Predaction: West Virginia and Notre Dame

I apologize for any typos. I'm still a little shaky after West Virgina's 3-point barrage, and the Scoop-KJ chokes at the line. Geheyeheyeheyehey! (grabbing collar)

Continuing my thoughts from the Rutgers game on Wes... at this point, who would you rather have with the ball on the perimeter, being guarded one-on-one with the rest of the Orange clearing out: Wes or KJ? Now, I know Wes had the flu today. And he did have the play of the game when he finished his little hook shot in the lane and got fouled late. But Kris is better off the dribble right now. So it's close between the pair, but I'd take KJ.

I'm sure you noticed, but Bob Huggins once again forgot that the Orange plays zone. West Virginia shot only 39%, even with all those crazy shots down the stretch. Besides their 10 threes, the only reason the Mountaineers kept is close was their excellent defense. It was interesting that out of the two SU PGs, it was Triche who figured out West Virginia was trying to draw charges every time the ball entered the lane. In the second half, he slowed his drives down just enough to find the seam, or shoot a floater. Rautins was brilliant, but Triche was the key player.


Now SU heads to Notre Dame for a Monday night meeting. After winning 3 games against the Orange in his first two seasons, Harangody lost 93-74 in the Dome last year despite putting up 25-16. He was brilliant on offense in that game, despite some excellent defense from the Bigs. But the dirty little secret of his game - his shoddy defense - was revealed when A-O and Ricky torched him for 33 combined.

This year, the great shooter Kyle McAlarnery is gone. Tim Abromaitas and Ben "My Brother Plays in the NBA" Hansbrough will jack up threes, but neither is McAlarney-esque, or even Colin Falls-esque. The SU zone can slow them down. Overall, despite Big Luke, the Irish just aren't as good as they have been in recent years. OK, they're 14-3 with a win over West Virginia, but look how their regular season schedule ends: @ Louisville, Pitt, @ Georgetown, UConn, @ Marquette. Translation: NIT is their fate. This game is no problem for the Orange.

Syracuse rolls, 85-70. Big game from Uncle* Aku



*Onu means uncle in Estonian. It's true!

Quick Predaction: Notre Dame and Pittsburgh

Notre Dame...

• I can't emphasize enough how brilliantly Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku played on defense against Luke Harangody. Ignore the reigning conference player of the year's 25 points. It's his 9 for 28 shooting that begins to tell the story. Harangody has a fantastic touch. Of the 9 shots he did make, probably 5 or 6 of them were tough, away from the basket shots. The credit probably should start with Boeheim, who drilled into Jackson and Onuaku the need to stay down and between Harangody and the hoop.
• On the other end of the floor, I was amazed at what a lackluster defender Harangody is. Matched up mostly with Jackson, he gave up 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He committed only one foul and got only one block. He might win player of the year again based on his offensive skills, but Harangody is not going to make a good pro.

Pittsburgh...

• I was disappointed that Louisville knocked off Pittsburgh the other night, first because I wanted to play Pitt while they were undefeated and second because Pitt now has the bounce-back factor going for them, just as Syracuse had going against the Irish.
• Pitt is allowing only 63.6 ppg in the Big East. Syracuse is scoring 82.2 ppg in conference (including 59 in the ugly South Florida win). Something's gotta give. I think Pitt's Howland-Dixon defense slows down the Orange. In a lower scoring game, threes become even more valuable. If Flynn, Devo, and Rautins are hitting, Syracuse will pull this one off. I'm skeptical, though. That defense, with that crowd... doable, but unlikely. Pittsburgh, 70-68.
  

Predaction: Georgetown and Notre Dame

Main thought:
Frankly, Syracuse is STILL a mystery to me. How can you draw any conclusions from a game with such a ridiculous FG% disparity in the first half, and with Rautins playing only 9 minutes? We'll know more after Saturday. If this team is for real, there is no reason to lose at home to Notre Dame, with the taste of that ugly performance still fresh. If they lose to Notre Dame, they're not awful, but they're not a top 10 team.

Further thoughts:

• Must've been wishful thinking picking Georgetown as the disappointing team of the Big East this year in my rankings. Could be SU. Could be ND. Heck, it could be a team playing great at the moment.
• I briefly forgot how good a coach JT-III is. I still think, when SU is playing reasonably well, and Georgetown isn't hitting 57.1% from three, that the SU zone is a rough matchup for his offense. He's 3-4 lifetime against the Orange, but the Hoyas have been ranked much higher than the Orange the last few years.
• I've never been more impressed by a guy who didn't hit a FG until 13 minutes to play. Greg Monroe is a stud. Chris texted me and called him "A taller, better Jeff Green."
• Rick Jackson had a tough game. His 4 turnovers were glaring. But he still ended up with 17 points on 8-10 shooting. Chris saw it first; this guy is going to be a star.
• A-O, meanwhile, was invisible on offense. He has to be more of a presence on that end against these marquee teams. On the other hand, maybe 23 points and 18 rebounds from the Onuaku-Jackson tandem should be enough.
• I loved Devendorf tonight. Nice game from Harris, and outstanding effort as usual. Couldn't ask any more of Flynn.
• Kris Joseph looked like a freshman. Kristof Ongenaet was more of a presence, but the game was out of his league. No Mookie Jones for his 3-ball? OK, coach. Forget I asked.

Saturday, noon, The Dome...

• Look for a big game out of Onuaku. He relishes matching up against the stud centers.
• Pay attention to Rautins's demeanor, if he plays. He was clearly rattled by the injury tonight. He seems to be a psychologically sensitive guy. If he plays, and misses his first couple shots, that could spiral into a longterm slump.
• With the Rautins injury, let's see if Boeheim takes the opportunity to start Devendorf. I wouldn't complain. He is clearly starter-caliber. However, Chris has convinced me that Rautins is better player when he starts. A quick analysis of his best games this year and last year confirms it. Devendorf, on the other hand, is clearly still a force coming off the bench.
• Call me crazy, but I still believe Syracuse is more talented than Georgetown. They're more talented than Notre Dame, too, and will prove it with their best first half of the season. F'ing McAlarney makes it interesting in the second half, but Syracuse never gives up the lead and wins it by 10.