There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned blowout to rest the SU basketball fan’s heart. After playing four close games in its first six matchups of the season, the Orange destroyed the Colgate Red Raiders 86-51 Monday night at the Dome. This one was over before the ink was dry on the schedule. It was certainly nice to not worry about coming out flat in the first half or having to overcome another 13-point deficit. Once Jonny Flynn canned a three, stole the inbounds pass and scored on a layup, it became apparent that the Red Raiders were better suited for a pickup game a short walk up the street at Archbold than a night at the Dome. The telltale signs of a thrashing were all there, as if the fact that SU was playing Colgate didn’t do it for you:

-The ‘Cuse held Colgate to 17% shooting in the first half; Colgate’s 17 first half points were the fewest allowed by SU in nine years.

-Paul Harris equaling Colgate’s first half scoring output in just 11 minutes (it’s gotta be the ‘fro)

-Sean Williams, Brandon Reese and Jake Presutti adding points

-Justin Thomas playing in the first half

Earlier Monday, the Orange stormed into both major polls for the first time since the second week of last season. On Monday night, it showed just why it deserves to be mentioned among the nation’s best. From his position as Colgate Director of Basketball Operations, former Orange Ryan Cahak had to be wondering what he did in practice to deserve this annihilation. In addition to the high scoring production, SU continued its aggression on the glass with a +10 rebounding margin and clamped down on D, holding the Red Raiders to just 30% shooting. The Orange was able to refine its man-to-man defense without worry of Colgate getting back into the game.

The cushion also allowed Jim Boeheim to get plenty of rest for his starters: Jonny Flynn logged 24 minutes, Devendorf just 26. Mookie Jones got a hefty chunk of playing time, his first action since the Oakland game. He certainly wasn’t apprehensive in his return, sinking four of his eight field goal attempts.

Not to be lost in the shuffle, Rick Jackson posted his first career double-double in just 14 minutes, and on the opposite end of the efficiency spectrum, Kristof Ongenaet gets the unfortunate donut – no points in 23 minutes of action. Getting outscored by the walk-ons can’t be a good thing when you’ve started as many games as Ongenaet has.

In addition, Andy Rautins showed he isn’t just a one-trick pony on offense, tallying six assists. If Andy can find ways to remain a factor on the offensive end when his shot isn’t falling, whether its by passing or setting screens for his teammates, this team is going to be that much scarier, so it will be interesting to see if he can do that against tougher competition.

Speaking of three point shooting, all that’s left to say about this one is that the Orange picked a great night to go 4-17 from Three Point Land. Expect another blowout against the Big Red when SU tips against Cornell, where the burning question will be whether Jonny Flynn owns up to the wager he made with Paul Harris and shaves his head. Flynn has a lot of swagger and does more than his fair share of jawing, but at least he he backs it up on the court, so he better do the same off it.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 10:34 pm by Brian G. . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.