College Hoops Player of the Day for Wednesday, February 12, 2014
He only scored 13 points, and was just 3-for-7 from the field, but Syracuse point guard, Tyler Ennis, made the biggest shot of the college basketball season, draining a 35-footer at the buzzer to keep the orange undefeated with a 58-56 win at Pittsburgh.
In a game that was expected to be tight (Syracuse was actually a two-point underdog), the Panthers lived up to their reputation as a hard-nosed squad that wouldn't back down in the face of Syracuse's 2-3 zone scheme. Though they shot only 36% from the field, the Panthers led most of the game and found themselves ahead by a point after Talib Zanna made a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left.
Ennis took the inbounds pass in Pitt's backcourt, dribbled past a couple of defenders and over the half-court line, and, with about 1.5 seconds left, let fly a perfect arching shot that found the bottom of the net.
Ennis, a freshman who has emerged as one of the steadiest point guards in the country, also has a flair for the dramatic, though one could hardly assume that from his quiet, confident demeanor. His numbers in the final five minutes of games are off the charts and Wednesday's shot heard 'round the college hoops world only serves to solidify his growing reputation.
It also kept #1 Syracuse unbeaten at 24-0 with an 11-0 mark in the ACC. The Orange are the only unbeaten team in the nation besides 26-0 Wichita State. The Shockers are 13-0 in the Missouri Valley conference.
Duke-North Carolina Postponed: The game scheduled for 9:00 pm ET, Wednesday night, between the Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels was cancelled due to the powerful snow storm that swept through the South and Mid-Atlantic. The game has been re-set for February 20, on the North Carolina campus at Chapel Hill.
The distance between campuses is only eight miles, but the roads between Durham and Chapel Hill were largely impassable and dangerous. The re-scheduling sets up a rough stretch for #8 Duke, who will have four games in seven days. They host Maryland on the 15th, play at Georgia Tech on the 18th and host Syracuse on the 22nd.