Notent Notables: The Game of the Millenium

• I just tested my cell phone's ability to Twitter. It worked. I don't like to overuse Twitter, but I'll be posting to it throughout the day tomorrow. You can follow here: https://twitter.com/pa451

• Jay Bilas is in town! I saw him this morning trying to make his way through snow banks with a fresh coffee from Marshall Street back to his room in the University Sheraton. He kindly stepped aside at a narrow point in the trail to let me pass. I freaked out, as I always do around celebrities, and couldn't think of anything good to say...

Me: "Are you enjoying the snow?"
Bilas: "Yeah, so far!"
Me: [phony television host laugh]

• These T-shirts have been all over town since the game sold out. Solid.
  

• This is hilarious and hopefully inspirational for the student section. On a more serious note, I hope Stokes plays. As a golfer, I'm not a big stickler when it comes to public urination. He shouldn't be suspended for it. Moreover, I think Syracuse is going to win, and I don't want Villanova to have any excuses when they go down.

• On to the predictions...
  

The Villanova guards - Scottie Reynolds and the Two Coreys - are outstanding. It'll be a tough game for Triche on both ends of the court. On the other hand, Syracuse has a huge advantage underneath. Villanova will out-rebound Syracuse, but A-O and Ricky will do plenty of work on offense - call it...30 points combined. Andy hasn't hit more than 3 threes at home in conference play, so don't look to him for another 20 or more. He'll just do his usual glue guy stuff. Kris Joseph has been cold as of late. It's unclear if this is the right setting for him to heat up; every once in a while he tries to do too much.

The crowd will, of course, be a factor. The dome was flat for the Louisville game, but this is the one everyone has been waiting for. Plus, it's a late game, so alcohol will loosen the vocal chords. Even if Villanova jumps out to a lead, the crowd will help drag SU back. I think Villanova will make a run at some point with three-point shooting, probably in the first half, but SU will get it close by halftime. Then the Orange will lead most of the way in the second, with a tight finish. Then again, I may just be being cautious; SU could blow them out of the water with their balance.

But if it is close, it'll be up to Wes Johnson, just like helping the island is going to be up to Jack. The question is, has Wes seen his life in a lighthouse mirror? In Iowa State, he was broken, and he thought Syracuse could fix him. Wes is here because he has to do something. He can't be told what that is. He's got to find it himself. Sometimes, Boeheim can grab a player and just tell him what he's supposed to do. Other times, you have to let him look out at the ocean for a while.

Perhaps an Orange ocean, 34,616 strong, will do the trick.