BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE @ DEPAUL

January 30, 2008


Syracuse travels to the Windy City to meet DePaul for a Big East Conference showdown on Sunday afternoon. Syracuse, already without Josh Wright due to academics and Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins because of injury in the backourt are likely to be without freshman Antonio Jardine because of suspension in this contest.

Here are the local media previews on tonight's game:

Depleted Roster Challenges DePaul (Chicago Tribune)
Demons Host Brawny Orange (Daily Herald)
From Marathon to a Sprint. (Sun Times)
SU Pinched for Players (Syracuse Post-Standard)
Scoop Sits While Orange Practices (Post-Standard)

DePaul will look to bounce back after suffering a road loss at Marquette over the weekend. The Blue Demons will hope to wear down the Orange with thier athletic roster and depth.

Syracuse pulled together and came up with a win over Providence on Sunday behind Dante Greene's 24 points. The Orange roster includes Greene and fellow freshman Jonny Flynn at point guard, Flynn's high school teammate Paul Harris at guard, Arinze Onuaku at Center and Kristof Onganaet at forward. Off the bench is freshman Rick Jackson and walk-on guard Justin Thomas. The only other scholarship player on the roster is Sean Williams, but his impact has been limited. That is it for the Orange these days.

DePaul is an interesting team. They have as much athleticism as anyone with players such as Dar Tucker and Karron Clarke at the wing. They have a proven scorer in Draelon Burns who will find areas to get his shot off against the Syracuse zone. The point guard duo of Cliff Clinkscales and Jabari Currie will have to manage to offensive against the zone by attacking the seams to make the zone contract and find the open shooters, inluding Burns and sophomore Will Walker off the bench. Inside, the DePaul guards need to make sure Mac Koshwal gets his touches inside as well. The athletic freshman big man could be a bear on the offensive boards against the young Orange interior.

Energized by a Dome crowd, Syracuse dug down deep when Providence challenged them when the game was on the line in the stretch. Hitting the road with a thin roster will be a major challenge for SU. They need to be strong on the baords and stronger with their mental preparation on the defensive side of the ball. That is a tough chore for a young team.

DePaul is likely to be a highly motivated club when taking on SU. The crowd will definitely be behind them. If they can avoid settling for the primeter jump shot without going inside first they can be vry effective against the Syracuse defense. I look for the Blue Demons to play with intensity on defense and get after it on the boards. With Burns as a designated scorer, DePaul has players in specific roles and seem to be growing into them.

NBE Blogger Prediction: DePaul 73 Syracuse 65