Syracuse students agree: Winning this game would be astounding.
Syracuse and Villanova meet again, for the second time as non-conference opponents since Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC. Syracuse won the match up in the Dome last year 78-62. Unfortunately, this season is, at best, the reversal of fortune for both teams. Villanova is ranked #7, undefeated on the year. Syracuse had to scrape out a bucket on their final possession last game to beat Louisiana Tech at home. Rough goings for the Orange, who turn the ball over an awful lot. 13.5 times per game on average. To put that into perspective, Syracuse only turned the ball over an average of 9.0 times a game last season. And that was with Ennis at the helm, who almost never turned the ball over. Villanova is forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers per game. You should be very alarmed at those numbers if you are a Syracuse fan. Additionally, they should the ball from behind the arc at a clip of 35% as a team. That makes this game very dangerous for Syracuse. In typical Jay Wright fashion, he recruits players that can shoot, and will not hesitate to throw out 3 or 4 guards and let them go crazy from behind the arc. The only advantage Syracuse has in this game is rebounding. Syracuse could keep it close by earning second chance points, and possibly getting runouts off missed Villanova 3s. If Syracuse can keep their perimeter defense solid in the second half, instead of letting Villanova go bonkers in the final 20 minutes like other teams this year, Syracuse has a shot to keep it close and even win. But it will probably be too much Wildcat for the Orange to handle. Villanova stays undefeated and makes the post-Big East series 1-1. 'Nova by 16. This game is available nationally on your local Fox station and also on Fox Sports Go at 1:00pm. We'll see you around the Tweets as always.
Labels: Basketball, Big East, Preview
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