NEW YORK – Syracuse men’s basketball juniors Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins were seen as large components to SU’s success coming into this season. If the No. 16 Orange were going to win, Roberts, Watkins and the rest of the SU frontcourt needed to draw the opponent’s attention, opening better perimeter shots for the Syracuse guards.

For most of Friday night’s game between SU and Florida in the championship game of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer, the Gator big men dominated their Syracuse counterparts. UF’s frontcourt was physical and aggressive, shutting down the Orange post while scoring with frequency. As Syracuse’s post presence mostly disappeared, it was Florida’s play in the paint that led it to a 75-70 win over Syracuse at Madison Square Garden.

Florida center Al Horford had 11 points, forward Joakim Noah scored 12 and forward Chris Richard added 10 while holding Roberts and Watkins to 16 combined points.

‘I thought our frontcourt people, with their ability to press and to show on McNamara, (did a good job),’ Donovan said. ‘They altered shots in the paint, too. It was a game that will hopefully help us go forward.’

Syracuse found it difficult to beat the tough UF interior. With Florida’s guards making outside shots with ease, SU’s 2-3 zone stretched out to cover them. The stretched zone allowed the Gators to dump the ball inside for easier points. The Orange switched to man-to-man defense midway through the first half and had more success.

Even with the man to man, Roberts did not respond in a positive way until the second half. At one point in the first half, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim pulled Roberts from the game to correct the junior after he blew a fast break chance. As Boeheim yelled at him, Roberts, obviously distracted by his poor play, stared straight ahead.

Roberts eventually came around in the second half, matching Florida’s physicality and even diving into the crowd behind the baseline trying to save a ball.

‘Terrence stepped up finally in the second half,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’s got to be more active. He was a non-factor for most of the game and he’s got to be a factor for us.’

Boeheim also said he wants to involve Watkins more in the offense. Watkins only scored four points and, despite blocking four shots, was never a factor in the game’s outcome.

Watkins felt his lack of aggressiveness was more of a problem than his minimal offensive production. Florida was more aggressive in the paint, nullifying anything Watkins could do.

Watkins said being more aggressive would aid the Orange more than any scoring he could provide.

‘(I don’t need to be more involved with the offense) because we were staying in the game without me scoring,’ Watkins said.

It took a while for the Orange to adapt to Florida’s physical nature. Roberts spent most of the first half and some of the second half complaining to the officials or exchanging trash talk with Noah.

Syracuse went into halftime up 44-43 but, despite the score, the Gators outplayed SU in both halves.

‘It was a real physical game and we were complaining a lot about calls instead of just going out there and fighting, battling,’ Roberts said. ‘By the time we did it, it was too late. We had to fight hard to come back.’

Published on November 20, 2005 at 12:00 pm