Posted by Pat Forde
MIAMI -- How tireless are
Syracuse Orange guards Johnny Flynn and
Eric Devendorf?
We're going to find out.
Last week they were pushed to the edge of endurance during Syracuse's epic, 195-minute stay in the Big East tournament. This week they opened the NCAA tournament by playing 38 minutes (Flynn) and 39 minutes (Devendorf) in a blowout of Stephen F. Austin.
That's way too many in a game the Orange controlled from the opening tip, leading 20-4 after 9 minutes and 40 seconds. But Cuse coach Jim Boeheim has left himself almost no options.
Boeheim has never had much use for depth. He has gone with a seven-man rotation all season, and that was reduced Friday by the pregame sickness of forward Kristof Ongenaet. He suited up but didn't play, and backup guard Justin Thomas -- Ongenaet's roommate -- was so sick he never even left the team hotel.
Truth be told, nobody from sick-and-tired Syracuse looked or sounded overly robust after the game.
"Everyone's got a little cough or something," Flynn said in the postgame locker room, where they should have handed out surgical masks to all entering reporters.
Given that, Boeheim's decision to tax his two most important players Friday seemed a dubious strategy. Even Syracuse's end-of-the-bench walk-ons couldn't have coughed up the game-long lead the Orange held over the outmanned Lumberjacks.
It will be a different story Sunday in the second round. All hands will need to be on deck, and Syracuse had better have its shooting legs back underneath it.
Perhaps owing to the Big East grind, the Orange were 2-for-16 from 3-point range. Andy Rautins was 0-for-6, Devendorf 1-for-5 and Flynn 0-for-3.
"A lot of our shots weren't falling, but that'll be a different story Sunday," Devendorf said.
As for the team health?
"I don't think that's really going to be a factor," Devendorf said. "Everybody's good."
