Tag: Syracuse

Seahawks add another pass rushing option in Alton Robinson

The Seattle Seahawks need more help getting to the quarterback, and Syracuse’s Alton Robinson could be another option at LEO.

The biggest area of need heading into the 2020 NFL draft for the Seattle Seahawks, without a doubt, was the pass rush.

After adding Darrell Taylor from Tennessee in the second round, the Seahawks have made another addition to the pass rush, using their fifth round pick to select Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson.

Robinson recorded 14.5 sacks in his final two seasons with the Orange, and he possesses the necessary burst, bend, and speed to be an immediate factor as a pass rusher.

His size (six-foot-three, 264 pounds) suggests he could be an option at the team’s LEO position, which is where they anticipate Taylor competing as well.

Robinson is still very raw, however, and he needs to work on his technique and footwork while developing a variety of counter moves if he wants to become an every down defensive end.

Robinson may not come in and produce sacks in the NFL in his first year, but as a developmental piece (like Rasheem Green) it’s not hard to imagine Robinson becoming a big part of this team’s defense in the future.

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Seahawks select Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson at No. 148

The Seattle Seahawks have selected Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson at No. 148 in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

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The Seattle Seahawks have selected Syracuse defensive end Alton Robinson at No. 148 in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 1 Seed – 2014-15 Irish

Now, we get to the heavy hitters in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, beginning with the top seed.

Now, we get to the heavy hitters in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament, beginning with the top seed. The 2014-15 Irish represented the program’s second season in the ACC, but they made it clear to everyone that they intended to compete in perhaps the best conference in college basketball, not simply lay down for the likes of Duke, North Carolina and Syracuse. No one could deny it when this season was over.

En route to a 32-6 record, the program’s best since going 33-7 in 1908-09, the Irish jumped out to a 15-1 start and ended up winning 20 of their first 22 games, including eight of their first nine ACC games. That run ended with a four-point win over the No. 4 Blue Devils, at which point the Irish were ranked eighth, as high as they would get during the season. In spite of their 14-4 conference record, it only netted them a No. 3 seed in the ACC tournament. That didn’t matter, however, because the Irish squeezed out wins over Miami, Duke and North Carolina by an average of 8.3 points to win Mike Brey his first championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

The close but meaningful games continued in March Madness. Seeded third in their region, the Irish needed everything to get by 14th-seeded Northeastern in a four-point first-round win, and the second-round win over in-state rival Butler required overtime. They breathed a little easier in an 11-point win over Wichita State in the Sweet Sixteen, setting up an Elite Eight matchup with Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Devin Booker and top-ranked Kentucky. The game was a classic, and the Irish would have made their first Final Four in 37 years had Jerian Grant not air-balled a corner 3 at the buzzer, giving the Wildcats a two-point victory.

Jerian Grant was named to the Consensus All-American First Team alongside Stein, Jahlil Okafor, D’Angelo Russell and Frank Kaminsky. He led the Irish with 16.5 points and 6.7 assists a game. Zach Auguste, Pat Connaughton and Demetrius Jackson all had scoring averages in the neighborhood of 12, and Steve Vasturia averaged 10.1 points a game. All of this made the Irish the second-best shooting team in the nation (50.9 percent), the third-best scoring team (2,963 points) and the ninth-best passing team (576).

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 9 Seed – 2011-12 Irish

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of when you win, not what you win. For most teams, an 8-5 showing in nonconference play would be deflating. But the 2011-12 Irish got back on track and went 13-5 in Big East play, which included a win over top-ranked Syracuse, and finished one game behind Marquette for the regular-season title. Blessed with the luxury of being in a power conference, that earned Notre Dame an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament. However, the stay was a short one thanks to a first-round upset loss to Xavier.

The disappointing start to the season was coupled with bad luck on the health front. Eric Katenda, who was expected to contribute as a freshman, injured his eye in a pick-up game over the summer and ended up with permanent damage to his optic nerve. In late November, Tim Abromaitis’ senior season and Irish career ended prematurely when he tore his ACL. This should have been a trying season in South Bend.

A 3-3 start against Big East opponents meant an 11-8 overall record. At that point, it might have been best to start thinking about the NIT instead of the Big Dance. Then, the win over Syracuse happened, and it propelled the Irish to a nine-game winning streak and ultimately, a second-round bye in the conference tournament. There was no way they wouldn’t go dancing after that.

The Irish received balanced scoring from Jack Cooley, Jerian Grant and Eric Atkins, all of whom averaged over 12 points a game. Cooley was named to the all-conference second team and honored as the Big East Most Improved Player. Grant became a member of the conference’s all-rookie team. To top off the honors, Mike Brey won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award and was named the District V Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 8 Seed – 2009-10 Irish

We finally have our first team in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament which qualified for March Madness: the 2009-10 Irish.

It took long enough, but we finally have our first team in the Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament which qualified for March Madness: the 2009-10 Irish. Even though Notre Dame was upset by Old Dominion in the first round of the NCAA tournament, this still was a decent team that flew under the radar. That’s the best to describe a group that finished 23-12.

The ’09-10 Irish are the last to go undefeated at the Purcell Pavilion, which meant they took care of business when they absolutely should have. They never had a losing streak longer than three, and they were one of eight Big East teams to win at least 10 conference games. No, they weren’t able to take down the top dogs in the conference like Syracuse, West Virginia or Villanova, but they did what they needed to obtain an at-large NCAA bid, and making the Big East semifinals surely helped. This definitely was a comeback year for them after missing out on the Big Dance the year before.

Luke Harangody came close to averaging a double-double with 21.8 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. Tim Abromaitis obtained a 16.1 scoring average while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range, and Ben Hansbrough posted 12.0 points a game. He also averaged 4.4 assists, not far behind the 5.3 assists from Tory Jackson. With those two setting the pace, the Irish ranked sixth in the country in assists (585).

Why Syracuse EDGE Alton Robinson is good fit for Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks could view Alton Robinson as a developmental pass rush project in the middle rounds, especially if Clowney comes back.

Even after signing Bruce Irvin and Benson Mayowa, and even if they manage to bring back defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, the Seattle Seahawks are going to need more pass rushers in training camp and in the 2020 regular season.

While most of the mock drafts have the Seahawks taking a defensive end with their first round pick, namely Yetur Gross-Matos from Penn State, the team could opt to trade that first pick, or shore up another area of need while focusing on pass rushing in the middle rounds.

While the 2020 class is not exceptionally deep with pass rushers, there are plenty of projects the Seahawks could target in the 4-5 round range, and chief among them is Syracuse’s Alton Robinson.

Robinson recorded 14.5 sacks in his final two seasons with the Orange, and possesses the necessary burst, bend and speed to be an immediate factor as a pass rusher. However, he is still very raw and needs to work on his technique, footwork and variety of moves if he wants to be successful as an every down end.

Still – the Seahawks could certainly take Robinson as a project piece, allowing him to develop under their other rushers and letting him loose in 2021 after a year of seasoning.

Robinson probably isn’t a target as a replacement for Clowney, if he signs elsewhere, but if Seattle is able to get him back on a one-year deal it makes sense to take Robinson and groom him for 2021.

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Watch: John Mooney Helps Irish Earn Close Win Over Syracuse

With all the highlight games John Mooney had as a senior, it was hard to pick only one.

With all the highlight games John Mooney had as a senior, it was hard to pick only one. Ultimately, I chose to go with what Jack Nolan called “one of the most dramatic games in Irish history”: an 88-87 win at Syracuse on Jan. 4. Mooney had 28 points and 14 rebounds in this one and made some key plays late. Watch it here:

March moments which helped Wisconsin: Syracuse-Indiana 2013

Syracuse helped Wisconsin

We have spent much of the past 10 days looking back at significant March basketball games involving the Wisconsin Badgers, and we will continue to do that here at Badgers Wire to get you through a March without an NCAA Tournament in 2020.

However, it is also worth looking at March moments from the recent past which did not involve the Badgers. These moments greatly benefited the UW hoops program in ways which weren’t easy to see at the time.

We know that Michigan State is still chugging along under Tom Izzo, so it is pointless and lacking in substance to identify a Michigan State loss as being uniquely beneficial to Wisconsin. Michigan State’s overall standing as a program hasn’t been harmed by past March losses. It missed a chance to win a championship in specific seasons, but the Spartans are still… the Spartans. They are still really good. They are not in a position where they were once really good, then suffered a loss, and then struggled to recover. They have not endured a clear downturn which Wisconsin has taken advantage of.

Other Big Ten programs, however, HAVE endured that precise downturn. We will look at some March moments which represented significant negative turning points for them… and positive turning points for the Badgers.

Our first installment: the 2013 East Regional semifinals in Washington, D.C., between the Indiana Hoosiers and the Syracuse Orange.

Keep in mind that Indiana was a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers, under Tom Crean, had a loaded team with multiple future NBA players. The previous year, in 2012, the Hoosiers were a Sweet 16 underdog. They played top-seeded Kentucky well in a very emotional and entertaining game. One could see at the end of the 2012 season that Indiana was going to be a beast in 2013. The Hoosiers lived up to the billing in the regular season, but they needed to deliver the goods in March to reach the Final Four and fully restore the program.

When they lost to Syracuse in 2013, flummoxed by Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone — Cody Zeller simply REFUSED to take the free-throw line jump shot a good team needs to take (and make) against a zone — Indiana lost its last, best chance to be great under Tom Crean. Yes, Indiana did make the Sweet 16 three years later, in 2016, but the Hoosiers were back in the underdog role they had in 2012 versus Kentucky. Indiana was no match for top-seeded North Carolina in the 2016 Sweet 16, and the Hoosiers haven’t been back to the Sweet 16 since. Crean is messing around at Georgia and failing to find the answers for the Bulldogs in the SEC.

Indiana losing to Syracuse in 2013 is an outcome the Hoosiers have truly never recovered from. It is one of several significant events which created a Big Ten power vacuum below Michigan State. Wisconsin stepped into that vacuum very clearly, and is still reaping the benefits years later, in a new decade.

ACC Tournament: Betting Odds

The most interesting bet on the board to me is Louisville at +340.

Tuesday night kicks off the 2020 ACC Tournament from Greensboro, North Carolina.  The four top seeds; Florida State, Virginia, Louisville and Duke all get a bye into the quarterfinals that begin Thursday but odds are out for all 14 ACC schools.

Per BetMGM, top-seeded Florida State enters the tournament as a +200 betting favorite.  For the inexperienced gamblers, that simply means for every dollar you risk betting Florida State to win it all, you’ll be rewarded with two dollars in winnings.  For instance – a ten dollar bet on Florida State would pay $30 ($20 in winnings and your $10 bet back).  Keep that in mind for the rest of the odds.

Duke may enter the tournament with the fourth seed but has the second best odds of winning at +240.  No. 3 Louisville (+340) and No.4 Virginia (+700) round out the teams with byes through the first and second rounds.

From there odds drop significantly as you’ll find No. 5 North Carolina State at +2500 while No. 6 Syracuse and No. 8 Clemson both pay +3300 odds.  After that is finally where you’ll find No. 7 Notre Dame at +4000 or 40-1 odds.

No. 14 North Carolina checks in at +5500 before No. 9 Miami and No. 13 Wake Forest at +10000.  No. 11 Virginia Tech has the second longest odds at +15000 while Notre Dame’s first round opponent, No. 10 Boston College has the longest odds on the board at +20000.

Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated 2/8 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The most interesting bet on the board to me is Louisville at +340.  They dropped two of their final three regular season contests and three of their final six but find themselves with plenty of talent and on the other side of the bracket than both Florida State and Duke, instead having a very-beatable despite good Virginia team on their side.

Want to get in on the action? Place your bet now at BetMGM.” 

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