Stephen A. Austin - Syracuse Preview: NCAA Tournament Round 1
0 Comments Published on 3.19.2009 by Brian Harrison
Syracuse students agree: It's great to be back in the NCAA's.Greetings from New Orleans, Louisiana. Specifically one block away from famous Bourbon Street. This week is probably my perfect storm. It is the best weekend of college basketball, I’m on Spring Break, and there is no open container laws here. BOOM. Anyway, seeing as I haven’t been around this week, I thought I would do my standard preview for tomorrow’s game. Here we go.
Syracuse is finally back in the NCAA Tournament. They also earned a #3 seed after playing extremely well in New York City. Stephen F. Austin earned a bid, their first ever in school history, by winning their conference tournament. And this team is not too bad. Their center, Matt Kingsley, averages 16.2ppg and 7.8rpg. Forward Josh Alexander also scores 14.5ppg and shoots 35.1% from behind the arc. These two are a dangerous combo. Interestingly enough, Stephen F. Austin also has the shortest player in the NCAA with five-foot-three Eric Bell. Really, the key to this team is their defense however. They only allow opponents to score 56ppg on average, and limit three point percentage to only 27.2%. But really, we all know the key for Syracuse winning is the transition fast break game, as well as feeding Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku in the paint for good looks. Seeing as they have had several days of rest they should manage to put in a lot more than they did during the Louisville game. Also, look for Flynn and Devendorf to cut to the hoop on several occasions as there is no dominating presence like Blair or Thabeet on this team. Additionally, this team probably has not played against a lot of zone defense, much less the 2-3 Zone employed by the masters of it. Look for Stephen F. Austin to be out of this one at least early in the second half. While anything is possible, I just cannot see a circumstance in which this upset could happen. Syracuse by 19.
There you have it. I’ll be back on Saturday with a preview for Sunday and a recap of the games on Monday or Tuesday, after I get back in my usual routines again. Enjoy watching the Orange back in the tourney, hopefully taking the Lumberjacks out back to the woodshed.
Syracuse is finally back in the NCAA Tournament. They also earned a #3 seed after playing extremely well in New York City. Stephen F. Austin earned a bid, their first ever in school history, by winning their conference tournament. And this team is not too bad. Their center, Matt Kingsley, averages 16.2ppg and 7.8rpg. Forward Josh Alexander also scores 14.5ppg and shoots 35.1% from behind the arc. These two are a dangerous combo. Interestingly enough, Stephen F. Austin also has the shortest player in the NCAA with five-foot-three Eric Bell. Really, the key to this team is their defense however. They only allow opponents to score 56ppg on average, and limit three point percentage to only 27.2%. But really, we all know the key for Syracuse winning is the transition fast break game, as well as feeding Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku in the paint for good looks. Seeing as they have had several days of rest they should manage to put in a lot more than they did during the Louisville game. Also, look for Flynn and Devendorf to cut to the hoop on several occasions as there is no dominating presence like Blair or Thabeet on this team. Additionally, this team probably has not played against a lot of zone defense, much less the 2-3 Zone employed by the masters of it. Look for Stephen F. Austin to be out of this one at least early in the second half. While anything is possible, I just cannot see a circumstance in which this upset could happen. Syracuse by 19.
There you have it. I’ll be back on Saturday with a preview for Sunday and a recap of the games on Monday or Tuesday, after I get back in my usual routines again. Enjoy watching the Orange back in the tourney, hopefully taking the Lumberjacks out back to the woodshed.
Labels: Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Preview
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