BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse vs Pittsburgh

March 11, 2006


I do not think anyone saw this final coming when the ball tipped off at noon on Wednesday. Syracuse entered the Big East Tournament clinging to their hopes of a bid to the NCAA Tournament coming off three consecutive losses, by a combined total of 64 points! Pittsburgh entered the tournament losing three of their last four, including a home loss to Seton Hall in their last game. Now, later tonight, they will tip off under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden for the coveted Big East Tournament title.

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It seems as though Syracuse has been read their last rites three times already this week, but Gerry McNamara just continues to add to his leged around the Salt City and the Syracuse program. McNamara beat Cincinnati on Wednesday with his running 3-pter with 0:00:5 on the clock and then drilled one from NBA range to force overtime in the waning seconds in their upset of #1 Connecticut. Last night, it was more McNamara magic as Syracuse rallied from a 15-pt halftime defecit behind his five 2nd half 3-pters, including one in the last minute to cut Georgetown's lead to 1, 57-56. After a Demetris Nichols steal, McNamara then added his biggest assist (27 in three games) with a beautiful left-handed bounce pass to freshmen Eric Devendorf that beat Roy Hibbert and Devendorf provided the Orange with the winning bucket in their 58-57 win over the Hoyas.

In Pittsburgh's first game, the Panthers rolled out to a 33-5 lead over Louisville and still had a 43-16 lead with 17 minutes left before the Panthers took a nap and had to hold on for a 61-56 win. On Thursday, it looked bleak for Pitt as they fell behind early by 12 points against West Virginia, playing without starting forward Levon Kendall. The Panthers closed to within 7 at the half before mowing past WVU in the last 10 minutes for a 68-57 win. After a slow start last night, Pitt closed the 1st half on a 30-12 run to take a 32-21 lead at the half over Villanova and cruised for much of the 2nd half for the 68-54 win.

Pitt is doing it with defense, allowing just 55.7 PPG in their three tournament games. Plus, they have different people stepping up all over the court. As usual, they will pound the boards as they dominated Louisville, West Virginia and Villanova on the boards and they will play nine or 10 players in a regular rotation. Kendall's back is a concern and John DeGroat has a nagging groin injury, but otherwise, Pittsburgh is healthy. The quick turnaround in games does seem to be taking a toll on Aaron Gray, Pitt's 7'0 250 lb C, however, as he has struggled finishing around the basket.

Gerry McNamara has been bothered by a nagging groin injury as well, but Terrence Roberts should be well rested as he spent much of the Georgetown game seated right next to Jim Boeheim. The biggest lift the Orange has gotten, other than the obvious from McNamara, has been Darryl Watkins who has played his best on both ends in the tournament. Georgetown did have very good success getting inside the SU zone with some excellent interior passing, but they did not finish their shots and struggled from the line. Pittsburgh has always been a team that has cracked the Syracuse zone very well as Pitt has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams.

Earlier this season, Pittsburgh beat the Orange 80-67 in Pittsburgh. Carl Krauser led the Panthers with 32 pts. The length and athleticism of Watkins and Roberts will make things tough on Gray inside, in their first meeting, the Pitt center shot just 1-10. Most teams believe speeding up Pittsburgh is the way to go, but if Syracuse can lull Pittsburgh into a slower pace against their zone and get them to settle for passing around the perimeter and attempting outside shots, they have a great opportunity at keeping the score in the 50's until the last minute and then hope for some more McNamara magic.

No matter who wins, history will be made as no team has ever won four games in the Big East Tournament. Sometimes, it just looks like a magical run, and it certainly has that feel for the Orange who will also enjoy a healthy edge in fan support. This just looks to be the week for Syracuse, they could turn around and lose next Thursday or Friday again, like last year, but this certainly looks like their week. Pittsburgh will be game and tough...but, another night of McNamara magic edges the Panthers.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 64 Pittsburgh 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse vs Georgetown

March 10, 2006


It has been a VERY exciting two days in New York City for the Syracuse Orange under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden and senior Gerry McNamara has been making his last Big East Conference Tournament a memorable one. G-Mac hit a buzzer-beating game winner against Cincinnati in the 1st round, which definitely saved the Syracuse season and yesterday, he hit the shot that sent the game to overtime in the Orange 86-84 victory over #1 Connecticut. Does he have any magic left for Georgetown?

Very quietly, maybe because they had to follow the McNamara heroics two days in a row, the Georgetown Hoyas have pushed their way into the semifinals with wins over Notre Dame and Marquette. Neither win was a work of arc, as the Georgetown offense struggled for long stretches, but the Hoyas kept after it on the defensive end and on the boards to pull out the wins.

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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Georgetown was struggling yesterday, scoring just 26 points 5 minutes into the second half, but hanging with Marquette because of their defense. The Golden Eagles were containing the Princeton-style offense with a tough match-up zone. However, Tom Crean was hoping to energize his offense, that had scored only 29 pts to that point and switched to a man-to-man defense and it breathed life into the Hoyas offense. Georgetown's offense is based on high effeceiency and against the Marquette man-to-man defense, it lived up to its reputation scoring on 12 of their next 16 possessions, led by versatile Jeff Green. The Hoya frontline of Roy Hibbert, Brandon Bowman and Green was able to get Syracuse is foul toruble when they met in Washington 13 days ago and will look to do so again. However, they are going to have to do it against the Syracuse zone.

Syracuse has gotten new life, thanks to McNamara's late game heroics, but he has had much more help throughout the game the last two days than earlier in the season. Darryl Watkins has played some of his best basketball of the season in the post on both ends of the floor and Terrence Roberts has upped his production. Demetris Nochols hot some shots yesterday and Eric Devendorf is a fearless freshmen that gets to the basket and finishes with either hand. McNamara registered 13 assists yesterad in addition to his big shot (17 pts), which showed how much the other players steped up their game to finish around the basket.

I expect another close game tonight. I think they teams do match up very well. Georgetown has the edge in the frontcourt and Syracuse has a backcourt edge. Neither team is very deep at all, but Syracuse can go a little deeper. I think once again, it will come down to foul trouble and Roberts and Watkins are much more likely to pick up some quick fouls, and that could kill them tonight. Not playing it on the road might help Syracuse manage the fouls a little better. Georgetown, as always, must make shots. They will have to do it against the SU zone. The Hoyas are 4-pt favorites, and I see another close one. Does Gerry save the day again?


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 67 Syracuse 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse vs Connecticut

March 9, 2006


One of the best rivalries in the Big East reunites at high noon on Thursday as Syracuse and Connecticut square off in the Big East quarterfinals. Syracyse has fallen twice to the #1 ranked Huskies this season, and neither were very close, but they will look to nail down a bid to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament with a win this afternoon in Madison Square Garden. To alleviate any doubt in their NCAA situation, the Orange need to pull out the win, but it will not be an easy task as Connecticut represents Syracuse's nightmare match-up.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from the internet:

Huskies Go for Season Sweep of 'Cuse (Register Citizen)
New York a Little Dangerous (Hartford Courant)
UConn Ready to Take on SU (Norwich Bulletin)
New Season Begins for Huskies (Waterbury Rep-Am)
Syracuse Wins Date With Huskies (Danbury News Times)
Boehim Defends Star Player (Waterbury Rep-Am)


To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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The oddsmakers are not expecting this to be close, making Connecticut a 12-pt favorite, and Syracuse has not matched-up well with the Huskies recently, but for some reason, they have a habit of pulling a rabbit out of the hat against these teams every now and then. Their magic trick might have been Gerry McNamara's running 3-pt shot to beat the buzzer, and Cincinnati, yesterday afternoon just to get the chance to take the floor in Madison Square Garden against the #1 ranked Huskies today.

Connecticut really has the advantages all over the floor. They are deeper, bigger and more athletic than the Orange. Their frontline of Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone and Rudy Gay, with Jeff Adrien and Ed Nelson off the bench is not the match-up that Darryl Watkins, Terrence Roberts and Demetris Nichols with Matt Gorman and Aronze Onuaku off the bench really wants to see. Yesterday, Watkins and Roberts had solid games, but the Cincininnati frontline stands at just 6'7 and 6'6 with very little help off the bench. This will be a true test for the Orange, but Watkins and Roberts have shown very little ability to create their own offense and Nichols seems to be in another offensive shooting funk. Going against this frontcourt of UConn's is not usually a situation to cure what ails you.

In the backcourt the Huskies will start Marcus Williams at the point. In his last five games, Williams has accumulated 50 assists against just 10 turnovers. He will look to carve up the Syracuse zone by getting the ball inside for the UConn big men to score and then hit Rashad Anderson on the wing for a three-ball. Denham Brown has elevated his play of late, giving UConn another consistent scoring option, their only weakness might be too many options and not one true go-to player, but, in reality, almost any of their guys could be that guy on any given day.

Syracuse still must enter the game believing they NEED a win for their NCAA Tournament bid. They still could, and in my opinion, barring the bizarre in other conference tournaments, should make the NCAA Tournament, even with a loss. However, they need to take care of business themselves and remove all doubt. For that reason, I think Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim pulls out all the stops today. He knows UConn and their Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun better than any other opponent in the Big East. I still do not think the Orange will win, but they will play a little tougher than in the two earlier games.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Connecticut 81 Syracuse 72

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse vs Cincinnati

March 8, 2006

The 2006 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament kicks off at high noon and the stakes could not be higher for Syracuse or Cincinnati with NCAA Tournament bids on the line. The Bearcats have played themselves into a pretty comfortable position within the Field of 65 (NBE Blogger Bracketology coming later this AM), but the Orange have definite work to do and must get after it today in Madison Square Garden.

Here are the pregame stories and previews from around the internet:

First Big East Season Was a Blast (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Big East: War of Attrition (Cincinnati Post)
Desperate SU Plays Cincinnati Today (Utica Observer)
For Syracuse, This Game is It (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
UC Minds on the Bubble (Enquirer)
Third Time a Charm for UC & SU (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Orange in Some Bubble Trouble (Post-Standard)
Cincy Glance (Post-Standard)
Orange's Big Squeeze (NY Daily News)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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It was January 14th and the Syracuse Orange, behind 29 pts from Gerry McNamara, had just put the finishign touches on their 12th straight win, a 19-pt win at Cincinnati, and the Orange were feeling mighty good, with a 3-0 record in the Big East with two road wins (ND, too) under their belt. Cincinnati looked like a team ready to wilt under all the adversity they had faced, losing their coach prior to the season, seeing a top recruit bolt, players dismissed and transfer and senior Armien Kirkland go down for the season in the game before. It was probably a goal to just make the Big East Tournament and hope to see Syracuse again.

Well, now it is nearly two months later and these two teams will meet again, for the third time this season, in the opening game of the Big East Tournament. Not only did Cincinnati claw their way back, but they earned the higher seed for today's game and are a 2.5-pt favorite in the noon contest. The NCAA implications for this game are high, esepcially for Syracuse. The Orange have lost nine of 14 since their win in Cincinnati, including their last three by a combined 64 points and a home loss to Cincinnati was also included in those nine losses, an 82-65 setback February 15th. The NCAA hopes of the Orange are clearly on life support and they must win today to have any hope remaining. Then, they must beat UConn tomorrow afternoon or hope there are no surprise winners in any of the conference tournaments around the country.

Cincinnati should be in. Their RPI is solid and since a swoon in which they lost six of eight around the time of the Syracuse loss, they have won four of their last seven. They are led by their seniors: Eric Hicks, James White, Jihad Muhammad and Chadd Moore. They have lost a lot of depth with the injury to Kirkland and other personnel issues over the last six months, but they still play hard and tough for interim coach Andy Kennedy. Freshmen Devan Downey is their floor general and junior cedric McGowan adds help to Hicks on the boards. Dominic Tilford, Ronald Allen and Conor Barwin add depth.

Syracuse is, of course, led by senior Gerry McNamara. Unfortunately, nobody in their enigmatic junior class has stepped up consistently to give G-Mac help in scoring, especially with the ability to create their own offense in the halfcourt, which often leads to some horrible looking offensive games by the Orange and wild shots from McNamara. Eric Devendorf has been as good as advertised and can create his own offense, but like all freshmen, he can be up and down. Their lack of bench supprt from Josh Wright, Louie McCroskey, Arinze Onuaku and Andy Rautins has not helped them recover, but the real failure has been on Terrence Roberts and Demetris Nichols to step up on the offensive end to support McNamara. Syracuse seems to be a team that can get down easily and completely forget about defense and with their lack of offense, that is a disaster waiting to happen.

I am still waiting for the Syracuse talent and potential to come close to their production. I am sure Jim Boeheim is waiting as well, time is running out for the Orange this season. They need to put it all together, just once, to even have a chance at seeing their neames on Selection Sunday. For one afternoon, with their backs against the wall, I think they will respond, unless they have compeltely quit, which I do not think they have.

Cincinnati is not going to make it easy, but playing against the SU zone in Madison Square Garden might be tough for the Bearcats, who will need to be on their game form the perimeter. I think this will be a low scoring game with the Orange pulling out a win to help their chances, that will hang by a thread...

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 66 Cincinnati 63

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ DePaul

March 2, 2006


DePaul, in their first season in the Big East, sits at 4-10 in the conference with two games left. They still have hope for a ticket to New York City for the Big East tournament, but they need to win tonight against Syracuse and then again this weekend at Notre Dame and get a little help from Marquette and Rutgers in the process.

Syracuse is still battling the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bubble. With a 7-7 conference record, tonight's game is a must-win to assure them of a .500 Bog East record. With Villanova on tap Sunday, getting the 8th win tonight could allow them to breathe a little earlier on Sunday. Even at 7-9 they would still have a good shot at the tournament, but it would make their Big East Tournament 1st round game VERY important.

Here are some pregame stories and previews linked from the internet:

Rough First Year in Big East (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Brumfield's Home Finale Tonight Against Syracuse (Daily Herald)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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This is a game between the two teams, at least to me, that have been the biggest enigmas of this conference. I truly believe both teams have the raw talent to have accomplished more than they have so far on the season. And, with just four days left of the regular season, time is running out for both to make a move.

Syracuse is a team with just one senior, Gerry McNamara, but they also have five juniors in Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins, Terrence Roberts, Louie McCroskey and Matt Gorman. Nichols, Watkins, Roberts and McCroskey were all part of a highly touted recruiting class and they have not lived up to their billing to elevate their play for the Orange. Watkins and Roberts have yet to develop any sort of offensive game in the halfcourt offense that they can create themselves. Nichols has not been much more on the offensive end than a catch-and-shoot type of player. At least he is shooting, his first two years were a continuous shooting slump. McCroskey's season has been marred by a few emotional outbursts directed at Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, one through the media and another in what has been described as an ugly locker room scene that led to a few days away from the team for McCroskey.

Without the juniors stepping up and taking some of the offensive pressure of McNamara, their senior leader has been left firing up some wild shots on the move from the perimeter and visibly frustrated at times. He also battled a couple nagging injuries. Sophomore PG Josh Wright also missed significant time with a toe injury, slowing his development as a player to take some of the ball handling duties away from G-Mac. The lone bright spot for the Orange has been the continued development of Eric Devendorf in Big East play. He shows that he is going to be a talent in this league with a diverse offensive game and the ability to finish drives in the lane with either hand. Even through all this, the Orange are 7-7 in the conference and still have a chance to finish strongly down the stretch. They talent is there.

DePaul has found that being in a new conference can be tough. Add in a new coach to the mix and it just seemed like there was too much unfamiliarity to overcome. They have also suffered through some injury pains and distractions when talented frosh Wilson Chandler apparently quit the team in an emotional decision and then was suspended by new coach Jerry Wainwright when he reconsidered. Where the Blue Demons seem to be behind the curve is at PG. In the pre-season we felt Cliff Clinkscales was a player to watch this year with his wizard-like ball handling and excellent passing eye. However, he never seemed to click in Wainwright's offense and the ball handling has been passed around between frosh Jabari Currie and scorers Sammy Mejia and Draelon Burns. None of these guys would be considered a full-time PG and can make better use of their talents in other ways.

The front court has been unsettled at times as well. When Chandler left the team, they were forced to go small. With Wesley Green in and out of the line-up with injuries, sickness and other reasons, it takes away a scoring threat in the pivot, which is usually manned by senior Marlon Brumfield, who is not a scoring threat. Chandler has come on strong of late and will face a good test tonight against a long, lean and athletic Syracuse frontcourt.

Syracuse enters tonight's contest as a 2-pt favorite and will look to rebound from their poor performance against Georgetown over the weekend. DePaul is coming off a nice win over Seton Hall, but the talent Syracuse has should make this a more challenging game for the Blue Demons, but Syracuse needs to play up to their talent level on both ends of the floor. With their NCAA hopes seemingly riding on it, I think they pull out a tough win on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 64 DePaul 60

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