Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Killer Stretch

Syracuse is off to an incredible 16-1 start and is one full-court heave (followed by a good overtime) from being undefeated and ranked #2 in the country.
But all that could change as conference play heats up and SU faces a brutal 10-game stretch.
While I don't expect them to emerge from this gauntlet any better than 6-4, I do love this team.
I think they are perfectly composed with a great point guard, a solid big man, a deadeye outside shooter and a tough guy who makes the outside shots and drives to the hole when the team needs it most.
Here's my game-by-game predictions for the next ten games with dates, times and TV station (for TON who otherwise would not watch and would e-mail me in March to ask how SU is doing this year and if Allen Griffin is still on the team):

January 14 at No. 12 Georgetown 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2
Loss - It's going to be very hard to go on the road and win against the other top teams in this conference.

January 17 No. 13 Notre Dame 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
Loss - Even at home the 1-2 punch of Harangody and McAlarney may be too much for Syracuse to handle, especially because they are perfectly suited to destroy SU's zone, Harangody by getting in the middle of it, and McAlarney by shooting over it.

January 19 at No. 1 Pittsburgh 7:00 PM ET on ESPN
Loss - Pittsburgh will very likely still be undefeated and number one, could be very difficult to knock them off.

January 25 No. 20 Louisville 12:00 PM ET on SNY
Win - I'm not a big fan of this Louisville team and I think they already pulled off their big upset with that win over Notre Dame.

January 28 at Providence 7:00 PM ET not sure what channel
Win - The one soft spot in this stretch of games, even though right now they are 3-1 in the conference.

February 4 West Virginia 7:00 PM ET on ESPN
Win - This game may also be a breather. I don't think this team has the size to keep up with SU inside.

February 7 vs. No. 22 Villanova* 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
Win - I'm also not sold on Villanova. They still have Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds but they also lack size inside. Due to the stupidest rule ever this game is considered a neutral site game, not a road game even though it's in Philadelphia.

February 11 at No. 4 Connecticut 7:00 PM ET on ESPN
Loss - It will be interesting to see how Arinze Onuaku and Hasheem Thabeet square off.

February 14 No. 12 Georgetown 12:00 PM ET on ESPN
Win - I don't see Georgetown coming into the Dome and winning. They have a good team, but not that good.

February 22 No. 22 Villanova 1:00 PM ET on CBS
Win - If they can beat Villanova in a "neutral site" game, they can beat them in the Dome.

Think I'm wrong? Post your own game by game predictions in the comments sections.

Andy Rautins throws up the triple threat sign

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Low blow!

My Predictions:
I say they go 7-3 with strong efforts from Todd Burgan and Damone Brown

Anonymous said...

HOYAS!!!!! whooped that ass tonight!