BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ Louisville

January 27, 2007


At times this season, Syracuse and Louisville hardly looked like a pair of teams that were going to challenge to be among the top four in the Big East, as they were expected to do so. Quietly, both teams are now sitting at 4-2 in the conference standings heading into a game that might be shaping up to determine which team has the inside track at a Big East Tournament bye when the regular season is done.

Syracuse saw their four-game win streak snapped with a road loss last Sunday to St. John's. The Orange fell behind big early on but came all the way back to take a late lead, only to watch St. John's, especially Avery Patterson, make all the plays late to come up with the win. Louisville has the tougher part of their schedule ahead of them, but came up with a road win last weekend at DePaul and held serve at home against Connecticut on Monday night.


Click below for our brief preview and prediction on this game and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section.

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The second half of the Big East schedule looks pretty daunting for the Louisville Cardinals as it includes road games with Villanova, Pittsburgh, Marquette and Connecticut and a home game with Georgetown after this weekend's match-up with Syracuse. With such a road slate ahead, taking care of business against Syracuse is a big key for the rest of their season.

Syracuse has a very fair schedule from here on out, with five on the road (including their game with Louisville) and five at home. They are probably kicking themselves for letting the game with St. John's get away, but after their narrow escape at home against Cincinnati just days earlier, it probably was not THAT surprising.

If I was a Syracuse fan, this team would scare me every time they step onto the court. They can look so bad with the basketball with careless passing and mind-boggling decision-making that makes Jim Boeheim cringe and with a constant look of bewilderment throughout games. There is talent, no doubt, but they just have a knack of making the wrong play to let teams stay in the game and, for whatever reason, their willingness to now play a full 40 minutes makes any game an adventure.

Louisville has a young backcourt and this will be their first time seeing the Syracuse zone defense. With Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith handling the ball for the most part, this will be an interesting test to see how they solve the Syracuse 2-3 zone. If they settle for long range shots and are not able to get Juan Palacios and David Padgett shots near the run and Terrence Williams is launching 3-pt shots, it might be a long night for Louisville who can run very cold often.

Syracuse has the athletes inside to defend and rebound against Louisville, but they will need a big night from Demetris Nichols to get a road win. I think the Syracuse experience against a young ball-handling team facing the 2-3 zone gives the Orange the edge.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 70 Louisville 65