Syracuse Basketball

Georgetown, Georgia Tech Don't Help Syracuse Basketball March 1

... in. Vanderbilt, before Tuesday, appeared on the dangerous edge of the projected NCAA field compiled from the bracket matrix.  Some have Vandy among the first four out. Either way, blame (or praise, if you're Syracuse) Malik Monk, who scored 20 second-half points to lead the Kentucky comeback. Wednesday's games of note. Michigan at Northwestern (7 p.m., BTN) Northwestern fans are getting a little nervous. The Wildcats have lost five of their last seven and now face Michigan and Purdue on their home court to close out the season. The 'Cats are solidly in the field according to the matrix as something close to a 9 seed. But they are trending down in other brackets. To save everybody's sanity in eager Cat Country, Northwestern needs to win at least one of its final two games. Rhode Island at St. Joseph's (7 p.m.) Rhode Island is 19-9 overall and 10-5 in the Atlantic 10. Its biggest wins, I guess, are over Cincinnati on a neutral floor and ...

How Can Syracuse Basketball Succeed In Acc Tournament? 'defense Is Huge

... 3-point shot. 2015: 19 in defensive efficiency, 43 in defending the 3-point shot. 2014: 13 in defensive efficiency, 173 in defending the 3-point shot. 2013: 7 in defensive efficiency, 3 in defending the 3-point shot. The bad news for Syracuse is the Orange has defended worse away from the Carrier Dome.  But - silver lining! - in its two neutral court games this season, both of them in New York City, SU has clamped down on opponents. The Orange held South Carolina and Connecticut to a combined 39-of-102 overall (.382) and 11-of-38 from the 3-point line (.289).  SU lost both of those games because it could not score. When the Orange faces Miami Wednesday at noon at the Barclays Center, it will be staring down a better opponent than either the Gamecocks or the Huskies. Last time SU played the Hurricanes, the Orange won 70-55 in the Carrier Dome.  Syracuse's zone neutralized a Miami team that relies on dribble penetration.  All three of Miami's guards - Ja'Quan Newton, Davon Reed and freshman Bruce Brown - can ...

Syracuse Basketball Will Have To Watch Key Games In Conference Tourneys

... faces UT-San Antonio in the quarterfinals today. Michigan State vs. Penn State (2:25 p.m., BTN): Lunardi has Michigan State well into the tournament, but CBSSports' Jerry Palm has the Spartans closer to the bubble. Bracket Matrix has Michigan State as a 10-seed. The Spartans can't afford a loss to Penn State. Seton Hall vs. Marquette (2:30 p.m., FS 1): Lunardi has Marquette as one of the last four teams receiving byes in the NCAA tournament. Seton Hall is ahead of Marquette. However, Bracket Matrix puts them both on the 10-seed line. The loser should still be fine, but it'll sweat a little more. California vs. Utah (5:30 p.m.): As stated above, Cal is on the NCAA bubble. This game is a chance for Cal to make up for an embarrassing 30-point loss to Utah just one week ago. Indiana vs. Iowa (6:30  p.m., ESPN 2): Iowa is one of Lunardi's First Four Out. Same with Bracket ...

Gonzaga, St. Mary's Help The Syracuse Basketball Cause March 7

... Ndumanya, left, during the first half of a West Coast Conference tournament NCAA college basketball game, Monday, March 6, 2017, in Las Vegas. Santa Clara's Kai Healy is on the right. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher). Syracuse, N. Y. - Gonzaga and St. Mary's are already slotted into the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens when the two bitter West Coast Conference rivals meet in the league title game. If you're a Syracuse basketball fan, you did not want another WCC team upsetting the west coast basketball world order. Now's your chance to issue a grateful 'Thank you' to the Zags and the Gaels. There wasn't much else on the basketball slate of consequence on Monday.  Conference tournaments heat up this week.  Here are a list of teams you want to root hard against: Big 10 - Michigan State, Iowa, Illinois; Pac 12 - California, USC; SEC - Vanderbilt, Georgia; Big East - Xavier, Providence; ...

Wake Forest In For Nervous Selection Sunday

... Louisville and at Virginia Tech in their final two regular-season games. The Demon Deacons lost the rematch in the ACC tournament but still have a chance to play in the NCAAs. Wake Forest played a strong schedule and picked up eight top-100 wins, including four on the road. They are also without a bad loss. Selection Sunday will be nervous for Wake, but the Deacons have a chance. California 62, Oregon State 57. Cal did what it had to do, although the Bears were not all that impressive in doing so. The Bears’ tournament hopes are likely on the line Thursday against Utah. Cal only has four top-100 wins, and while one of those is at USC, they really need more to feel comfortable. Xavier 75, De Paul 64. Xavier needed wins any way it could get them and the Musketeers got them against De Paul. Two wins over the Blue Demons have given the Musketeers some cushion as they face Butler in the next round. A win against the Bulldogs makes Xavier a lock, but they may get in even with a loss. Probably in. VCU Rams. The Rams have been ...

Ou Basketball Gets Kansas, Syracuse, Msu Next Season

... told The News on Tuesday that Oakland will travel to behemoths Syracuse and Kansas, and again play Michigan State. The Michigan State game is contracted to be at a neutral site, but it’s unclear what that site will be. The neutral-site rotation in the series typically has been at The Palace, but officials from both schools aren’t sure The Palace will be an option, after the Pistons move downtown next season. Little Caesars Arena in Detroit is the obvious choice, but it’d be a tight fit to squeeze in Oakland and Michigan State, between all the Red Wings and Pistons home games. Oakland played Michigan State and Georgia in nonconference play this season, beating Georgia at home and losing to Michigan State in East Lansing. The Golden Grizzlies finished 24-8 and 14-4 in Horizon League play, to win the regular-season championship. Oakland then was upset, again, in its first Horizon League tournament game, falling to Youngstown State on a buzzer-beating layup. The top seed in the Horizon League tournament, Oakland was 8-0 during the regular season against the four ...

Syracuse A 1-seed, Plus Rule Changes To Know

... hosts No. 6 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs hosts No. 7 Belmont. Region 2. No. 1 Cal hosts No. 8 CSU Bakersfield. No. 4 Colorado State Rams hosts No. 5 College of Charleston Cougars. No. 3 Brigham Young Cougars hosts No. 6 Texas-Arlington Mavericks. No. 2 Houston Cougars hosts No. 7 Akron. Region 3. No. 1 Illinois State hosts No. 8 UC Irvine Anteaters. No. 4 UCF Knights hosts No. 5 Colorado Buffaloes. No. 3 Utah Utes hosts No. 6 Boise State Broncos. No. 2 Illinois Fighting Illini hosts No. 7 Valparaiso Crusaders. Region 4. No. 1 Iowa hosts No. 8 South Dakota. No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs hosts No. 5 Fresno State Bulldogs. No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide hosts No. 6 Richmond Spiders. No. 2 Clemson Tigers hosts No. 7 Oakland. Round 1, March 14-16 - higher seed hosts. Round 2, March 17-20 - higher seed hosts. Quarterfinals, March 21-22 - higher seed hosts. Semifinals, March 28 - Madison Square Garden, New York City. Final, March 30 - Madison Square Garden, New York City. Rule changes to note. A few experimental rule changes will be in place for the NIT, allowing the NCAA to collect more data as it ...

Where Syracuse Basketball Stands As Cbs Selection Show Approaches

... is in the field. Jay Bilas just said he thinks Syracuse is "already in." So I shouldn't be sweating it out on Sunday. - Robert Harding (@Robert Harding) March 11, 2017. Jerry Palm of CBS  has not had Syracuse in the field down the stretch and that trend continues in his latest update. - Andy Bottoms (@Andy Bottoms) March 11, 2017. The Bracket Matrix , a website that monitors over 100 NCAA Tournament projections, has dropped Syracuse to its "first four out" category. Syracuse is projected to make the NCAA Tournament in just 50 of 114 monitored brackets. USA Today has Syracuse as one of the first four teams out of its latest tournament projection. Chris Dobbertean of SB Nation  has the Orange as one of the last four teams in the field. Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports  has Syracuse as one of the first two teams out of his latest bracket prediction. New Bracket in the ...

Where Does Syracuse Basketball Stand On Selection Sunday

... exemplified by Sports Illustrated's Michael Beller. He currently lists Syracuse as his last team in, with Rhode Island behind them. The Rams play in the Atlantic 10 title game today at 12:30 p.m. and could earn an automatic bid. In Beller's projection, this would presumably bump the Orange out. He has the Orange playing Southern California in the First Four, with the winner moving on to face Cincinnati. Two accurate, but lesser-known bracketologists, Andy Bottoms and Patrick Stevens both list the Orange as the last team out in their latest offerings. One of the teams ahead of the Orange in both, Rhode Island, still has to play for the Atlantic 10 title against VCU. Bottoms is considered the most accurate bracketologist over the past five years by the website Bracket Matrix, while Stevens was the only bracketologist to correctly pick all 68 teams in 2014 (he also worked previous with The __link__). Bottoms wrote an interesting piece on how, one way of the other,  the Syracuse decision is sure to upset people again. If the Orange is included, it will have the worst RPI ever for an at-large team and the fewest wins away from home since 1993-94. If Syracuse is omitted, ...

Syracuse Basketball Sits On Edge Of Ncaa Field Feb. 28 Games

... out whether to cheer for or against South Carolina. Indiana at Purdue (7 p.m., ESPN 2): Indiana's postseason hopes have faded, but the Hoosiers still appear in some brackets listed on Bracket Matrix. It's probably better for Syracuse that Indiana not get hot in advance of the Big Ten tournament. De Paul at Providence (8:30 p.m., FS 1): The Friars are in direct competition with Syracuse for one of the last bids to the NCAA tournament. Palm has Providence as an 11-seed, putting the Friars just ahead of Syracuse. A home loss to De Paul would be devastating. Vanderbilt at Kentucky (9 p.m., ESPN): Vanderbilt is currently out of the NCAA field. The Commodores are an 11-seed on Bracket Matrix, but Palm doesn't have them in his field or among his First 4 Out. A win at Kentucky would be a huge boost. Syracuse fans would prefer to see Kentucky beat Vandy. Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech (9 p.m., ESPNU): Syracuse and Georgia Tech are linked in a battle for one ...

Syracuse Basketball Beats Duke On John Gillon's Buzzer-beating 3-pointer

... glass. The Blue Devils hauled in 16 offensive rebounds, but Lydon prevented Duke from getting the big one at the end. Syracuse trailed by eight points at halftime, but the Orange rallied in the second half. Syracuse tied the game on Battle's two free throws with 13:08 left. Grayson Allen committed his fourth foul of the game to put Battle at the line. Syracuse then took a 49-47 lead on Gillon's free throws with 12:42 remaining. It was Syracuse's first lead since the Orange led 6-5 in the game's opening minutes. Kennard, Duke's leading scorer for the season, picked up his third and fourth fouls on back-to-back possessions as he chased an offensive rebound. Kennard's fourth foul came with 7:38 left in the game. Kennard had 21 points at the time, but he remained in the game. Syracuse struggled on offense in the first half. The Orange seemed intent on trying to get the ball inside to Lydon where he could take advantage of mismatches created by Duke's decision to switch on screens. But Syracuse had difficulty getting the ball into the low-post area. Lydon got only two shots in the first half and missed both of them. ...

Six Reasons Syracuse Basketball Deserves To Make Ncaa Tournament

... against SU. Getting better: Syracuse's current team is good enough to play in the NCAA Tournament. The question is whether its resume is. The Orange is a different team than the one that lost by 33 points at home to St. John's and 19 to Boston College on the road. How much will the committee credit that improvement. Everyone else is worse: The best case for Syracuse's inclusion might not be that the Orange has earned it but that there's simply nobody better. Do we really want to watch California (1-8 vs. Top 50)? Or Southern California (2-6 vs. Top 50)? Or Rhode Island (2-3 vs. Top 50)? Or Illinois State (2-4 vs Top 100)? Or Xavier without its star point guard? Or a Wake Forest team that the Orange beat head-to-head. The RPI is a stupid formula: Is a road win at Creighton really more difficult than beating Duke at home? Probably not. But the RPI counts it like it is. Syracuse's ranking in the metric is No. 84  and would be the lowest ever to qualify for the tournament. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee has shown acknowledgement that the formula is flawed, bringing in a number of analysts this year to discuss how to create a better metric moving ...