BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ SYRACUSE

January 7, 2009


Quietly, Syracuse continues to rise up the national rankings, being a 60-foot shot away from possibly being undefeated at this point. While the brutal portion of the Big East schedule does not kick in for another week, the Orange will look to avoid a pot-hole in the Dome tonight when DePaul comes looking to break into the conference win column.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Orange Scouting Report Vs. DePaul (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Syracuse Faces Tough Stretch Against Top 25 Teams (Rochester D&C)
Mac Koshwal’s Leadership Vital to Depaul’s Success in Big East (Chicago Tribune)

Following a sloppy win at South Florida last Friday night, Syracuse looks to get back home and playing better as the meaty section of their schedule is starting to appear in the near distance. A key part of the reason SU was not able to put the Bulls away on Friday night was the absence of Paul Harris who did not play after suffering a lacerated finger in their win over Seton Hall. Harris’ ability to rebound on the backline of the SU 2-3 zone was missed as Andy Rautins was forced to play on the block defensively often.

Also, Arinze Onuaku was just one of nine from the foul line, a number that will have to get MUCH better against the better teams in the Big East. However, in this match-up, it might not matter so much. SU is a bad match-up for DePaul as they will force the Blue Demons to fire away from the outside as they sit in a 2-3 zone defense. DePaul is not a very good perimeter shooting team and their point guard play is still an area that needs to improve, especially if they will attempt to attack the zone properly.

Syracuse will sag their zone to take away the driving lanes of Dar Tucker and also neutralize Mac Koshwal in the point. Take away scoring opportunities from either, or both, of those two and DePaul will be seriously challenged to score point.

Syracuse, on the other hand, has plenty of offensive firepower with Rautins finding the range from the perimeter lately, Eric Devendorf returning and Jonny Flynn running the show. Harris back in the line-up will help and the dual big man line-up with Onuaku and Rick Jackson will cause the Blue Demons a lot of trouble on both ends of the court.

Syracuse seems to be a generously lists 15 ½ point favorite tonight as they look to continue to cement their return to your March Madness betting pools after a two-year hiatus. However, after more review, maybe that is not enough.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 83
DePaul 66