BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ Cincinnati

January 14, 2006


You just can't help but feel sorry for the Bearcats and interim-coach Andy Kennedy. They have had to endure a lot since last season ended. Players such as Roy Bright, Vincent Banks, A. Souleywane, Erick Murray, Ryan Patzwald and DeAndre Coleman have left the program. Recruits Tyree Evans and Ivan Johnson never made it to campus, and, of course, Bob Huggins was forced out as head coach by University President nancy Zimpher. Through it all, this group of players have stuck together and played with pride and passion in racing out to a 13-2 record and 2-0 start in the Big East. Then, on Monday, not only did the Bearcats drop their first Big East conference game of the year, but saw Armien Kirkland go down to a season-ending knee injury, forcing Cincinnati to regroup once again.

On the other side of this match-up you have the Syracuse Orange. Syracuse raced to the finals of the Coaches vs Cancer Classic, including a 35-pt annihilation of Bobby Knight's Texas Tech on the way before bowing to (still undefeated) Florida in a very competitive game. Immediately following that game, the Orange were stunned at home by Big East giant-killer Bucknell before feasting on their annual list of Holiday Turkeys at the Dome, leaving the Orange under the national radar. This past Wedensday, Syracuse marched into South Bend and beat a very desperate Notre Dame team on their home floor and will look to head to Cincinnati to do the same.

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For the first time, Cincinnati will get a look at Jim Boeheim's famous 2-3 zone defense. Cincinnati is not the strongest perimeter shooting team and this zone, which features one of the more long and athletic group of Syracuse defenders in a while, will give anyone fits in their first try. Eric Hicks should find ways to have a lot of success in the middle of the zone and they will have to try to get James White the ball at the foul line. If they can get these two to break down the zone with a 2-man game, they could crack the lock in this defense. Hot and cold Jihad Muhammad is a very important piece, too. The zone has soft spots and if freshmen PG Devan Downey can penetrate and make the zone contract, Muhammad could find space to get off his jumper, and, if he is on, he could shoot the Bearcats right into the game. Unfortunately for UC, this is really all they have left. Cedric McGowan a JUCO transfer is their 5th starter and Ronald Allen comes off the bench to play inside. Chadd Moore and Dominic Tilford add backcourt depth, but neither can be counted on to give an offensive spark. Moore is a capable ball handler and distributer whose experience could help against the zone.

For Syracuse, they seem to be nailing down their roles. They will start Gerry McNamara at the PG. despite shooting just 33% from the floor, McNamara is still the key to the Orange. He has increased his assist total to 6.6/game this year, but he is still deadly from beyond th earc when he is shooting under control. The emergence of Eric Devendorf seems to be rounding out the Orange attack and gives a nice offensive compliment to McNamara on the perimter. Add in Louie McCroskey to the mix again after a little attitude adjustment period to accept his role on this team and Syracuse will look to get things rolling againt. Their offensive post play is still a concern as Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins still show a lack of offensive presence in the half court set. Cincinnati will have to dig down and force the game to be played in the half court, which will help them conserve energy and make SU run an offense. Demetris Nichols has been an emerging threat for the Orange and is capable of hitting 3's in bunches and adds another dimension in the zone that they have lacked the last couple seasons defensively, as he is long and athletic at the SF spot. Off the bench they can use Josh Wright at PG, although Wright has played sparingly after missing action with an injured foot that is still not 100%. Arinze Onuaku is a big post body that will spell Watkins and Matt Gorman adds depth behind Roberts. Freshmen Andy Rautins is an excellent shooter that might get a few minutes onthe wing depending on game situations.

it is really tough to say how Cincinnati is going to react from the latest bad news impacting their line-up. I do not think there will be any quit to this team and playing in front of their first sell-out of the season, I am sure they will be ready to go early and often. Syracuse is not a deep team, but they definitely look like one compared to Cincinnati. Each team seems to be accepting the roles they have been forced to play for their team. However, I just think Syracuse will have a little too much for Cincinnati as the game wears on. This might be just a bit too much adversity for the Bearcats to face and they extra adrenaline rush early in the game with the crowd and emotion for their fallen teammate might lead to them hitting a wall. If Syracuse can survive the initial punch from Cincinnati, I expect them to carry on throughout and win this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 75 Cincinnati 68

Leave your prediction and game thoughts below in the comments!