Syracuse students agree: Another resume builder is needed.
Syracuse and Virginia haven't had a great history as far as Syracuse is concerned. They had not won an ACC meeting against Virginia, and Jim Boeheim was 0-3 against Tony Bennett. That is, until the NCAA Elite Eight last season. Syracuse completed a furious rally down 16 points and ended up winning to send Syracuse, the 10 Seed, to their 6th Final Four. Tony Bennett had not lost a game when leading at the half up until that point. Syracuse ended last year's high hopes of Virginia. Now #9 Virginia comes into the Carrier Dome this year. Allegedly not motivated by any revenge, Syracuse needs another resume building win to salvage a season that was the worst first 20 games in Jim Boeheim's career. Syracuse has played very well at home, only losing to Georgetown and St. John's. Last Saturday they picked off #6 Florida State. Syracuse can do it. They can beat Virginia. But will they? Virginia has the best defense in the country. Syracuse will need to continue their hot shooting if they want to beat Virginia. Syracuse's defense has been slightly better at home than on the road. But really adequate defense should be able to beat Virginia. The issue is can Syracuse score, and score consistently against Virginia. If they do that, they'll win a nice game at home. And by nice, I'm mean Jim Boeheim's actual 1000th win. If they can't score, and the Virginia defense forces turnovers and causes Gillon to be too uncomfortable, Virginia is probably going to blow Syracuse out. If Gillon continues to play above board, and Lydon and White continue to do their part, Syracuse is going to have a grand afternoon. The picks this year have been kind of worthless. It's hard to predict this team. So just for good karma's sake, I'll take Virginia over the Orange by 9. This game is available nation wide on ESPN 2 / WatchESPN at 12:00pm. Both John and I will be in the Dome so if you're making the trip and you see us, say hey. We'll see you out there. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
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