Preview: No. 3 Syracuse vs. No. 14 Indiana State

The Orange are in Cleveland for this weekend of the NCAA Tournament, making them the best team in the city (sorry Cavs fans; your team has played 34 more games but has only half as many wins). Syracuse is the three seed in the East region, so it will take on No. 14 Indiana State. (9:57 PM ET, TruTV).

Significance: Win or go home. Self-explanatory. Also, the sooner Indiana State goes home, the sooner we stop seeing highlights of Larry Bird and the 1979 Indiana State team playing in short shorts.

Three Pointers:

1. Indiana State's offense vs. Syracuse's defense: As Kris Joseph so eloquently described, the Sycamores have some shooters. They are below-average from the field, hitting 43% of their shots, but a respectable 36.3% from three. If the zone defense can keep Indiana State from hitting a lot of threes, this should be an easy game for Syracuse.
2. Syracuse has a big advantage: Literally. The Sycamores don't have anyone over 6'8", which points to a huge day for Rick Jackson down low. Hopefully Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita can use that to their advantage as well.
3. Start and finish strong: The Orange want to avoid an early deficit, and put Indiana State away in the second half when they get the chance. If they fail to do so, they could suffer the same fate as Louisville.

Prediction: Indiana State will probably hang around for a while and keep the game interesting. The Orange might not blow them out, but they should win comfortably.

Syracuse 72, Indiana State 58

Ponderism: What if Jimmer Wore Orange?

Last night was another average night for BYU's Jimmer Fredette; he scored 32 points to lead the Cougars in their round of 64 win over No. 14 Wofford.

Fredette has played basketball for the past four years at BYU in Provo, Utah. Right now he's in Denver trying to lead the Cougars to the Sweet 16 in New Orleans.

But the Jimmer hails from Glens Falls, NY, just a three hour drive from Syracuse. In fact, four years ago Syracuse looked at the Jimmer, but didn't bite:

"I looked at Syracuse a little bit, and they looked at me a little bit. But they had Scoop Jardine and Jonny Flynn coming in the same year I was and were pretty much set."

The Orange let the Jimmer get away (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

It's somewhat depressing to think the Orange could've had the nation's leading scorer and top candidate for player of the year. Don't get me wrong, Scoop Jardine has been very good at Syracuse. But he hasn't earned the nicknames "Scoopid" and "Scoop being Scoop" for nothing.

Imagine this year's team, but with Jimmer Fredette instead of Scoop Jardine. Brandon Triche would play the point guard role he did last year. The burden to lead the team would be lessened for Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph.

Dion Waiters, who loves to chuck threes, could learn from one of the best shooters in the game. And the Carrier Dome would always be buzzing, just waiting to explode from one of those trademark long range bombs.

Instead, Jimmer Fredette is at BYU and the Syracuse Orange live and die with Scoop Jardine. The only way Syracuse could meet the Jimmer again is if they faced off in this year's national championship game.

Sigh.

Kris Joseph Provides Sycamores Fuel with "White Boys" Remark

We're all told to be polite to strangers (not the sketchy guy in the van selling candy...you know what I mean), but it appears Kris Joseph doesn't abide by those same guidelines.

When asked for his initial reaction to hearing Syracuse's opponent is Indiana State, Joseph was far from being politically correct:



Joseph described the Sycamores as "a bunch of white boys that could shoot," saying "I knew they weren't a team full of athletes."

To be fair, as you can see in their response, some of Indiana State's players are in fact white. And saying they can shoot is a compliment (and they can; the Sycamores shoot 36.3% from three). But to their team lacks athletes is belittling them.

Yet just seconds later, Kris Joseph said they should "not look past anyone in this tournament." Hmmm. Sounds a little hypocritical.

I wonder what Joseph will hear from Indiana State should any of those "white boys" start hitting shots.

NCAA Tournament Day One Late Games Recap

The Big East was represented well, finishing 4-2 on the first (real) day of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Earlier, Pittsburgh and West Virginia both won, but Louisville was upset by Morehead State. Tonight, No. 6 Cincinnati beat No. 11 Missouri, 78-63, setting up a game against No. 3 Connecticut, which handled No. 14 Bucknell easily, winning 81-52.

No. 6 St. John's was not as fortunate. The Johnnies are going home already after losing to No. 11 Gonzaga 86-71.

Other notable winners tonight included No. 5 Kansas State and No. 7 UCLA, both of which fought off comeback attempts by their respective opponents. In a game that appeared it would never end, the Wildcats downed No. 12 Utah State, 73-68. And the Bruins held on against No. 10 Michigan State, 70-68.

For the latest updates, check the live bracket of this year's NCAA Tournament.

NCAA Tournament Update: Buzzer Beaters Abound on "First" Day of March Madness

Just half of today's games are completed and already we've seen four buzzer beaters and two upsets.

The first game winner came when No. 8 Butler's Matt Howard scored on a put back to give last year's Cinderella a 60-58 win over No. 9 Old Dominion.

Louisville was the first giant to fall. Morehead State's Demonte Harper hit a three with less than seven seconds left to give the 13th seeded Eagles a 62-61 victory against the No. 4 Cardinals.

Brandon Knight saved the Bluegrass State from a total meltdown, hitting a game winner, his only field goal of the game, against No. 13 Princeton, giving No. 4 Kentucky the 59-57 win.

Penn State's Talor Battle hit a deep three to tie the score against No. 7 Temple, but the Owls' Juan Fernandez hit a leaner at the buzzer, sealing the 66-64 win over the 10th seeded Nittany Lions.

Richmond pulled off the classic 12 over 5 upset, beating Vanderbilt 69-66 thanks to a late floater by Kevin Anderson.

The Big East saw two of its teams advance. No. 5 West Virginia beat No. 12 Clemson 84-76, and the top seeded Pitt Panthers handled No. 16 UNC-Ashville, 74-51.

Elsewhere in the Big East, No. 3 Connecticut is already underway against No. 14 Bucknell. Later tonight No. 6 St. John's will play No. 11 Gonzaga and No. 6 Cincinnati will take on No. 11 Missouri.

Breaking Down the Orange Brick Road

When the brackets were announced, I gave a brief overview of how far Syracuse could advance in the NCAA Tournament. Now let's delve a little deeper and look at some possible match ups round by round:

Round of 64 (which is what I will call it because calling it the second round just sounds stupid):

No. 14 Indiana State (20-13,12-6): The Sycamores were the 3 seed in the Missouri Valley Tournament but beat both teams above them, Wichita State and Missouri State, to secure an automatic bid. Indiana State does a solid job on defense, allowing 64.1 ppg, but they don't have enough offense to score against Syracuse's 2-3 zone.

Round of 32:

No. 11 Marquette (20-14, 9-9): The Golden Eagles can fill up the basket (76.1 ppg) but have really let down on defense in the second half of the season, giving up 77.9 ppg since Big East play began. On paper Syracuse is better, but the Golden Eagles beat the Orange before and they can do it again.

No. 6 Xavier (24-7, 15-1): We all know about Tu Holloway (20.2 ppg, 5.5 apg, 5.1 rpg) but the Musketeers have three others averaging over ten per game. This is a scary match up for the Orange, but I think they could pull through by winning the rebound and turnover battles.

Tu Holloway and Xavier could send the Orange home prematurely (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Syracuse a 3 Seed in the East Region

The 2011 NCAA Tournament field has been announced. It may be a surprise to some, but the Orange are the No. 3 team in the East Region. They will begin playing Friday in Cleveland against No. 14 Indiana State.

Should Syracuse win its first two games, the team will go on to Newark for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. And if they win the regional, the Final Four in Houston awaits.

So, what are Syracuse's chances of dancing from March into April? Let's see:

Best case scenario: The Orange handle the Sycamores easily, and get revenge against No. 11 Marquette, which beat Syracuse in January. In the Sweet 16, Jim Boeheim beats Roy Williams like he did the '03 title game as Syracuse downs No. 2 North Carolina to advance to the Elite Eight. The Orange punch their ticket to Houston by beating another storied program, No. 4 Kentucky, fresh off an upset win over No. 1 Ohio State.

We could see a finish like Hakim Warrick's sophomore season... (Stephen D. Cannerelli/The Post-Standard)

Worst case scenario: The Orange fail to get out Cleveland as the Ghost of Larry Bird wills Indiana State to victory and Syracuse loses to a 14 seed once again. Either that, or they fall to the Golden Eagles in the next round.

...or like Warrick's senior season (Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard)

Somewhere in the middle: Syracuse gets to Newark to face the UNC. The teams are evenly matched but the Orange catch a few bad breaks and can't hit free throws, falling to coach Williams and the Heels in the Sweet 16.

Role Reversal: Uconn Beats Syracuse in Overtime

Syracuse. Connecticut. Overtime. Nothing new here.

There were five more OT's the last time they met, but Syracuse (26-7, 12-6) and Connecticut (25-9, 9-9) still made it interesting. Scoop Jardine hit two clutch threes in the last 20 seconds of regulation to extend the game, but the Orange lost in overtime, 76-71.

Unlike when their meeting last month, this time Syracuse couldn't contain Kemba Walker:

• After the game he said, "I was mad when we went to the first overtime. I wanted to win and didn't want to go to another one and another one." A mad Kemba Walker isn't a good sign for Syracuse.

• Angry Kemba had a complete performance, going off for 33 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals and 5 assists.

• Walker scored half of the Huskies' 8 points in overtime. He scored more than all of the Orange, who could manage only 3 points in the extra period.

• His 111 points through four Big East Tournament games is a record for most points scored in a single Big East Tournament.

Angry Kemba got revenge (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Syracuse vs. Connecticut Primer

So the Orange are going to play the UConn Huskies tomorrow night in the first semifinal of the 2011 Big East Tournament. ESPN is going to milk this game for all it's worth, so I figured I'd give you a head start. Let's travel back to 2009 and look at the game that inspired this great shirt. Steve Levy, take it away:

New York's College Team Prevails: Syracuse Downs St. John's

Shhh. Be quiet. Whatever you do, don't tell anyone that our Frankenstein may have come to life. Because if he's for real, Fab Melo could become Syracuse's big secret going into the Tournament.

Now, that isn't guaranteed by any means, but Melo gave a second straight impressive performance, playing a key part in Syracuse's 79-73 victory over St. John's (21-11, 12-6). How huge was the 7 footer? Consider:

• He was absolutely clutch in crunch time. In the last four minutes, Melo had two big layups, an assist and a block. 

• Furthermore, Boeheim kept Melo in at the end despite his four fouls. Looks like he trusts him now.

• Fab finished with 12 points, surpassing his previous career high of 10 he set last game, to go along with 4 rebounds and 2 blocks.

• In fact, Fab came out of nowhere so quickly that even Twitter was confused.

Finally, a reason for Fab Melo to smile (Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard)

Officials Cost Rutgers Win in Big East Tournament

St. John's defeated Rutgers today, 65-63, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. Check that; St. John's and the officials defeated Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights had possession with 4.9 seconds and chance to tie or take the lead, but the inbounds pass was dropped and the Red Storm's Justin Brownlee picked up the loose ball. Here's where it got interesting.

Brownlee took three steps without dribbling, stepped out of bounds and tossed the ball into the air, all with time still left on the clock. See for yourself:



And prior to this, St. John's appeared to commit two fouls on consecutive possessions, but neither were called.

Notice how quickly the refs walked off the court. Checking for traveling or stepping out of bounds is not reviewable, but checking the game clock is. Was the game over when Brownlee threw the ball in the air? No.

And who were those refs? Tim Higgins, Jim Burr, and Earl Walton.

Tim Higgins and Jim Burr have called big games. They have also made their share of bad calls. So many, in fact, that critics have made Higgins and Burr fake Twitter accounts.

I'm normally not one to complain about the officials. I prefer the looser style of officiating in the Big East that allows the players to determine the outcome, to an extent. Obviously, this is a different situation. This was not a decision of foul or no foul, this was a case of clear violations (traveling, out of bounds) not being called.

It's happened before, and it'll happen again, but that doesn't make any single bad call less important. This call influenced St. John's seeding in the NCAA Tournament, which in turn influences other team's seeds. It also ended Rutgers' season.

What do Higgins and Burr have to say for themselves? Cheers!

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Big East Update: First Round Complete, POY Named

The 2011 Big East Tournament got off to a good start, featuring a one point upset and an overtime thriller. The Big East also handed out more season-ending awards:

South Florida beat Villanova, 70-69, on a layup by Anthony Crater with 5.1 seconds left. Villanova has now lost five in a row and seven of its last nine, causing some to put the Wildcats on the tourney bubble. Despite this bad stretch, I still think Villanova will make the NCAA Tournament.

Rutgers outlasted Seton Hall in overtime, beating the Pirates 76-70. The Scarlet Knights will move on to play St. John's. The winner of that game will be Syracuse's next opponent.

Connecticut handled DePaul easily, beating the Blue Demons 97-71. This was the Huskies first Big East Tournament win since 2005 (although beating DePaul isn't saying much).

Marquette quieted Marshon Brooks and the Friars, beating Providence 87-66. The Golden Eagles limited Brooks to 20 points, slightly under his 24.8 ppg average.

Ben Hansbrough was named Big East Player of the Year. The senior guard led Notre Dame with 18.5 ppg and 4.2 apg. His coach, Mike Brey, was named Big East Coach of the Year. And DePaul's freshman forward Cleveland Melvin was named Big East Rookie of the Year.

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Big East Tournament Preview and Predictions

It's early March. We're not quite Dancing yet, but we're getting there. All that's left are conference tournaments, aka March Madness for every team not already in the tournament. They can be just as intense as the Big Dance, especially in mid-major conferences where often only one bid is up for grabs.

In terms of quality, though, the Big East is still tops. Here's a preview of this year's Big East Tournament:

Pittsburgh: The regular season champs are playing for a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A win or two here can help solidify that.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish can move up to a 1 seed along side the Panthers (or steal Pittsburgh's spot) if they win it all in Madison Square Garden.

Louisville: As the three seed, the Cardinals should be one of the favorites, but they are without leading rebounder Rakeem Buckles for the rest of the season.

Syracuse: The Orange are playing for seeding here, but I can't see them straying to far from a 3 seed come tournament time. A loss in the quarterfinals could drop them to a 4, while advancing further could move them up as far as a 2 seed. On the plus side, Rick Jackson has motivation from only making the All-Big East Second Team, which coach Boeheim wasn't happy about. You know what happened the last time he had a problem with one of his guys being "overrated?" Check out the link on Connecticut's preview.

Warning to the Big East: don't make him angry (Heather Ainsworth/AP)

St. John's: The Red Storm have one of the best résumés in the conference, and have won eight of their past nine Big East games. They could make a run on their home court.

West Virginia: Last year's Big East Tournament champions are coming off two big wins against Connecticut and Louisville, who the Mountaineers could meet in the quarterfinals. They have potential.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats allow the fewest points per game (58.2) among Big East teams, but do they have enough offense?

Georgetown: Chris Wright likely won't be back in time to play in the Big East Tournament. It's hard to see the Hoyas winning without him.

Can the Hoyas win without Wright? (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Connecticut: Could they win it all? The 9 seed in the Big East Tournament. Led by a great scoring guard. Sound familiar? It's been done before. The Huskies could do it again.

Villanova: The Wildcats lost their last four games of the regular season, forcing them to play on day one of the tournament. The two Corey's, Stokes and Fisher, must take control if Villanova is going to advance.

Marquette: They are predicted by most analysts as being in the NCAA Tournament as of now, but if the Golden Eagles don't win a game or two they could risk missing out on the Dance.

Can Kemba Walker pull a Gerry McNamara? (Al Behrman/AP)

Seton Hall: They've played inspired basketball as of late, with wins against St. John's and Marquette. When Jeremy Hazell is on, anything is possible for the Pirates.

Rutgers: They beat Villanova earlier this year on the "prayer in Piscataway" but don't have much else to show for themselves.

Providence: They will go as far as Marshon Brooks will take them.

South Florida: The Bulls have a solid front court with Augustus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous, but they'll need great guard play to pull off an upset.

DePaul: One win in Big East play. Playing without its leading scorer. Enough said.

And because I like to torture myself, I will now predict the winner of all 15 Big East Tournament games:

Rick Jackson Named Big East Defensive Player of the Year

It wasn't long until Rick Jackson got some consolation. One day after being left off the All-Big East First Team, the Syracuse big man has been named the Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

This should come as no surprise, since Rick Jackson has been a force inside for Syracuse all season, leading the Big East in blocked shots with 2.5 per game. He also leads the conference in rebounding (10.7 per game), the first Orange to do so since Derrick Coleman in 1989-1990.

Rick Jackson was voted the top defensive player, but not one of the league's top six players.
(Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

However the same Big East coaches who voted Jackson as defensive player of the year somehow left him off the Big East first team. The first team selections appear especially strange because the six athletes chosen are all guards and are simply the leagues' top six scorers.

Regardless, this is great honor for Rick Jackson, and rightly deserved.

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Syracuse Ends Regular Season No. 11 in Coaches Poll

The Orange had a light week, playing at home against DePaul, a game in which they destroyed the Blue Demons. They also benefitted from Louisville's loss at West Virginia, taking their spot at No. 11 in this week's ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.

Syracuse is now the third highest rated Big East team in the coaches poll, behind only third ranked Pittsburgh and fourth ranked Notre Dame.

Other than those three, it was a rough week for the Big East. The Cardinals fell to No. 14, while St. John's and Connecticut dropped to No.'s 18 and 19, respectively. Georgetown moved down to No. 22 after an ugly loss to Cincinnati.

Villanova had two tough games last week against Pitt and Notre Dame, and losing both of those dropped them out of the top 25. Along with the Wildcats, West Virginia and Cincinnati received votes from the pollsters but were not ranked.

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Jackson, Joseph Selected for All-Big East Teams

Syracuse's Rick Jackson and Kris Joseph have both been selected to all-conference teams this season, as voted on by the Big East's 16 head coaches.

Rick Jackson, who was honored yesterday on Senior Night, has been named to the All-Big East Second Team. He averaged 13.1 ppg and 10.7 rpg, recording 17 double-doubles this season. Jackson joins Preston Knowles (Louisville), Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette), Brad Wanamaker (Pittsburgh) and Corey Fisher (Villanova) on the second team.

I may be a little biased here, but I think even getting chosen for the second team may have been a bit of a snub for Jackson. The All-Big East First Team was simply the league's six highest scorers. This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, as such is often the case when all-conference selections are made.

But Rick Jackson provides a more complete game. He led the conference in rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage to go along with his double digit scoring output. Could he have made it over, perhaps, Austin Freeman? I think so.

Kris Joseph, led Syracuse in scoring with 14.2 ppg, and was second on the team with 4.9 rpg and 1.5 spg. Joseph has been selected to the All-Big East Third Team, along with Chris Wright (Georgetown), Tim Abromaitis (Notre Dame), Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall) and Corey Stokes (Villanova).

Shockingly, Fab Melo didn't make the All-Rookie Team. Melo put up some serious numbers, averaging 1.7 fouls per game despite only playing 9.4 minutes per contest.

The Big East Player of the Year, chosen from the six first team selections, will be announced on Tuesday.

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Syracuse Dominates DePaul on Senior Night, Clinches Double-Bye

Senior Night, or rather, "Rick Jackson Night," won't be forgotten anytime soon thanks to a great team performance by the Orange (25-6, 12-6). In its regular season finale, Syracuse throttled DePaul (7-23, 1-17), 107-59.


Syracuse celebrated Rick Jackson's career before the game, presenting him with a framed jersey. And then the real party began.

Thanks for the memories, Rick. (Heather Ainsworth/AP)

Regular Season Finale: DePaul vs. Syracuse

Syracuse closes out the regular season Saturday against DePaul at the Carrier Dome (4 PM ET, Big East Network).

Significance: Rick Jackson's journey will be honored Saturday as he plays his final game in the Carrier Dome. Also, a win gives Syracuse a double bye in the Big East Tournament.

Three Pointers:

1. Cleveland Melvin is out for DePaul: He's given the Blue Demons a bright future averaging 14.3 ppg as a freshman, but Cleveland Melvin was sidelined last week for the rest of this season. Without him, what little chance DePaul had is now almost certainly gone.
2. Syracuse must avoid a slow start: Last year against DePaul, Syracuse came out to a slow start. The Orange fell behind by as much as 18, and didn't have a lead until the last four minutes of the game before going on to win. To be sure, Syracuse should put this game away early.
3. Time for the Orange to fine tune themselves: The DePaul game couldn't have come at a better time: Syracuse is on a four game winning streak and looking at a double bye in the Big East Tournament. This is their chance to work out some kinks, like defending the three, hitting free throws, and finding Kris Joseph on offense.

Prediction: Normally a game against DePaul wouldn't be too exciting. But it's the regular season finale and Rick Jackson's last hurrah, so it's worth the drive over here, even if it's a little out of the way.

Syracuse 73, DePaul 55

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Big Names in the Big East

Now that the regular season is drawing to a close, it is time to give out awards to this year's notable athletes and coaches in college basketball. This year, the Big East conference was its usual dominant self, maintaining its position as the best in college basketball.

And so, without further ado, I give you the best players names from the nation's best conference:

Cashmere Wright, G, Cincinnati: What comes to mind when I think of cashmere: strong, fine, high quality. Wright isn't too far off, averaging 9.4 ppg and 3.9 apg for the Bearcats.

Shabazz Napier, G, Connecticut: Napier's averaging 8.4 ppg and 3.1 apg as a freshman, getting serious minutes off the bench. He's also kept his turnovers per game (1.9) below his z's per name (2), which is always good.

Shabazz Napier: he's got more z's than a hibernating bear (Eugene Tanner/AP)

Movin' On Up: Syracuse No. 12 in Poll

The Orange are gaining momentum, and at just the right time. After two big wins last week, on the road at Villanova and Georgetown, Syracuse moved up eight spots to No. 12 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

Despite losing last week, Pittsburgh moved up a spot in the coaches poll to fifth. Notre Dame, who trounced No. 19 Villanova Monday night, is now seventh.

Louisville improved to No. 11 thanks to an overtime win over Pitt. The St. John's Red Storm were the big movers, jumping ten spots this week to No. 15. Behind them are Connecticut and Georgetown at No.'s 16 and 17, respectively.

There was more shifting at the top when former No. 1 Duke lost at Virginia Tech. Ohio State is once again the top ranked team in college basketball, leaping over Kansas, who remained second in the rankings. Duke dropped to No. 4.

BYU made headlines after beating San Diego State for the second time this season, moving up to third. The Aztecs, meanwhile, fell to No. 9. And former Cinderella George Mason is back in the fold, just making the cut at No. 25.

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