Tournament Thoughts: Dayton 55 Syracuse 53

What the hell happened to Tyler Ennis? Remember when he went more than half the season without making a turnover in the final 5 minutes of a game? Why did he take two outside shots at the end of the game.

Here is what Jim Boeheim said about the game ending 3-point miss:

"The last shot was a great shot. It was the right play. A chance to win the game. You don't have enough time to get to the basket. I have no problem with that shot."

And Ennis:

"I thought I got a really good look.I didn't think I had enough time to get to the basket. I think the look I got, I think everybody was happy with it. I thought it was good.''

I can actually understand that, time was winding down, he had no time to pass, he would have been driving into the teeth of the defense and risking not getting a shot off at all.

It was the jumper on the previous possession that I think was much worse.

So did Coach Boeheim:

"With 13 seconds to go, we wanted to get it to Tyler and drive the ball. We'd just driven the ball for three baskets. I don't know why he settled for the jump shot. There was plenty of time. He had space. I'm not sure why."

But Ennis thought he could make it:

"I had some space. They were guarding me off a little bit. I think it was (Devin) Oliver on me. Whoever it was, I think they knew I was going to drive. Any other night, I think that was a good shot. My shots weren't falling tonight from the outside. Maybe it would've been better to drive. I think I had the confidence."

And maybe that's what it comes down to, a bad night at the wrong time. I like his confidence, but sometimes it cuts both ways, it makes you feel like you can accomplish anything, but it also leads you to make the wrong decisions. Clearly the missed jumper with 13 seconds left was a bad decision.

Here's the paragraph from the game notes that sums things up pretty well:

With Syracuse trailing 47-42 with 4 minutes remaining, Tyler Ennis drove to the basket on five of the Orange's next seven possessions, scoring 11 straight points to pull Syracuse within one. However, Ennis took jump shots outside the paint on the Orange's final two possessions, missing both.

Throughout the entire game Syracuse couldn't hit an outside shot, and Dayton just packed its defense in the middle and every drive to the basket was met with 3 or 4 guys. Maybe that is what Ennis thought would happen if he drove on those last two possessions (especially the last one).

I guess what I think is, Ennis wanted to be the hero. He didn't think Dayton would let him get to the basket but he knew they would dare him to take a jumper. He thought he would make them, so he took them. He didn't, game over.

But as usual, if not for Ennis and Fair Syracuse wouldn't have been in this game, even though they combined to make only 11 of 35 shots.

As the game hinged on those two plays it doesn't make sense to rehash the first 39:47, especially because I deleted the game in anger when I usually like to rewatch them before I write these posts (even the bad losses).

I think Boeheim wasted at least one timeout, ceding an advantage we had been given when Dayton used its last TO. But he did use the second one to set up the press which created the steal that could have won the game, so it almost worked out.

The refs missed a clear travel on Dayton in the corner, a clear hop, and they blew it.

I also disagree with the elbowing call on Cooney in the first half. The guy was so close to Cooney he could barely have moved without striking him. Maybe the call was in the letter of the rule, but not the spirit. The NCAA has a big problem with these zero tolerance rules. If you have officials, you have to trust their judgment.

Vanessa Williams was at the game.

Gerry MacNamara still looks 12 years old (leftover from the first round:

Archie Miller's wife, Morgan Miller, incidentally, the same name as Bode Miller's wife was going nuts in the stands, all while wearing a shirt that said "Dayton High Life." Wouldn't it make more sense if it said "Miller High Life?"

One last stupid face from Jim Boeheim for this season: