Syracuse students agree: Might as well beat another Big East team to keep dancing.
Syracuse was in the game for a while, but Syracuse just came up 3 points short at Marquette earlier this season. It was during the five game stretch where the Syracuse offense looked about as good as a corpse. Now Syracuse has advanced further than most fans thought they would. Even Jim Boeheim figured he'd be in Disney World today than coaching a game. And Syracuse faces familiar foe in the Golden Eagles and Buzz Williams' high energy club. Devante Gardner scored 26 points in the last meeting by pounding the low post. Syracuse seemed to have no answer for Gardner, who not only pounded inside and got good shots, but then got fouled a lot and saw some free attempts from the line. Both of these teams are familiar with each other and both teams know what the other should do. Marquette should pound the paint and continue to get to the free throw line. Syracuse needs to drive the lane and either get good shots at the bucket or make some 3s, and get transition buckets. Obviously both Rakeem Christmas, but especially Baye Moussa Keita have stepped up on defense as of late. A very active zone will also be critical to not only focus turnovers off bad passes, but forcing Marquette to shoot jump shots, something that they are not good at, especially the three. However, that means Syracuse also needs to step up in rebounding as well. The team that wins the rebounding numbers in this game should win the game. Syracuse came three points short on Marquette's home floor. Washington, DC will be a mostly orange arena today. Syracuse should have some home court advantage and not only that but Syracuse knows what they have to do to stop Marquette. Syracuse has all the momentum, the X Factors, and the talent to get to Atlanta. I think Syracuse will beat Marquette in this one. I like the Orange to advance to the Final Four by five points. This game will be on CBS today starting around 4:30pm ET.
Labels: Basketball, NCAA Tournament, Preview
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