Nov. 26, 2010
Syracuse 53, Michigan 50

Kris Joseph refused to let his shooting struggles bother him.

Even though he entered Friday night’s game shooting just 31.4 percent from the field, that wouldn’t slow him down against Michigan.

“I was not overthinking, overanalyzing,” Joseph said after the game. “I am just more so going out there within the team’s structure and concept, not forcing anything up there.”

Joseph exploded for a season-high 22 points to lead then-No. 9 Syracuse to a 53-50 victory over the Wolverines at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. With the win, the Orange advanced to the championship game of the Legends Classic the following night, where SU would defeat Georgia Tech to win the tournament.

Against Michigan, guard Scoop Jardine scored 11 points with five assists, and forward Rick Jackson posted his fourth consecutive double-double with a 10-point, 12-rebound performance.

Michigan, a young team that started three freshmen and a sophomore, grabbed 12 first-half offensive rebounds and drilled six 3-pointers in the half. The Wolverines led by two at halftime.

But it was Joseph and his 5-of-9 first-half shooting that carried the Orange. The forward was in a zone he couldn’t find in SU’s first four games. Joseph had 12 points at halftime, keeping Syracuse in the game.

“I saw the shot going in for him early,” Jardine said after the game. “I kicked it to him and he hit a couple of 3s. Once you see that as a player, you are going to be confident throughout the game.”

Out of the break, the forward was still hot. The rest of the Orange, however, was not. Aside from Joseph, SU shot just 33 percent in the second half.

“Our real problem is not our defense, it is our offense,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. “It is not where we need it to be. We are struggling shooting the ball from the perimeter.”

Joseph scored seven of the Orange’s first 11 points in the second half. He made two free throws to tie the game, then connected on a 3 to give Syracuse a 36-33 lead.

After a jumper by Jackson, the Wolverines responded with five points in less than a minute to knot the score at 38.

But on the next possession, Syracuse retook the lead with another basket from Joseph.

“The offense is going to be there,” Joseph said after the game. “Someone is going to step up at some point in the game.”

The two sides fought back and forth for the next nine minutes, with the Orange barely clinging to the lead. After Stu Douglass hit a 3 for Michigan to give the Wolverines a 45-44 lead, Joseph fed Jardine for a 3 to put Syracuse ahead for good.

After Douglass missed a 3, Joseph grabbed the rebound and took it the other way. In transition, the forward nailed a step-back jump shot that gave Syracuse a four-point lead.

Even after his previous shooting woes in the Carrier Dome, Joseph bounced back at a neutral site to spearhead the Orange’s win over a feisty opponent.

“This gym kind of resembles the Dome with the open space in the back,” Joseph said, referring to Boardwalk Hall. “So I kept shooting.”

—Compiled by Phil D’Abbraccio, asst. copy editor, pmdabbra@syr.edu

Published on April 3, 2013 at 1:16 am