First things first, the new polls are out and Syracuse moves up to #8 in both of them. That the Orange are so high and that they're a Cleveland State buzzer-beater away from probably being #3 or #4 in the country right now is still "mind-bottling."
But of course, everything that's happened this season has been a prelude to what happens next. Here's what the next month looks like on the schedule:
1/14 - @ #9 Georgetown
1/17 - #13 Notre Dame
1/19 - @ #1 Pittsburgh
1/25 - #20 Louisville
1/28 - @ Providence
2/4 - #25 West Virginia
2/7 - @ #23 Villanova
2/11 - @ #4 UConn
2/14 - #9 Georgetown
2/22 - #23 Villanova
Sweet sassy molassy. Have you ever seen a gauntlet like that before in a regular season? Even the one non-ranked opponent we play, Providence, is going to be tough. I mean, there's going to be tens and tens of Friar fans there for the Black Out, you guys. Scary stuff!
Of course, it's not wise to look ahead, especially with the Hoyas lurking on Wednesday. If ever there was a week that you needed to check HoyaSuxa on an hourly basis, this is it. Already, Glaude has posted proof that Shakespeare hated Georgetown and tthe connection between being a Georgetown fan and the ability to interact well with others. He's even referencing M. Night Shyamalan movies:
Stop.
I’m serious. This ridiculousness needs to stop right now. If you choose to support the light and truth — Syracuse University — you have one archenemy: Georgetown University.
This is the law of literature; every protagonist needs a solitary antagonist. Granted, there may exist other foils, but the protagonist can only exist if a resolute antagonist operates as the protagonist’s thorn. If you prefer moving pictures over books, just remember M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable: Elijah Fields needs David Dunn; they’re at opposite ends of the spectrum, and one does not maintain relevance without the other.
The Hoyas played Providence last week and just in case you need to brush up on your Hoya History, Friar Blog went to the trouble of aggregating it for you. Sweetly scented, my ass!
Of course, most of this is just fun banter (don't tell that to Glaude). But if you want a completely justifiable and disgusting reason to hate Georgetown, how bout the fact that they're having Moammar Gaddhafi, the man who refused to extradite the terrorists responsible for the Pan Am 103 attack that killed 273 people, including 35 Syracuse students, speak at the university via teleconference. You stay classy, Georgetown.
(Okay, I think I've hit my political quotient for the day. More poop jokes ahead...)
So I know I said we shouldn't look ahead, but, well just this once... Ten games, 9 of which are against teams currently ranked. Tough to say how the Orange will react. They've done what they had to do so far. But they haven't had to do anything like they'll have to do in the next month. So how will they do?