Originally Posted by
chinoloco212
Syracuse is just not that good of a team without Fab Melo.
I do not agree with this at all. Kris Joseph had a great quote about Melo:
"We lost one player,’’ continued Joseph. “You would think he averaged 30 points, 20 rebounds and 12 blocked shots. We appreciate what Melo did for us. But we’ve replaced him with two other guys we have faith in. No one guy was going to stop this team.’’
Melo's absence is mainly a defensive thing - his offensive impact was minimal at-best. Yes, offensive rebounding is something he brought to the table with his size - but Christmas is a pogo stick who is a solid rebounder. Melo had a high of 14 pts this year. Most games we're talking about a guy who contributed maybe 8-10 pts per game. Christmas can and has given them similar production.
The key to this game is kind of simplistic to me. Wisconsin has to make threes. I think a minimum of ten. They're going to get looks. Hell, they took 33 against Vanderbilt out of 55 total shots. Any team that can make threes against the zone is a "nightmare" match-up, but the question is can you make them consistently? Obviously Syracuse would prefer to run, but they've shown an ability to win in a half court grinding type of game.