Early Season Onions

Tis the season for turkey, travel, Thanksgiving, the start of college basketball and ...... ONIONS! Yesterday we got our first taste of college basketball onions, when Butler's Rotnei Clark gave the Bulldogs the last second victory over Marquette at the Maui Invitational. See for yourself...



The one unfortunate thing about this game, is that is was played in the early session of the Maui Invitational, which meant that Bill Raftery was NOT on the call. We all know what would have happened if Raftery was on the airwaves. Let's flashback to Raftery in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, where we get 3 Onions calls in the final minutes of the Ohio State-Siena game, including a "Double-Order" to cap things off.


Raftery is back on the mic tonight calling the North Carolina-Butler game. Let's hope there are a few orders of Onions on the menu tonight.

Fun Fact Friday: Brown and Out

Well, that didn't last too long. After just five games played in the 2012-13 NBA season, Mike Brown is out as the Lakers Head Coach. The new look Lakers, who added Steve Nash and Dwight (eisen)Howard to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol to form the Big Aging Four, started the season 1-4.

Mike Brown: You're Fired.

Five games marked the fastest the Lakers have ever fired a coach, easily beating out the previous record of 12 games back in 1999, when they got rid of Frank Drebin Del Harris. Five games also is the fastest an NBA coach has been let go, the previous record of 9.

Still lots of information to come out on why the move was made, but here are some of the story lines on why this went down:

-Princeton offense: As Charles Barkley said on Inside the NBA last week on TNT, "I want my accountant to come from Princeton, not my NBA offense." He's got a point. While the Princeton offense can be successful with the right group of players and the right coach (not Mike Brown), it just wasn't working here. Not sure why Brown was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, when he had two of the best big men in the league, along with one of the all time greatest shooting guards, led by a two-time MVP at PG...none of whom have ever run the Princeton offense.

-Dwight Howard: True or False - Dwight Howard has been involved in the firing of two NBA coaches, on opposite coasts of the country, in a mere 6 months. True. With that said, we doubt Howard himself had THAT much to do with the firing.

-Kobe: Speaking of individuals that had to do with the firing. A lot of fingers are being pointed at Kobe. Well, if you saw the death stare he gave to Mike Brown at the end of Wednesday's loss to the Utah Jazz, you probably would too. We'll see what comes out in regards to how much say Kobe had in this decision. Kobe supposedly did sign off on Brown implementing the Princeton offense this summer, but I guess he's flip-flopping on that decision now.



-Weekend at Bernie's: Lakers assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will coach the team tonight against Golden State, and most likely Sunday's game vs. Sacramento. The long term replacement is yet to be determined but common names being heard include Phil Jackson (obvious 1st choice), Jerry Sloan (pick and roll w/ Steve Nash leading the way), Mike D'Antoni (Nash's coach in Phoenix, good relationship w/ Kobe from Olympics and Italian roots), Brian Shaw (former Lakers assistant under Phil Jackson, probably should have gotten the job when they hired Brown). Daily Onions pick would be D'Antoni - probably the most realistic and best move at this point.

-7 Games in Heaven: Here is the next seven games for the Lakers. Golden State, Sacto, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, New JERRRSEEEY Brooklyn, at Sacto. Six in a row at home, most thought Brown would get at least the weekend to clean things up. Why wait though? He's obviously not the right fit, so get someone new in who can take over the team when they have a handful of winnable games. Get them off to a hot start and go from there.

Throwback Onions: Grant Park 2008, Revisted

The following is an account of Election Night in Grant Park, Chicago, back in 2008, when Barack Obama was named the 44th President of the United States. This post is not meant to be political, but more of a narrative of history in the making. This was originally written the days following the 2008 election.

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Reporting Live from Grant Park: Experiencing History

Jason Sacks

11/4/08

When I moved to Chicago on June 2, in the back of my mind I thought that I might be a part of a historic event within the next four to five months.  The Cubs were the best team in baseball, and I was moving in three blocks from Wrigley Field.  I couldn’t help but think how crazy the month of October would be in Wrigleyville as the Cubs ended the 100-year curse. Well, less than a week into October, Wrigley field went dark, and there went the historic event; “wait till next year,” as they say in these parts.  But less than a month after the Cubs were booted from the playoffs, that historic event that I thought about, would turn out to be something much more  than just a World Series in my backyard.

About two weeks ago, people started discussing an Election Night rally in Grant Park, where Senator Barack Obama would hopefully make his acceptance speech as the next President of the United States.  Details were still a bit unclear, but my initial gut reaction was that that rally was going to be absolute chaos.  I attended a free Stevie Wonder concert in the summer at Grant Park and ended up sitting on Lake Shore Drive (for those of you not familiar with Chicago, not the best seat for a concert).  The number of people present made it impossible to move, hear or see anything going on.  I could just imagine what this Election Night rally would be like, and didn’t think I wanted to be anywhere near there. I figured there’d be better views on television.

Then about a week ago, someone sent me the link to register for a free ticket for the Election Night Rally.  Word on the street was that tickets were good for you and a guest, and that they’d allow about 70,000 people into the park.  I filled out the registration form and figured it’d be worth at least having the option of going.  I quickly received confirmation that I had a ticket and that a ticket would be emailed to me a day before the event.  At that point, I was still on the fence on whether or not I’d attend.  The more and more I thought about it though, I wondered, how cool would it be to tell my friends, family and one day my children, that I was there to witness one of the most historic nights in our country’s history.  Done. I was going.

I'm in that crowd...somewhere

The tickets and information about the event said that the doors to Hutchinson Field in Grant Park would open at 8:30 pm (all times in this account are Central Time...I’ve converted).  We knew there’d be large crowds of people down there, so we (myself, Colleen, Brady and Brandi) arrived at the entrance to the event at around 6:15 pm.  We started to work our way through the crowds and entered through our first check point, showing tickets and IDs, disposing of any food, beverages, large bags, etc.  We then walked to another checkpoint where they checked tickets, and another checkpoint where they pretty much did the same thing.  At that point, we could see a row of 24 metal detectors and a large mass of people.  It took about 25 minutes to actually get up to the metal detectors. Luckily, while we were waiting, Brady’s new $15 transistor radio that he just bought at CVS was giving us up to the minute updates on…NASCAR and the Chicago traffic (Eventually Brady would find a news station with Election updates, or not). As we got closer to the metal detectors, I made sure that we went through the detector numbered 22 for good luck (you’re welcome, Barack).  As we made it through the final checkpoint, which was manned by TSA workers along with Secret Service Officers, we could start to see the open field where the rally would take place.

What is David Stern Thinking? NBA Opening Night

Welcome back, NBA. Whew....good to have you back in our life.

Tuesday night kicked off the NBA season with the prime time match up of the Wizards vs. Cavs Celtics vs. Heat. Lots of story lines in this game, but we'll save that for another time.

Instead, let's get to David Stern. Mr. Commissioner announced last week that he will be stepping down on February 1st, 2014, rounding out a 30 year run as the league's leader.

In his first appearance post retirement announcement, David Stern started off the Miami Heat Ring Ceremony by first acknowledging the tragedy and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Seriously.


At that point, I tweeted, "Nice start David Stern #sandynotkatrina #checkedoutalready"

Obviously, just a slip of the tongue by Stern, but it was interesting timing with him knowing he is on his way out, so maybe he'll just go into check out mode, with a side of I'll do whatever the hell I want mode (I guess the latter is what he is in the majority of the time anyway).

As the ring ceremony got underway, we wondered what Stern was saying to each player as he shook their hand. Everything written below could, or could not be what was actually exchanged.

Terrel Harris: "Who the f are you?"  (not only did Stern say this, but so did everyone else in America)
Norris Cole: "You're right...having that box haircut is the only way someone would ever notice you on this team."
Dexter Pittman: "Just because I'm on my way out, don't think you can pull any of that dirty crap you did last year. I'll be watching you....even if you only play 4 games this year."
Joel Anthony: "Who's Anthony, Who's Anthony?....Wayne's World, anyone?"
Juwan Howard: "Who would have thought you'd be the last Fab 5 member playing in the NBA?"
Mike Miller: "Don't go auctioning this ring off, like you did your house." 
Udonis Haslem: "You have two NBA championship rings?!"
Shane Battier: "Why can't everyone in the NBA be as nice as you? Oh, and cut the flopping, would ya?"
Mario Chalmers: "I would say I know how it feels to be yelled at by everyone, but I don't....sorry."
Chris Bosh: "I loved you in Avatar."
Dwyane Wade: "You don't know how many times I spelled your name D-w-a-y-n-e, instead of D-w-y-a-n-e."
LeBron James: "Remember that whole thing about beating the Lakers in 6 we talked about last year, let's make it 7." (shout-out to Grantland.com)

Fun Fact Friday: CamORANGEflage

Fun Fact Friday is back after a one week hiatus due to the nuptials of loyal reader Ramy, who is currently enjoying his honeymoon in Hawaii. Enjoy this post on the beach while sipping a fruity cocktail. Also, put some more sunscreen on your head.

Anyway, back to the fun-ness that is Fun Fact Friday. We are exactly 2 weeks away from Syracuse tipping things off against San Diego State on the Battle of the Midway. It was announced on Wednesday that Syracuse will be rocking some Nike camouflage jerseys, similar to what Michigan State and North Carolina wore last year during their deck top match-up.

No sign of the 'Cuse jerseys posted online yet, but we are looking forward to the potential. Will it be worth shelling out the $60-80 to pick up a new basketball shorts? If they look good, I'd say strong to quite strong. Why not represent 'Cuse and our Armed Forces.

P-Shump Update: For all of you Orange fans that were wondering, "Hmmm, I wonder what Preston Shumpert is up to these days?" Well, now you know. The Syracuse Post Standard reported yesterday that Shumpert is recovering from a tendon injury in his finger; an injury sustained while playing in Turkey. Here we thought the only competitive sport happening in Turkey was this season of The Challenge on MTV. Turns out Shump has been playing in Europe for the last decade. According to the article, Shumpert, his wife and two kids live in the Syracuse area. Anyone know where Deshaun Williams is?

Orange Cut Day: Ok, so this isn't fun, but its worth noting. In the past week, Johnny Flynn and "I'm Sorry" Rick Jackson have been released/cut from NBA teams. Andy Rautins is one of four players fighting for one position in Oklahoma City. Odds are, Andy is next to be gone. Donte Green isn't on a team as he rehabs from an injury. Rough stretch for a couple of guys that played together up on the Hill. Jackson and Rautins are who we thought they were, but man, imagine if Flynn and Green would have stayed in school for another year or two. Ahh, what could have been.

Fun Fact Friday: The Madness

October 12, 2012. The official start of the basketball season. Today marks the first day that college teams can hold practice, most choosing for a "Midnight" Madness type of event. Up in Central New York, the 'Cuse figured if its not at midnight, why call it Midnight Madness? They opted for Orange Madness, which brings us to our first installment of #FunFactFriday.

Jasmine and Scoop prior to Madness (Post Standard)

This year's Orange Madness will be hosted by none other than, the Human Momentum Killer himself (nickname given by reader JaLil), Scoop Jardine. The fun fact comes here. Scoop's co-host is his girlfriend, Jasmine Jordan. Jasmine is a sophomore at Syracuse, and the daughter of some guy named Michael Jordan. And this is probably the only time Scoop's name will be used in the same sentence as MJ's (Although there were rumors back in August that Scoop was getting an invite to the Bobcats preseason camp - but a longer than expected recovery from a foot injury puts Scoop back at the Dome, instead of in Charlotte). Jasmine said she was asked to co-host the event by The First Lady of SU Basketball, Juli Boeheim. If Juli called you, you'd do whatever she asked as well.

Onto some other Midnight madness notes:

-Jimmy B is 10 wins away from 900, and 13 wins away from passing Bob Knight on the all-time wins list.

-Seth Greenberg thinks Syracuse's weakness this year is not having a "city" guard like Pearl Washington, Adrian Autry, or Dion Waiters. Brandon Triche, Jamesville-Dewitt (NY) and Michael Carter-Williams, Hamilton (MA) are all offended. Seth also thinks he should still be coaching at Virgnia Tech, though.

-Indiana opted for the televised day time practice with drills and Tom Crean pacing around the court chirping compliments and instructions faster than he chews his gum. No crowds, no smoke machines, no freshmen doing ballet numbers (UNC did this). The Hoosiers are ranked as high as #1 in some preseason polls and return ALL of their starters. They also have a guy named Maurice Creek on their team. Mo Creek, anyone?

-ESPN has placed their talent all over the map to report live from Midnight Madnesses. Syracuse got the short end of the stick with Dino Gaudio, while UNC and Pitt were the big winners with Doris Burke and Bill Raftery, respectively. Since Syracuse beat Pitt in football last week, they should have won the rights to have Raftery in town for the Madness.

-Kentucky's madness started with them raising their 2012 National Championship banner to the rafters. Reports out of Rupp Arena is that they are leaving the ladder out, since they will have to vacate that win within the next year or two. #tooeasy  Kentucky also has two players with Kid 'N Play type boxes, stud recruit, questionably eligible Nerlens Noel and transfer PG from NC State, Ryan Harrow.

-Andy Katz has Louisville ranked #1 in his preseason poll. Whatever that means.

-This is the final Midnight Madness for Pitt and Syracuse in the Big East. Next season the 'Cuse will be in the ACC House. Oh my god, oh my god. #RIPBigEast

Return of the Onions

What happens when you are on an airplane for four and half hours, need a break from doing your "real" job (thank you wifi on Southwest!), and start seeing some tweets about college basketball media day? You rededicate yourself to your college basketball blog, that's what you do!

And then you go and post this song to get it stuck in everyone's head - throwback to high school anyone?



By the way, did you know that the Return of the Mack official video has 8,996,280 views on youtube? I have no bearing on whether or not this is super high or average. As reference, This is How We Do It by Montell Jordan has just over 9 million views, while Thong Song has over 17 mllion views. And that ladies and gentlemen, is how you work The Thong Song into a college basketball blog post.

Now, onto more pertinent information regarding some college hoops. Here are a few stories we are following (not breaking).

Sunk my aircraft carrier? Our beloved Syracuse Orange were set to square off against San Diego State on November 9th on the retired USS Midway aircraft carrier flight deck, which is docked in San Diego. This would be the second straight year a basketball game was being played on a aircraft carrier (last year it was UNC and Michigan State).
As of this morning, it looks like this game is in limbo. Apparently the fan fest, concert, and other tomfoolery around the event are all being canceled because the inability to find a national sponsor. Interesting since the game is just over a month away. I'm sure Ron Burgundy and Champ Kind will have more details as this story breaks.
It would be ironic if the game does get canceled though. Syracuse, who gets a bad rap for not playing outside the state of NY until January most seasons, tries to not only go across the country to play again, but they aren't even playing the game on land. Maybe its just not meant to be. Stay at the Dome, Jimmy B.

SI.com

Jabari Parker: The top ranked player in high school hoops since LeBron James happens to reside and play in Daily Onions backyard on the south side of Chicago. The Simeon High School (same as Derrick Rose) senior has narrowed down his list to five schools. Unfortunately for those fans of in-state schools, DePaul and Illinois are nowhere to be found. According to ESPN recruiting folks, Simeon coach Robert Smith said DePaul was the toughest school for Jabari to leave off the list. Wonder if Oliver Purnell and company can use that in their recruiting pitch..."We were #6 on Jabari's list!!"

The top 5 for Jabari looks like this (in no particular order): Stanford, Michigan State, Duke, BYU and Florida (no Kentucky, thank goodness...Calipari did get the Harrison twin brothers yesterday though, both ranked in the top 5 of the class of 2013). Parker and his family are Mormons, so that explains BYU. From all accounts, Jabari is a great kid all around, (check out this article on him from Sports Illustrated) including the classroom, to go along with his basketball ability. Would be pretty cool to see him go to a BYU or Stanford. My early prediction that doesn't mean a damn thing, Michigan State. I'm basing this on Tom Izzo make a couple of extra trips to Chicago during the season last year, just to sit court side and make eye contact with Jabari.

Butler heading East: You didn't think we were going to get through our first post of 2012-13 without mentioning Onions favorite Butler and Brad Stevens did you? Well the Dawgs are on their way to the Atlantic 10 this season. Stevens and company were at the Jay-Z Center in Brooklyn today for the conference media day. Butler has some high expectations this season (despite being picked to finish 6th in the league), after missing the NCAA tournament last year. They bring everyone important back except Ronald Nored (graduation) and Chrishawn Hopkins (dismissed from team). They also add 6-6 freshman guard Kellen Dunham (2-time All-State player in Indiana), as well as senior Rotnei Clark, who transferred from Arkansas. Clark is said to be one of the best shooters in the country. As he'll soon find out, the measurements in Hinkle Fieldhouse are the same as his court back at home ("10 feet........15 feet").

Happy Birthday! Shout out to Daily Onions loyal reader, my dad. He's celebrating his birthday today (October 5th) poolside or green-side down in Florida. Appreciate all the support, whether it was while I was on the basketball court, on the blogosphere, or life in general. Enjoy!

DaJuan Coleman - 2012 McDonald's All-American Game

Last night marked the 35th Anniversary of the McDonald's High School All-American Games. At the United Center in Chicago, the West Squad defeated the East, 106-102.

After the game, we caught up with 6-10, 285 lb F/C DaJuan Coleman, who will be headed to Syracuse next year. Coleman, playing for the East team, finished last night's game with 7 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

As you'll see in the video below, Coleman thinks he can come in and make an impact right away by filling the void in the middle for the Orange. He also comes in hungry to rebound, rebound and rebound.

Winners and Losers of Sweet 16 Thursday

Half of the Elite 8 is set. Syracuse, Louisville, Ohio State and Florida advance. Daily Onions was 2-2 last night in our picks (Marquette and Michigan State). Let's see who else were winners and losers last night.

Fair busts out of slump vs. Wisco (pic: syracuse.com)

Winner: Basketball - Seems kind of simple, right? Well the game of basketball was a winner last night with the Syracuse and Wisconsin game. Whether you are a fan of Otto or Bucky, you HAD to enjoy watching that game last night. One of the best all around played games in a while by two teams in the tournament. You had the athleticism, length and uptemponess (new word) of Syracuse, against the smart, patient, sharpshooters from Wisconsin. The Badgers hit 14 3 pointers in the game, including a stretch of six in a row. But every time they made a run, Syracuse was able to bounce back and answer. Eventually, Wisconsin's shots weren't falling, thanks to Syracuse extending the zone and a little regression to the mean. One other note, good to have Brandon Triche and CJ Fair back doing their thing for the 'Cuse.

Loser: That Awful Camera Angle - Note to CBS and TBS, let's try and stay away from the over-the-court angle that makes you feel like you are even further from the action. Keep it simple.

Winner: Coaching Trees - Rick Pitino was one of Jim Boeheim's first assistants. Pitino then went on coach Billy Donovan at Providence (as well as a short stint with the Knicks). After working on Wall Street for a year, Donovan became an assistant for Pitino at Kentucky. Now, all three of these coaches are in the Elite 8, with Pitino and Donovan squaring off against each other in the West Regional Final.

Loser: Lesley Visser's Face in HD - We don't want to be disrespectful, but come on. Her face just isn't normal anymore, and it's actually frightening. I remember watching Visser as a sideline reporter when I was growing up. She was always solid. But I think it's time for her to hang up the microphone.

Louisville in Orange (pic: syracuse.com)

Winner: Orange - Congratulations to all the teams that wore Orange last night, as you were a winner. Syracuse defeated Wisconsin, Florida beat Marquette, and Louisville beat Michigan State.

Winner: Draymond Green - Yes, we know that Michigan State lost, but how can you not like this kid. Everybody loves Draymond. Classy kid on and off the court. Probably came into this season with a ceiling of being a very good college basketball player, and a quick flame out in the NBA. This year though, he led the Spartans from unranked to a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Put Draymond Green on a perennial contender in the NBA and I think he becomes a solid contributor. It's been fun watching Green over the past few years. Too bad he didn't go to Duke...then Dick Vitale would have been comparing him to Derek Jeter all year long.

Loser: The State of Wisconsin - It was a rough night for all the cheese heads. Not only did Wisconsin fall to Syracuse in a heartbreaker, but Marquette couldn't hit an open shot and lost to Florida. We really liked Marquette this season, but if you don't make open shots you aren't going to win Sweet 16 games. Actually, if you do make open shots, you still might not win Sweet 16 games (see: Wisconsin).

Winner: Bill Raftery - Last but not least....this is obvious. Raftery was on point during the Syracuse - Wisconsin game. His greatest work came during Syracuse's first half run. There was a little lingerie on the deck after a Dion Waiters spin cycle. Then Waiters hit a high arching jumper, to which Raftery exclaimed, "It came down wet!" He then followed that up with a jab at a round Derrick Coleman (he was available?!) in the stands ("No Church League for that guy!"). See for yourself.

Swimming and Kicking at NCAA Tourney Open Practices

Prior to the Sweet 16 and Final 4 games, the NCAA hosts "open practices" to the public, where you can come in and watch the teams on the court for an hour or so. Don't expect to see what the team's gameplan will be, though. You mostly get lots of shooting drills, lots of fancy dunks in layup lines, maybe see the team run through a few sets, and barely see the coaches or players break a sweat. With that said, its cool for the fans to get a behind the scenes look at some top programs in the country.

The highlight of the open practice is the half-court shootout to end practice. All teams do it differently. It could be a nonchalant group of guys chucking it up from center court. Others will have two teams to see who can make more shots in a certain amount of time. During the season, Butler's basketball team (and you thought you wouldn't see them in a NCAA tourney post), finishes their day of game walk thru on the road with assistant coaches, radio guys, trainers, etc shooting from half court, with the players watching. Practice isn't officially over until someone makes it. Brad Stevens became a bit superstitious when he realized that when a certain staff member made it, the team would play poorly. Prior to the UIC game, that person wasn't allowed to shoot, and Butler won a few hours later.

Back to the Sweet 16 open practices. Two great videos below. The first is Marquette's head coach, Buzz Williams (who we have in the Final Four), sinking a half court shot and then doing his best Michael Phelps impersonation.

The next video doesn't come on a half court shot, but still pretty impressive. Syracuse walk-on Brandon Reese, who is listed at 5-11 (on two phone books), goes up for an alley-oop (impressive that he can get up that high), can't quite throw it down, but uses his foot to put the ball through the hoop. Check it out.


Less than nine hours away until the Sweet 16 tips off. In no particular order, here are our picks for the next round of games: Syracuse over Wisconsin (sending Bo Ryan to vacation in South Jersey), Michigan State over Louisville, Ohio State over Cincy, Marquette over Florida. Big East sends 2 of 4 teams to the Elite 8. Tomorrow night, we got Baylor over Xavier, UNC over Ohio, Kentucky over Indiana and Kansas over NC State. Yes, you can call us Chalky White.

(videos courtesy of muathletics and fizzfirst on youtube)

March Means Gus Johnson

Today is March 1st. The Madness is basically here. While we won't have Gus Johnson calling the games on CBS, TNT, TBS, TruTV, etc this year (still can't quite process that thought), we got a treat last night in Evanston.

Northwestern, who has never made the NCAA Tournament....yes, NEVER...was hosting Ohio State. A win for the Wildcats and they'd basically punch their ticket to the dance. A loss wouldn't eliminate them, but it'd leave them with some work to do.

Speaking of doing work, here is Gus Johnson on the Big Ten Network completely losing his mind when Northwestern hits a long three to tie the game up in the final 10 seconds.



In case you don't know how this game finished, Ohio State went the length of the court in about 2 seconds, lobbed one into Jared Sullinger, and his layup with 3 seconds left gave the Buckeyes a two point lead. John Shurna's three-point heave at the buzzer came up just short (God only knows what would have happened to Gus if that shot fell).

Heartbreak once again for the Cats and their purple faithful. They finish the regular season with a game at Iowa (who has been playing well of late), and then it's on to Indy for the Big Ten Tournament. If the season ended today, I think Northwestern would be in. However the season does not end today. Two more Ws, they are in comfortably. One more win, hold your breathe on Selection Sunday. Zero more wins, hello NIT.

Welcome to March.

(video courtesy of the Big Ten Network)

I Wanna Dance with Somebody...from the Big East

With Selection Sunday just 20 days away...yes, 20 days...we wanted to explore who'd be dancing from the Big East Conference. You might be saying, anyone can look at the standings and figure who the best teams in the conference are. That may be true. But can anyone predict who will make the Tournament while also comparing the teams to, and in turn honoring, the late, great Whitney Houston? Challenge accepted.

1. Syracuse - "Greatest Love of All" or "I Will Always Love You" - No brainer here. The only school that I've ever truly loved, and will love forever. Syracuse has been in control of the conference since Day 1. They look to be in the drivers seat for a #1 seed in the Big Dance as well (most likely in the East), which would mean opening round games in Pittsburgh, and Sweet 16/Elite 8 games in Baaaahston. Even at 27-1, the Orange have their flaws. If they don't fix the rebounding woes that have hurt them all season, there could be an upset before New Orleans.
Bold Prediction: The Final Four is on Bourbon Street, and Jimmy B has been there in '87 and '03. Why not just invite him and the Orange back for '12, as well.

2. Marquette - "It's Not Right, But It's Okay (Thunderpuss Remix)" - The Golden Eagles beat Syracuse during the regular season last year, and then knocked them out in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. If I had to root for another Big East school this year, it'd be Marquette (It's not right, but it's okay). I don't know about you, but Marquette scares the crap out of me. They are a tough as nails team, have a crazy coach (in a good way, not in a Frank Martin/Mike Rice way), have a couple of guys that are seniors and have been there before (Crowder and Johnson-Odom), and there have been at least three or four games this year in which they've been down by at least 15 points, and have come back to win the game.
Bold Prediction: They not only make a run to Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in the final "real" Big East Tournament, and continue the streak with a Elite 8 run in the Tourney. Don't be surprised if you see in NOLA as well.

3. Georgetown - "Run to You" - As in, run the Princeton offense. Hoyas have been solid all year long. Nice mix of young and old, as well as inside and outside. Jason Clark can go for 25 time any time he steps on the court, Hollis Thompson is an experienced swingman, while Henry Sims and Nate Lubick provide skill and experience in the paint. However, the Hoyas also depend a group of freshman who have gotten big minutes all year. Can a team with a lot of freshmen go far in the tournament? It's happened before, and G'town would like to rebound from last year's 1st round exit.
Bold Prediction: The Hoyas will be one of the last Big East teams standing in the NCAAs, along with Marquette and Cuse. Look for Georgetown to be playing for a shot to go to the Elite 8, come late March.

3a. Notre Dame - "Saving All My Love for You" - This references all the love Notre Dame is getting from around the country. "Mike Brey does it again....Coach of the Year in the Big East....they lost their best player before the season started....they're they only team to beat Syracuse..." To be honest, most of it is all warranted. Notre Dame has come out of nowhere, running their "burn" offense when they want to control the tempo of games, like they did against Syracuse. Since losing to UConn and Rutgers in mid-January, Notre Dame has won 8 in a row and are now ranked in the top 20.
Bold Prediction: The Irish might be pulling a Rick Pitino, and may be peaking too early. They got trampled out of the NCAA tournament last year during opening weekend. A great story this year, but don't expect the Irish to be around after St. Patty's Day weekend.

5. Louisville - "Heartbreak Hotel" - Unfortunately Fortunately Whitney didn't have a song titled "Italian Restaurant Bathroom," or else we'd have the perfect match for Pitino and the Cardinals. We'll go with the Heartbreak Hotel instead. Syracuse was able to beat the Cardinals at the Yum last Monday, after Louisville basically owned the Orange in their last 7 meetings. Coming off that loss, Cards needed OT to win at DePaul. Big game at Cincy on Thursday. L'ville needs to get some confidence back.
Bold Predication: Louisville is obviously in, and most likely a 3-5 seed. This sets them up perfectly for 13-4/12-5 upset, and "Pitino Doesn't Last Long" jokes lighting up Twitter.

6. West Virginia - "One Moment in Time" - The Mountaineers are taking their final breathes of Big East basketball. Whether or not they'll be spending late March in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT still remains to be seen. WVU has a Huggy-sized huge game against Notre Dame on Wednesday. A win in South Bend would go a loooong way for selection committee members. If WVU wins the games they are supposed to (ND not included) down the stretch, and can get a pair of Ws in NYC in their final Big East Tournament, they should be dancing.
Bold Predication: Their final moment in time in the Big East includes a trip to the NCAA Tournament, but a loss in the Round of 32. Kevin Jones can't do it all.

7. South Florida - "How Will I Know" - The Bulls are a tough team to predict. They are 10-4 in conference (good for a tie for 4th overall), with a trip to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday looming. After Cuse, they have Cincy at home, Louisville at the Yum, and host WVU in the season finale. If they go 2-2 over the final four regular season games, and win at least one in NYC, Bulls will be running into the NCAA Tournament.
Bold Predication: USF isn't quite ready to take the next step yet. They go 1-3 to finish the year, and get bounced early in the Big East tournament, punching a ticket to the NIT. With that said, can you keep an 11-7 team in the Big East out of the Big Dance? Redact prediction, Bulls are in if they win 3 more games before Selection Sunday.

8. Cincinnati - "So Emotional" - It's been quite the rollercoaster of emotions for Cincy this year. The Bearcats have a couple of black eyes on their resume that won't do them any favors on Selection Sunday (Presbyterian and Marshall). Throw in the black eyes they gave to Xavier players, it's been an up and down season for the 'Nati. The Bearcats sit basically in the same position as USF. I'd say they are in right now, but losing to the Bulls or Villanova in the final weeks of the season could be the knockout punch for Cincy.
Bold Predication: If the Bearcats can defend their home court and beat Louisville on Thursday night, they are in. If they lose, they still have a chance, but that's a resume building win and they need it at this point in the season.

9. Seton Hall - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" - Did you know that Seton Hall lost 6 games in a row during the month of January and early February. Even with that stretch of games, most "experts" have said the Pirates are in, despite being 7-8 in the league right now. The Hall hosts Georgetown and Rutgers before closing out the year at DePaul. To say the Pirates still have some work to do, would be putting it lightly.

Bold Predication: The Hall loses 2 of their final 3, and answer the question, Where Do Broken Hearts Go....the NIT.

10. UConn - "I Have Nothing" - If you looked at UConn's Tournament resume, changed the name at the top to Storrs College, there is no way they'd be a tournament team. But they are UConn, the defending National Champs, so they get the benefit of a perennial tournament team. Similar to Villanova last year, who had no business making the tournament (and lost in their first game), UConn could get some benefit of the doubt votes. Throw in the fact UConn won't be in the tournament next year (NCAA violations), could this year be Calhoun's last opportunity to coach in a NCAA tourney game?
Bold Predication: It's been a rough year for the defending champs. Suspensions due to NCAA violations for a player as well as Calhoun. They've basically quit in a number of games, where it really showed that they had nothing. Shabazz Napier kept hopes alive with his ONIONS on Monday night at Villanova. Don't think that will be enough though. No NCAA Tournament for the Huskies, and loyal reader Ramy has to console his little brother, Jeremy Lamb (that's if he didn't trade in this Jeremy for Jeremy Lin).

Final count: Big East definitely gets 7, possibly 8. Only get 9 if someone has a Gerry McNamara/Da'Sean Butler/Kemba-esque run in NYC. Give me 4 of those teams in the Sweet 16, 2 in the Elite 8 and 1 in the New Orleans.

Tale of the Tape: Victor Cruz vs. Jeremy Lin

New York is dealing with a pair of out of nowhere superstars that are taking their sport by storm. First there was Victor Cruz, the New York Giants wide receiver that helped bring the Lombardi Trophy home to New York New Jersey ("I got a ring....he got one too!"). Now, after the last three games he's played for the New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin is the craziest thing since Tebow Time.


Let's take a look at how these two surprising stars stack up against each other (yes, we are well aware there is a smaller sample size for Lin right now).

Cruz gets the slight edge for his high school, representing the great state of New.....Jerrrrrrseeey, but Lin wins when it comes to college. You have to give the nod to the Ivy Leaguer in the NBA, over the guy that had some academic issues at UMass. Similar in most of the other categories, so let's get into the more important things.


Fun things to do with their name:
Victor Cruz: Obviously everyone knows what to do here...Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Jeremy Lin: Endless opportunities here, and we've already seen the likes of Linsanity, #Linning, All I do is Lin, etc.
Advantage: For now, we are going Cruz. It's simple, easy to remember and can get loud. There are too many options for Lin right now, and we might be trying to hard to come up with more creative names.


First three games:

Salsa. Cruz.

Victor Cruz: In week 1, Cruz was shutout. Week 2 he had 2 catches for 17 yards. Week 3 was his breakout game in Philadelphia. Cruz had 3 catches for 110 yards and 2 TDs, including a 74 yard touchdown. The Giants went 2-1 in these three games.
Jeremy Lin: While Lin has played previously, we are going to focus on his three games this week, where he's really taken off: 25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds. 28 points, 8 assists. 23 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds. He's also shooting 58% from the field in these games, and most importantly the Knicks have won these three games.
Advantage: Lin has been a little more consistent at the start, but as we stated, he has a lot more pro games under his belt. Cruz went on to have a record-setting season, so if we were to check back in April, we'd probably have to give the season award to Cruz...unless Linsanity goes out of control.


Celebration/handshake:
Victor Cruz: One word. Salsa.
Jeremy Lin: Thus far we have seen Lin bow with Carmelo Anthony after a big play (ala Cruz's teammate, Justin Tuck). On Wednesday night, Lin and teammate Landry "Lance" Fields, who attended Stanford, showed off their "nerd" handshake, where they mimicked reading a book, putting on glasses, and then wearing a pocket protector. 
Advantage: We are giving the nod to Cruz and the Salsa. While we like the bow, the handshake seemed a little too choreographed (because it was), and you need a partner to do it. Cruz's salsa was not only legit (Cruz's hip don't lie), but it also signified a touchdown for the New York Football Giants.


Contract Situation:
Victor Cruz: Currently in the second year of a three year deal, Cruz earned $450,000 this season. Next year he is set to make $490,000. For those scoring at home, Cruz's regular season stats were 1,536 yards and 9 TDs. In the postseason, 269 yards on 21 receptions and the first Giants TD of the Super Bowl. Jerry Reese, pay the man.

Linsanity taking over NYC.

Jeremy Lin: Earlier this week, the Knicks picked up Lin's contract for the rest of the season, which will pay him a pro-rated share of $800,000. With this guaranteed money, Lin might be able to get himself a new place in NYC, or at least a bed. For the last six weeks, Lin has been sleeping in his brother's living room on a couch. 
Advantage: Lin might end up making more money than Cruz this year, but it looks like Cruz has a better future both on and off the field. With that said, how crazy is it that Lin sleeps on his brother's coach! Come on, James Dolan, give the kid a hotel room or something. I saw plenty of invoices during my time with the Knicks, and room for Lin for a few weeks wouldn't make that big a difference.


Comparison to Others
Victor Cruz: Known as a slot receiver, you would have to compare Cruz to the best slot receiver in the league right now, Wes Welker. We need to give credit to Welker for basically revolutionizing the slot position (and thank him for dropping that pass in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl). I wouldn't say Cruz is as good as Welker, but I think he can get there. He's got the knack for making big plays out of nothing. If he repeats this year's output next year, Welker may have to make some room at the top of the Slot receiver rankings.
Jeremy Lin: I've seen bits and pieces of Lin's last three games, and the first person to come to mind was Steve Nash. With that said, obviously Lin has a long way to go to get to Nash status. But the way Lin handles the ball, sees the floor, gets to the rim, draws contact, etc, looks a bit like Nash. 
Advantage: Push. If you are wide receiver and get compared to Welker, or a point guard and get compared to Nash, that's pretty damn good. Like many of these areas, we'll see if Lin can keep this up the rest of the season, or if fizzles out in the next few weeks.


Twitter
Victor Cruz: @TeamVic has 135,500 followers. Cruz is pretty active as a tweeter, and is good about responding and interacting with his followers. Also has an avatar picture from the Super Bowl parade day earlier this week.
Jeremy Lin: @JLin7 has 74,280 followers, many coming in the last week. Lin tweets a limited times a day, and still has his location as Bay Areaaa (his spelling, not mine).
Advantage: Cruz wins with higher numbers and more activity.


Miscellaneous 
Victor Cruz: Mr. Salsa turned down the opportunity to appear on Dancing with the Stars, which he probably would have won. He also has been participating in a lot of Fashion Week events in NYC the past few days and will be presenting an award at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

Jeremy Lin: I wanted to include this tweet somewhere in this post, but didn't know where to put it. Last night, Knicks beat writer Frank Isola tweeted this from the Knicks game in Washington D.C. on Wednesday night. 
Advantage: Lin has proven that he can drive, just ask John Wall who he blew by a few times on Wednesday night.


Cruz wins the Tale of the Tape, 4-2 with one push. The sample size for Lin is small, and Cruz just helped lead the Giants to their second Super Bowl in five years, so I guess this result is expected. Regardless, we are excited for the Giants to lock up Cruz, and we are excited to see the success of Jeremy Lin continue.

ONIONS Rivers

In the words of loyal reader @mpenz21, "welcome to the Duke-UNC Rivalry, Austin Rivers." The only thing that would have made last night's ONIONS moment better, would have been if Bill Raftery was on the call....(check that, two things would have made it better) and if Rivers pulled a Sam Cassell and did the big marbles dance after he hit the shot.

Just in case you missed it live, like @bradsmit did, here's Rivers firmly planting himself into the greatest moments of the Duke-UNC Rivalry.



Let's say this first. Unbelievable individual performance from freshman Austin Rivers last night. Check out this line: 39 minutes (out of 40), 29 points on 9-16 shooting, including 6-10 from behind the arc. Also chipped in with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Now, let's really look at what happened in the last few minutes of last night's game. Bottom line, North Carolina should have never lost that game, especially on their home court.

• Duke went on a 13-2 run to end the game.
• Seth Curry got a way with a walk prior to hitting a three with 1:48 left, which brought Duke to within four points.
• Tyler Zeller not only scored in his own basket (accidentally tipped in an errant three pointer) in the final 20 seconds to cut the UNC lead to 1 point, but he also missed a a free throw with 13.9 seconds left, which would have given the Tar Heels a 3 point lead (Zeller actually went 2-4 from the line in the final 44 seconds of the game). Oh, and he also was the one guarding Rivers when he hit the three, giving him too much space for Rivers to get a great look at the game winner. Zeller, who picked up Rivers on the switch, needed to guard him closely and make sure he didn't get off a three. Even if Rivers goes around you, the worst thing that happens is he hits a two and we are going to overtime. Definitely a final few minutes that Zeller will want to forget.
• 2:35. That was the point at which UNC scored their last FG of the game, a Harrison Barnes jumper.
• In the final 4 minutes of the game, Duke had 3 offensive rebounds and a steal, which directly led to 10 points. 

Remember before the season when everyone thought North Carolina wouldn't lose a game? Barnes, Henson, Zeller returning, a couple of McDonald's All-Americans coming in. Well the Tar Heels are now 20-4, 7-2 in the ACC (same exact record for Duke). Their first conference loss was a 33 point loss at Florida State three and a half weeks ago. Their second came last night, at home, to their biggest rival, after blowing an 11 point lead in the final 3:54. This was is going to sting...for a while.

Happy Birthday, Send It In Jerome....

Today is a special day for Daily Onions. If what happened 24 years ago, never happened...we're not sure Daily Onions would be here today.

Of course, what we are referencing is the Jerome Lane dunk that shattered the backboard and eventually led to Bill Raftery's call of "SEND IT IN JEROME".

Check out this video of current Arizona head coach Sean Miller, talking about that moment (with audio from Raftery's call and commentary). Miller was the Pitt player that had the assist on the dunk. Many of our West Virgnia readers will probably agree that this is the best thing ever to come out of Pitt.



It's great to hear a younger Raftery not only make the SEND IT IN call, but the follow up explanation of the play, in which he says "This is amazing...a good dish...but he's ready right by the foul line...bring it down and bring it home, Jerome."(make sure to watch the whole video as Raftery talks about "inferior equipment and superior manpower.") Classic, Bill.

One last note, this call led to one of my finest broadcasting memories. When Rutgers upset Syracuse in 2003 at the RAC, Jerome Coleman was on fire from deep, absolutely lighting up the Orange. After his fourth or fifth three pointer from way behind the line and the crowd going crazy, I obviously had to throw out a "Send it in, Jerome." Respect.

(video posted by KOLDNEWS13)

Syracuse with a "Lloyd Christmas" Victory

Saying that Syracuse's win at Cincinnati last night was the equivalent to Lloyd Christmas trading in the van for the scooter straight up, after driving a sixth of the way across the country in the wrong direction, might be stretch. But there's no doubt about it, this was a huge bounce back win for the Orange, totally redeeming themselves after Saturday's loss to Notre Dame.



After dropping its first game of the season at South Bend on Saturday(with Daily Onions in the building), Syracuse was on the verge of losing two straight conference road games, all in the midst of the academic Melo-drama. In front of a sold out crowd at the Fifth Third Arena, Syracuse would be facing a Cincinnati team playing good basketball recently (winners of 10 of 11 before the WVU game on Saturday), even though they were coming off a close loss to West Virginia in Morgantown. After being outplayed in the paint by Notre Dame's Luke Harangody Jack Cooley, Orange fans had to be a bit nervous going up against the Bearcats physical interior players, like Yancy "One Punch" Gates.

Put your hands up, in the air...Boeheim wins #877 (AP Photo)

Despite a deja vu all over again start from 'Nati, knocking down deep three, after deep three, Syracuse settled in and stayed in the game early (something that was lacking against Notre Dame). The Orange eventually took a 3 point lead into halftime, but a 9-2 run Bearcat run opened up the 2nd half and the Cuse was down by 4. Timeout Jimmy B. Time for the Orange to wake up, and they did. Over the next ten minutes, Syracuse outscored Cincinnati 14-3. That included a pair of threes from Scoop and Triche, and Kris Joseph became "the guy" that ESPN analysts were looking for at halftime. Joseph finished with a team high 17 points on 8-11 shooting. Scoop finished with 13, including a nail in the coffin 3 pointer in the final three minutes to put the game away for good. Sticking with the Christmas theme, Rakeem recorded a season high 27 minutes, and grabbed 9 rebounds. If Fab Melo is going to be out much longer, this is the production Syracuse will need to see from their freshman big man.

The Orange play host to West Virginia on Saturday afternoon. Huggies Boys are relatively young, but also have eighth year senior Kevin Jones, who is playing like an all-conference first teamer, as well as Truck Bryant (a poor man's Scoop). We think the Orange win this one at home (with or without Fab) by 7 points. Nothing comes easy this time of year.

Trip to South Bend: We were in person to see Syracuse fall to 20-1. A few comments on the Joyce Center and Notre Dame fans. Pretty cool place to see a game because the place is pretty small. Really not a bad seat in the place, even the highest seats would be the front of the 2nd level at a normal arena. I believe this is the first game back for the student section following winter break. They deserved to storm the court, but the overrated chant is still the worst chant in the history of sports. Really, a 20-0 team ranked number 1 is overrated. Also, I'm all for antics from student sections, but the U-S-A chants towards Syracuse's Baye Keita (Senegal) and Kris Joseph (Montreal), questionable. Also really enjoyed the 60-year (ballpark) Irish fan chanting "20-1" as the clock winded down. Thank you sir, I'll take those 20 wins in 21 games. Stay classy, Irish.

Wolverines, Cats and Hoyas....Oh my

Three games to comment on from last night: In-state battle between Michigan and Michigan State in Ann Arbor; Kentucky Rolls again and records fall; Hoyas win on the road.

#20 Michigan 60 - #9 Michigan State 59: That's two straight road losses for The Fighting Izzos (Northwestern over the weekend and Michigan last night). Freshman Trey Burke led the way for Michigan with 20 points and the assist to Stu Douglass (Stu-pac, Stu-manji) on his game winning bucket with 36 seconds left. Another cool part of this game, seeing Denard Robinson go nuts in the student section (video posted by mgodisney).



#2 Kentucky 86 - Arkansas 63: As expected, blowout city in Lexington. Freshman Anthony Davis had 27 points and 7 block shots. With five minutes left in the first half, Davis blocked his 84th shot of the year, which breaks the school record for blocks in a season (remember Davis blocked the game winning attempt by UNC's John Henson back in December). Oh, and Kentucky still has 12 regular season games left. At least we don't have to worry about Davis breaking his own record next season, because he'll most likely be wearing a Washington Wizards jersey.

Daily Onions was basically on the G'town bench last night (#22 Photos)

#10 Georgetown 83 - DePaul 75: Winning games on the road is never easy in conference play, regardless the opponent. Georgetown led for the majority of the game last night in the suburbs of Chicago, but DePaul would never quite go away. The Hoyas were without guard Markel Starks who had the stomach bug, and you could tell something was missing. Georgetown didn't handle DePaul's pressure that well and had 18 turnovers as a team. Freshman Otto Porter (how did he not go to Syracuse with a name like that) had 15 rebounds, but also turned the ball over 5 times and looked pretty shaky against pressure. Luckily, Georgetown has the a senior that can step up. Jason Clark had a career high 31 points, including 5 3 pointers. Should be a good battle between the Hoyas and the Orange in the Carrier Dome on February 8th.

Leave the Chandeliers, CJ Fair.

Lots of milestones at the Carrier Dome last night in Syracuse's 71-63 win over Pittsburgh. First off, Cuse goes to 20-0 for the first time in school history, and we now have the t-shirts to prove it. Jim Boeheim ties Adolph Rupp on the all-time wins list with 876, and is only four games away from passing Dean Smith for third place overall.

Also, everyone's favorite broadcasting trio was in the building for Big Monday- Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas. As always, Raftery was a treat, especially on this monster dunk from CJ Fair.


 

For those of you scoring at home, that was a "Bring it all....leave the chandeliers, big fella!" from Raftery, just after a few oohs and ahhs from Raftery and McDonough. Don't forget about the "fair play" and "totally unfair" wordplays by Bilas and Raftery...dad's across the country approve.

This dunk reminded us of Fair's ability to get up, including this dunk on Cornell from last season.



Fair still has some ways to go to get to Hakim Warrick-esque dunking prowess. While the "leave the chaneliers, big fella" was a high compliment from Raftery, it still doesn't beat "bring your lunch...."



(videos posted to Youtube by Cusecountry, Dunksoftheyear and truth14)

Reporting Live......

Daily Onions hits the road this week to check out a few college hoops games in the Chicago area.

Tonight we start with a Big East matchup in Rosemont, when Georgetown takes on a much improved DePaul team. We'll be sure to do a little advance scout for the Orange, who host the Hoyas on February 8th.

Thursday, we'll check out our third Horizon League game in the past two years (Butler at Loyola last year, Valpo at Butler in December), when Butler visits UIC (see a common theme with these Horizon League games?). 

On Saturday we make the hour and a half drive to South Bend, Indiana to see the top ranked Syracuse basketball team take on Notre Dame. The Irish are a bit down this year (who isn't in the Big East this year), but have a nice road win at Louisville in double OT. However, more recently, they got blown out at home by UConn and dropped one on the road to Rutgers last night. Entering the Syracuse game, the Irish will be 11-8 overall, 3-3 in conference play and Mike Brey will still be wearing a mock turtleneck with a blazer on the sideline.

Big E Hoops Weekend - One year later, Syracuse Prevails

Exactly one year ago this morning, Daily Onions sat groggy-eyed in the Pittsburgh Airport having just completed Big E Hoops Weekend. In a span of 72 hours, we saw Robert Morris defeat Monmouth in Moon Township, West Virginia knock off Purdue in Morgantown, and Pitt take down Syracuse on Big Monday. Three days, three basketball games, and three alma maters (Monmouth, WVU and Syracuse). Not sure the basketball gods will ever line up a schedule like that for us again, but glad we took advantage of the opportunity (relive the whole weekend here).

One year later, Syracuse once again matched up with Pitt on MLK Day. Like last year's game, Syracuse entered the game undefeated (18-0 last year, 19-0 this year). Unlike last year, Pitt, who is used to being at the top of the conference, entered the Carrier Dome winless (0-5) in the Big East.

Waiters and Cuse looking back at rest of Big East (Syracuse.com)

Syracuse scored the first 13 points of last night's game (if you remember, Pitt opened last year's game on a 19-0 run, then Cuse answered with a 17-0 run of their own), and eventually pushed the lead to 14 at one point in the game. Pitt made a push in the 2nd half, and got as close as 4. After a Syracuse timeout, the lead was back up to 10 in no time. Syracuse improved to 20-0, their best start in school history.

The Orange have been known to get off to hot starts in the past several seasons, leading to an overrated top 5 ranking.

Well this year is different. This Syracuse team is good. Really good. As I write this, Duke Vitale is saying that Syracuse won't lose a game this regular season. I might agree with him. If you look at the Big East, the perennial frontrunners like Louisville and UConn have proven to be inconsistent. Cuse will face both of those teams on the road this year. Other road games left on the schedule include Notre Dame (Orange usually play well in South Bend), Cincinnati (potentially a little nervous for this one), St. John's at MSG (actually a Cuse home game), Louisville (when was the last time Syracuse played well here), Rutgers (Rice and Co. knocked off Florida and UConn at the RAC), and UConn (Saturday night Gameday game in Storrs).

My prediction...Syracuse finishes the regular season with 2 losses (at UConn, at Louisville). Yes, you can read between the lines and I do not think Syracuse will lose a game at home this year. Before we make any predictions about the Big East tournament, we'll see how things shake out elsewhere.

Are the Wahoos for Real?

Daily Onions is known to open up its space to outsiders to state their case for a team that might not normally get a lot of ink here. Last year, we had Carter Jordan talk about why Tennessee was one of the most exciting teams in the nation (Well, at least the post was well-written). In preparation for tonight's ACC Showdown of Virginia and Duke, Carter's brother Chas, a 1999 graduate of UVA, breaks down the 'Hoos hot start. (Daily Onions Editor's note: Any post that makes basketball comparisons to dating girls, references Hoosiers, and mentions Steve Stricker and Bruce Hornsby is a must read...enjoy!)

With an AP ranking of 16 and a Coach’s Poll ranking of 17, things are looking pretty good for Virginia fans and Tony Bennett’s squad.  However, an  RPI of 39 and an SOS of 139 leaves most outsiders still unsure of how the Hoos truly stack up.  If you’re a Virginia fan, the mere fact the Cavaliers are ranked in the month of January is akin to out-kicking your coverage and somehow snagging a girl out of your league  - it’s new and it feels great, but you’re still scared to get too excited for fear of the unknown and the potential letdown.  Wins against Michigan, Oregon, and LSU should look better and better as the seasons wears on, but anything less than a very solid performance in ACC play could leave UVa as this year’s Virginia Tech. 

Should Virginia finish in the top 4 of the ACC, make the NCAA tourney for only the third time since 2001, and possibly make a surprise run to the Sweet 16?  Sure. that’s absolutely within reason.  Tonight’s game against Duke might not prove the best case study as all bets are off at Cameron Indoor.  The Dookies have struggled as of late and will be looking to right the ship, and with UVa now relying on a couple of doe-eyed freshman to actually contribute, the Cameron Crazies will likely wreak havoc on the newbies.  Yet regardless of the outcome in Durham, there are several reasons to think the Hoos have a reasonable chance to post their first meaningful season in quite some time.

Bennett’s Pack-the-Line Defense

Bennett has UVa in Top 25; first time since '07 (AP)

It’s taken some time to implement the defense his father perfected, but head coach Tony Bennett appears to have the system in place. Bottom line, if you can’t play defense for coach Bennett, you might as well find a new home....the borderline outrageous number of transfers during his first three seasons serves as proof.  While fans sometimes complain the style is boring to watch (not as bad as Norman Dale’s requirement of 5 passes on offense before a shot), the pack-the-line defensive style strives to reduce the total number of possessions in a game.  Everything gets slowed down, possessions get extended, and the game ultimately ends as a low scoring affair.  How low?  Virginia ranks 2nd in the nation allowing a measly 50 points per game, and so far this year, opponents are averaging a paltry 39% shooting - again, good enough for 2nd in the country.  No matter what, Virginia’s tough, hard-nosed defense will certainly keep them in a vast majority of their games this season.

Mike Scott

After three seasons of inconsistency (averaging 10 points by way of 20 one night and 0 the next), Scott appeared to right the ship last season.  He got out of the gate and remained consistent throughout the first part of the season - then, a foot injury ended what was shaping up to be a solid season.  With any injury and subsequent layoff, the fear is always that the player won’t be the same, or, in this case, that last season was a fluke and the Mike Scott of old might return.  Not so.  Scott has picked up right where he left off and continues to be a double-double machine.  In UVa’s win over Miami, he literally carried the team on his back, racking up 23 points in a 52-51 victory (no other Cavalier scored more than 6 pts - can you say game ball). 

Veteran Leadership

UVa starts two fifth-year seniors, one senior, and a junior.  In essence, this ain’t the first rodeo for Virginia’s core nucleus of players.  As the season progresses, the Wahoos are likely to face some form of adversity (two players - one a former starter - transferred during the winter break), and the upper classman will play a key role in holding things together.  Veterans likely Sammy Zeglinski have the experience to make big plays in key situations (he knocked down a huge three late against Miami), and given their style of play, the Cavaliers will likely find themselves in a whole mess of tight games.  Oftentimes, the difference in close games comes down to the team with experienced players who can and will make the big shots when it counts most.  So far, it appears Virginia’s veteran players are doing just that.

Can the Hoos get a win over Rivers and Duke tonight?

Still not convinced?  

We’ll, you’re probably not alone.  With only nine scholarship players on the roster, it’s no secret Virginia is extremely thin.  The Hoos start one freshman, and had to remove the redshirt status from Paul Jesperson after KT Harrell and James Johnson jumped ship in December.  Throughout the season, points will be at a premium for UVa since such a thin line up leaves little margin for error.  If guys like Zeglinski and sophomore Joe Harris fail to show up on the same night, Virginia will struggle to find point production.  So, while their defense can keep them in just about any game, the lack of consistent scorers also makes just as susceptible to being upset by just about anyone - see exhibit A:  a squeaker over Towson who entered the game against Virginia on a 31-game losing streak.  

So, has Virginia truly arrived?  Probably not quite yet.  Are they on their way?  Absolutely.  How will Wahoo fans know when to start expecting a perennial winner?  I suspect it’s when UVa earns some street cred and the crowd at JPJ arena starts to feature some big-time celebrities.  As a Wahoo fan buried in Wildcat country, it seems like that is at least one way to measure a program’s viability.  Sure, John Grisham was at the Miami game, and Steve Stricker stops by occasionally to cheer on his good friend Tony.  Heck, even Bruce Hornsby catches a game or two.  Something tells me that’s not quite the followers recruits get geeked about.  Here in Lexington, Lebron was seen all over town during the lock out, and the Wildcats’ stable of prized recruits played pickup with all sorts of NBA all-stars.  Jay-Z even caught the Louisville-UK game (also rumored to have spent NYE at a new club in town.  Gotta love the irrational exuberance of Wildcat fans.  Like the guy who wrote Empire State of Mind would spend NYE anywhere but the Big Apple!)   

Maybe that type of buzz is for days to come.  At this point, simply being in the national conversation is a huge step forward, and hopefully that’s just enough noise to stir Hoos fans from their slumber and get them believing again.

#17 Virginia is at #6 Duke tonight at 9 pm ET on ESPN.

Hometowners: College Hoops Happenings Back East

After spending over a week back in our home state of New Jersey, we thought it'd be important to highlight some of the surprises, both good and bad, for the area college teams in the NJ/Philadelphia area.

Temple over Duke: Storm Worthy (pic: The700level.com)

Temple: If Temple would have lost to Duke last night, would we be writing this post? Probably not, but whatever it takes to spark an idea. The Owls took down third-ranked Duke last night 78-73 at the CoreStates Center First Union Center Wachovia Center Wells Fargo Center in Philly. Temple has a knack for knocking off Top 10 teams, as they took down tenth-ranked Georgetown last year and third-ranked Villanova two years ago. Temple should challenge Xavier for the top spot in the A-10, behind the leadership of PG Pepe Sanchez Juan Fernandez, who averages 12 ppg and 4 assists (have we overdone the strikethrough text yet?).

Villanova: Not going to lie, as a 'Cuse alum, love seeing the Wildcats struggle. It's been a rough go round for Nova thus far. Cats have already dropped games to St. Louis, Santa Clara, Missouri, Temple, St. Joe's, West Virginia and Marquette. Not saying that any of these games are AWFUL losses, but you are used to seeing Jay Wright's squad win these games. Gone are the two Coreys (Stokes and Fisher, not Feldman and Haim), and bottom line the Cats lack talent. A few years ago, Villanova lost their best recruiter in Fred Hill, who went on to be the head guy at Rutgers but only lasted a few disappointing seasons. Maybe Hill was the guy that was getting the players, maybe Jay Wright is spending too much time on his wardrobe, maybe the Cats will be looking at the NIT this year.

Rutgers: Every time we talk about Rutgers, we'll start with this. Mike Rice needs to chill out a little bit on the sideline. In order to be the savior of RU Hoops, we need to make sure Rice doesn't have a heart attack thanks to his over the top sideline antics. Rice has a VERY young team this season, with 3 of his top 4 scorers being freshmen (the other one is a sophomore). They've gotten a huge boost from freshman Eli Carter (Eli - sounds like a good name for a big time player), who is averaging 23 points in their last 3 games, 10 above his season average. The Scarlet Knights started the season with loses against Illinois State and Princeton at home, but pulled off a huge upset last week defeating Top 10 team Florida. How did Rutgers follow-up the big upset? Two point loss at USF and got blown out at home last night to West Virginia. Growing pains for a young team to say the least. It will take time, but Rice could have Rutgers relevant in the next few years.

Jordan Theodore's 19 pts helped upset UConn (NY Post)

Seton Hall: Not too far from Rutgers sits Seton Hall. The Pirates got absolutely smoked last week by top ranked Syracuse by 26 points. We watched pretty much that entire game, and Seton Hall just looked like a really bad basketball team. Well, they aren't. Talk about bouncing back. Three days after getting trounced by the Orange, the Hall put one on West Virginia, beating the Mountaineers by 19. The Pirates proved that win wasn't a fluke by going out in their next game and beating the defending National Champs, UConn by 12. If you are a 'Cuse fan, have to be happy you got them out of the way early.

Monmouth: Huh? How did The Mouth make it in here? Well with one of our loyal readers being a Monmouth man, we figured we'd give the Hawks some love - something they need at this point. The Mouth is bringing new meaning to "Down With the King", as new head coach King Rice is just 2-12 in his first season. Of their 14 games, Monmouth has lost seven of them by at least 20 points. Only two games have been within a ten point spread. I guess its no big deal we won't be catching Monmouth live, like we did last year