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