The No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (13-1) look good enough to repeat as Big East champs for the first time in almost 20 years. Standing in their way though is No. 7 Syracuse (13-1), who’s also trying to end their conference tenure on a high note.
By Mike Corasaniti
The Big East Conference may be in, or on the verge of, complete shambles, but 2013 may yet be one of the conferences most competitive seasons.
Highlighting that competition will be the Louisville-Syracuse rivalry that will surely emerge in it’s brightest and final season this year, as the two teams face each other twice, likely both in the Top 10 both times.
Who knows? Few would be surprised to see these teams play deep into March Madness for something much more than pride, but a sooner third matchup is much more likely, with a Big East Championship on the line.
How the Cardinals get there
Louisville has everything they need in their arsenal for a national championship-like run later on this spring, with their only blemish coming to then No. 5 Duke in a very close matchup in the Bahamas.
Keeping the team healthy will be big as Louisville doesn’t have anywhere to go but down at this point in the season. Luckily they seem to be doing well in that department as of late, as junior big man Gorgui Deng played his first game since mid-November last week against Kentucky after returning from a wrist injury.
The team’s next real challenge really won’t come for another few weeks until Syracuse rolls into town on Jan. 19, and honestly might not come again until they meet the Orange for the second time this season on March 2 in the Carrier Dome. And with the core four of Peyton Siva, Russh Smith, Chane Behanan and Dieng rolling (and healthy), the team’s focus may to not just leave themselves susceptible to any trap games that may hurt their seeding down the line.
How the Orange get there
With the distraction of passing Bob Knight behind them now, Jim Boeheim’s bunch will have little to stand in their way of focus until their toughest two weeks of the season, beginning with the Jan. 19 contest at Louisville.
Syracuse is a very deep team, with some very impressive offensive rankings to back them up against any team they face (No. 4 in rebounding, No. 10 in points per game, No. 12 in assists per game). So Syracuse’s real challenge heading into the bulk of Big East play will be in separating themselves from Cincinnati.
The other serious Big East contender also currently at 13-1, the Bearcats just dropped their first game of the season to New Mexico in a tight one last week at home, but aren’t likely to lose again before their Jan. 21 matchup with the orange (provided they can handle No. 21 Notre Dame early next week)
What will help the Orange take care of Cincy the most is their bench play among the likes of James Southerland and DaJuan Coleman, who highlight one of the strongest reserve cores in the country.
The matchup
Syracuse has still yet to prove to the country just how good they are at this point in the season, beating their only notable opponent on the first day of the season against No. 20 San Diego State aboard an aircraft carrier. Their five game stretch in late January, early February against four ranked Big East opponents will decide their reputation for the rest of the season.
On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals have done more than their fair share of proving themselves so far. Just look at the way they dismantled No. 13 Missouri on Nov. 23, or fought Kentucky despite way too many turnovers. This is a team susceptible to mistakes but that knows how to recover from them better than anyone else in the country.
Syracuse may have one of the deepest rosters in the country, but Louisville at this point is just plain good. If they’re healthy, this one might not even be close.
Louisville 80-66
By Mike Corasaniti
The Big East Conference may be in, or on the verge of, complete shambles, but 2013 may yet be one of the conferences most competitive seasons.
Highlighting that competition will be the Louisville-Syracuse rivalry that will surely emerge in it’s brightest and final season this year, as the two teams face each other twice, likely both in the Top 10 both times.
Who knows? Few would be surprised to see these teams play deep into March Madness for something much more than pride, but a sooner third matchup is much more likely, with a Big East Championship on the line.
How the Cardinals get there
Louisville has everything they need in their arsenal for a national championship-like run later on this spring, with their only blemish coming to then No. 5 Duke in a very close matchup in the Bahamas.
Keeping the team healthy will be big as Louisville doesn’t have anywhere to go but down at this point in the season. Luckily they seem to be doing well in that department as of late, as junior big man Gorgui Deng played his first game since mid-November last week against Kentucky after returning from a wrist injury.
The team’s next real challenge really won’t come for another few weeks until Syracuse rolls into town on Jan. 19, and honestly might not come again until they meet the Orange for the second time this season on March 2 in the Carrier Dome. And with the core four of Peyton Siva, Russh Smith, Chane Behanan and Dieng rolling (and healthy), the team’s focus may to not just leave themselves susceptible to any trap games that may hurt their seeding down the line.
How the Orange get there
With the distraction of passing Bob Knight behind them now, Jim Boeheim’s bunch will have little to stand in their way of focus until their toughest two weeks of the season, beginning with the Jan. 19 contest at Louisville.
Syracuse is a very deep team, with some very impressive offensive rankings to back them up against any team they face (No. 4 in rebounding, No. 10 in points per game, No. 12 in assists per game). So Syracuse’s real challenge heading into the bulk of Big East play will be in separating themselves from Cincinnati.
The other serious Big East contender also currently at 13-1, the Bearcats just dropped their first game of the season to New Mexico in a tight one last week at home, but aren’t likely to lose again before their Jan. 21 matchup with the orange (provided they can handle No. 21 Notre Dame early next week)
What will help the Orange take care of Cincy the most is their bench play among the likes of James Southerland and DaJuan Coleman, who highlight one of the strongest reserve cores in the country.
The matchup
Syracuse has still yet to prove to the country just how good they are at this point in the season, beating their only notable opponent on the first day of the season against No. 20 San Diego State aboard an aircraft carrier. Their five game stretch in late January, early February against four ranked Big East opponents will decide their reputation for the rest of the season.
On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals have done more than their fair share of proving themselves so far. Just look at the way they dismantled No. 13 Missouri on Nov. 23, or fought Kentucky despite way too many turnovers. This is a team susceptible to mistakes but that knows how to recover from them better than anyone else in the country.
Syracuse may have one of the deepest rosters in the country, but Louisville at this point is just plain good. If they’re healthy, this one might not even be close.
Louisville 80-66
RSS Feed