I personally don’t think you could ask for a more fitting end to the Big East as we know it to have two great New York rooted coaches going at it on the national stage for the final time in Madison Square Garden. Boeheim was born and raised in Lyons, New York and Pitino, a native of New York City who grew up in the Village of Bayville just miles from where his team will play for their second Big East championship in a row. Both Syracuse and Louisville have been very dominate in the Big East in the last five years and both are very familiar with the bright lights of Madison Square Garden on championship Saturday. Two of the best teams in the league, coached by two of the league’s legendary figures, battling one another to cut down the net for the final time. Syracuse is trying to replicate what the Cards did last year by winning four games in four days to become the Big East champion. Louisville is trying to replicate what Syracuse did in 05/06 and become back-to-back Big East Champions. Syracuse is a five time Big East tourney champ and Louisville has won the prize twice. This will be the third time this season that these teams have faced each other. Cuse won on January 19th 70-68 and Louisville won on March 2nd 58-53. Louisville leads the all-time series against Syracuse 14 to 7 and lead their series in the Big East regular season 7 to 4. These teams have faced each other one other time in the Big East tourney championship game and Louisville won that game 76-66 for their first title.
Syracuse is in the midst of its winningest era ever. The Orange’s recruiting is at an all-time high, with four McDonald’s All-Americans committing in the last three years. And Coach Jim Boeheim is one of the most winning coaches in college basketball at 916 wins. As always, Boeheim has plenty of guys between 6-8 and 6-10 to hold down the back line of the zone, while on the top he has 6-4 Triche and the 6-6 Carter-Williams. And with this much size and agility, the 2-3 is once again a real pain for opposing teams.
Syracuse (26-8, 11-7)
Current RPI-15 Current BPI-7
Kenpom:
ADJ Efficiency- Offense 114.2 Rank 15
ADJ Efficiency- Defense 89.3 Rank 21
Kenpom Overall Rank: 13
National Statistic Rankings:
-POINTS PER GAME
72.1
64th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
38.7
22nd
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
14.8
57th
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.443
115th
OVERALL
Syracuse’s season averages on offense:
2pt-41.5%, 3pt-29.6%, FT-74.3
Syracuse’s season averages on defense:
Forced TO’s-14.1, Steals-7.8, Blocks-5.7
Projected starting line-up for the Orange:
F James Southerland: He rebounds and defends better than he did as an underclassman, but he still remains something of a one-dimensional offensive player. He’s yet to add a reliable drive to the basket to his outside shooting ability. He has scored 53 points, has 11 rebounds and 5 steals in the Big East tourney.
F C.J. Fair: Is a strong and physical player who is a good rebounder and he is a dependable source of effective and low-foul coverage on the back line of the 2-3 zone. He has 35 points and 20 rebounds in the Big East tourney.
G Brandon Triche: Was clutch in the win over the Cards back in January. If he gets hot he can be a very effective scorer. He is a veteran guard and his team will need him to step up big if they are to beat our Cards again on Saturday night. He has scored 42 points, has 7 rebounds and 11 assist on the Big East tourney.
G Michael Carter-Williams: is the player who replaced Scoop Jardine in the Cuse starting line-up. He is a good ball handler with great court vision. He has great size and length for the top of that 2-3 zone. Very effective defender. He has 20 points, 27 assist and 7 steals in the Big East tourney.
F Rakeem Christmas: Is a good rebounder, shot blocker and defender. He is not as effective on the offensive end of the floor. He is also a player prone to foul trouble. He has 6 points and 5 rebounds in the Big East tourney.
Projected Bench Players:
C Baye Keita: Provides energy, defense and rebounding off the bench. He is another big guy on this team who is not as effective on offense and is also a liability at the free throw line. He has 25 points and 13 rebounds in the Big East tourney.
G Trevor Cooney: Will back up Triche at the off guard spot, allowing the senior guard to rest or move to the point to spell Carter-Williams. He’s got size, strength and athleticism. Gives the Orange a 3 point threat when he’s in the game and can out the ball on the floor and make plays. He has 12 points and 5 rebounds in the Big East tourney.
When you put Syracuse in Madison Square Garden in the Big East tourney they turn into a different team and play out of their minds. And I look for them to play their best game of the season tonight. Therefore it will take one of Louisville’s best efforts to beat them. Peyton and Russ are having outstanding performances so far but really believe that we are going to need Gorgui and Chane to get involved tonight for us to have a chance. Luke Hancock has made some clutch threes this week and that trend will also have to continue. Tonight is going to have to be a team effort. Rebounding and defense is what will decide this one. It will be the toughest ball game of the season and a win here will give the Cards some great momentum heading into the NCAA next week. This one is going to be special folks and I look for this curtain call to go right down to the wire.
The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 70 Syracuse 65