. If it goes to Jackson and Onuaku early and often, SU will win.
WIN THE GUARD BATTLE
The four-headed monster is coming to town.
Villanova’s guard quartet of Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher, Reggie Redding and potential Big East Player of the Year Scottie Reynolds will showcase talent Saturday night inside the Carrier Dome. When the group executes, they can make life a living nightmare for opposing teams. Remember when they scored a combined 66 points in Villanova’s two wins over the Orange last season?
Simply put, Villanova’s guards are the best unit in the Big East. And come Saturday, the Orange will have to find a way to match their output or slow down the juggernaut guards. This means Andy Rautins will have to keep up his torrid pace, and Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine will have to pick up the slack.
It seems like Reynolds has been around forever, but he’s finally done after this year. In his tenure at Villanova, he’s 5-2 against the Orange, including 3-0 in the past three games. As the point guard of the team, he’s the engine that makes the team go. When he’s on, he can carry a team to the Final Four. He’s a cerebral leader on the floor and has no problem stepping up to score 40 points in a game or letting his teammates take over. If you want to defeat the Wildcats you have to take out Reynolds, the heat of the team who’s averaging 19 points per game.
Fisher, Stokes and Redding may be the sideshows to Reynolds, but they more than carry their own weight. All three of them start in Villanova’s unique four-guard set, making up for their size disadvantage with their quickness. If you try too hard to stop Reynolds, then Fisher, Stokes and Redding will come at you full steam ahead. They combine for 31.2 points a contest, with Fisher leading the way at 14.1 per game.
‘A team like ‘Nova, you can’t let them hit that many shots like (Providence) in the first half,’ SU forward Rick Jackson said. ‘Or they’re going to come out in the second half and continue to hit them shots.’
This puts the emphasis on Syracuse’s trio of Rautins, Jardine and Triche delivering against the Wildcats. Providence seemed a step in the right direction, as Rautins continued his hot shooting by scoring 28 points and Jardine and Triche combined for 14 points. They also held Providences guards in check for the entire second half.
Rautins will be the most important variable come Saturday, as he can match the Wildcats with his shooting and stymie them with his defense. He’s scored 54 points in his last two games and has found his groove offensively. When he’s shooting the lights out of the gym, a different Syracuse team is on the court.
His defense, too, makes a huge difference. He understands the 2-3 zone better than anyone on the team, and the zone is much more active when he is on the court. When he is out with foul trouble, other teams make their runs. Just remember how Syracuse’s 50-34 lead against Connecticut disappeared once Rautins left the contest.
So if Syracuse’s guards can control Villanova’s backcourt, the Orange will win. If Villanova’s quartet explodes, though, the Wildcats will be on their way to their third straight win inside the Carrier Dome.
Published on February 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm
