Tweet
Orange At Cincinnati Bearcats Minus Fab Melo
Now that was a college basketball Saturday that we've come to know and love. The heavy slate saw four of the top 11 teams in the coaches poll go down in defeat, including two on their own courts, while several others barely escaped upsets.
Among those to suffer losses was previously unbeaten and No. 1 Syracuse. The Orange became the latest victim of Joyce Center mystique in a 67-58 setback to Notre Dame that should end Syracuse's six-week reign at the top of the polls when the new rankings are released on Monday. It also whittled the list of teams without a loss down to one, the Murray State Racers.
Jim Boeheim's squad won't have much time to dwell on the defeat. The Orange will be in Cincinnati on Monday night and under the spotlight of ESPN's cameras once again for the 7:00 p.m. (ET) tip from Fifth Third Arena. Syracuse opened as 5-point road chalk with the oddsmakers starting the total at 136.
Nobody expected 'Cuse to go through the season unbeaten, but few probably expected the run would end against what had been a remarkably inconsistent Notre Dame team. It took something of a perfect storm for the Irish to grab the dubya, starting with their hot shooting at the outset. Notre Dame became just the second team this season to hit at least 50 percent from the field against Syracuse, the other being North Carolina State in mid-December.
Meanwhile, the Orange never got their transition game going and were both outmuscled and outhustled on the glass. Some of the shortcomings in the rebounding department might be blamed on the absence of center Fab Melo who leads the team averaging 5.7 boards per game. The big Brazilian did not accompany the team to South Bend, nor will he be in Cincinnati, due to what is being reported as academic issues.
Melo's absence didn't really affect the spread in Saturday's game. The line dropped from -9 to -8½ initially upon the announcement Melo wouldn't play, but it bounced back to the original Orange -9 at close.
Not having Melo still doesn't explain why Syracuse shot so poorly. When NC State shot so well against the Orange on Dec. 17, Boeheim's bunch countered with their own efficient offense and scored 88 points in the win in Raleigh. The Orange had averaged over 85 PPG in their four true road games before Saturday's 58 at the Fighting Irish.
With such a deep roster like Boeheim has, it's somewhat silly to point to one player as the key in any single game. Still, Kris Joseph has fallen into a slump the last couple of weeks, going especially cold from outside the arc. The senior forward has averaged 11.2 PPG the past four games, not far off his team-leading 13.6 rate, but he's just 15-for-42 from the field (36%) and has converted on just three of his last 19 from 3-point range.
Coincidence or not, Syracuse is 3-0-1 to the 'under' in that span, which presents a direct contrast to Cincinnati's recent 4-0 trend to the 'over.'
The Bearcats were in Morgantown on Saturday where they fell to West Virginia in overtime, 77-74. Mick Cronin's crew has been a bit of an enigma so far, getting upset at home by the likes of Presbyterian, Marshall and St. John's, all the while playing the role of an elite squad in road victories at Pitt, Georgetown and UConn.
Part of their inconsistency might be due to the team missing several key players for various lengths because of suspensions in the brawl-marred Xavier game. Cincinnati might once again have a shorter roster for Monday's game, this time because of an injury. Leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick (16.2 PPG) is listed as questionable because of a groin problem. If he's out, it will put more of a load on junior Jaquon Parker and freshman Jeremiah Davis.
This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, all since Cincinnati started Big East play a little more than six years ago. Syracuse is 6-2 all-time and has won the last three. The Orange were 7½-point favorites at home in a 67-52 win in the most recent meeting (Jan. 2011). The Bearcats' last victory came Jan. 2008 in Cincinnati, a 74-66 upset as 3½-point underdogs.
Both teams will take the rest of the workweek off before next hitting the court on Saturday. The Bearcats will be at Rutgers that day while the Orange return to the Carrier Dome to host West Virginia.
Now that was a college basketball Saturday that we've come to know and love. The heavy slate saw four of the top 11 teams in the coaches poll go down in defeat, including two on their own courts, while several others barely escaped upsets.
Among those to suffer losses was previously unbeaten and No. 1 Syracuse. The Orange became the latest victim of Joyce Center mystique in a 67-58 setback to Notre Dame that should end Syracuse's six-week reign at the top of the polls when the new rankings are released on Monday. It also whittled the list of teams without a loss down to one, the Murray State Racers.
Jim Boeheim's squad won't have much time to dwell on the defeat. The Orange will be in Cincinnati on Monday night and under the spotlight of ESPN's cameras once again for the 7:00 p.m. (ET) tip from Fifth Third Arena. Syracuse opened as 5-point road chalk with the oddsmakers starting the total at 136.
Nobody expected 'Cuse to go through the season unbeaten, but few probably expected the run would end against what had been a remarkably inconsistent Notre Dame team. It took something of a perfect storm for the Irish to grab the dubya, starting with their hot shooting at the outset. Notre Dame became just the second team this season to hit at least 50 percent from the field against Syracuse, the other being North Carolina State in mid-December.
Meanwhile, the Orange never got their transition game going and were both outmuscled and outhustled on the glass. Some of the shortcomings in the rebounding department might be blamed on the absence of center Fab Melo who leads the team averaging 5.7 boards per game. The big Brazilian did not accompany the team to South Bend, nor will he be in Cincinnati, due to what is being reported as academic issues.
Melo's absence didn't really affect the spread in Saturday's game. The line dropped from -9 to -8½ initially upon the announcement Melo wouldn't play, but it bounced back to the original Orange -9 at close.
Not having Melo still doesn't explain why Syracuse shot so poorly. When NC State shot so well against the Orange on Dec. 17, Boeheim's bunch countered with their own efficient offense and scored 88 points in the win in Raleigh. The Orange had averaged over 85 PPG in their four true road games before Saturday's 58 at the Fighting Irish.
With such a deep roster like Boeheim has, it's somewhat silly to point to one player as the key in any single game. Still, Kris Joseph has fallen into a slump the last couple of weeks, going especially cold from outside the arc. The senior forward has averaged 11.2 PPG the past four games, not far off his team-leading 13.6 rate, but he's just 15-for-42 from the field (36%) and has converted on just three of his last 19 from 3-point range.
Coincidence or not, Syracuse is 3-0-1 to the 'under' in that span, which presents a direct contrast to Cincinnati's recent 4-0 trend to the 'over.'
The Bearcats were in Morgantown on Saturday where they fell to West Virginia in overtime, 77-74. Mick Cronin's crew has been a bit of an enigma so far, getting upset at home by the likes of Presbyterian, Marshall and St. John's, all the while playing the role of an elite squad in road victories at Pitt, Georgetown and UConn.
Part of their inconsistency might be due to the team missing several key players for various lengths because of suspensions in the brawl-marred Xavier game. Cincinnati might once again have a shorter roster for Monday's game, this time because of an injury. Leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick (16.2 PPG) is listed as questionable because of a groin problem. If he's out, it will put more of a load on junior Jaquon Parker and freshman Jeremiah Davis.
This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams, all since Cincinnati started Big East play a little more than six years ago. Syracuse is 6-2 all-time and has won the last three. The Orange were 7½-point favorites at home in a 67-52 win in the most recent meeting (Jan. 2011). The Bearcats' last victory came Jan. 2008 in Cincinnati, a 74-66 upset as 3½-point underdogs.
Both teams will take the rest of the workweek off before next hitting the court on Saturday. The Bearcats will be at Rutgers that day while the Orange return to the Carrier Dome to host West Virginia.
Comment