Fab Melo Hosts Block Party in Syracuse Rout of Seton Hall

(Photo courtesy of syracuse.com)

After losing Rick Jackson to graduation, many thought Syracuse would struggle to replace his 10.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. While the Orange have missed Jackson on the boards, sophomore Fab Melo has been a more imposing presence than his predecessor on the defensive end.

After blocking a Syracuse-record 10 shots in a 75-49 victory over Seton Hall where the Pirates managed just 15 first-half points, Melo is now averaging almost three blocks per game. That average puts Syracuse's most improved player this season just outside the national top 10, no small feat considering most of the players above him play at a much lower competition level.

Much has been made of Melo's transformation from last season, when he weighed about 275 pounds and averaged fewer than ten minutes per game. Much like highly-touted recruits Michael Carter-Williams and Rakeem Christmas this season, Melo was a significant disappointment as a freshman.

The seven-foot center came back ready in 2011, shedding over 30 pounds to drop a more desirable playing weight of 244 pounds. While Jackson was a solid interior defender, Melo's presence alone changes far more shots than the 6-9 Jackson could have dreamed of.

As much as I liked Jackson, Syracuse is better off with Melo at center this season than they were with Jackson and the same lineup last year. It helps that Melo has averaged over 20 minutes per game and shown the ability to run the court effectively, picking up cheap buckets as a trailer.

Melo isn't the only sophomore to come back and play a bigger role for the Orange this season, as guard Dion Waiters has almost doubled his scoring average, assists and steals while shooting over 50 percent from the field and provided a spark off the bench. Waiters was great once again against the Pirates, scoring 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting with three assists and three steals.

His improvement has led to an increase in playing time, which has helped Jim Boeheim limit the minutes of turnover-prone senior Scoop Jardine this season. Jardine is much more effective playing around 20 minutes per game than he was playing 30.

Seton Hall's Herb Pope came into the game with Syracuse averaging over 20 points per game and more than 11 rebounds. He left after a four-point night where he made just two of his nine shots. As a result, his team scored just 49 points. Other teams with big-time scorers who rely on getting points in the paint may face similar fates against the Orange.

Syracuse has always been a great defensive team in their 2-3 zone, but Melo's presence in the paint just may propel this team to their first Final Four since 2003, when they won the national title behind another Melo, Carmelo Anthony. It's not unfathomable to think that the nation's current top team could finish the season right where they are now: On top of the college basketball world.

Syracuse Takes NIT Title With Late Comeback Against Stanford

This blog has become more of a hosting site for my other work than actual writing, hasn't it?

http://sports-at-work.com/20111126908/CBB-National-News/stanford-cant-hang-on-as-syracuse-takes-nit-title.html

Syracuse Basketball: Preseason Opener Observations

(Photo Credit: http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/slides/photos/000/516/622/fab_display_image.jpg?1290359538)

With the NBA still at the bargaining table and making little headway towards a new collective bargaining agreement, Syracuse's preseason game last night finally gave many die-hard basketball fans what they were looking for: on-court action.

Regardless of the competition level of opponent Cal St. Los Angeles, who flew across the country strictly for the experience and financial gain of playing a top-five team, it was nice to see the game of basketball being played rather than hearing about millionaires fighting over two percent differences in revenue sharing.

Syracuse won the game 79-49, but the halftime score was surprisingly close at 29-22. The Orange looked out of sorts offensively at times, but that's to be expected in the team's first action of the season. They stepped the scoring up in the second half with a 50-point outburst to open up the game and look more like a team ranked in the top five.

Anyway, here are a few things that stood out from the opener for Jim Boeheim's squad:

- Fab Melo looks rejuvenated and ready

At first glance, sophomore center Fab Melo looked slimmer walking onto the court before the game. At second glance, he looked quicker and more explosive while scoring six of Syracuse's first seven points. In 17 minutes of action, Melo led the team with 12 points and added eight rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

It would be asinine to anoint Melo as the savior after just one impressive performance, especially against an inferior team whose tallest player stood just 6-9. Somebody has to replace Rick Jackson though, and why not the seven-footer?

Melo was highly touted coming into last season but may have been the NCAA's biggest bust. Baye Moussa Keita returns as well and the Orange also brought in 6-9 forward Rakeem Christmas, but Melo is the player with the height and physical skills best suited to fill Jackson's shoes defensively and on the glass. Now, he just needs to keep improving and be consistent every night.

- Syracuse may be the deepest team in the nation

The Orange started the four players everybody would have expected in Melo, Brandon Triche, Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph, but the fifth was even shocked himself to get the nod. Christmas started alongside Joseph at forward, scoring six points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots in his first 19 minutes of collegiate action.

Regardless of whether Christmas continues to start or Boeheim uses Keita or C.J. Fair when the Orange open the regular season, the rest of the team's bench is impressive. Dion Waiters would start on most NCAA teams while Michael Carter-Williams was one of the top recruits in the nation. For the record, I've already mentioned nine players.

Syracuse can go deeper than nine, too. Freshman Trevor Cooney wasted no time showing off his shooting prowess, making a three-pointer just 20 seconds after checking into the game. James Southerland returns as well and if his shot selection is improved from last season and he can cut down on turnovers, he deserves playing time as well.

Boeheim will have a lot of decisions to make with his lineup in the season's first few weeks. His team can legitimately go 11 deep at times, but no coach wants to play that many guys on a nightly basis.

Even still, I wouldn't be surprised to see Boeheim go with an 11-man rotation during the non-conference schedule to see which units work well together, although it will be interesting to see who will be the odd man (or men) out when Big East play rolls around. It may be Cooney even if he doesn't redshirt this season, but he might already be the best outside shooter on a team that lacks distance marksmen.

- If there's anything this team lacks, it's a go-to guy on offense

This was the major issue with the Orange last season and was a big reason for their early departure from the NCAA Tournament. Most expected Kris Joseph to take over last season in Wesley Johnson's stead, but he was passive at times and didn't take the reigns. Joseph didn't look the part last night, either.

In his defense, Joseph has been bothered by an injury to his knee, and not the same knee he underwent surgery on in the offseason. He wasn't himself last night and it showed, but it's still a question whether he possesses the killer instinct to put the Orange on his back when they need him to.

Triche is the other player of whom more is expected, especially since he was the Orange's most-improved player from the 2009 season to last year. His jump shot still looks somewhat inconsistent, but if him and Joseph can take the ball to the rim with authority that may be a non-issue.

Fair showed flashes of offensive brilliance last season and comes into 2011 with a supposedly improved jump shot thanks to an offseason of hard work. If Fair really has extended his game beyond 15-20 feet, Syracuse may be able to rely on the trio of Joseph, Triche and Fair to carry the scoring load without a true top dog.

Then there's Jardine, possibly the only member of the Orange who has never seen a shot he didn't like. He had nine points and seven assists last night and played the role of playmaker and distributor, a role that most fans would love to see him embrace rather than chucking up bad threes at inopportune times.

SU looks to build on West Virginia win

(photo courtesy of suathletics.com)

After losing three straight games at home and with a four-game losing streak not to distant in the rear-view mirror, Monday night marked a big game for the Orange against an unranked-but-talented West Virginia team. As good as West Virginia's resume may be, Syracuse is a better team and they needed to represent at the Carrier Dome. They did.

Brandon Triche scored 20 points for the second time this season and the second time in three days and has really come into his own of late. Triche has been this team's most improved player as the season has gone on and is really stepping into the role of team leader as just a sophomore.

Triche's resurgence has unfortunately coincided with the struggles of Scoop Jardine. If Syracuse could get both players going, they would have an extremely dangerous backcourt to go along with Kris Joseph and Rick Jackson up front. Then maybe I'd consider them an Elite 8 team but right now they're just a Sweet 16 contender, if that.

The removal of Fab Melo from the starting lineup has cut the Syracuse rotation to seven players, a good thing for this team. They may lack size with only Baye Moussa Keita (who saw just nine minutes last night) as a true big man outside of Rick Jackson but this team plays much better basketball when they go small, create turnovers and get out on the break.

ESPN made a big deal during their broadcast about Syracuse's lack of fast-break points in recent games leading to their struggles, but that all starts with defense. You can't run the break if you don't create turnovers and long rebounds and lately, the Orange have been doing neither.

But Monday was a different story as Syracuse had 13 steals, five from Jardine. Jardine played well with nine points, six assists and five rebounds despite still not being able to shoot straight, having just one game in his last 10 with a field-goal percentage above 50 percent and three above 40 percent.

Those 13 steals led to 19 points in transition, more than double their recent average. But Syracuse is still getting killed behind the three-point line, as the Mountaineers were 11-for-22 from beyond the arc despite just four points in the paint.

This tells me that the Orange defenders are quick to recover to the post and the middle of the court, but slow to recover to shooters outside the three-point line. On numerous occasions I've watched the Orange guard well for 30 seconds, struggle to recover to an open shooter late in the shot clock, have their hands down and allow a clean look for three. Those are demoralizing possessions.

For a team that struggles so much in their half-court set, they need to get out and run. No team can expect to record 13 steals per game so if the Orange want to continue to get out on the break, they will need to defend the outside shot better and create more long rebounds and transition opportunities.

Syracuse has two tough Big East games remaining, both on the road next Monday at Villanova and next Saturday at Georgetown. The Orange already lost to both teams at the Carrier dome and to win away from home, they will have to turn up the defense to create some offense.

Cuse bounces back, no points shaved

(photo courtesy of suathletics.syr.edu)

A well-drawn up set out of a late timeout gave Syracuse its first lead in weeks right before heading into the locker room. They never gave it back, building on their 26-25 halftime edge to beat Connecticut 66-58 and avoid what would have been their first five-game losing streak under Jim Boeheim.

Just two days after rumors surfaced about a potential point-shaving scandal involving Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and James Southerland (Syracuse was 7-13 against the spread in their first 20 games), the Orange rebounded behind the play of Brandon Triche (16 points), Rick Jackson (13 points, 13 rebounds) and Baye Moussa Keita (11 rebounds, 6 steals).

Triche came up particularly big in key moments, hitting a three-pointer with 4:28 left to extend Syracuse's lead to four after the Huskies trimmed the deficit to one. His 10 second-half points along with 9 from Kris Joseph, who struggled with his shot early, propelled Syracuse to a much-needed victory. Triche's continued improvement in his sophomore season has been a definite bright spot for the Orange heading into the season's final quarter.

Jardine's struggles continued, as he scored just 7 points on 2-for-11 shooting, while Waiters had 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals and Southerland played only one minute. You have to wonder whether the scandal was on Jardine's mind, as he vehemently defended himself and his teammates via Twitter, giving legs to the rumor that has since inspired an apology from its anonymous initiator (link below).

http://blog.syracuse.com/orangebasketball/2011/02/originator_of_syracuse_point-s.html

The real story, however, was the struggle of UConn's National Player of the Year candidate Kemba Walker.

Walker was held to single digits for the first time all season, making just 3 of his 14 shots and struggling to find open looks against the 2-3 zone of the Orange. When you shut down the best player on what is essentially a one-man team, you usually win. Walker's teammates didn't give him much help and the Huskies couldn't move the ball crisply enough to beat the zone, resulting in 16 turnovers.

Syracuse is now 6-4 in the Big East with eight conference games remaining, four of those coming against ranked teams (three on the road). The taste of victory after over two weeks without one should reestablish this team's confidence and lead them to another 10-win season in the Big East. They won't hit their 15-3 mark from last season, but they can come close.

Pitt and Nova, OK, but Seton Hall? Come on Cuse!

(photo courtesy of southorangejuice.com)

Basketball is a game of runs and streaks, both in-game and in-season. This year, the Syracuse Orange have epitomized that age-old axiom.

The Orange started the season on an 18-game winning streak, which came to a screeching halt after Pittsburgh opened the first half on a 19-0 run last Monday. Syracuse responded with 17 unanswered points of their own but never led against the Panthers in their first loss of the season.

That early scoring run was the end of Syracuse's winning streak and also the end of their confident play and offensive chemistry. They have since lost two conference games at home to Villanova, a top-10 team, and unranked Seton Hall. Talk about streaky.

They didn't just lose to the Pirates either; they were embarrassed. Seton Hall started the game on a 10-2 run and took a 13-point lead into halftime. Most people watching surely expected Syracuse to climb back in the second half, but Seton Hall scored the first seven points to extend their lead to 20 and the Orange didn't score until four-and-a-half minutes in.

Pirates star Jeremy Hazell was awesome, tying his season-high with 28 points and adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Seton Hall is now 2-3 since his return from a wrist injury, but they still aren't widely considered to be a contender for the NCAA tournament. A victory like this will change that, however.

There's a lot of blame that can be tossed around for Syracuse's losing streak, but a lot of it ultimately falls on Scoop Jardine. Anybody who watches this team consistently know he's prone to turnovers (2.9 per game) but he makes up for it by creating offense for himself and others. The Orange don't have anybody else that can break you down one-on-one, so the responsibility of creating offense falls directly on Jardine's shoulders.

During their three-game losing streak, Jardine has not played at his usual level. He has averaged just 8.3 points per game on 9-for-31 shooting, almost five points below his season average, and has just 9 assists compared to 7 turnovers. Coincidentally, Syracuse is shooting poorly, averaging over five points per game less on offense and creating extra fast-break opportunities for their opponents with long rebounds and turnovers.

Normally I would say that Saturday's game at Marquette would a great time for this team to regroup and prepare for next Wednesday's game against Connecticut and surefire top-five NBA draft pick Kemba Walker. But if I had written on this team after the Villanova game, I would've said the same thing about playing Seton Hall. And Marquette is actually over .500.

Jim Boeheim said earlier in the season that this team was not as good as their ranking and wasn't a top-10 basketball team; I agreed. But after 18 straight wins, even I was starting to believe that this team was jelling into an Elite Eight or even a Final Four contender. However, Kris Joseph missing the Pittsburgh game has seemingly destroyed this team's rhythm and after last night's loss, they may fall out of the top 15.

For this team to succeed offensively (and keep their opponents in half-court sets on the other end), they will need to be more efficient. And considering Syracuse doesn't have a go-to scorer (sorry Kris Joseph) or a knock-down outside shooter, the onus will fall on Jardine to penetrate and create offense for everybody else. Does this team miss Wes Johnson and Andy Rautins or what?

This team will only go as far as he can take them and as much as I like Jardine, he's an above-average college point guard at best. Which seems to make Syracuse nothing more than an above-average basketball team at this point in the season.

Syracuse loses without Joseph, UConn wins thanks to Walker

You don't see many conferences that can boast two matchups between top-10 teams in one night but last night, the Big East could. With #3 Syracuse traveling to #4 Pittsburgh and #7 Villanova visiting #8 Connecticut, it was a great night for college basketball fans, especially those who love the Big East as much as I do.

Pitt got off to a hot start against the Orange, scoring the game's first 19 points as Syracuse couldn't find any rhythm on offense without Kris Joseph, their leading scorer. The Orange stormed back with 17 unanswered to cut the lead to two but didn't lead all game and were tied just once.

James Southerland started in Joseph's stead, played all but two minutes and only had 8 points while C.J. Fair played 36 minutes off the bench and picked up Joseph's scoring slack with 16 and added 9 rebounds. Fair is the guy I expected to step up most without Joseph and he did, but no Orange player shot over 50 percent from the field and they shot just 39.1 percent as a team.

Southerland was stuck playing power forward most of the night and the Syracuse defense couldn't contain Nasir Robinson (21 points) or Gary McGhee (13 rebounds) down low. The Orange might have missed Joseph more on defense than on offense, as he has yet to turn into the player many expected to take over a heavy scoring burden.

One player who has taken over as one of the nation's top scorers is Connecticut's Kemba Walker. Walker was leading the nation in scoring for much of the season before BYU's Jimmer Fredette scored 47 the other night to take over the scoring lead. Walker has also hit numerous game-winning or game-sealing shots this season and has been the nation's top player in the clutch.

Walker did it again last night, hitting a three-pointer with just over a minute to play to put the Huskies up three. But up 59-57 with 34 seconds left, the 84-percent foul shooter missed two shots and committed a foul on the other end that Corey Fisher turned into two made free throws and a tie game.

Walker got the ball on the final possession, drove into the lane between three Wildcat defenders and pulled up for the game-winner, which hit nothing but twine on its way down. His body control to square himself to the basket in the air after being bumped (read: fouled) by a help defender was impressive, as was his short memory and determination to atone for the previous possession on defense.

I liked Walker a lot last season but he has turned into an absolute superstar this season, increasing his scoring average by over 10 points per game. With only one other player in double figures for the season, Walker has been essentially a one-man team for the Huskies.

I don't know how much longer UConn can continue to win in a difficult Big East with one player but when that player is Walker, anything is possible. This year's Connecticut squad is, to a lesser extent, similar to Syracuse's 2003 team which rode Carmelo Anthony and a bunch of role players to a national title. The Orange had better role players than the Huskies, but with a player like Walker they will be competitive in every tournament game come March.

I'm curious to see how the Big East regular season will play out but one thing I do now is that Pittsburgh, the only team left without a conference loss, does look like the best team right now. Brad Wanamaker is a do-it-all guard surrounded by shooters like leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, competent big men and impressive depth (nine Panthers average over 10 minutes per game).

I still like Syracuse and Villanova more than UConn and I think the Orange are the second-best team in the conference. Hopefully Joseph gets back in time for Saturday's big game at the Carrier Dome against Villanova because the Orange will need to be at full strength to take down the Wildcats.

Syracuse passes first real test of season, downs Michigan St.

Just last week, I deemed the Syracuse Orange an overrated basketball team. It wasn't just me though; Jim Boeheim felt much the same way about his squad. Watching them struggle to win against N.C. State in person at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, I thought Tom Izzo and Michigan State were going to take care of business against Boeheim's boys.

Boy was I wrong. After falling behind 5-1 early, Syracuse went on a 24-8 run and held a 12-point lead less than 11 minutes into the game. The Spartans would cut the Orange lead to just two with 13:16 left in the second half, but Syracuse never relinquished their lead and pulled away with a 24-12 run.

Michigan St. has struggled with turnovers all season and last night was no different against the 2-3 zone, as Izzo's team committed 20 turnovers. They settled for jump shots all game, went just 7-for-24 from three-point range and rarely tried to attack the hoop, resulting in a 42-24 advantage for Syracuse in points in the paints and a 38-30 advantage on the boards.

After the game, Izzo said his team played like "sissies" and that he felt like the New York Jets (ouch, burn!). Rick Jackson was an absolute monster down low for the Orange with 17 points and 16 rebounds while Scoop Jardine added 19 points on a surprisingly efficient 7-for-9 shooting and Kris Joseph added 14.

This Syracuse team lost a lot from last season and their weaknesses are still obvious. The departure of Wes Johnson has left the team without a go-to scorer as Joseph hasn't stepped up like many, including me, thought he would. The Orange miss the outside shooting of Andy Rautins as they went just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc. Jackson's improvement, however, has helped mask the loss of big man Arinze Onuaku.

Historically, Michigan State is a team that struggles early while playing one of the nation's toughest schedules, while Syracuse thrives against lesser competition. This is why Izzo's teams tend to outperform their seed in the NCAA tournament while Syracuse is a prime upset candidate.

As much as I'd like to believe in the Orange as a top-10 team RIGHT NOW, I just can't (I'll give them top 15, though). They lack a go-to guy in crunch time and without any real three-point threats, they will need to rely on their defense to force turnovers if they ever fall behind by a significant amount.

Michigan State is a very talented team but they aren't a top-10 squad either, not at this point of the season. I wouldn't be surprised to see these teams playing in the Sweet 16 or even the Elite 8 come March, but they both have a lot of work to do.

Syracuse might find the going tough in the Big East or against teams that can match up with Jackson down low, while the Spartans need to get Kalin Lucas back to 100 percent. What helps both teams is their depth; players like Draymond Green and Korey Luscious from Michigan State would start for most teams in the country and C.J. Fair has looked great in limited minutes this season for Syracuse.

I wouldn't be surprised if Fair develops into a go-to scorer for Syracuse later in the conference season. The kid can flat out score and he's not afraid to take the ball to the hoop. His outside shot needs work but unless Joseph breaks out of his early-season funk, Fair may be the answer for the Orange come 2011.

Tuesday Night Basketball: Syracuse, UNC and the Knicks

With all three of my favorite teams (NBA and college) in action last night, it's time for a triple post.

Syracuse v. Cornell

This game was a mismatch from the start, as evidenced by the 38-17 halftime score. Cornell struggled against Syracuse's zone and could only find open shots beyond the three-point line, where they shot just 7-for-29 on the day.

The Big Red put up a fight in the second half, actually outscoring the Orange 41-40 and cutting the lead to 11 at one point (49-38). But Syracuse was too athletic for the Big Red and followed the lead of their MVP so far this season, senior big man Rick Jackson, who had 17 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double in seven games this season.

Jackson, down 25 pounds from a season ago, looks much quicker and much more explosive and has almost doubled his rebounding average, from 7.0 in 2009-10 to 13.0 this year. With the rest of the team struggling to find consistency in its play, Syracuse's only senior has taken the leadership role in his own hands.

Jim Boeheim still feels him team is overrated, and I agree. The Orange have the potential to be an Elite 8 team this season if they continue to improve as the season wears on but if they don't step up their game when Big East play begins, this team won't be in the top 10 for much longer.

North Carolina v. Illinois

Speaking of overrated, is there a team in the past two years who has been more overseeded to start the year than the Tar Heels? A preseason top-10 team last year, they struggled and missed the NCAA tournament. Starting at #8 in the polls this year, UNC is already out of the top 25 thanks to two early-season losses.

The score of last night's 79-67 loss to #21 Illinois was not indicative of how the game was played. The Illini dominated Roy Williams' young Carolina squad behind 17 points and 8 assists from All-American hopeful Demetri McCamey, one of the NCAA's better point guards. John Henson and Tyler Zeller were the only Tar Heels in double figures, as top recruit Harrison Barnes continued to struggle.

Barnes had just 8 points on 2-for-9 shooting, his third single-digit scoring game in seven games this season. For the year, he's shooting just 33.8 percent from the field and hasn't had a 20-point game yet. Barnes is a scorer who hasn't been able to find his identity (shooter? slasher?) early in his college career and while I don't expect him to struggle all season, it's obvious the Heels aren't a top-25 team even if Barnes was scoring like he could.

After losing Ed Davis, Deon Thompson, Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves from a team that was just 20-17 last season, I don't know how people expected this squad to be one of the ten best in the nation, especially from the get-go. It could be another long season along Tobacco Road and I'm not sure this team is even good enough to make the tournament this season.

Knicks v. Nets

Break up the Knicks! A 10-9 record places them seventh in the East through almost a quarter of a season, behind the five teams everyone expected to contend in the east (Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago) and a surprise Pacers team, who have recent quality wins at the Heat and the Lakers. And considering Cleveland is currently eighth at 7-10, it's not blasphemous to say the Knicks are a playoff contender.

I said the same thing a few weeks ago, right before the Knicks managed to lose six in a row. They've won seven of eight since, losing to the only team they faced who was over .500 (Atlanta) and losing convincingly at home. New York might be a playoff contender, but they are far from a title contender.

Title contenders don't allow 58 first-half points to a 6-12 team. I know the Knicks clamped down defensively in the third quarter, holding New Jersey to just 15 points to take a 15-point lead into the fourth, but I've yet to see the consistency on defense for a full four quarters. I see only flashes of defensive brilliance from this team and that won't be enough to get out of the first round of the playoffs, even in the East.

But it's a definite improvement over last season. Toney Douglas is seeing more time and is probably the Knicks best two-way player, while Ronny Turiaf has been an excellent addition for his defense, rebounding and hustle. I would be remiss to mention rebounding and hustle and leave out rookie Landry Fields, who might be the steal of the draft to this point in the season.

Add in surprising defensive intensity from Amar'e Stoudemire and Wilson Chandler protecting the hoop along with Raymond Felton pressuring the ball up top and this team is actually fun to watch play defense at times. They need to keep the intensity up for a full four quarters every night to legitimately contend though. Unless, of course, they find a way to add Carmelo Anthony. That move is the only one that could make the Knicks a legitimate contender beyond round one.

Syracuse. Villanova. Who wins?

I initially planned this preview in conjuction with my attendance at the Carrier Dome. Sadly, I will no longer be part of the largest on-campus crowd in history, but I will still throw in my two cents on how this game might turn out.

Although I believe Syracuse is the better team (and the second-best team in the country), Villanova presents one of the Orange's most difficult matchups. The reason is simple: Awesome guard play.

Scottie Reynolds is one of the top contenders for Big East Player of the Year and, while he likely won't win the award, he will receive heavy consideration. A scoring average of 19 PPG on 49% shooting for a 6'2'' guard will do that.

Along with Reynolds, fellow guard Corey Fisher is probably the Wildcats' second-best player, averaging 13.8 points per game. The duo of Reynolds and Fisher gives Villanova one of the best if not the best backcourt combination in the country.

Everybody raves about Syracuse's 2-3 zone, but the way to beat that zone is with dead-eye outside shooting (just look at the first half against Providence earlier this week) and dribble penetration. Both Reynolds and Fisher are capable of killing the Orange in both areas, and Villanova has plenty of backcourt depth off the bench as well, despite Corey Stokes' recent citing for public urination which has made his status for Saturday's game unclear.

While Villanova has the backcourt edge despite excellent play this season from Andy Rautins, Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, Syracuse's real advantage comes on the low block. Arinze Onuaku, Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph all average at least 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, while star swingman Wesley Johnson adds 8.7 boards himself to go along with a team-leading 15.8 points per game.

Despite those numbers, Villanova is actually the better rebounding team, ranking 17th in the nation. Another weakness of a zone defense is an inability to keep opposing teams off the offensive glass, and Syracuse's big men will have to make sure they keep the scrappy Wildcats from getting second-chance opportunities.

Syracuse has the nation's top field-goal percentage and the 27th-best three-point percentage. But in their two losses this season, they shot below 43 percent and were just 6-for-32 from beyond the arc. A strong shooting performance will be necessary for the Orange to outpace the nation's second-leading scoring team.

On the other hand, Villanova has had their own defensive issues. They struggle to keep opponents in front of them and resort to fouling, as seen in their three Big East losses where they allowed their opponents to take 128 free throws, making 100. Luckily for the Wildcats, Syracuse is one of the country's worst foul-shooting teams at just 67 percent, despite their uncanny efficiency from the field.

So what gives? These two teams seem poised to give this record crowd one of the better Big East games of the season, and that's saying something. Villanova's offensive strengths seem to mirror Syracuse's few defensive weaknesses, while the Orange should have no trouble against a Wildcat defense that struggles at times.

In my eyes, that leads to a high-scoring basketball game, I think a deeper Syracuse team will shoot close to 50 percent (52.2% on the season), take a near double-digit lead into the final few minutes and barely hold on (the typical Syracuse blueprint), missing foul shots and allowing the Wildcats to get back into the game with some timely three-point shooting from Reynolds and Fisher. Final score: 78-76, Orange.

Syracuse stays hot, UNC continues to falter

There aren't too many nights during the college basketball season where I get to enjoy my two favorite teams on the court. While I didn't get to watch Syracuse roll Rutgers, I unfortunately caught a glimpse of the North Carolina Tar Heels committing 26 turnovers in their loss to Clemson, tied for the most since Roy Williams became head coach.

These two teams have gone in different directions since the 24th-ranked Orange beat the fourth-ranked Heels in the championship game of the Coaches v. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. Syracuse has lost just once while the Tar Heels have dropped four games, including three of their four matchups against ranked teams.

While Syracuse is ranked in the top five and is making a strong case for a top seed in the NCAA tournament, North Carolina will be lucky to remain in the top 25, especially if they can't end their three-game losing streak against ranked teams with a win Saturday against #18 Georgia Tech.

An important trend to notice here is depth: Syracuse has it, while UNC doesn't. Seven Syracuse players average over 20 minutes played, while only four Tar Heels hit the 20-minute mark on a nightly basis.

Syracuse also possesses the balance that North Carolina lacks. Scoop Jardine is seventh in scoring for the Orange at 8.6 points per game, just 1.7 points behind second-leading scorer Andy Rautins. The top seven players in Jim Boeheim's rotation could arguably start for 95 percent of teams in the nation.

On the flip side, UNC is proving how difficult it is to replace multiple NBA-caliber players after losing Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington. The Heels have just two reliable scorers in Deon Thompson (15.8 PPG) and Ed Davis (15.5 PPG), who also are the only returning players who averaged more than 15 minutes per game for UNC last season. Maybe that explains their 1-5 record away from Chapel Hill.

The Orange lost Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris from last year's squad, but that pales in comparison to what Carolina lost. Flynn is the only NBA talent out of the three, and Brandon Triche and Jardine have done a great job in his stead. Syracuse's 2-3 zone is as good as always, which makes the Orange a tough out when the calendar turns to March.

UNC may have won it all last season but out of the two teams, it's Syracuse who has the best chance at cutting down the nets in 2010. They are way too talented this year to be satisfied with anything less than an Elite 8 appearance. UNC should be ecstatic if they even make the Sweet 16 in what amounts to a down year by the program's standards. This year, it's all about the 'Cuse!