Syracuse students agree: Red Storm? More like Red Suck.This is an interesting game for the Orange. Beating St. John’s does nothing but give the Orange another conference win. However, if the Orange lose it will surely effect their seeding in both tournaments, and could possibly give second thoughts to the selection committee. Therefore, this game needs to be an Orange victory for several reasons. St. John’s leading scorer is Paris Horne, who is averaging 14.5ppg and 36.2% from long range. However, Syracuse, despite having some poor defensive performances this season, has had good perimeter defense for the majority of their games, and so they will likely force Horne to shoot from inside the arc. The questions facing Syracuse in this game is which Flynn and Onuaku will show up. If Flynn is still battling sickness, and has a flat half, Syracuse could be in trouble. Additionally, if Onuaku decides to not defend, rebound, or generally play like a competent member of the team, Syracuse could again have some real problems as it is likely St. John’s will capitalize on more offensive possessions of the boxing out does not occur like against Villanova. However, if Syracuse plays their usual fast pace offense, St. John’s will not be able to keep up. They are a team that distinctly plays in the half court set, and will not likely be able to handle both the fast break attack, and the overall pace of the game. Syracuse again needs to find a balance on offense as well, establishing a low post presence with anybody. That can be Harris, Onuaku, Jackson, or even Kristof!. However, this St. John’s team has not played well in conference, notching only four victories. Their last “big” win was against Notre Dame on January 3rd. Since then, they have lost ten out of 13, beating only Rutgers, USF, and Seton Hall. St. John’s is prone to severe scoring droughts, and that will probably continue this evening. However, Syracuse has had trouble with the Red Storm as of late, so it will be closer than it should be, but still a convincing win. Syracuse over St. John’s by 11.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
Need one tonight BH!
And those magnificent bastards delivered.