Rakeem Has Bison for Christmas

Jim Boeheim's Syracuse team won a snoozer against Bucknell

The Syracuse Orange and the Bucknell Bison sleep-walked through a pre-Christmas game in the Carrier Dome Tuesday night with the Orange ultimately prevailing 80-61. After a fun, emotional win over NC State this past Saturday, this game was the opposite. The students were gone and from the looks of it most of CNY was out Christmas shopping. Senior centers at nap time had more energy than this game.

However, the game was played and SU won and at the end of the year that's all anyone is going to remember about this snooze-fest. Rakeem Christmas received  more playing time than he's had in a while and the freshman big man delivered with a 10 point, 5 rebound performance. He's a very talented player and on a team with less depth I he'd definitely be showing his potential more -- but this is a good problem to have.

Observations

- Bucknell coach coach Dave Paulsen looks like a slimmer version of guy who lives in a van down by the river:



- It was nice to see Rakeem Christmas emerge a little tonight. While I don't think he'll play much in the Big East, he gives SU what the team lacks when C.J. Fair or James Southerland is in -- a true 4 that can operate down low, rebound and block some shots. I would have liked to have seen JB put him back in later in the first half, but he got a lot of PT in the second half and acquitted himself well.

- Dion Waiters had his left thumb taped up and didn't play much/at all in the second half. I'm not sure if there was an issue with the hand or not, but its something to keep an eye on. In the first half he did have a runner that positively Sherman Douglas-esque...and since I can't find a video of Sherm hitting a runner (the all time master of that shot) we'll have to settle for G-Mac instead:



- Kris Joseph was 2-3 from behind the arc and is shooting 40% from three point range this year. He's having a quietly outstanding year.

- I think the cavernous dome caused a problem for Bucknell in the first half, they adjusted in the second and made a ton of threes.

- Boeheim played some man to man and pressed earlier in the year but he seems settled back into the standard 40 minutes of zone as we get close to Big East play. As Bucknell bombed threes in the second half I wouldn't have minded a little man, but it's pointless to complain.

- Fab Melo and Scoop executed a beautiful give and go in the second half. The big fella is a pretty slick passer.

- I wasn't impressed with Baye again tonight - I'm hoping the light goes on soon. SU is going to need more out of him - especially as it pertains to rebounding shot blocking. If he's not doing that, he's just taking up space -- most of it vertical.

Michael Carter Williams played a ton in the second half, taking almost all of Brandon Triche's minutes. I don't think he played particularly well, but it made sense to get him some run now. It might not happen much in conference play.

- Team Jardine had his second straight really good game. When he's on he's very, very good. Don't take it from me, take it from his official fan page twitter feed:

- The game took an hour and forty three minutes......that seemed more like five hours.

One more non-conference game left - against Tulane after Christmas and then we get Big East play. It can't get here soon enough.