GET TO KNOW THE OPPOSITION

Q: What do you call a Pitt Panther with a ring?

A: a Thief!

Zing!  That’s even better than the Pink Panther joke I was considering making, but not as good as giving all the Seton Hall players Jersey Shore style nicknames (something that definitely would have happened had I not been away for the holidays). Read the rest of this entry »

Unfortunately, many ‘Cuse fans remember March 1, 2008, all too well. Up 11 with a shade under six minutes left at the Carrier Dome, the famously shallow Orange couldn’t finish the job and keep themselves afloat in the tournament discussion. Two years later, SU gets a chance to avenge the brutal home loss when it opens 2010 against Pitt Saturday afternoon.

Of course, it’s not just that game two years ago that sticks out. Pitt beat Syracuse 11 out of 16 total games in the aughts, including each of the last four Dome meetings, which must be some sort of sick revenge for SU breaking Pitt’s 40-game home winning streak to open the Petersen Events Center back in 2004.But it’s okay now – the likes of  Brandin Knight, Chevy Troutman, Carl Krauser, Aaron Gray, Sam Young, DaJuan Blair and Levance Fields are no longer around to hurt us, and the team is a shell of its former self.

Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker have been leading the Panthers’ weak (66 ppg) scoring attack, averaging 16.9 and 12.8 points per contest, respectively. Pitt has yet to crack 80 points in a game this season, and for perspective, SU has failed to hit that mark only twice, scoring 75 against both St. Francis and in the opener against Albany. For Pitt, there’s a batch of fresher faces including Travon Woodall, Nasir Robinson and others who haven’t gotten a chance due to burial behind Blair, Fields and Young.

Jamie Dixon is a great coach, one of the best in the conference, but it’s tough to see one of his most inexperienced squads in recent memory topping the Orange at home, especially when SU has a chip on its shoulder and a score to settle. The firepower just isn’t there yet.

For the Orange, I look for Andy Rautins to shake his two-game minislump during which he’s totaled just 12 points and 10 turnovers. Andy made several bad passes against Seton Hall – some of them were corralled by his teammates, but others weren’t, and his play was a significant reason why the Pirates were able to build a 12-point lead.

Happy New Year to one and all, and may we celebrate a multitude of Orange triumphs in the teens and beyond!