Anyone listening to Gomez & Dave can confirm this but apparently Kris Joseph has been cleared to play according to Jim Boeheim. Officially, he's still listed as day-to-day so one would assume that, barring any setbacks, he'll be able to go tomorrow against Villanova.
Regardless, the Orange are putting in their due diligence in preparation for the Wildcats. They will be around 34,000 folks on hand so they're going to want to make sure they put on a good show.
The last time these two teams tangled in front of a massive Dome crowd, everything went Syracuse's way. That doesn't necessarily mean the Orange can rest on their laurels. You can be sure Villanova is going to be ready. And if this time, the game is a close one, the Wildcats have one very good trick up their sleeve. Free throw shooting.
Corey Stokes is shooting 94 percent from the free throw line. He’s visited the line 69 times this season, and missed just four of those attempts. Nobody in the Big East has produced better numbers from the line.
Villanova is the Big East’s best free throw shooting team at .769. And Stokes owns the distinction of being the best free throw shooter on the league’s best free throw shooting team.
The big question for the Orange is, can they bounce back from their first loss of the season? It will be no small feat to do so against the No. 7 team in the nation. Expect them to be ready:
"We just have to be much tougher," Triche said. "Coach said (Pitt) was a game where we had to be tough, and we weren't."
"In the Big East, every game is a battle," point guard Scoop Jardine said. "So we can't dwell on one game. We have to go out the next time and try to get a win."
- On the block: A position-by-position breakdown of Syracuse vs. Villanova...Daily Orange
- Three things the Orange needs to do to beat Villanova...Daily Orange
- Villanova's Stokes looks to film for help...Philly Inquirer
- Behind Enemy Lines: The Syracuse Oranje...The Nova Blog