Quoting Jim Fassel = Mortal SinI'm going to make this very simple: there is no need to freak out about Syracuse's chances for receiving an NCAA tournament invitation.
The Orange, right now, are in and will continue to remain inside the field of 65 unless an unforeseen implosion occurs between now and the first weekend of March.
Skeptical? You shouldn't be. Really smart people who aren't me agree.
According to Professors Coleman and Lynch (the authors of the "Dance Card"), Syracuse currently sits in the 24th position on their list of worthy NCAA tournament invitees. This makes the Orange, according to each professor, a bigger lock for the tournament than such notables as:
- Boston College
- Kentucky
- Georgetown
- Washington
- Arizona
- Kansas
According to the professors, over the entire 12-year period of running their projections, they have generated a 93.9% accuracy rating. In the last six years, the professors have nailed down 94.1% of their projections. Last season, the professors correctly projected 97% of the field, only missing out on Iowa State.
Bottom line: Syracuse is going dancing, and there is no need to worry about it right now.
Sold Out: Syracuse/Villanova
It took 20 years but it actually happened. Syracuse has completely sold out a basketball game.
That really needs some perspective:
- 35,000 fans.
- At a regular season basketball game.
- Where half the fans in attendance will barely be able to see the court.
- To both honor and curse the name Gerry McNamara.
UConnvict
Apparently, I never got around to the Connecticut state statute that said that State of Connecticut employees will act like morons until you knock the dumbass out of their head.
In UConn's latest episode of "Moron Theater," assistant football coach (and former Syracuse tailback) Terry Richardson was arrested Wednesday morning on domestic violence charges. According to the Hartford Courant article, Richardson was charged with risk of injury to a minor and second-degree assault.
Richardson, who lives in Willimantic with his wife and four children, was arraigned in Danielson Superior Court and released on a $10,000 bond. Richardson is due back in court on April 5, 2006.
This is actually the third incident in just a handful of years involving members of the Connecticut athletic department and the city the New York Times has dubbed "Heroin Town." Last year, numerous members of the Husky football team were caught shooting out windows of cars with a B.B. gun. In 2003, former Husky assistant basketball coach Clyde Vaughan was caught paying a prostitute to wax his winky.
Sold out arena, huge game, tons of emotion...Eric Devendorf's head might really blow up "Scanners"-style.
Devendorf gets excited when the dining hall has corn flakes. I don't think he'll need a huge game to get too pumped up.