Why tonight's Louisville game concerns me
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 12:11 PM EST
Email
Print
With the Orange coming off a nice pull away win over UConn on Saturday, it might easy to think that the Orange are peaking and that a game against the Cardinals at the Yum! Center (stupidest arena name in the country, BTW) will be a challenge, but well within hand.
But I'm scared.
First and foremost, it's Syracuse's 3rd game in less than a week. Yeah, these are college kids who could prolly play ball 15 hours straight if they needed to, but three games in 6 days is an NBA-esque schedule. If this were over a break or something, it might not be as bad. But these guys are (hopefully) still trying to cram school into all this as well. They get 6 days off after tonight. Hopefully they can muster up the get-go for a win against a tough opponent.
Second, it's Louisville. It used to be that Pitt was the team that would always beat Syracuse. Now it's Louisville. Mostly likey due to the fact that Pitino was around during the inception of Jim B's 2-3, his teams always seem to know how to beat the Orange. Last season it was by having a guard dribble down to the corner, drawing the top zone defender on that side down, then quickly reversing the ball to the spot vacated by that defender. They got at least 7-8 wide open looks that way and made at least 5 of them. If it were anyone but the Cardinals at the end of a long 3 game stretch, I'd still be pretty confident. I'm only mildly so.
Third, its on the road. I'm not a big believer in home court advantage. I think that good teams will be in position for a W no matter where they play. But given the fact that they prolly hopped a charter flight to Kentucky shortly after the UConn game, the travel could take its toll for this one. Hopefully, since it's a night game, Jim B gave them yesterday pretty much off and will hold a short practice during the day today. They definitely have their hands full preparing, but rest might be the bigger concern at the moment.
Am I scared? No. But any game against Louisville is one to make me nervous. This one has other circumstances piled on that make it a dangerous one.
26 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
This is going to be by far our toughest contest of the year.
Louisville scares me. Games against teams on the road at venues with large attendance figures scare me (except the Verizon Center, of course; our fans always seem to be up to whatever Georgetown is planning). Games against red hot teams scare me. Louisville is the only opponent I would ever seriously accept pregame that we’re probably going to lose. Even Pitt I have confidence that we can beat, but not in Louisville. If we want to win this, we will have to get back on defense VERY quickly since Louisville always seems to beat us up the court, even (and especially) when we go on runs. And whenever Louisville makes a basket it makes them that much more dangerous because of their full court press. Fab is going to have to play a big role in breaking that press because of his size. Fab needs to stay out of foul trouble for us to have a shot at this. And that will not be easy if Higgins or Burr is reffing.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...
As per, Louisville’s Game Notes:
Officials: Jim Burr, Mike Stuart, Les Jones
Go Cuse!
....And Georgetown still sucks!
CRS/HST '05
by nymetsfan1226 on Feb 13, 2012 12:35 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
According to the Cardchronicle.com link Mike references below
the officials are
Officials: Jim Burr, Mike Stuart, Les Jones
DAMN IT!
I want to apologize to my liver now for punishing it with booze while trying to get to the drunken level of Burr so his calls make sense
I won't go so far as to say they're probably going to lose
This team is good enough where I don’t feel that way about any opponent. But I will say that this is one of the few games that Syracuse wouldn’t have to outright give away in order to lose. The Orange could play fairly well and still lose, just due to the nature of the matchup. That being said, if they bring their A game, they win by double-digits.
and a note about the press. The infamous quote about Billy Donovan being scared to press the Orange holds true here. I don’t expect Pitino to be that much of a p*ssy, but I think the key to the game could be how Syracuse handles the press. They need to not only break the press without turning the ball over, but need to make L’Ville pay for it with dunks at the other end. If Syracuse barely gets the ball across half court and had to run half court offense all the time, that plays right into L’Ville’s hand.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 12:56 PM EST up reply actions
I hope to see a little MCW and his press breaker skills tonight
Bubba Army
by AdirondackOrange on Feb 13, 2012 5:43 PM EST up reply actions
Mcw might be buried on the bench for a while
We’ll see if jimmy and mcw kissed and made up.
I don't think Jim b holds a grudge like that.
He’s much more concerned with getting guys to play well than petty BS like that. One argument is fine. Arguing all the time is a problem.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 6:59 PM EST up reply actions
As far as I'm concerned
We have one game to burn. I’d rather it not be this one, but this is our biggest challenge remaining for the rest of the season. If we lose the game, I will not lose my… ish.
That said, if karma is a thing, this thread should guarantee our victory.
They’re so joyful there at the thought of playing us, it’s sickening. Especially given that we’re better at just about every aspect of this sport (knock wood, spit on floor, turn around three times, rip white suit hanging in closet).
by Mike I. on Feb 13, 2012 12:27 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I'd actually go so far as to consider this an upset if we win. even though we're #2 in the nation.
by adselver15 on Feb 13, 2012 12:29 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
However, if we manage to win this.
This will be a HUGE victory, hopefully one that will shut the UK trolls over on ESPN up for good.
I don't think that's possible
The primary affliction suffered by trolls is diarreah of the mouth
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 12:45 PM EST up reply actions
Good test
To see how this team responds to some adversity. There’s going to be a time tonight where Louisville hits 3 or 4 3s in , the crowd will be going bonkers, and the Cuse is going to have to respond. I know there are no road games in the tournament, but if Cuse is going to be a top seed the crowds will start turning on them because everyone loves to root for the dog.
Who shuts the crowd up tonight? Very interested to see.
Well if we're in Pittsburgh and Boston
I don’t think we’d have to worry about a crowd turning on us. We would have an easy majority of the fans.
Who shuts the crowd up tonight?
I say KJ. He’s been straight balling recently and he’s done it in a variety of ways. He’s shooting well from 3, he’s getting into the lane for buckets and/or fouls. If he stays aggressive and efficient, L’Ville will have a tough time stopping him.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 3:23 PM EST up reply actions
Crowd
definitely turned on Cuse in 2005 against Vermont. That game was in Worcester, Mass. Even if Cuse has a majority of fans the teams fans that aren’t playing will turn on the Cuse. And with the way the pods are set up an East school will most definitely be in those pods. The days of facing a Santa Clara in Boston are over.
That was also a local team in Vermont
If we get Harvard, Boston would definitely root against us. If we get, like, Indiana, I have a hard time believing there would be much more than indifference from the non-SU crowd (which will be smaller than the SU crowd).
If there’s a one seed and three other teams there all three other teams’ fans will be anti-1 seed. Has little to do with regions, IMHO. It won’t be a road game, but it will definitely be a little hostile….
by ex-Townie on Feb 13, 2012 3:51 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Didn't really have that problem last time around
Buffalo was incredibly pro-Syracuse and Salt Lake City seemed like there wasn’t even a crowd in attendance.
It sure would be nice to finally win at Louisville
This is routinely the toughest place to play. They have a great, boisterous crowd and tonight will be no different. With a team that is playing much better and a coach who knows exactly what his team needs to do to beat us, it’s going to the toughest game of the year, by far.
Simply put, if we can’t knock down the jumpers, we likely can’t win. We need KJo to continue his hot play and Scoop, Triche, and Dion to hit the open shots. Louisville has its normal array of good outside shooters so it’s going to be huge for KJo, Fair, and Xmas/Southerland to guard the corners where Kuric and Chris Smith are going to be waiting. Added focus on hitting the glass will be big too. L’ville has a very good big in Gorgui Dieng, who should be getting more talk than he has. He’s a double-double type guy and might be as tough as Drummond was for Fab. Chane Benahan is an undersize, wide body that will battle. He’s the type of guy that’s always a thorn in our side. In fact, he models his game after DeJuan Blair….YUCK.
Our guys have to come out strong and keep the crowd at bay. Hit some shots, crash the glass and force contested shots. It’s not going to be easy, but it’s a very winnable game and the team should have added incentive knowing we haven’t beaten L’ville in 6 years, nor have we won there.
~K
"As the governor of Louisiana once said, the only way Chris Kelsay can lose his job is if he got caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy."
Drummond wasn't tough for Fab
Higgins was tough for Fab. Unfortunately, Burr is likely to be tough for Fab tonight.
"If I ain't gonna be part of the greatest, I gotta be the greatest myself." Busta Rhymes
by FeloniousPhunk on Feb 13, 2012 3:46 PM EST up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
SBNation.com Recent Stories
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
