Syracuse students agree: USF can't handle the team or the cold.Syracuse recovered from a shoddy first half against Memphis and had a pretty decent shooting day to close the game out. It was a far better half than the previous three going back to the Pittsburgh game. Under the assumption that Syracuse has found it's shot again, and similarly assuming that they can now make layups again, # 7 Syracuse will take on South Florida at home. USF had some nice early wins in beating Davidson and Virginia, but have lost to the likes of Central Michigan and South Carolina. They are currently 0-2 in the conference, losing to Louisville and at home to Notre Dame by a point. They have a nice inside/outside duo in forward/center Augustus Gilchrist (18.8ppg, 7.4rpg) and guard Dominique Jones (18.1ppg, 5.4rpg, 4.6apg). Gilchrist can definitely play and has given Syracuse fits before, especially in the Sun Dome. The problem for South Florida is this game is being played in a dome much further north. Also, they only average 68.1ppg, while Syracuse, despite not trouncing teams like they did in the non-conference, is still averaging 85.7. Arinze Onuaku and more likely Rick Jackson will be better on defense as USF should not be able to work the zone as well as Pittsburgh, or even Memphis. Additionally SU's shooting should be fine and with Kris Joseph coming in off the bench contributing, Syracuse should be sitting pretty on a Sunday afternoon. Syracuse over USF by 16.
As always, look for my recap of this game combined with the Memphis win coming either late Sunday or on Monday. Also stay tuned during the game for hilarious quips and scoring updates from myself and Correspondent John Brennan on Twitter (@BH_Orange44 and @JBren).
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
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