Boeheim vs Boeheim

For Juli Boeheim, Friday night was both exciting and nerve-wracking as she watched her son and husband face one another on the court at the Carrier Dome. Jimmy Boeheim, the eldest Boeheim son, made his first collegiate start for the Cornell Big Red while his father, Jim Boeheim, entered his 41st year of coaching the Syracuse Orangemen.

Cornell won the opening tip-off where Juli watched from the bleachers and Jim watched directly in front of the Syracuse bench as Jimmy nailed a three-pointer for the first collegiate points of his career. Jimmy would then put his Big Red up 5-2 on the next possession.

Then, it got quiet on offense for the Big Red as Syracuse went on a 14-1 run to run away with the lead in which they kept the entire game. Syracuse took an 11 point lead at the half (33-22), but there were minor concerns for both teams entering the half.

For Cornell, they didn’t put up many field goals in the first half as they were 5-for-24 and they were outrebounded by the Orange 29-18.

For Syracuse, the main issue was that their star player, Tyus Battle, had three fouls including one crucial foul where he fouled Matt Morgan, an 86 percent free throw shooter on the three-point line and directly after he was sent to the bench. Luckily, Battle only picked up four fouls in the entire game, so he didn’t foul out. But, Tyus Battle lead the Orange with 8 points at the half.

Also, an exciting player off the Syracuse bench, Freshman Bourama Sidibe, made a great debut, after two impressive exhibition games, as he scored 7 points offensively and defensively had five rebounds and a few blocks in the first half.

In the second half, Syracuse kept their first half momentum and went on another big run before letting their starters rest and putting in their bench players.

One bench player that stood out for the Orange in the second half was Marek Dolezaj, a Freshman from Slovakia, as he scored 8 points, including his first American three-pointer, and an impressive 6 rebounds.

Something strange that stood out to me in the second half was why Sidibe didn’t play more in the second half. I understand that you want to give your new players a chance with a big lead, but Sidibe is new and is already a key player on defense to watch. But, I guess with switching off with Paschal Chukwu, who didn’t play much or that well in the first half, you want to see Chukwu out there more than Sidibe. But, the announcers said that Sidibe will most likely get more playing time throughout the season. I am already predicting a great Rookie season for Sidibe as he truly is an exciting player to watch.

If you don’t believe me, watch the block that put him on SportsCenter's top 10 (#2) on the Boeheim Army’s Facebook Page. Even though it was an exhibition game, it was still impressive!

A starter, besides Battle, that also stood out this evening was Freshman Oshae Brissett. Brissett was in a little bit of foul trouble early on like Battle, but put up a stunning 11 points in his first collegiate start, and was the Orange’s second leading scorer of the night. Brissett also looked great defensively with six defensive rebounds and four offensive rebounds, totaling 10 rebounds on the night, tying Matt Moyer. The Orange had a total of 54 rebounds.

The Orange defeat Cornell 77-45. Tyus Battle led the Orange with 18 points and Matt Morgan led the Big Red with 14 points. Jimmy Boeheim finished with 11 points, making his parents proud.

Next year, when the Big Red take on Syracuse, Jimmy will be outnumbered as his young brother Jack “Buddy” Boeheim signed his letter of intent to join their father at Syracuse for the 2018-19 season.

Syracuse’s next game is Tuesday night against Iona at the Dome.