March Madness Predictions....Sleepers....Who's overrated?

Syracuse Pulls Out a Nail-Biter Against UConn

      With 24,847 people shaking in their boots in the Carrier Dome, the now No.2 Syracuse University Orange improved to a school best (24-1) overall, as they barely escaped with a win against conference rival UConn 72 to 67.  Syracuse leap frogged the Kentucky Wildcats to move to No.2 in the country in the AP Poll, however, they continue to be No.3 in the Coaches Poll.  Overall, SU played like the No.2 ranked team in the country for most of the game, but couldn't put the finishing touches on the Huskies when they needed to in order to blow out UConn.  However, SU did respond positively when it counted most in order to shoot an incredible 82% from the line to clinch the victory in the closing seconds of this Big East Battle.

        This game was much tighter than what it should have been, as The Cuse squandered a 16 point lead in the second half, as their defensive intensity waivered to allow Uconn Guards Jerome Dyson and Kimba Walker to slice into the Cuse 2-3 zone and create solid scoring opportunities for themselves and others.  Walker's not known for his shooting ability, yet made 3 teardrop shots with under 8 minutes left in the game to keep the Huskies cutting into the SU lead.  Walker ended up with 14 points on the day, while Dyson added 19 points.  Dyson went 0 for his first 4 from downtown, but then hit two huge three pointers with under 4 minutes left in the game.

       With under a minute left in the game, Uconn and The Orange were tied at 65 to 65.  UConn had the ball and was looking to take the lead.....Kimba Walker brought the ball down the floor and to no one's surprise, Jerome Dyson pulled the trigger on a 3 pointer that would have put some serious pressure on Syracuse to do the same.  For the Cuse faithful, luckily Dyson was slightly off on his shot, as Kris Joseph got the rebound.  After a timeout, Syracuse Guard Andy Rautins rushed and missed a contested 3 off an inbounds pass, but Syracuse Center Rick Jackson rebounded to give SU the ball back.  However, at that moment Scoop Jardine drove to the bucket, unsure of what to do, and missed a layup that was blocked.  Somehow, Orange coach Jim Boeheim called a timeout with 36.6 seconds left and 32 on the shot clock, which apparently was before Jardine's bad attempt at a layup.  Overall, with SU regaining the ball it put them in the drivers seat to scrape out a victory, Johnson was fouled by Robinson as soon as play resumed and sank both free throws to give Syracuse a 67-65 lead with 30.4 seconds left.  Kris Joseph then followed with two more free throws with 11.5 seconds to go to make it a two possession game. Walker hit a layup to cut the lead back to a basket, but Joseph sealed it with two more free throws after he was intentionally fouled by Majok on a breakaway with 5.8 seconds left. 

**Analysis:

Solid win for the Cuse, but definitely showed that they're vulnerable to strong guard play from up top and around the foul line area.  Too many holes were exposed late, The Cuse weren't pumped up to play tonight.  They were expecting to win, but didn't want to put the nail in the coffin.  Nothing's easy in the Big East and that was proven tonight.

STATS:

Connecticut

Player Position **(Minutes- Points)

S Robinson F 36 -16

A Majok F 11 - 2

A Oriakhi C 13 - 0

K Walker G 38 - 14

J Dyson G 34 - 19

G Edwards 37 - 12

C Okwandu 19 - 2

J Coombs-McDaniel 8 - 2

Total = 67


Syracuse

Player Position **(Minutes - Points)

W Johnson F 40 - 13

R Jackson F 28 - 15

A Onuaku C 21 - 7

A Rautins G 33 - 8

B Triche G 26 - 8

K Joseph 31 - 14

S Jardine 21 - 7

Total = 72

 

Uconn Shocks Texas and West Virginia Ousts Ohio State

 

Today was a huge day for the Big East, as No.21 Uconn shocked the now sliding No.1 Texas Longhorns 88 to 74 at home in Connecticut, even though the Longhorns led by 10 in the second half.  This Texas squad had an incredibly tough week, as they lost two very tough road games to the likes of Kansas State and Uconn.  The only remaining undefeated team in Men's Division I college Basketball is now the Calipari led Kentucky Wildcats, as they will undoubtedly move to Number 1 in the country.  Uconn guard and team leader Jerome Dyson put up a career high 32 points and had this to say after the game Saturday, as the Huskies once again played without their head coach and Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun. 

“We’ve got to play for him,” said Dyson, who said Calhoun was proud and excited on the phone after the game. “We know these wins will help him get better, because it will take some of the stress off him having to worry about us, and he can focus on getting himself better.” 

     No.12 West Virginia also added to the hype surrounding the Big East today, as the West Virginia Mountaineers battled back in the second the half to outlast the No.25 Ohio State Buckeyes 71-65.  The Buckeyes led 40 to 28 at the half, but didn't have the same effort in the second half, as Bobby Huggins flipped out on the Mountain men at halftime and they responded after the break to blow out the Buckeyes 43 to 25 in the second half.  Just as was the case for the West Virginia - Syracuse game from earlier this month, the Mountaineers proved they're never out of a game, as three point shooting and a strong defense has proven to be noteworthy throughout the year.  I don't think there's any doubt that at this point in the season the Big East has put up BIG results against the other top conferences.  The Big 12 has received a lot of respect so far this year, with the likes of Kansas and Texas, however, both teams have certainly proven to be beatable, as conference play has shown each team to be far from perfect.  Strong showing for the Big East today, let's hope it's noticed by the selection committee come March.