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!

READ OUR PREVIEW...CLICK "Read More" BELOW

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