BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DePaul @ Notre Dame

March 4, 2006

To me, this is the game of the day! With three wins in their last four games, out of nowhere, DePaul has played their way back into the mix. Thursday night's riveting 108-69 blowout of Syracuse should give the Blue Demon offense a little jolt of confidence as the head to Notre Dame to meet the Irish. Although the Blue Demons do not control their own destiny, like the Irish, they still have a shot with a win at getting to NYC. Notre Dame also needs this game and it is much simpler of a scenario for them: Win and your in!


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The scenario for DePaul is not too complicated, they need to win and hope Rutgers beats St. John's in Alumni Hall on the St. John's campus. So, in a conference where the road team is successful just under 37% of the time, that might be a lot to ask for to get two road wins in their favor on the home team's Senior Day. However, anything can happen, and if Depaul can score 108 pts in one game, well, I think it is proof that anything CAN and WILL happen when you play the game.

DePaul knows what they need to do. They can go small with Notre Dame and win the battle of athleticism at nearly every position. The question with DePaul is always will they make the right decisions with the ball and make their shots. On Thursday, they did just that and smashed the Orange. It was a performance so much out of line with what we have seen from DePaul in conference play you almost wondered if it was really them on the floor. Now, they have to get re-focused and understand that Notre Dame is going to be a pretty charged up team as well.

It will be Senior Day and the Irish fans will come out to sendoff Chris Quinn, Torin Francis and Rick Cornett in fashion. It has been a frustrating season for Notre Dame with many close losses, home and away, but these kids have never quit. Early in conferenc play, DePaul raced out to a huge lead early on and the Irish made a game of it before falling by six point in the end. The Irish will look to be ready from the get-go in this one.

I really like how DePaul matches up here. I think Wilson Chandler and Sammy Mejia should be able to use their match-ups and have good games. I think they have the personnel to defend Colin Falls on the perimeter and take him out of the game. Will they execute it? That remains to be seen.

However, I like Notre Dame in this situation. They will feed off the emotion of the crowd and with a bid to the conference tournament on the line and Senior Day for three very popular seniors, I see them being at their best. They looked very loose and comfortable Wednesday against Providence, however, that was not the case last Saturday in a loss to Marquette, when the weight of the situation seemd to hit them hard. That is concerning with all the emotion involved with Senior Day and the pressure to make the conference tournament, that worries me, but they are an experienced team determined to erase some bad memories from the season. It could all start here...

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 70 DePaul 68

Chris Quinn gets one to go HIS way...

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Syracuse @ DePaul

March 2, 2006


DePaul, in their first season in the Big East, sits at 4-10 in the conference with two games left. They still have hope for a ticket to New York City for the Big East tournament, but they need to win tonight against Syracuse and then again this weekend at Notre Dame and get a little help from Marquette and Rutgers in the process.

Syracuse is still battling the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament bubble. With a 7-7 conference record, tonight's game is a must-win to assure them of a .500 Bog East record. With Villanova on tap Sunday, getting the 8th win tonight could allow them to breathe a little earlier on Sunday. Even at 7-9 they would still have a good shot at the tournament, but it would make their Big East Tournament 1st round game VERY important.

Here are some pregame stories and previews linked from the internet:

Rough First Year in Big East (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Brumfield's Home Finale Tonight Against Syracuse (Daily Herald)

To read our preview and see our game prediction, click read more below and don't forget to leave your prediction in the comments section!

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This is a game between the two teams, at least to me, that have been the biggest enigmas of this conference. I truly believe both teams have the raw talent to have accomplished more than they have so far on the season. And, with just four days left of the regular season, time is running out for both to make a move.

Syracuse is a team with just one senior, Gerry McNamara, but they also have five juniors in Demetris Nichols, Darryl Watkins, Terrence Roberts, Louie McCroskey and Matt Gorman. Nichols, Watkins, Roberts and McCroskey were all part of a highly touted recruiting class and they have not lived up to their billing to elevate their play for the Orange. Watkins and Roberts have yet to develop any sort of offensive game in the halfcourt offense that they can create themselves. Nichols has not been much more on the offensive end than a catch-and-shoot type of player. At least he is shooting, his first two years were a continuous shooting slump. McCroskey's season has been marred by a few emotional outbursts directed at Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim, one through the media and another in what has been described as an ugly locker room scene that led to a few days away from the team for McCroskey.

Without the juniors stepping up and taking some of the offensive pressure of McNamara, their senior leader has been left firing up some wild shots on the move from the perimeter and visibly frustrated at times. He also battled a couple nagging injuries. Sophomore PG Josh Wright also missed significant time with a toe injury, slowing his development as a player to take some of the ball handling duties away from G-Mac. The lone bright spot for the Orange has been the continued development of Eric Devendorf in Big East play. He shows that he is going to be a talent in this league with a diverse offensive game and the ability to finish drives in the lane with either hand. Even through all this, the Orange are 7-7 in the conference and still have a chance to finish strongly down the stretch. They talent is there.

DePaul has found that being in a new conference can be tough. Add in a new coach to the mix and it just seemed like there was too much unfamiliarity to overcome. They have also suffered through some injury pains and distractions when talented frosh Wilson Chandler apparently quit the team in an emotional decision and then was suspended by new coach Jerry Wainwright when he reconsidered. Where the Blue Demons seem to be behind the curve is at PG. In the pre-season we felt Cliff Clinkscales was a player to watch this year with his wizard-like ball handling and excellent passing eye. However, he never seemed to click in Wainwright's offense and the ball handling has been passed around between frosh Jabari Currie and scorers Sammy Mejia and Draelon Burns. None of these guys would be considered a full-time PG and can make better use of their talents in other ways.

The front court has been unsettled at times as well. When Chandler left the team, they were forced to go small. With Wesley Green in and out of the line-up with injuries, sickness and other reasons, it takes away a scoring threat in the pivot, which is usually manned by senior Marlon Brumfield, who is not a scoring threat. Chandler has come on strong of late and will face a good test tonight against a long, lean and athletic Syracuse frontcourt.

Syracuse enters tonight's contest as a 2-pt favorite and will look to rebound from their poor performance against Georgetown over the weekend. DePaul is coming off a nice win over Seton Hall, but the talent Syracuse has should make this a more challenging game for the Blue Demons, but Syracuse needs to play up to their talent level on both ends of the floor. With their NCAA hopes seemingly riding on it, I think they pull out a tough win on the road.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 64 DePaul 60

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