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Before Syracuse joined the ACC, we tended to view the Orange as a fairly boring and staid team and to an extent still do, though not as much.
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Well we still think it's kind of boring and we still think that Syracuse could use some fresh blood. But there's no denying that Jim Boeheim's zone is a major pain in the ass.
That's not news to Notre Dame as the Irish spent a good stretch in the Big East with the Orange. There aren't many secrets between Mike Brey and Boeheim at this point.
And Notre Dame probably would have had a better chance at Syracuse if Demetrius Jackson had played. He didn't because of a hamstring injury, so freshman Rex Pflueger started in his place.
Jackson is averaging 16.6 ppg and 5.0 apg. He's also a tough defender, very athletic and an outstanding leader.
So without him, it was going to be a tough game for Notre Dame. And it was.
Syracuse's defense is up from some recent weak games and without Jackson they have a lot of trouble keeping up with Trevor Cooney.
Cooney is a good-but-not-great athlete. We admire his grit but our feeling has always been that if you're in his face he's much less effective.
Against Notre Dame, he got loose for 22 points. After the game, Brey told Cooney he was glad he was a senior.
Michael Gnibije and Malachi Richardson had 15 each.
VJ Beacham led Notre Dame with 22. Steve Vasturia, the baby-faced assassin, had 16. Pflueger scored just two, from the foul line, but he had six assists.
It wouldn't be a college basketball season without some crankiness from Boeheim, so here's today's edition: he's not happy with the schedule the ACC gave Syracuse.
We don't know the ins and outs of the scheduling philosophy, but we'd like to restate our suggestion to the conference: why not play the one-offs first and then the home-and-homes last?