2010 NCAA Tournament Preview: Syracuse Orange
Syracuse May Have Lost #1 Seed and Top Player
The Syracuse Orange lost to the Georgetown Hoyas 91-84 in the quarterfinals of the Big East conference tournament. It was the second loss in a row for the regular season Big East champs (15-3 in conference play) who will enter the 2010 NCAA tournament with an overall record of 28-4. Syracuse may have lost far more than just a basketball game, though.
Senior forward Arinze Onuaku was help off the court in the second half due to an apparent right knee injury. It didn't look good as his family was escorted to the locker room almost immediately. Without Onuaku (10.7 points, 5.2 rebounds a game), Syracuse becomes a six-deep roster and the team's inside game takes a huge, huge blow.
Syracuse started the 2009-10 regular season on fire, winning 13 straight and 24 of the team's first 25 contests. Louisville (twice), Pitt, and Georgetown are the only four teams that defeated the Orange during the season as Syracuse went undefeated in non-conference play. The Orange spent one week as the number one ranked team in college basketball before losing to Louisville on March 6.
Five players (including Onuaku) score ten or more points per game for the Orange. Forward Wes Johnson leads all Syracuse scorers with 15.7 points (and 8.5 rebounds) a game. Junior forward Rick Jackson (ten points, seven rebounds a game) may be asked to contribute more if Onuaku misses any time during the 2010 NCAA tournament. Don't forget about three point specialist Andy Rautins (11.6 points a game), the senior guard who is dying to win a national championship.
Remove Onuaku and Jackson from the equation and Syracuse is a fairly competent free throw shooting squad. The Orange scores over 81 points a game and the Syracuse 2-3 zone defense is as famous as college basketball defenses come. Georgetown put up a great display on how to defeat the Syracuse zone and press, however, and the Orange have shown that they can get rattled when an opponent goes on a run. Syracuse will need to remain calm and limit those turnover-happy times during the 2010 NCAA tournament or the Orange will find themselves on the outside looking in after the Sweet 16.
Last year, Pitt received a number one spot in the NCAA tournament despite the fact that the Panthers lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. Pitt also didn't lose a player the caliber of Onuaku during that game. A bad medical report regarding Onuaku along with several teams holding serve during their conference tournaments could put Syracuse as a number two seed in the South Region in the 2010 NCAA tournament.
All stats courtesy of ESPN
Published by Zac Wassink - Featured Contributor in Sports
A gimmick sports writer with a love for the Giants, Mets, Browns, Indians, Bulls, & Penguins. I also have a degree from Penn State. Let's Go State! View profile
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3 Comments
Post a Commentno big diff between a 1 and 2 seed
Gonna be tough on the Orange. This is gonna be a helluva tourney
I still think Syracuse will get a 1 seed, although a Big East win by WVU or a Big 12 barnstorming by K-State could push the 'Cuse down. Another team is going to have to play its way into that one seed, however, as Syracuse still has a very strong season resume.
Syracuse's tournament outcome, as you hint at, will rely more on Onuaku than their seeding. A season-ending injury to Onuaku would not just increase the chance that Syracuse gets a 2-seed, it also means Syracuse has only six players they can rely on. Hard to see them winning a championship without Arinze in there.