Writer: Phil D'Abbraccio
Cooney hopes to put end to shooting slump as Syracuse takes on Pittsburgh
Trevor Cooney insists there are no mind games when shots don’t fall. “I’m not saying, ‘If I make the first one, I’m going to shoot an X amount of shots,’” Cooney said. “… I’m not saying, ‘Oh, great, now I’m 1-for-5. If I miss the next one, I’m 1-for-6.’" Read More »
D'Abbraccio: Christmas follows up worst performance of season with best, carries Syracuse to upset of No. 12 Louisville
Rakeem Christmas disappeared against Jahlil Okafor, Duke’s phenom and the potential national player of the year, and stumbled to his worst performance of the season. But he insists that the debate of his stature among the country’s most prolific big men isn’t what drove him to respond the way he did Wednesday night. Read More »
Christmas' 29-point performance carries Syracuse to 69-59 upset win over No. 12 Louisville
Rakeem Christmas propelled Syracuse to a 69-59 victory over No. 12 Louisville on Wednedsay night in the Carrier Dome, logging 29 points and eight rebounds. Read More »
Louisville guard Jones suspended, won't play against Syracuse
No. 12 Louisville has suspended point guard Chris Jones and he will not travel for the Cardinals' game with Syracuse on Wednesday, UofL announced Tuesday night. Read More »
Roberson expects to maintain aggressiveness after 19-point, 10-rebound performance
While Tyler Roberson continues to assert himself on the offensive end, there’s one part of his game he’s still hesitant to use — his mid-range jumper. But for the Syracuse sophomore forward, there’s a simple adjustment to make when those shots don’t fall. Read More »
D'Abbraccio: Christmas loses battle with Okafor, chance to build pro stock in biggest game of year
Rakeem Christmas picked the worst possible night for his most inefficient performance of the season. Syracuse’s go-to scorer for most of the year didn’t take ownership of that role, and it doomed the Orange in its 80-72 loss to the No. 4 Blue Devils and potentially put a dent in Christmas’ professional stock. Read More »
Latest installment of Syracuse-Duke rivalry doesn't quite live up to hype of last 2 matchups
Saturday’s 80-72 decision in No. 4 Duke’s favor over SU wasn’t quite on the level of last season’s meetings, but the high level of play was consistent and the atmosphere — courtesy of a record-tying Carrier Dome audience of 35,446 fans — didn’t waver much, either. Read More »
Okafor wins battle of bigs, silences Christmas down low in Duke's 80-72 win
Jahlil Okafor won the battle of the bigs down low against Rakeem Christmas, as the Duke freshman went off for 23 points and 13 rebounds against Syracuse senior on Saturday night. Read More »
Fast reaction: 3 quick observations from Syracuse's 8-point loss to Duke at the Carrier Dome
Syracuse led at halftime against No. 4 Duke, but ultimately fell short by a score of 80-72. Michael Gbinije shined against his former team, but his supporting cast couldn't muster enough scoring to uphold SU in the Carrier Dome on Saturday evening. Read More »
D'Abbraccio: Duke phenom Okafor boasts inventiveness, dominance around rim like no other big man
Jahlil Okafor will likely have his way against Rakeem Christmas and the Orange on Saturday — partly because SU doesn’t have the depth to play Duke physically, but also partly because he’s just a more talented big man than Christmas is. Read More »
3-star defensive end Carter reportedly joins Syracuse's Class of 2015
Syracuse picked up a commitment from a New Jersey defensive end for the second time Friday, earning Kenny Carter's pledge to SU's Class of 2015. Read More »
Christmas shines, but lack of support dooms Syracuse down low against UNC
Rakeem Christmas logged 22 points and 12 rebounds against North Carolina, but the lack of help he got allowed the Tar Heels to dominate down low overall. Read More »
Fast reaction: 3 quick observations from Syracuse's 10-point loss to UNC
After taking a five-point lead into the half, Syracuse fell off in the second frame and lost 93-83 to North Carolina. Here are three quick takeaways from SU's third ACC defeat. Read More »
Miami defense limits Christmas enough in 1st half to hold off big man's strong finish
Tyler Roberson and Rakeem Christmas combined for 33 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome Miami on Saturday. Read More »
Boeheim refuses to discuss NCAA Tournament chances after loss to Miami
Jim Boeheim was short with reporters who asked about SU's NCAA Tournament hopes after its loss to Miami. Read More »
Fast reaction: 3 quick takeaways from Syracuse's 66-62 loss to Miami
Syracuse crawled back in the second half against Miami but was unable to overtake the Hurricanes in a 66-62 loss. Here are three observations from SU's second conference loss. Read More »
Christmas sits with foul trouble, shines in limited minutes in SU win
Rakeem Christmas scored 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, but was limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Read More »
Gbinije, Cooney lead Syracuse to 69-61 win over Boston College with Christmas in foul trouble
Despite Rakeem Christmas fouling out, Syracuse was able to get a bounce-back win behind Michael Gbinije and Trevor Cooney. They posted 17 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the Orange to a 69-61 victory over Boston College. Read More »
Roberson looks to be more effective against loose opposing defenses, maintain aggression on boards
Three times, Wake Forest defended Tyler Roberson the same exact way — by leaving him wide open. The Demon Deacons dared the Syracuse forward to shoot midrange jumpers, and his first three clanked off the rim Tuesday night. Read More »
Christmas goes off for 35 points, leads Syracuse to 86-83 overtime win
Rakeem Christmas torched Wake Forest for 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting. His career-best night allowed SU to escape with an overtime win in a game the Demon Deacons constantly threatened to snatch from the Orange's grasp. Read More »
Syracuse wins back-and-forth, 86-83 overtime affair over Wake Forest in Carrier Dome
The Orange continued its perfect start to conference play with a thrilling 86-83 overtime win over Wake Forest. Read More »
Fast reaction: 3 quick takeaways from Syracuse's ACC-opening win at Virginia Tech
Syracuse escaped its ACC opener with a win, but a 1-0 conference record does't tell the whole story on Saturday. Read More »