Syracuse students agree: Few things are better than beating Duke.
The Orange lost another nail biter, this time at Clemson, earning their first ACC road loss. But now Syracuse has a chance for a major resume builder. With Syracuse's only date with Duke this season, can Syracuse get a Q1, upset win at home to keep the momentum moving forward?
Syracuse has a tough ask in facing Duke. However, the good news is over 31,000 people will be rooting for Syracuse against Duke this Saturday in the Dome. Unfortunately for Syracuse, Duke has a very capable big man in Vernon Carey. That being said, while talented, Duke only makes 32.4% from behind the arc, which favor's Syracuse. The key to the game will be Syracuse limiting Carey. Sidibe and Dolezaj did their job at Clemson in limiting their post players, however they fouled out in the game, leaving a freshman to do an upperclassman's job. If Syracuse can stay out of foul trouble against Duke, they have a real shot, as Syracuse has done just enough on offense as of late to win games. The defense has obviously improved as well. But it matters that the starters are able to be in the game versus untested bench players. I have no idea how this game will actually go, but I suspect it will be tight or back and forth until the final five minutes. I then expect Duke to pull away with it, but anything can happen at home for Syracuse. Especially in this series. Syracuse is certainly capable of earning the upset, but the smart money is definitely on Duke. I'm taking the Blue Devils by five.
This game is available on ESPN at 8:00pm. Both John and I will be in the Dome on Saturday night, although not sitting together. This game actually is the 6th anniversery to the day of the first conference meeting between the schools in the Dome. February 1, 2014 was the day Syracuse's attendance record was broken. And, as I came to learn, was the last game I'd get to attend and the last thing I'd do with my Mom before she passed away. I'm homing for a fun day with some old friends, and obviously a big Syracuse win. But if not, have fun and enjoy the time you do have. We'll see you out there, for real this time. Duck Fuke and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Duke, Preview, We Hate Duke
Syracuse students agree: 5 is nice, but 6 is better.
The Orange are riding the hot hand in the ACC. Winners of the last 5 games, Syracuse now travels to Clemson. While Syracuse is undefeated on the road, Clemson is a little more formidable of a team than the other teams they've been playing. But that being said, Syracuse has a chance to get all the momentum heading into a match with Duke.
In a lot of ways, this game will probably be like facing Notre Dame. Clemson has a strong post presence in Aamir Simms, who averages 14.3ppg and 7.6 rebounds. Sidibe and Dolezaj will have to be careful to not get in foul trouble, while providing some stops on the defensive end. And that's the main matchup like it was against ND. Obviously Syracuse has found a good balance of scoring lately. And like against Pittsburgh, even when Hughes has a "down game", he's still adding ten points. Buddy Boeheim has found a lot of points in the paint lately, even when not able to drain the long ones. And obviously MVP Dolezaj has been scoring as well. What has also helped is Sidibe contributing in points and actually being a scoring threat to make defenders respect him enough to possibly give opportunities to the others. If Syracuse is able to contain Simms, both in the paint, and from 3 with the Zone defense, Syracuse should have a nice day. I would have said before the last ND game if it was a loss that against Clemson would be the same result. But now with the resurgence of a competent Sidibe, as well as the offense clicking, I can't pick against Syracuse in this one. I'm taking the Orange by 7.
This game is available regionally at 7:00pm. Check your local listings here. Both John and I are watching at home. Enjoy and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball
Syracuse students agree: Keeping a win streak alive is fun.
Syracuse is currently riding a four game win streak back into the Dome to take on Pittsburgh. The Panthers are a very beatable team, sitting in the bottom four of the league. That means Syracuse must avoid an upset game at home and not lose all the momentum they've built up in this stretch of the season.
Obviously, you know Hughes is now the leading scorer in the league. Pittsburgh shouldn't be able to stop him. But he's not the only one Pitt has to worry about. Girard, Boeheim, and Dolezaj have all stepped up their offense during the streak as well. And Sidibe also added double digit scoring in the last game as well. That makes this offense pretty formidable. Pittsburgh's offense, on the other hand, won't set the world on fire. They basically have sophomore Xavier Johnson, who leads the team in three point shooting. He averages only 12. But you know the long tradition of players going off against the Syracuse zone. Syracuse will have to be committed to stopping him, as well as making sure Pittsburgh doesn't have any easy looks inside. If Syracuse manages to play even passable defense, they should have a nice, easy afternoon. Pittsburgh's defense is very good in the paint, but they are 12th in the league in three point defense, which doesn't bode well for them if one, two, or three Syracuse players get hot from behind the arc. Look for Syracuse to take every opportunity to get shots up from distance. I actually think this matchup, unlike Notre Dame, is extremely favorable for the Orange. I'm taking Syracuse by 14.
This game is available on The ACC Network at noon. John is in the Dome. I'm in the home office. Shit on Pitt and LET'S GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Pittsburgh, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Even if they win, Notre Dame is lame.
Seems like just last week Syracuse lost a nail biter by a point to Notre Dame. And while officiating played a small part in the outcome, it was really Syracuse who had a stretch of not scoring, while allowing C John Mooney to go ham. Can Syracuse continue to keep scoring, and manage to get a few stops in South Bend?
Syracuse had a rough go defending Mooney when they were in Syracuse. Sidibe and Dolezaj were both in foul trouble. And Syracuse couldn't buy a stop when it mattered. Nor could they buy a bucket down the stretch except for a last second shot that still didn't tie the score. However, since then Buddy Boeheim has himself gone ham, almost singlehandedly winning at VTech. Since losing back to back against ND and VTech, Syracuse has rattled off three straight wins including at Virginia. Now Syracuse looks to avenge another loss. And Syracuse can do it. The key factor is Guerrier playing better on the boards. Both teams are going to make shots. But if Syracuse is able to again force Notre Dame turnovers, as well as stop Mooney from grabbing as many rebounds and scoring as many points as he did in Syracuse, the Orange have a chance to win and get 4 in a row, as well as another ACC road victory. And really, while ND has kind of remained stagnant, dropping two out of 3, Syracuse has all the momentum. I like the Orange to again force turnovers, keep it close, and pull out another tight win. I'm taking Syracuse by 4.
This game is available on ESPN 2 at 7:00pm. John and I will be watching. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Notre Lame, Preview
 |
| Syracuse students agree: the off-center camera view at VTech sucks |
Fresh off last Saturday's thrilling overtime victory at Charlottesville and beating Boston College easily in the Dome on Wednesday, the Syracuse Orange head to Blacksburg for another ACC tilt. Less than two weeks ago, Virginia Tech came into the Dome for a late night Tuesday game and won 67-63. After what seemed like a comfortable 33-27 halftime lead, Syracuse really broke down defensively in the second half and just came up short at the end. Looking at the final game stats, they were all pretty even (which you'd expect in a 4-point game) with one glaring exception: assists. The Hokies had great ball movement to keep the 2-3 zone on its heels and amassed 20 assists, while Syracuse had only six. While the zone did force VTech into attempting 36 threes, they made ten of them. Syracuse held a 34-33 rebounding edge, which typically translates to a win, but not that night.
Since that game, Syracuse has found a bit of swagger, while the Hokies continued winning with healthy margins over NC State and Wake Forest. So who has the momentum going into today's game? They both do. This will be a game of who can keep it going. Obviously the star of the show in the Carrier Dome on January 7 was Hokies freshman Jalen Cone, who scored 19 points and was instrumental in the 21-4 run in the second half which helped secure the victory. Syracuse kept team-leader in scoring Landers Nolley in check to a rather pedestrian game in the Dome, so he should still get the focus in Blacksburg. The zone will have to play better this time around to avoid giving up so many assists -- make the shooters create their own shots. Guard Wabissa Bede will dish the ball a lot more than score, so the defense should keep that in mind.
What to watch for with Syracuse? Several questions: can Buddy continue his hot outside shooting? Will Elijah's game be impacted by the rib injury he suffered against BC? Will Marek keep up the impressive offensive play that adds an additional element to his already outstanding play? Now, I'm not saying that the Orange finally have a team that will beat everyone it faces, run through the ACC Tournament, and steal an NCAA bid, but I think this team is starting to find some things that work, some deficiencies from earlier that are being fixed. More minutes for talent like Guerrier, Washington, and even Goodine have given the offense some fresh new looks, which at any given moment could provide the chemistry for a nice run.
I'm seeing a close game, possibly an overtime affair, with Syracuse picking up another solid road victory 88-86. This game is featured at noon ET on the Regional Sports Network. New York area affiliate is the YES Network, and otherwise the list of affiliates is here, which includes potential streaming options as well. I'll be taking in the game from my couch, and Brian is out of town, so I'll try to tweet more than normal to make up for it. See you out there, and Go Orange!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: It would be nice to score more than 34 points.
Syracuse is coming off two conference losses in a row. And it doesn't get any easier with the defending National Champions again. Syracuse obviously performed badly in the first match, but it was the first game of the season. Since then Syracuse's offense has gotten better. Unfortunately, it seems as though the defense has gotten worse. Can Syracuse pull an upset on the road and get the season back on track?
Syracuse heads in a pretty good underdog to UVA again. UVA is still the #1 defense in the nation. While Syracuse's shooting and offensive flow has drastically improved since game one, Syracuse is still playing against the best defense. So you can't have too high hopes for this one. Granted, Syracuse probably faced a more daunting task last year and Duke, where they pulled the upset. But frankly, that was partially due to Chukwu playing above his head on offense at Cameron. Unless Sidibe has the game of his life today in the paint, Syracuse really needs to hit every shot from the outside from Girard, Boeheim, Hughes, and anyone else daring enough to throw a shot up from behind the arc. And Syracuse will have to make shots, to make points in the paint possible. I'm hoping for the best, but it's hard to pick against UVA in this one. Virginia over Syracuse by 16.
This game is available on ESPN at 4:00pm. John will be watching. I'm only in for the first half. Fingers crossed and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Syracuse should beat Virginia Tech.
Syracuse came up one point short against Notre Dame in a really entertaining game with a disappointing ending. Now Virginia Tech heads into the Dome before Syracuse departs on the road. Can Syracuse take care of business in this one?
Virginia Tech comes in with the same conference record of 1-2. Their leading scorer is Redshirt Freshman Landers Nolley II, who is leading the team in scoring at 17.4ppg. Like Notre Dame, Virginia Tech will be chucking up a ton of 3s in this one. The good news is, unlike Notre Dame, VTech doesn't have much of an inside scoring threat like ND. Similarly, they don't present a large rebounding challenge, matching up virtually identically with Syracuse. Their leading rebounder is Nolley from the guard position. Syracuse should be able to get a rebounding advantage out of the Zone and get some easy transition buckets in this one. Additionally, Syracuse is a better defending team than VTech, and should be able to fblock some shots on the rare case the Hokies go inside. VTech takes care of the ball well, as they're 4th in the country in turnovers, but Syracuse, like against Notre Dame, should find some success pressuring the ball. Jim Boeheim has already said we'll see more of Quincy Guerrier in this game, and considering Virginia Tech isn't that tall of a team, Syracuse should find some success in the paint using him. Syracuse has a much better matchup in this game than against Notre Dame. I'm taking the Orange over the Hokies by eight.
This game is available on The ACC Network at 9:00pm. John and I are both watching from the home offices. Google what a Hokie is, and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Notre Lame is lame.
Syracuse opens true ACC play at home with Notre Dame. Both teams are having a fairly down year, but all bets are off in conference play. Can Syracuse start the slate off with a win?
Syracuse enters the game a slim favorite at home. And Syracuse opens with the best rebounding player in the nation. A double-double machine, Notre Dame's John Mooney will prevent many second chance opportunities from Syracuse. He's got 10 on the season, averaging 14.9ppg and 13.5rpg. Sidibe will have to stay foul free, and try and make his life difficult. Notre Dame also doesn't turn over the ball much, only having 9.6 per game which is second in the nation. This is going to be a offensive game. The winner of the game will be the offense that performs better, and doesn't have a lengthy scoring drought. If Syracuse consistently makes shots, or is even able to force some unusual turnovers out of Notre Dame to get a few quick runouts, Syracuse should be in good shape. if Syracuse gets in foul trouble, or is dominated in the paint and on the boards, this game could be over quick. I honestly have no faith in Sidibe to stop points in the paint, and it will likely end up with Dolezaj running defense that will help in any way. Only by the fact Syracuse is at home, I'm picking the Orange in a tight one. SU by 5 over ND.
This game is available on ESPN 2 at 4:00pm. Syracuse is in the Dome with John. I'm in the home office. We'll see you out there. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview