BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ Syracuse

January 30, 2007



Syracuse, 4-3 in the Big East conference, return home to the Carrier Dome tonight looking to snap a two-game losing strak tonight when they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a Big East Conference match-up. The Irish are 5-3 in Big East play, but are still looking for their first conference road win.


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


No Friendship for 40 Minutes During Notre Dame Game Tonight (South Bend Tribune)
This Year's Irish Hustle Their Way to Wins (Post-Standard)
Which SU Team Will Show Up to Host Irish (AP Story in Rochester D&C)
Irish Take on Desperate Orange (Journal Gazette)
Headstrong or Pigheaded, carter Paces Irish (NY Times)


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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Syracuse enters the game as a 3-pt favorite, however, the Pomeroy Computer rankings are predicting the Irish as one-point winners tonight. Syracuse is coming off a very disappointing loss on Saturday night at Louisville. The Orange led 65-51 with 9:44 left in the contest but saw Louisville outscore SU 25-6 to finish the game, limiting SU to one field goal in that span and score nine 2nd chance points. The loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Syracuse as it was their second loss in a row on the road, following up on the heels of a loss at St. John's, another one they had a lead late only to lose.

Notre Dame found the opposite fate with their game on Saturday as the Irish rallied from a seven-point defecit in the last eight minutes to beat Villanova, 66-63, at home. Colin Falls scored 10 of his 23 points in the final six minutes to lead the rally for the Irish, who are 5-3 in the conference, but are still looking for their first road win of the season.

After their meltdown against Louisville, Syracuse should be plenty fired up for this game. With a large crowd expected at the 'Loud House', Syracuse is going to need to play a full 40 minutes with consistent efforts on the boards and the defensive end. All too often, this Syracuse team seems to be holding together by a string that stretches to its limit and they suffer defensive breakdowns, long stretches of no rebounding and some mind-boggling decisions with the basketball. They can not afford to be careless tonight against Notre Dame, a team that will hustle and play together to try and steal a win on the road.

Eadch side has some match-up advantages that could be taken advantage of. With Syracuse a little more desperate for a win, I could see them trying to use their press a little more often to try and rattle the young freshmen point guard duo of Tory Jackson and Jonathan Peoples. Syracuse's depth is not a strength, so only certain line-up combinations would be useful with a press, but the Orange should be able to take advantage of some length and athleticism and force the Irish into uncomfortable situations if they look to take advantage of an edge they have.

On the Irish side, they will probably be very happy to see Syracuse sit in their normal 2-3 zone. This allows Colin Falls to get comfortable and find seems to set-up and launch from beyond the arc. The Irish are an outstanding passing club, especially with Rob Kurz at the PF position and getting the ball to him against the zone will likely open up his passing to Luke Harangody down low, to Russel Carter slashing to the basket and kick-outs to Falls.

This is a big game for both clubs. The Orange should be focused solely on winning after the tough defeat to Louisville and staying above the bottleneck that has become the middle of the conference should be their most imeediate goal when taking care of business at home. Notre Dame will hope to hang around long enough and then make the hustle plays and a few shots down the stretch and hope Syracuse will self-destruct againt.

With ND's poor road record, I think this will be a solid win for the Orange at home. Notre Dame definitely poses some match-up isues, but overall, this is a game the Orange should and must have

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 77 Notre Dame 68

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ Louisville

January 27, 2007


At times this season, Syracuse and Louisville hardly looked like a pair of teams that were going to challenge to be among the top four in the Big East, as they were expected to do so. Quietly, both teams are now sitting at 4-2 in the conference standings heading into a game that might be shaping up to determine which team has the inside track at a Big East Tournament bye when the regular season is done.

Syracuse saw their four-game win streak snapped with a road loss last Sunday to St. John's. The Orange fell behind big early on but came all the way back to take a late lead, only to watch St. John's, especially Avery Patterson, make all the plays late to come up with the win. Louisville has the tougher part of their schedule ahead of them, but came up with a road win last weekend at DePaul and held serve at home against Connecticut on Monday night.


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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The second half of the Big East schedule looks pretty daunting for the Louisville Cardinals as it includes road games with Villanova, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Connecticut and a home game with Georgetown after this weekend's match-up with Syracuse. With such a road slate ahead, taking care of business against Syracuse is a big key for the rest of their season.

Syracuse has a very fair schedule from here on out, with five on the road (including their game with Louisville) and five at home. They are probably kicking themselves for letting the game with St. John's get away, but after their narrow escape at home against Cincinnati just days earlier, it probably was not THAT surprising.

If I was a Syracuse fan, this team would scare me every time they step onto the court. They can look so bad with the basketball with careless passing and mind-boggling decision-making that makes Jim Boeheim cringe and with a constant look of bewilderment throughout games. There is talent, no doubt, but they just have a knack of making the wrong play to let teams stay in the game and, for whatever reason, their willingness to now play a full 40 minutes makes any game an adventure.

Louisville has a young backcourt and this will be their first time seeing the Syracuse zone defense. With Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith handling the ball for the most part, this will be an interesting test to see how they solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone. If they settle for long range shots and are not able to get Juan Palacios and David Padgett shots near the run and Terrence Williams is launching 3-pt shots, it might be a long night for Louisville who can run very cold often.

Syracuse has the athletes inside to defend and rebound against Louisville, but they will need a big night from Demetris Nichols to get a road win. I think the Syracuse experience against a young ball-handling team facing the 2-3 zone gives the Orange the edge.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 70 Louisville 65

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January 17, 2007



Things are going badly for Cincinnati and now they have to endure a road trip to the Carrier Dome to play the surging Orange in a Big East conference game. Cincinnati is still in search of their first conference win under Mick Cronin and must face the man with the most Big East wins, Jom Boeheim.


Here are the pregame stories and rpeviews from the internet:

Orange's Harris Still Quite Green (Cincinnati Post)
UC Trying to Turn Up It's Offense (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Bearcats Starting from Scratch (Post-Standard)
Bearcats Test Syracuse (AP article)


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW


You know your at rock-bottom when you are coming off a home loss to Rutgers and a 15-pt loss at South Florida. In the midst of their first four-game losing streak in 19 years, things do not look to get any brighter with Syracuse (tonight), West Virginia (Saturday) and Pittsburgh and Georgetown next week. The Bearcats are struggling to score in Big East games, averaging just 52 pts in their three conference games. Playing against the Syracuse 2-3 zone will pose another new challenge for the Bearcats.

At Syracuse, things are looking up. After a conference opening loss at the hands of Pittsburgh, the Orange have won three in a row, including impressive double-digit wins over Marquette and Villanova. Demetris Nichols looked like the player that was leading the Big East in scoring in the pre-conference season, pouring in 23 pts against the Wildcats and Terrence Roberts had his best game of the season with 17 pts and 14 rebounds.

Neither team has much depth, but Syracuse is clearly the better team and they have the size to make it very difficult for the Bearcats to score and the zone will force many long shots from a team that does not shoot it very well. Coming off their bottom, I expect Cincinnati to put forth a strong effort, but winning at the Dome at this point in their rebuilding stage could be the longest of longshots for the 16-pt underdogs.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 75 Cincinnati 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Villanova @ Syracuse

January 13, 2006



After picking up a couple road wins in their last two conference games, the Syracuse Orange return home to host the Villanova Wildcats. Syracuse won at Marquette and Rutgers in their last two games after opening the conference with a loss to Pittsburgh in the Dome. The Wildcats dropped their first two conference games (@ WVU, vs DePaul) before going out and literally stealing one at Georgetown.

Look for the Wildcats to try and pressure Syracuse point guard Josh Wright much like they did against Georgetown with constant pressure in the 3/4 court and full court traps. Syracuse is not a deep ballhandling team and they are not one of the better decision-making teams in the conference. Offensively, the Wildcats are a little too dependent on the 3-pt shot and one on one skills, which makes them a little inconsistent and will find the 2-3 zone of the Orange tough to crack. However, if they can get their shooting touch down at the cavernous Dome, they could light it up from the perimeter.

Syracuse needs a good game from Josh Wright, not really in terms of scoring or shooting, but he needs to handle the pressure and get Syracuse in position to score. Demetris Nichols is shooting just 42% in his three Big East contests and Syracuse will need for him to have a big game to counter the production we can expect from Curtis Sumpter. It is a key game for both teams as SU looks to seperate itself from the middle of the pack and Villanova looks to bring them back to the middle with the rest of them.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 62 Syracuse 58

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ Rutgers

January 10, 2007

After dropping their conference opener against Pittsburgh, Syracuse hit the road and came up with an important road victory, winning at the Bradley Center over Marquette. Rutgers also dropped their opener, but went out and beat Cincinnati on the road and now open their home conference schedule by hosting the Orange.

Here are links to a couple of the pregame stories and previews from the internet:

At Home at Rutgers (Syracuse Post-Standard on RU coach Fred Hill)
Rutgers/Syracuse Scouting Report (Courier News)



Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

READ REST OF PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW





The oddsmakers have made Rutgers a 6.5-pt underdog and the Pomeroy Computer has Syracyse as a 13-pt winner over the Scarlet Knights. Syracuse has been a team that has had their troubles playing in the RAC in the past. However, even Jackson St and Kansas St have been successful coming out with wins on the Rutgers home court this season, I do not expect it to be any different for the Orange.

Syracuse might not be very deep right now with injuries to Arinze Onuaku, Matt Gorman and the transfer of Mike Jones. Eric Devendorf has played better of late and has regained starting minutes, although not the privilige of starting, yet. Paul Harris is still trying to find his niche, but each game he instills a burst of enery for the Orange with his effort on defense and on the boards, learning to allow his offensive opportunities to come to him will dictate his playing time in the future.

It is a homecoming of sorts for Terrence Roberts and Darryl Watkins, a pair of New Jersey natives who left the Garden State for the Orange. Last year it was a rare Roberts' 3-pter at the Dome to thwart a Rutgers upset bid, led mostly by Quincy Douby. Without Douby, Rutgers has had a lot of trouble scoring. Anthony Farmer and Josh Wright are match-up at point guard and each team needs to come out on top in that battle whcih could dictate the game. Marquis Webb will have the assignment of stopping Devendorf when he is in the game, Webb is probably the best in the conference, but the Scarlet Knights will need the senior to provide a scoring lift as well. Webb is close a close friend of Watkins.

Syracuse has a tendency to play down to their opponent and if they do that again tonight, they could be in a very tough spot if the RAC crowd gets energized and begins the pull the Scarlet Knight energy level up. Will Rutgers have an answer for the scoring of Demetris Nichols? On this night, I think he is the difference and the Orange put it away in the last 10 minutes because they can score, and Rutgers can't.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 71 Rutgers 60

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Pittsburgh @ Syracuse

January 4, 2006


Two Big East heavyweights and longtime conference member clash for their conference openers tonight in the Carrier Dome. Pittsburgh, ranked #10 in both polls, enter the game as a 1-pt favorite over the home Orange who are looking for a big win to jumpstart their season. Pittsburgh's lone losses have come away from home (at Wisconsin and to Oklahoma State in 2 OT in Oklahoma City), while the Orange have already dropped two in the Dome this season (Wichita State and Drexel) in addition to their loss to Oklahoma State at Madison Square Garden.

Here are the game preview stories from around the web:

Weaker Big East Could Hurt Pitt Come March (Post-Gazette)
Pitt's Reputation Put to Test (Tribune-Review)
Pitt Wants Revenge at Syracuse (Tribune-Democrat)
Panthers Dont Expect Surprises from Orange (Beaver County Times)
Roberts Return Should Help SU on Boards Against Pitt (Democrat & Chronicle)
Ready or Not, Here Comes Big, Bad Pitt to Dome (Post-Standard)
Jones Leaves Orange (Post-Standard)

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We have seen how tough it is to win on the road in the Big East already as the home teams have gone 6-0 in conference play thus far. Pittsburgh will look to end that streak when they take to the floor at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse to face the Orange.

This is a match-up of very experienced teams with both teams starting three seniors, a junior and a sophomore (if you count Eric Devendorf as a starter). The Syracuse players came to the Big East with big reputations (all 5 among the top 50 recruits in their classes), while not much was known about many of the Pittsburgh players (only Levance Fields appeared on any top 100 lists among their starters). So, it is a little surprising which team has the top 10 ranking while the other is trying to work its way back into the national rankings and to show they are a player in the Big East.

Pittsburgh has shown they are not quite the same team away from the Peterson EentsCnter as they are on the road. They have allowed an average of 76.8 PPG in their five contests away from home, up greatly from the 56.1 PPG they allow on their home court. Maybe more concerning is the number of offensive rebounds that Pitt allowed against Wisconsin and Oklahoma State as both teams dominated the boards against Pitt. Certainly, the Pitt offense has improved, scoring 77.1 PPG, including 79 PPG away from home.

Pitt is led by 7'0 C Aaron Gray, who averaged 15.6 PPG and 10.9 rebounds a game in their 14 pre-conference contests, shooting 62% from the floor and playing just 28 minutes a game. But, Pitt is not only Aaron Gray, in three games that opponents largerly concentrated on removing Gray from the mix with packed in zones (Florida State, Dayton and Florida A&M), Gray averaged just 6.3 PPG (along with 10.3 rebounds), but the Panthers scored a robust 82 PPG, led by Mike Cook, Antonio Graves and Sam Young. Pitt is a deep and balanced team, Cook is 2nd in scoring with 12 PPG, but he plays just 23 minutes a game. Graves averages 11 PPG and after him the Panthers have six other players averaging between 4.2 PPG and 8.7 PPG and at least 12 minutes of playing time each.

On the other hand, we are still not quite sure what Syracuse is going to give us. Syracuse can look VERY good when they are charging from behind, but it is how they get that far behind that worries us...the turning it off and on nature of this team is something that will not fly in the Big East. Plus, the lost a big lead at home in a loss to Drexel a couple weeks ago, but had to play that second half without senior Terrence Roberts who was injured. Syracuse missed his inside presence as Frank Elegar torched the SU post defense for a career high 27 pts. Pitt will look to expose that weakness by going to Gray, but Roberts is expected to return to game action tonight, after the 19-day layoff.

The Orange have been led by senior Demetris Nichols, who averages 20 PPG and 5.6 rebounds a contest. The 6'8 small forward is the type of player that can give Pitt fits with his ability to hit from the outside and use his length to get inside. Mike Cook will be under a lot of pressure to keep the hot Nichols from continuing his hot streak in Big East play. This is what the Orange have been waiting for from Nichols who suffered through two ice cold seasons as a freshmen and a sophomore. He had a very good run last season in the pre-conference schedule, but struggled again in Big East play, shooting just 38% from the floor and 29% from 3-pt range. Nichols always had it in him, hopefully for the Orange his burst of confidence continues into Big East play this time around.

The rest of the Orange, however, we are not too sure of. Roberts returns from injury tonight and prior to the injury he was averaging 9 PPG and 8 rebounds a contenst. He and Darryl Watkins (9 PPG, 7 rebounds) form an athletic duo in the post, but neither has shown much of an ability to create their own offensive opportunities in the half court offense. Roberts is a POOR free throw shooter (42%) and if they are not flushing the finish on the break or off the board, their offense is very hit or miss. Jim Boeheim has seemed to come down hard on a couple of his younger, but most talented players in freshman Paul Harris and sophomore Eric Devendorf, neither have been in the starting line-up lately, giving way to players such as Andy Rautins and Matt Gorman, but now that Big East play is here and they have been getting more time lately, look for the Orange to ride their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers a little more. Devendorf needs to get better on defense and Harris needs a better understanding of when to go full bore and when to let it come to him, but they have the talent to take SU to another level.

Syracuse is NOT deep. Promising freshman Mike Jones has recently decided to leave the team and Matt Gorman (ankle) is battling injuries. They have already lost big sophomore Arinze Onuaku to preseason knee surgery and freshman Devin Brennan-McBride is not quite ready for the bright lights of the Big East. PG Josh Wright will look to take advantage of Pitt's slower backcourt, but sometimes it seems like Wright gets nowhere faster than any player in the country. His lightning quick burst with the ball is fun to watch, but what he does with it after his penetration is sometimes an adventure. As a team, the Orange average over 15 turnovers a game and barely outrebounded the overmatched competition in the pre-conference schedule. That needs to improve, beginning tonight.

Pittsburgh did not travel to Syracuse last season, but has won three of their last in the Dome and eight of the last 11 in the series between the two team, but Syracuse has the last one under their belts, a 65-61 win last March for the Big East Tournament title.

In reality, tonight is a huge game for Syracuse. The Orange have had a lot of trouble putting 40 minutes of intense effort together, especially on the defensive side of the ball and on the boards. They will need that tonight against Pittsburgh. Although the Panthers are not as good on the boards or defensively as they have been the last couple years, Pittsburgh will still play hard and unselfish for the entire game. So, if Syracuse is going to do it this year, tonight, at home against a top 10 team, is as good of a night as any. For one night, I think the Orange put in the effort and come up with a tough win for once.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 73 Pittsburh 68

What is your prediction?

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