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Closing

MARCH 4-6, 2011

TIME

SU prepares for regular-season ďŹ nale with chance to clinch double-bye in Big East tournament

Page 3

Week off helps SU patch up injuries

Pages 6-7 Syracuse vs. DePaul: Head-to-head

Page 11

Position-by-position breakdown nate shron | staff photographer

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mitchell franz | staff photographer brandon triche suffered a bruise on his leg as a result of a collision with the Hoyas’ Austin Freeman on Saturday. Triche’s injury is one of many nagging Syracuse lately, including some to freshman center Baye Moussa Keita and forward C.J. Fair. The Orange had a full week off before its regular-season finale against DePaul on Saturday.

A time to heal

By Andrew L. John

A

Staff Writer

s he crashed hard to the floor of the Verizon Center last Saturday, Brandon Triche was reminded of a torn ACL he suffered in high school.

Austin Freeman, Georgetown’s 235-pound guard, conveniently landed right on Triche’s leg.

The Syracuse sophomore expected the worst.

“I really thought I broke by leg,” Triche said Saturday. “But I could get up, so I was all right.”

Triche finished out the game, sinking clutch free throws down the stretch, but was evidently hobbled, sporting a nasty bruise in the locker room afterward.

He’s far from the only Syracuse player nursing the wounds of a long season.

A variety of nagging bumps, bruises and minor injuries have kept the Orange in need of rest and treatment. Both came during the Orange’s weeklong break between Georgetown and Saturday’s home and regular-season finale against DePaul (7-22, 1-16 Big East) inside the Carrier Dome (4 p.m., Big East Network).

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said Monday that the team hopes to make the most of

the week to get the players rested and prepared for what lies ahead. The break between games is the largest since Jan. 8, and it could be just what the Orange needs heading into this weekend and with postseason play just around the corner.

And with a slim chance to finish fourth in the Big East, thus snagging a double-bye in the Big East tournament next week, there’s still a lot left to play for this Saturday against DePaul. Even if the Blue Demons are the league’s bottom-feeder.

“DePaul has played very well,” Boeheim said.

“They haven’t won a lot of games, but they’ve been in a lot of games. They’ve played very well every time they’ve gone out there, and it’s important for us to be ready to play and keep trying to get better.”

The Blue Demons upset Providence on the road on Feb. 17 and nearly took down then-No. 14 Villanova in overtime on Feb. 19. So for Boeheim and SU, this isn’t a game they can overlook.

That means Triche and his banged-up teammates will have to continue playing through the pain. That has been the status quo for the Orange all season and will need to continue to be

Orange uses week off before DePaul to recover, gear up for postseason

for Syracuse to find success during this season’s stretch run.

Kris Joseph missed a game with a concussion after smacking his head on the court against Cincinnati and said after a Feb. 21 game against Villanova that he’s been playing with a sore left knee for most of the season. Fab Melo has been slowed by an Achilles injury.

Baye Moussa Keita has played the past four games with what he describes as a sprained left wrist. C.J. Fair rolled his ankle against Villanova and was limited against Georgetown on Saturday.

The list goes on.

“We have a lot of guys hurt,” Boeheim said.

“Hopefully, this time off will help, but you never know. You’ve still got to practice. You’ve still got to go hard in practice. It’s hard to get healthy during the season.

“We’ll try to get everybody treatments and try to get everybody as healthy as we can, but there’s going to be some degree of banged-up guys at this stage.”

Several players had ice wrapped around different parts of their bodies after each of the last two games. It has become second nature. Not just

for Syracuse but for virtually every team this late into the season.

Whichever team can cope the best will have an advantage come tournament time.

“Just rest up, get right and get ready for the next one,” Joseph said. “We’ve got some big games ahead, and we just have to fight through it.”

If the regular-season schedule was any indication, the physicality should only increase as the games become more meaningful these next few weeks. With little time to rest up and heal, there’s not much Syracuse can do but play it out under the circumstances.

That’s the nature of the Big East this time of year.

Seventeen games into the league schedule and four days of practice this week leave little time for rest. Triche will take that. He had just one thing on his mind in preparation for this weekend’s home finale.

“To get well,” Triche said Saturday. “I think everybody is beat from this game. Any Big East game, it probably takes two or three days to get back from the bumps and bruises.” aljohn@syr.edu

4 m a rch 4- 6, 2011

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PERSPECTIVES compiled by rachel marcus | asst. copy editor

Any final words for Rick Jackson in his last career home game?

“He’s a great player, one of the best big men in the Big East and that Syracuse has ever had. He’s done a good job.”

“It’s been a great career. Hopefully he gets drafted by the New York Knicks.”

Ryan Domski

UNDECL ARED FRESHMAN IN THE MARTIN J. WHITMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Jenna Cottrell

SOPHOMORE BROADCAST JOURNALISM MAJOR

“He’s a beast.”

“Posterize someone.”

Bryan Willard

FRESHMAN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR

Paul Castonguay

FRESHMAN COMPUTER ENGINEERING MAJOR

“I’m happy he stuck out all four years.

That’s really impressive. And good luck with whatever he does after.”

“I hope he had a good four years, and I hope he has a good career after Syracuse, and I hope he Kevin Rix can make it in the real world.”

JUNIOR PUBLIC HEALTH MAJOR

Niranjan Nandakumar

FRESHMAN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING MAJOR

DAILYORANGE.COM

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Seal the deal With win over bottom-feeder Seton Hall, SU could ensure NCAA Tournament berth

By Zach Brown

T

Staff Writer

en days of waiting.

That’s what the Syracuse women’s basketball team would be saddled with if it loses to Seton Hall on Friday. Ten days full of anxiety, question marks and overall powerlessness as the days inch closer to Selection Monday and the Orange’s NCAA tournament fate.

But Kayla Alexander said she won’t let that idea cross her mind.

Who: Seton Hall “Devastating,” she said of that potential waitWhere: Carrier Dome ing period. “That’d be the worst feeling ever. I’m When: 2 p.m. not even going to think about that.”

SU (21-8, 9-7 Big East) will hope to avoid that outcome Friday at 2 p.m. when it takes on the 16th-seeded Pirates (8-21, 1-15) in the first round of the Big East tournament in Hartford, Conn. It represents a crucial game for the No. 9-seeded Orange, as a bad defeat could ultimately relegate Syracuse to the Women’s National Invitational Tournament for the third straight season.

A win gives SU a chance to knock off eighth-seeded Georgetown (21-9, 9-7) on Saturday at noon and potentially set up a rematch with top-seeded Connecticut at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Much of SU’s success this weekend falls heavily on the sophomore Alexander’s shoulders. On Thursday, she was named to the All-Big East first team.

And since a home loss to DePaul on Feb. 8, in which the center scored just four points, head coach Quentin Hillsman has made post play the focal point of the Orange offense. And Hillsman said Alexander and junior forward Iasia Hemingway will continue to carry Syracuse in the conference tournament.

“Absolutely it’s going to be the same thing straight through this thing,” Hillsman said. “They’re our two highest percentage shooting starters, so we’re going to continue to put the ball in their hands and let them make plays.”

Alexander had a streaky regular season, dominating opponents one game and becoming a forgotten factor in the next. She leads Syracuse in scoring with 14.4 points per contest but failed to hit a field goal in just nine minutes of action when the Orange beat Seton Hall 75-50 on Jan. 8.

But in SU’s recent five-game winning streak, which ended Monday in a loss to UConn, Alexander and her frontcourt partner Hemingway powered the team’s offense. Alexander tallied 19.2 points per game in that pivotal stretch, while the junior forward Hemingway averaged 12.2 points.

“They’re rolling,” senior guard Erica Morrow said. “They’re carrying the team. They’re opening up a lot of things for us on the perimeter. … Definitely we’re emphasizing getting the ball in the paint and just letting Kayla just go to work and do the things she needs to do to score the basketball.”

The duo started rolling when SU desperately needed wins to improve its NCAA tournament resume. After the loss to DePaul, the Orange had just 16 wins and was 4-6 in the Big East.

But Syracuse turned to its frontcourt for wins over conference bottomfeeders Villanova, Providence and Cincinnati and added back-to-back wins over Louisville and St. John’s, now the No. 6 and No. 7 seeds this weekend, respectively.

The strategy for the Orange has been relatively simple. Hemingway gets the ball near the free-throw line, where she has the option to drive, kick the ball back out to a guard or dump it down to Alexander in the post. If she chooses the latter, Alexander has one job: get the ball up to the rim.

UP NEXT

ashli truchon | staff photographer kayla Alexander will look to lead SU to a win over Seton Hall in the first round of the Big East tournament. She averaged 19.2 points during SU’s recent winning streak.

The sophomore center has just one assist through 29 games this year, so she has adhered to her coach’s instructions. Hillsman said it would be a big concern for an opposing coach knowing Alexander will shoot every time she gets the ball inside.

“If I’m coaching against a post player,” he said, “and she’s a 6-foot-4 kid, she shoots in the high 50 percents, you know she’s going to shoot it every time and then you know the team’s going to go rebound it, I think it’s a scary thing. We tell her to get it up on the rim because we feel good about it.”

Syracuse is 4-5 when Alexander fails to reach double-digit points. The sophomore still feels her team has something to prove in the Big East tournament. A loss to Seton Hall would be devastating. But a win or two could seal SU’s berth in the field of 64.

“We’ve just got to go out there, play hard, prove that we believe we’re good enough and strong enough to play in the NCAA tournament,” Alexander said. “And to go out there and get some wins and prove to ourselves that we’re able to play at the next level.” zjbrown@syr.edu

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HALF-COURT SHOTS (First-place votes in parentheses)

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Ohio State (45) Kansas (14) Brigham Young (5) Duke (1) Pittsburgh Purdue Texas Notre Dame San Diego State Wisconsin Louisville Syracuse North Carolina Florida St. John’s Connecticut Georgetown Arizona Villanova Kentucky Vanderbilt Missouri Xavier Texas A&M Utah State

m arch 4- 6, 2011

Sponsored by

DEPAUL AT SYRACUSE 12

(7-22)

AP TOP 25

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(24-6)

SATURDAY, 4 P.M., CARRIER DOME

STARTING LINEUP

BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS

POINT GUARD

SHOOTING GUARD

SMALL FORWARD

POWER FORWARD

CENTER

COACHES Syracuse 87, DePaul 65

Two teams on opposite levels. No contest.

SCOOP JARDINE

BRANDON TRICHE

6-2, 190, JR. 12.6 PPG, 5.9 APG

KRIS JOSEPH

6-4, 205, SO. 11.3 PPG, 2.8 APG

RICK JACKSON

6-7, 210, JR. 14.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG

6-9, 240, SR. 13.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG

BAYE MOUSSA KEITA

6-10, 213, FR. 2.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG

ANDREW L. JOHN

JIM BOEHEIM

853-299 34 seasons

Syracuse 74, DePaul 58

Why did they draw the demon blue?

BRETT LOGIURATO

JEREMIAH KELLY

BRANDON YOUNG

6-1, 164, JR. 7.6 PPG, 2.9 APG

USA TODAY/ESPN

JIMMY DREW

6-3, 175, FR. 12.7 PPG, 3.7 APG

Jardine’s year may seem a bit Jekyll and Hyde, but here’s the reality: Entering postseason play, he has become one of the three best all-around point guards in the best league in America. Expect another big game.

TONY FREELAND

6-4, 220, SR. 6.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG

Triche will play a talented freshman combo guard in Young, who has put up similar numbers to Triche’s own freshman season. Navigating the Purnell press will be Triche’s responsibility.

6-6, 225, SO. 9.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG

The key here is Joseph On Senior Day in the getting open on his own.

Carrier Dome, Jackson If Joseph catches the ball should be able to impose in spots to score, Drew his will here against the and others won’t have a undersized DePaul big prayer in stopping the dual men and cement his Syrathreat of Joseph’s midcuse MVP status. range jumper and takes to the basket.

KRYS FABER

6-10, 260, JR. 7.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG Moussa Keita hasn’t had much of an effect since entering the starting lineup against Louisville. When Jackson moves inside, it’ll be interesting to see how Faber tries to stop him.

OLIVER PURNELL

Syracuse 78, DePaul 66

401-301 22 seasons

Purnell hopes to build DePaul into the type of program that can compete with the likes of Boeheim’s Orange down the road. But right now, it’s not close.

(First-place votes in parentheses)

Ohio State (17) Kansas (14) Brigham Young Duke Pittsburgh Purdue Notre Dame Texas San Diego State Wisconsin Louisville Syracuse North Carolina Florida St. John’s Connecticut Georgetown Arizona Villanova Vanderbilt Utah State Texas A&M Kentucky Missouri George Mason

1 2 3 4

After winning Legends Classic in Atlantic City, N.J., Syracuse rises No. 8. Jim Boeheim feels his team is underperforming.

Syracuse drops back down to No. 17 after losses at home against Georgetown and on the road at Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center.

5 6 7

FREE THROWS

THEY SAID IT

Syracuse beats Cincinnati to earn the No. 3 ranking. On the same day, it loses its first game to Pittsburgh.

Data based on AP Top 25 poll

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RANKINGS TRACKER

TONY OLIVERO

Oliver Purnell’s fleet-footed freshmen will make this one a track meet.

The press will keep ‘em in it, but transition is just where the Orange wants it.

“DePaul has played very well. They haven’t won a lot of games, but they’ve been in a lot of games.

They’ve played very well every time they’ve gone out there, and it’s important for us to be ready to play and keep trying to get better.”

The last time Syracuse lost to DePaul was on March 2, 2006. The Blue Demons dealt the Orange its worst loss of the season, a 108-69 beatdown in Rosemont, Ill. DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell has taken three different teams to the NCAA Tournament as a head coach, yet he has never advanced past the first round.

Jim Boeheim

SU HEAD COACH

STAT TO KNOW

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DePaul is just 2-52 in Big East games dating back to 2008.

“Just rest up, get right and get ready for the next one. We’ve got some big games ahead, and we just have to fight through it.”

Kris Joseph

SU FORWARD

“I think everybody is beat from (Georgetown).

Any Big East game, it probably takes two or three days to get back from the bumps and bruises.”

Pre week

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BIG EAST TOURNAMENT MARCH 8-12

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Brandon Triche

SU GUARD

FORTUNE COOKIE ce Blue in the fa

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Last time they played With 8:53 left in the first half on Jan. 30, 2010, No. 4 Syracuse was down 18 to DePaul. The Blue Demons were 1-7 in the Big East. SU was 7-1. The

Orange was in danger of becoming the victim of a major upset.

“We stunk,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said

Jan. 30, 2010 Syracuse 59, DePaul 57

after the game. “You have to give DePaul credit.”

Syracuse may have “stunk” to Boeheim, but a potential upset-clinching DePaul 3-pointer missed. With that, so did the Blue Demon’s chances of playing spoilers.

SU was able to escape the Blue Demons with a 59-57 win over DePaul in Rosemont, Ill. And the victory came due to a defensive change and mini-runs.

“I think we were a little slow coming out, and it seemed they wanted it a little bit more in the first half, and they were making all the shots, and they were beating us to the rebounds,” sophomore forward Kris Joseph said. “It took us a while to click, and after we started pressing and we got onboard a little bit and our momentum got us going, I think that helped us out. Once we started pressing, it helped us out tremendously.”

The slow start Joseph referred to was one that led to the team’s 18-point first-half deficit. SU guard Andy Rautins wasn’t hitting his shots, and the Orange couldn’t seem to score consistently. DePaul made seven of its first eight attempts from the field against SU’s 2-3 zone.

But despite being outplayed, SU clawed its way back from the 18-point deficit and trailed 35-31 at halftime.

“They came out hot, and it’s tough, and you have to fight through it,” Rautins said.

“We chipped away, and our defense got better as the game progressed, and we should have

been better on the glass. Rick (Jackson) had a couple of blocks down the stretch and a couple big rebounds, and we had a huge dunk by Wes (Johnson). We made plays when it mattered.”

One of those players who made shots toward the end was guard Scoop Jardine.

Fighting back from yet another deficit, this time 54-49 with 5:31 left, Jardine gave the Orange its first lead of the game at 56-54. It eventually increased to 59-54.

And though the Orange only managed to win by two against a Big East bottom feeder, Jardine was pleased with the win.

“We grinded it out,” he said. “This really showed what we were made of tonight. I’m just happy for everybody. It was a team thing — it wasn’t just one individual. Everyone made a part of this one or did something to make this one.”

Forward Johnson, who had a team-high 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the win, could breathe easy after that potential game-winner missed.

The Orange could revel in a close victory in a game in which it didn’t play its best.

“I was just hoping (DePaul’s last-second 3) didn’t go in because I really wanted to go back home,” Johnson said. “Because it was going to be a long plane ride back home. It was a good look for him.”

—Compiled by Rachel Marcus, asst. copy editor, rnmarcus@ syr.edu

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Around the nation GAMESTOWATCH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

NO. 4 DUKE @ NO. 13 NORTH CAROLINA

Saturday and Sunday, ESPN family of networks

Four teams will earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament this weekend as conferences start to close out their league tournaments. The Ohio Valley, Big South and Atlantic Sun conferences will all crown a champion Saturday, followed by the Missouri Valley championship Sunday.

The clear favorite from the Atlantic Sun is Belmont (28-4, 19-1), which had just one slip-up throughout league play in the regular season. ESPN currently has the Bruins as a No. 13 seed in its latest bracket projections. Their only conference loss came on the road to Lipscomb, and with the tournament on Belmont’s home floor, the Bruins shouldn’t have too much difficulty punching their ticket to the dance.

In the Big South, Coastal Carolina (28-4, 16-2) enters as the top seed, but the Chanticleers are down to seven scholarship players as an ongoing NCAA investigation has severely damaged their postseason chances. Second-seeded Liberty was already knocked off in the quarterfinals Tuesday, so the field is wide open.

Murray State and Morehead State headline the Ohio Valley tournament field. Murray State finished one game in front of the Eagles in the regular season, but Morehead State has the NCAA’s all-time leading rebounder in Kenneth Faried at its disposal.

Watch for him to be the difference.

The final tournament berth handed out this weekend goes to the winner of the Missouri Valley Conference on Sunday. The league, which typically makes a lot of noise come NCAA Tournament time, will likely be a one-bid conference this year, and top seeds Missouri State and Wichita State are the frontrunners.

NATIONAL LEADERS SCORING NAME

Jimmer Fredette Marshon Brooks Adrian Oliver Charles Jenkins Andrew Goudelock Kemba Walker Xavier Silas Anatoly Bose C.J. McCollum Norris Cole

SCHOOL

POINTS PER GAME

BYU Providence San Jose State Hofstra College of Charleston Connecticut Northern Illinois Nicholls State Lehigh Cleveland State

27.3 25.1 24.3 23.2 23.0 22.8 22.3 21.9 21.8 21.6

SCHOOL

ASSISTS PER GAME

Saturday, 8 p.m., CBS Chapel Hill, N.C.

It’s the second installment of the biggest rivalry in college basketball, and there’s a lot more on the line this time around. Both teams are tied atop the Atlantic Coast Conference rankings with 13-2 records, so the winner takes home the regular-season conference crown.

In the first meeting, the Tar Heels (23-6, 13-2) led by as many as 18 points and held the lead for the first 30 minutes of action before Duke stormed back to take the game, 79-73, on Feb. 9. Blue Devils guard Nolan Smith went off for 34 points, and Duke got a big boost from sophomore Seth Curry’s 22 points off the bench to finish off North Carolina.

UNC freshman Harrison Barnes only scored nine points in the first contest but has been arguably the Tar Heels’ best player since that loss. He has averaged 17 points over the last six games and hasn’t scored less than 10 points in any of them.

Emotions will run high in this classic rivalry, especially with the league crown on the line. Duke will also look to keep its name in the hunt for one of the NCAA Tournament’s No. 1 seeds, and the Tar Heels would love to knock them out of that conversation.

NO. 10 WISCONSIN @ NO. 1 OHIO STATE Sunday, 4 p.m., CBS Columbus, Ohio

The top-ranked Buckeyes (28-2, 15-2 Big Ten) will look to avenge their first loss of the season when the Badgers (22-6, 12-4) come to town Sunday. A win for Ohio State would clinch an outright Big Ten regular-season championship, but a loss combined with a likely Purdue win over Iowa on Saturday would drop them into a first-place tie with the Boilermakers. Wisconsin could knot things up with Purdue in second place with a win and an Iowa upset.

In the first meeting this year in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 12, the then-undefeated Buckeyes pulled ahead by 15 with just more than 13 minutes left in the game. But Badgers junior guard Jordan Taylor led the comeback charge with 21 of his 27 points after halftime as Wisconsin won 71-67. The Badgers knocked down 12-of-24 3-pointers in that game to power them to a victory.

It will be Senior Night for a trio of Buckeye starters Sunday. Jon Diebler, David Lighty and Dallas Lauderdale will all take the court in Columbus for the final time. Diebler holds the Big Ten career record for 3-pointers. Lighty is third on the team with 12.3 points per game, and Lauderdale leads the team with 1.5 blocks per contest.

It may also be the last time Buckeye fans see freshman star Jared Sullinger at the Value City Arena. The conference Player of the Year favorite averages 17.1 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, and many believe he will be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

— Compiled by Zach Brown, staff writer, zjbrown@syr.edu

ASSISTS NAME

Aaron Johnson D.J. Cooper Scott Machado Hank Thorns Will Weathers Kevin Galloway Zac Swansey Demetri McCamey

UAB Ohio Iona TCU Troy Texas Southern Tennessee Tech Illinois

7.6 7.5 7.4 6.9 6.7 6.3 6.3 6.2

REBOUNDS NAME

Kenneth Faried Ryan Rossiter Jordan Williams Arsalan Kazemi Augustine Rubit Chris Gaston Kyle O’Quinn Rick Jackson Kawhi Leonard Sam Willard

SCHOOL

Morehead State Siena Maryland Rice South Alabama Fordham Norfolk State Syracuse San Diego State Pacific

REBOUNDS PER GAME

14.3 13.4 11.8 11.4 11.1 11.0 10.9 10.8 10.8 10.8

courtesy of terrell lloyd | san jose state university athletics

dailyorange.com

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Around the Big East GAMESTOWATCH NO. 8 NOTRE DAME VS. NO. 16 CONNECTICUT, ESPN, 2 P.M. The Huskies are limping right now, having lost three out of their last four games. Two of those losses came against unranked teams in Marquette and West Virginia. Those struggles aren’t necessarily a surprise, though, considering Connecticut has faltered in the Big East period. UConn enters Saturday with a 9-8 conference record. The last time these two teams played, the Irish edged the Huskies 73-70. Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis scored 21 points and 19 points, respectively, in the game.

Kemba Walker was held to 19 points, almost four below his season average. That game was in the beginning stages of a dominant Notre Dame team against its Big East foes.

Since that game, the 24-5 Irish only has three conference losses, although they are surprising. The Irish has had back-to-back losses to Marquette and St. John’s, and it then fell to West Virginia later in the season. In his last four games, Hansbrough is averaging 25.5 points per game, including two 30-point performances against Villanova and Providence. And that’s along with Abromaitis, who is averaging 22.3 points per game over that same stretch, which is about seven points higher than his season average.

Despite Notre Dame being on the road Saturday, it’s still the better team right now. If Connecticut doesn’t find a way to snap out of its four-game malaise, then it’s staring a regular-season finale loss right in the face.

jamie de pould | staff photographer

NO. 19 VILLANOVA VS. NO. 4 PITTSBURGH

NO. 11 LOUISVILLE VS. WEST VIRGINIA

The Panthers are at the top of the Big East with a 14-3 conference record and are going to look to get their 15th win at home, against the Wildcats, to seal a superb season. The last time Pitt and Villanova played, Bran Wanamaker scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Panthers to a 57-54 victory. He took over the scoring duties for Ashton Gibbs, who was out with a left knee injury. That was back on Feb. 12, and since then Pittsburgh lost a thriller to St. John’s and suffered an overtime loss at the hands of Louisville. The Red Storm beat the Panthers despite a 26-point performance by Ashton Gibbs, his first game back after the injury.

Maybe Pittsburgh has struggled in its past few games with a couple of tough losses, but that doesn’t compare to the stretch Villanova is having. The Wildcats have lost seven of their last 11 games and are coming off three consecutive losses — to Syracuse, St. John’s and Notre Dame. Their leading scorer, Corey Fisher, was held to only 10.7 points per game in that span. Against the Red Storm, he scored only two points in his 32 minutes of play.

To make matters worse for Villanova, the loss to Notre Dame was a 21-point blowout loss.

Going on the road to play the Panthers to close out the season is a daunting task for the struggling Wildcats, especially if either Fisher or second-leading scorer Corey Stokes is off his game.

The Mountaineers are coming off two straight wins against Rutgers and Connecticut, despite their leading scorer, Casey Mitchell, being basically a nonfactor. The guard averaged only six points in the wins and didn’t have a single assist in either game. As a team, West Virginia sits tied with Connecticut and Georgetown in the conference standings with a 10-7 Big East record. Louisville, though, has had a strong season all year and is third in the conference at 12-5. The Cardinals are on a roll, having won their past four games, including a 62-59 overtime win over Pittsburgh. They then went on to demolish Providence by 27 points in the following game. Preston Knowles scored 20 points and also added 10 rebounds.

West Virginia is never an easy place to play for any visiting team, but Louisville will be tough to stop. The Mountaineers already fell to the Cardinals back on Jan. 26 at the KFC Yum! Center in a 55-54 loss. West Virginia had a one-point lead with 25 seconds left in the game, but Peyton Siva made a layup with four seconds left to give Louisville the win. The Mountaineers will look to avenge that loss, but given the way the Cardinals are playing right now, that’s a lot easier said than done.

4 p.m.

Noon

NO. 17 GEORGETOWN VS. CINCINNATI 2 p.m.

This is a rematch of last week’s game, when the Bearcats dealt the Hoyas a 58-46 loss in Cincinnati. The Hoyas struggled all night shooting, hitting only 12 of 48 shots. Yancy Gates had his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and notching 11 rebounds. After that game, Georgetown went on to lose 58-51 to Syracuse on its home court in just a 36 percent shooting performance. The Hoyas have dropped three of their last four, but that’s after an eight-game conference winning streak. And they’re still going to be without guard Chris Wright on Saturday, who suffered a broken left hand against the Bearcats.

Cincinnati has been somewhat of a surprise this year, sitting at sixth place in the conference standings with a 10-7 record, tied with Georgetown and West Virginia. But the Bearcats haven’t been great against ranked teams in the Big East, going 2-5. Aside from their win over Georgetown, their only other victory over a ranked conference opponent came against Louisville. But in Cincinnati’s past four games, Gates is averaging 15.8 points per game, or four more than his season average. The Bearcats are coming off a 67-60 win over Marquette, where they shot 50 percent from the field with a 15-point game by Cashmere Wright.

Without Wright, and struggling in its past four games, Georgetown could be in for a tough game on the road against Cincinnati. The two teams are in the middle of very different stretches, with the Bearcats on a roll and the Hoyas on a downward spiral. Georgetown is going to try and stop that Saturday, before having to do so in the tournament next week.

— Compiled by Chris Iseman, asst. copy editor, cjiseman@syr.edu

STANDINGS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

PITTSBURGH 26-4 (14-3)

NOTRE DAME 26-4 (14-3)

LOUISVILLE 23-7 (12-5)

SYRACUSE 24-6 (11-6)

ST. JOHN’S 19-10 (11-6)

WEST VIRGINIA 19-10 (10-7)

CINCINNATI 23-7 (10-7)

GEORGETOWN 21-8 (10-7)

CONNECTICUT 21-8 (9-8)

VILLANOVA 21-9 (9-8)

MARQUETTE 18-12 (9-8)

SETON HALL 13-17 (6-11)

RUTGERS 14-15 (5-12)

PROVIDENCE 14-16 (3-14)

SOUTH FLORIDA 9-21 (3-14)

DEPAUL 7-22 (1-16)

SPORTS@ DA ILYOR A NGE.COM

m arch 4- 6, 2011

On the block

BENCH

Fair is the key here as he tries to rebound off his shakiest performance in a while at Georgetown. He played only 11 minutes and was held scoreless by a relentless Hoyas defense. But overall, he’s played well lately, and SU head coach Jim Boeheim can also plug in Dion Waiters and James Southerland, who shot well against Georgetown. DePaul doesn’t have much of a bench and is playing with only nine scholarship players.

Advantage: Syracuse

A position-by-position look at the game — Compiled by Brett LoGiurato, sports editor, bplogiur@syr.edu

SMALL FORWARD

POINT GUARD

Kris Joseph was almost nonexistent in the Orange’s two wins last week, which only proves SU has a core group out of which any player can step up and win games. He scored seven points against Villanova and just four against Georgetown. And though Syracuse survived on the road without his contributions, he needs to start playing better heading into postseason play. Against DePaul, he’ll have a favorable matchup against an undersized Blue Demons team.

Scoop Jardine was instrumental in leading Syracuse to perhaps its two biggest road victories of the 2010-11 season last week against Villanova and Georgetown.

Against Villanova, he scored 20. Against Georgetown, he paced the Orange down the stretch when the Hoyas made their run to get back into what was once a lopsided contest. When he’s on, Jardine is a huge key for SU. He showed last week he can take over and win games for this team.

Advantage: Syracuse

Advantage: Syracuse

SHOOTING GUARD

Brandon Triche cooled off shooting-wise against Georgetown, but he’s been impressive to complement Jardine in the backcourt as well in SU’s four-game winning streak. And even when he didn’t contribute last Saturday at Georgetown (1-of-7 shooting), Triche went a cool 6-for-6 from the free-throw line. He has made a notable 27 consecutive free throws, including many in the clutch.

Advantage: Syracuse

POWER FORWARD

CENTER

Since taking over the starting position in SU’s loss at Louisville from fellow freshman Fab Melo, Baye Moussa Keita has actually played fewer minutes in all five games compared with his season average. Most of the playing time here has gone to C.J. Fair as Jackson shifts to the center spot. When DePaul’s Krys Faber is matched up against Moussa Keita, he’ll have the edge.

Advantage: DePaul

Rick Jackson will undoubtedly look to go out of the Carrier Dome with a bang in his senior swan song.

And it would be fitting with the year he’s had thus far as undoubtedly the Orange’s MVP. He’ll be matched up against another undersized Blue Demon in the 6-foot-6, 225-pound sophomore Tony Freeland. And he should be able to dominate once again inside, both on offense and defense.

Advantage: Syracuse

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11

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