Orangeyes Daily Articles for Wednesday for Basketball

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Welcome to Law Enforcement Appreciation Day!

There are over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, and they are honored on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.), being shown that the community recognizes the difficulty of their job and supports them as they provide a public service. The day is dedicated to all members of law enforcement, but the focus is on police and similar state and local agencies. It was started by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), which partners with organizations across the country to make the day happen.There are over 900,000 law enforcement officers in the United States, and they are honored on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day (L.E.A.D.), being shown that the community recognizes the difficulty of their job and supports them as they provide a public service. The day is dedicated to all members of law enforcement, but the focus is on police and similar state and local agencies. It was started by Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S), which partners with organizations across the country to make the day happen.

SU News

Syracuse basketball vs. Clemson: 10 things to watch for (PS; Waters)

Syracuse opened the season ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press' preseason poll. Early losses to Oregon and Connecticut dropped the Orange out of the Top 25.

Syracuse returned to the rankings in mid-December at No. 25, but then suffered two more losses to Old Dominion and Buffalo.

Syracuse is now 10-4 for the year and 1-0 in the ACC after a win at Notre Dame on Saturday.

Similarly, Clemson began the season at No. 22 in the AP's preseason poll. The Tigers won their first five games to rise up to No. 16, but then back-to-back losses to Creighton and Nebraska sent Clemson out of the Top 25.
Clemson is now 10-4 after a loss at Duke in its ACC opener on Saturday.
Here are 10 Things to Watch For as the Orange faces Clemson in a critical game in the early part of the ACC schedule.

Syracuse's starting lineup
Syracuse's starting lineup appears to be set. At least for now.
Marek Dolezaj, a 6-10 sophomore, has started the last three games at center and is expected to start again. That means former starting center Paschal Chukwu will continue to come in off the bench.
Syracuse's other starters have been set since point guard Frank Howard returned after missing the first four games due to a foot injury. The other starters are: Howard, shooting guard Tyus Battle, small forward Elijah Hughes and power forward Oshae Brissett.

Clemson's starting lineup
Clemson coach Brad Brownell has one of the most veteran lineups in all of college basketball.
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Syracuse Basketball: Analytical breakdown of Clemson Tigers basketball (itlh.com; Adler)

The Syracuse basketball squad seeks to continue its winning ways, when SU welcomes Clemson to Central New York on Jan. 9.

The SU hoops outfit, currently possessing a nice three-affair victory streak, is back in action on Wednesday night in a home duel versus Clemson.
The ‘Cuse (10-4, 1-0), buoyed by a barrage of 3-pointers, collected a 10-point triumph over the weekend at Notre Dame to begin its Atlantic Coast Conference competition.

That 72-62 result represents an important beginning to league play for the Orange, particularly because Syracuse struggled in the non-conference slate and needs road ACC successes to bolster its somewhat pedestrian NCAA Tournament resume.
The Tigers (10-4, 0-1), meanwhile, began their conference calendar this past Saturday evening, and Clemson found itself on the wrong end of an 87-68 defeat at the hands of No. 1 Duke in Durham, N.C.
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Elijah Thomas boosts Clemson with versatility in third season (DO; Storms)

Elijah Thomas positioned himself atop the 3-point arc with his feet pointed toward the rim. Standing at 6-foot-9, ESPN ranked him as the eighth best center in his recruiting class. Back at Lancaster (Texas) High School, Thomas’ head coach Ferrin Douglas said no one could guard Thomas down low.

But, in Lancaster’s state title game, Thomas stood behind the 3-point line and swished the jumper.

“When you’re a basketball player and you don’t allow yourself under a position,” Thomas said, ”You’re able to put so many player’s aspects into your game, and that’s what makes me versatile.”

Pacing Clemson (10-4, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) in rebounds per game (7.4), blocks per game (1.6) and tied for second in points per game (13.6), Thomas doesn’t like to think of himself in one position. The senior has established himself as a potent, multi-tooled force in the paint. His effective field goal percentage of 67.3% ranks 36th in the nation, and it will lead the Tigers into the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night to play Syracuse (10-4, 1-0).
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Syracuse Orange v. Clemson Tigers Predictions (1/9/19) - The Juice Online (the juice; Staff)

Syracuse plays its first ACC home game when it hosts Clemson at the Carrier Dome on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Ahead of the game, The Juice Online’s Jim Stechschulte and Wes Cheng give their predictions below.

JIM STECHSCHULTE: A lot of advanced stat ratings list Syracuse and Clemson as pretty even teams, but there are a couple things that play in favor of the Orange defense.

The Tigers attempt fewer 3s than the average team and are not particularly good at shooting them, hitting just 32 percent on the season. Only two of their players have made at least one-third of their 3s on the season. The Tigers also turn the ball over a lot, ranking 298th in the country in turnover rate, giving away 18.3 percent of their possessions.

These stats play into SU’s defensive strengths. The Orange lead the nation in opponents’ 3-point rate and are 35th in the country in forcing turnovers. More than half of the field goals against the Syracuse 2-3 zone are 3s (and foes make only 30.5 percent of them) and the Orange force turnovers on over 20 percent of possessions.
Syracuse will slow Clemson enough for the Orange to grab a 67-61 win.
WES CHENG (Season Record: 1-0): Clemson guard Marcquise Reed has become Clemson’s top scoring option in his senior season, averaging a team-leading 19.6 points per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field. But as Jim states above, the Tigers as a whole have struggled to shoot from downtown and Reed is no exception.
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Allen Griffin Show 1-8 ESPN Syracuse podcast (player.fm; radio; Griffin)

Coach Griffin sits down with Mike Waters to discuss Syracuse's win over Notre Dame including what he saw from the centers, the position group he coaches. He then talks about the College Football National Championship and looks ahead to Clemson coming to the Dome tomorrow night.

UofL basketball heads to Pittsburgh in first ACC road game (wlky.com)

The University of Louisville men's basketball team is heading to Pittsburgh for its first ACC road game of the season.
Head coach Chris Mack and a player will discuss the team's preparation for the game at 12:15 p.m.

The Cardinals (10-4) and Panthers (10-4) tip off at 8:06 p.m. Wednesday.
The Cards won their first ACC game of the season by defeating Miami at home on Sunday evening.

The Panthers lost their ACC opener, falling to North Carolina on Saturday.
After Pittsburgh, the Cards head to North Carolina for a game at noon this Saturday.

Virginia Tech-Georgia Tech men's basketball preview capsule (martinsvillebulletin.com; Berman)

Men’s basketball

Wednesday

No. 9 Virginia Tech at Georgia Tech

7 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion

Records: Virginia Tech 13-2, 2-0 ACC; Georgia Tech 9-5, 1-0.

TV: NBC Sports Washington Plus (including Cox Ch. 1119)

Last meeting: Virginia Tech won 76-56 on Feb. 17, 2018, in Atlanta

Va. Tech probable starters: F Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.1 ppg); G Justin Robinson (13.3 ppg, 6.0 apg); G Ahmed Hill (12.6 ppg); G Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18.8 ppg, 2.4 spg), G Wabissa Bede (3.9 ppg).
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Miami basketball visits Florida St in third ACC Game of 2019: Game Info (caneswarning.com; Rubenstein)

The Miami basketball team plays the back end of a two-game road trip on Wednesday night at Florida State. The Hurricanes have dropped their first two ACC games of 2019 after losing double-digit leads.

The Miami basketball team entered ACC play 8-4. As they had all season Miami dropped a close game, 87-82 to North Carolina State in the opener on Thursday. The Hurricanes have wilted in the second half of many games this season due to a seven-man rotation. Miami lost the opener at home after leading by as many as 10 points.
The Hurricanes raced out to a 30-15 lead at Louisville on Sunday. The Cardinals eventually were able to trim the deficit to 41-40 at halftime. A 16-2 Louisville run gave the Cardinals a 60-47 lead in the second half and they never looked back. The Louisville lead was in double digits for the last ten minutes of the game.
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No need to overcomplicate NC State’s loss to UNC (newsobserver.com; Giglio)

Sometimes you need numbers to explain a game and other times common sense will suffice.

N.C. State’s D.J. Funderburk supplied the latter after the Wolfpack’s 90-82 loss to North Carolina on Tuesday night.

“We’ve got to execute, man,” Funderburk said.
To the point and accurate. No. 15 N.C. State (13-2, 1-1 ACC) lost its sixth consecutive home game to the 12th-ranked Tar Heels and it was one the Wolfpack never led but had a chance in the second half to steal. Then came nearly a 5-minute stretch where N.C. State didn’t score and couldn’t stop UNC (12-3, 2-0) from scoring.

Simple really, as Funderburk had explained. A made shot here, a stop there — Cam Johnson was a scourge with timely 3-pointers — and maybe N.C. State starts 2-0 in the ACC and hands UNC coach Roy Williams a rare loss (he’s 29-4 now) in the series.
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Other

Syracuse basketball, CNY Folksmarch: 10 things to do in CNY this weekend (PS; Pucci)

Start your new year on the right foot with a 10K walk. If watching other people be active is more your thing, don't worry, because there's a whole host of sports going on in Central New York this weekend too.

Stitching Stories: Thread, Needle, Narrative
"Stitching Stories: Thread, Needle, Narrative," an exhibit of quilts from Syracuse artist (and former syracuse.com | The Post-Standard photographer) Ellen Blalock, is on display at ArtRage Gallery until the end of this weekend.
The quilts, created over the last 20 years, speak to social issues, such as racism, incarceration, violence, abuse, and police brutality.
The exhibition runs until Saturday, Jan. 12
Where: ArtRage Gallery, 505 Hawley Ave., Syracuse.
When: Gallery open Wednesday to Friday, from 2 to 7 p.m. and Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m.
How much: Free admission.

Syracuse Crunch vs. Cleveland Monsters
The Crunch, currently sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and second in the North Division, behind only Rochester, will welcome division rival Cleveland to Syracuse this weekend.
Where: Oncenter War Memorial Arena, 515 Montgomery St., Syracuse.
When: Friday, Jan. 11, at 7 p.m.
How much: Tickets start at $16.
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