Syracuse students agree: Getting another home win is great.
Syracuse was crushed at #8 Virginia inside, and for also not making any shots. But before that, Syracuse won their previous two home games, including against ranked Virginia Tech, by an average of 22 points. Syracuse has the chance to get firmly on the right side of the bubble against a fellow bubble team, and stop the odd losing streak against NC State as well.
NC State comes into the Dome their first game after losing their best player to an ACL injury, effectively ending his season. Devon Daniels averaged 16.5ppg and almost 50% from the floor. He will be missed by NC State, who now has to make up that offense. But also rebounding. Syracuse needs to drive and get good scoring opportunities like they did against VTech. Earning free throws and getting NC State into foul trouble will go a long way in winning the game. NC State doesn't take many 3's but when they do, the usually make them. So they either need to force players to go inside, or take so many contested outside shots that they get out of rhythm and miss a bunch, allowing Syracuse to take advantage by limiting possessions of the opponent and earning fast break points. Even without a major shot blocking presence in the middle of this zone, they should be able to handle NC State. This is a very winable game for Syracuse. I'm picking the Orange by nine.
This game is available on the ACC network at 6:00pm. I'll be watching, along with John. GO ORNAGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Winning this game would be big.
Syracuse got it rolling with Miami, but then followed up with a big win over the #2 team in the league in Virginia Tech. Now Syracuse has a ton of momentum to take on the top team in the league in their only meeting of the season with Virginia. Syracuse won in overtime last season at Virginia. Can they get another win in Charlottesville?
Syracuse earned a lot of points in the paint against Virginia Tech. However, that is less likely against Virginia with Jay Huff defending. An excellent shot blocker and rebounder, Dolezaj (and maybe Edwards) has their hands full. But that being said, Guerrier or Dolezaj, or even the guards can get him into foul trouble by driving on him smartly. Additionally, Boeheim and Girard can hit some floaters or mid-range shots in the lane that can draw him out to free up some space for passes and other shots. Unfortunately Virginia doesn't turn the ball over much, leading to not many easy baskets. The bottom line is Syracuse will need to make three point buckets if they want to win this game. And they probably need to make more than Virginia. The bad part is that Syracuse hasn't shot well from behind the arc in the last few games. Because this game is at Virginia, and Syracuse hasn't shot the ball well lately, I'm picking Virginia by 11. But Syracuse could surprise, just like last year.
This game is available nationally on ESPN at 7:00pm. Both John and I will be watching. Enjoy it and GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Winning today would be very nice.
Syracuse demolished Miami in their last game on Tuesday. Both Edwards and Richmond made some nice plays and played some quality minutes, especially when Dolezaj was struggling at the C position on defense. Now Syracuse faces the #2 team in the league in Virginia Tech, which a big opportunity for a resume building win.
Virginia Tech doesn't stand out and doing anything great, but they do do everything well. They are good at shooting, they defend well, and they don't turn the ball over too much. However, they really only have one major outside shooting threat in Tyrece Radford, who has averaging just about 48% from behind the arc. He doesn't take a ton of shots, but makes the shots he takes. Syracuse guards, but more importantly forwards, will have to key on him to make sure he's not getting uncontested looks. Syracuse also can't afford to turn the ball over and let VTech take advantage of easy runouts. And unlike the Pittsburgh game, Edwards and Guerrier will hopefully lead the effort in boxing out to prevent second chance opportunities for VTech, which they generally thrive on. This is a toss up game for me today. Syracuse has the chance to get going on the offensive end, and make this one a shoot out, or Syracuse can pull away by playing solid defense and rebounding. This is a tough one to predict, but since Syracuse is at home I'll give that the slight edge and say Syracuse over VTech by four.
This game is available regionally at 12:00pm. Check your local listings here. For everyone else, it's internet only hell, like me. John will be watching via cable. We'll see you out there. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Redemption is at hand.
Syracuse was definitely the underdog, but they had a chance to beat UNC on Tuesday. They came up short though, clearly missing a bigger body to rebound and defend, and yes maybe even score, from the center position. That's not a jab at Dolezaj. It's just a bigger body need to match up with a bigger body. So can Syracuse now get revenge against Pittsburgh after they did the same thing to Syracuse in the Dome?
Syracuse had a pretty commanding lead going into the half against Pitt in Syracuse. However, shooting droughts, the hesitance to go in the paint, and Pitt making threes down the stretch, earned Pitt an unlikely comeback win. Frankly it was one of the biggest collapses Syracuse has had in the last few seasons. And it probably wouldn't have happened with Sidibe in the lineup. Well, despite the 4 week timetable for his injury recovery coming and going, he's still out and not likely to return soon. No one else behing him is big enough or competent enough to play as Sidibe would have at the 5. Dolezaj is doing what he can, and is a solid offensive contributor, but he's still not as big as Sidibe. And Pitt was short handed last time they played. John Hugley on Pitt has been suspended indefinitely after being charged with several felonies. But news this hour came that Pitt's leading scorer Justin Champaigne is expected to play today. He's averaging 17.8ppg. It's not looking good for Syracuse. If they want to stay in it, they must get points of steals more than they did the other day. And they can't afford the dismal shot selection either. They have to drive and make outside baskets, along with good transition plays. Oh yeah, and Dolezaj and Guerrier have to stay out of foul trouble, despite Pitt likely going at both of them. Seems like a tall task sadly. I've obviously been wrong before, but I just don't have a good feeling about this game. Pitt over Syracuse by 13.
This game is available on the regional coverage at 12:00pm. Check your local listings here. I'll be in internet streaming hell, while John will be watching on crisp, clear cable. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Pittsburgh, Preview
Syracuse students agree: Beating UNC was a blast last year.
Syracuse ended last season with a massive 28 point victory over UNC in the ACC Tournament. Then the world shut down. Now Syracuse heads down to Chapel Hill to take on UNC in a rescheduled game from earlier this year. UNC has a slight edge. Can Syracuse make it two in a row against UNC?
Syracuse and UNC are kind of opposites. UNC drives the ball a lot, and doesn't really take many outside shots. Syracuse relies on their outside and mid-range shooting, and especially without Guerrier in the game, don't go inside very much. So either Syracuse is able to stop UNC from scoring inside, and getting into a ton of foul trouble, or UNC won't be stopped inside, and somehow UNC goes off on threes. Obviously Syracuse can't afford long stretches of not scoring. I don't know if Sidibe is back in the game or not, but if he isn't, the odds aren't in Syracuse's favor. Either way, unless Syracuse has a stellar day, I think UNC will dominate the boards and will likely beat Syracuse, even in a close game. UNC by 9.
This game is available on ACC Network at 9pm. Both John and I will be watching from the home office. GO ORANGE!
Labels: ACC, Basketball, Preview
Syracuse students agree: This is always the most important non-conference game.
After dropping a massive collapse in one of the worst days in American history, Syracuse looks to rebound. And fortunately for Syracuse that just happens to be another old rivalry game, the biggest rivalry. And boy are they really not good.
Georgetown's lone Big East win is against St. John's in overtime. Meanwhile, Syracuse came up just short against a good Rutgers team, but did manage to dispatch a solid Buffalo squad before their second pause. Georgetown is plagued by ball control issues. They don't cause any turnovers and they give the ball up a ton. G'town ranks 334th in the nation in creating turnovers. That is not good. Syracuse can get a big boost by turning G'town over in the paint, and getting easy runouts or free throws. Syracuse failed to drive against Pitt when the shots weren't falling. Dolezaj has said that when the shots aren't falling they need to be more aggressive. Look for Syracuse to push the ball in transition, but also feed Guerrier for buckets at the rim. If Georgetown stars missing shots from outside, that will allow Syracuse to pack the zone and cause even more turnovers in the paint. While Syracuse will likely have spurts of bad shots and no scoring, Syracuse should be able to get a lead and keep it in this one. Georgetown will have to have a player go off to stay in this one, but that seems unlikely. Georgetown is only decent at long range shooting, so they will have to go inside at some point. That's when Syracuse will start their run. Syracuse over Georgetown by 18.
This game is available on ESPN at 7:00pm. Both John and I would normally be at this game (obviously), but unfortunately we'll both be watching from the home office. Here's hoping the rightful team wins. HOYS SUXA! GO ORANGE... AND GEORGETOWN STILL SUCKS!
Labels: Basketball, Georgetown, Georgetown Still Sucks, Preview, Rivalries