Game thoughts

[Marsh01]

I think Fab really plays a big big role tonight. Dieng is a beast on the boards (averages 9.2 a game). Fab needs to be involved in the offense early IMO. Get him some touches and try to work on getting this guy in a little foul trouble. We also need to keep them off the offensive boards. Between Dieng and Behanan they are averaging about 17-18 rebounds per game. I also see Rak getting the early hook tonight for CJ strictly for rebounding purposes. It is imperative that if they are not shooting well to keep these guys off the boards and not give this team 2 shots. Fab also needs to stay out of foul trouble tonight as I think Keita will get manhandled inside. Kris also needs to really have his best reboundng effort tonight.

This is not your typical great shooting Louisville team but they still have Kuric and he can certainly make his fair share. I look for Siva to really try to penetrate the zone for kickouts or for them to really hammer the high post and try to get the ball down to the baseline where we have been vulnerable in past games.

They need to take the crowd out of the game early with a fast start. I know Kris and Scoop really want this game bad. I just hope they play in control and dont force the issue.

A win tonight will go a long way in shutting up some media people (not to mention stop the dozens of threads about Gottelib, etc). Winning tonight all but solidifies this teams regular season goals (#1 seed, winning the regular season, Pitt and Boston pods). I am confident that they will come out and play a solid game and we get the W.

 

[pfister1]

Have we had a fast start against a decent opponent all season? I'd settle for playing even to start.

 

[Marsh01]

Have we had a fast start against a decent opponent all season? I'd settle for playing even to start.

Well Marquette we jumped on them early. I dont mean we need to be up 15-2 but it would be nice to ht a few shots and be up 5-6 points at he under 16 time out

 

[Gonzo]

the orange bats need to swoop down en force and feast on the cardinals early and often...look for Pitino to employ a lot of zone to try to prevent this

 

[Marsh01]

the orange bats need to swoop down en force and feast on the cardinals early and often...look for Pitino to employ a lot of zone to try to prevent this

Then our guards need to really get into the teeth of that zone. I really hope Brandon uses his strength and gets physical with these guys and tries to take the ball to the hoops more instead of settling for jump shots. He hasnt had one of those games in a while (like he does against WVU) where he drives to the hoop more and really abuses the guy that is guarding him.

 

[cusetown1]

don't let Kuric shoot. Guard Chris Smith I think he's the DUDE Pitino will unleash from 3. They always have somebody who goes off from 3 against us.

 

[orangecuse]

Well Marquette we jumped on them early. I dont mean we need to be up 15-2 but it would be nice to ht a few shots and be up 5-6 points at he under 16 time out

That's Marquette's MO...every game they play it seems they're down double digits early and come back to win...almost did it to us after being down 23 early and 17 at the half. Louisville plays that same scrappy, pressing, never say die style...no lead is safe until the buzzer ends...

 

[Marsh01]

That's Marquette's MO...every game they play it seems they're down double digits early and come back to win...almost did it to us after being down 23 early and 17 at the half. Louisville plays that same scrappy, pressing, never say die style...no lead is safe until the buzzer ends...

The funny thing is that last year it was Louisville who jumped out to a huge halftime lead only to relinquish most of it giving us a chance in the last minute to steal a victory.

 

[orangehomer]

the place is going to be berserk at the beginning. if we can avoid getting buried and keep it close at the half, i like our teams chances this year as we seem to be a second half team.

 

[cusetown1]

one thing that I have noticed in the 7 game losing stretch with UL is the halftime score. I think Syracuse has been up at half at least 5 if not 6 of the 7 losses. Strange.

 

[cusetown1]

Last year half time score UL 40 SU 30
09-10 SU 29 UL 28
09-10 SU 35 UL 30
08-09 UL 38 SU 33
08-09 SU 38 UL 30
07-08 Tied at half
06-07 SU 42 UL 38
Jimmy please counter Ricks adjustments tonight.
Also counting tonight in the last 8 games we have played them 5 times at UL 1 neurtral and 2 at the dome. That doesn't make any sense.

 

[orangecuse]

Last year half time score UL 40 SU 30
09-10 SU 29 UL 28
09-10 SU 35 UL 30
08-09 UL 38 SU 33
08-09 SU 38 UL 30
07-08 Tied at half
06-07 SU 42 UL 38
Jimmy please counter Ricks adjustments tonight.
Also counting tonight in the last 8 games we have played them 5 times at UL 1 neurtral and 2 at the dome. That doesn't make any sense.

Interesting. I guess the only thing one can conclude is we lacked a go-to guy then too.

 

[CorduroyG]

The only thing im sure of tonite is that louisville is gonna knock down a 3 on their 1st possession. Toughest game of the regular season is tonite, if we win this any doubts that this team is more than capable of cutting down the nets should be erased.

Please extend the zone from the opening tip and guard the 3. I dont care if theyre not a great shooting team, if they get looks theyll take them and make them. Make them beat us inside the arc.

 

[cusetown1]

The only thing im sure of tonite is that louisville is gonna knock down a 3 on their 1st possession. Toughest game of the regular season is tonite, if we win this any doubts that this team is more than capable of cutting down the nets should be erased.

Please extend the zone from the opening tip and guard the 3. I dont care if theyre not a great shooting team, if they get looks theyll take them and make them. Make them beat us inside the arc.

Oh trust me they are a great shooting team, tonight. Lets shut em down. Rick is all about launching them up from 3 against the zone.

 

[cusetown1]

They press us tonight we win going away, and they will press us.

 

[RF2044]

Hope we do a better job attacking their zone than we did against Georgetown. Instead of just swinging the ball around the perimeter and looking for gaps to penetrate while the shot clock winds down, I would like to see us get someone like CJ or Southerland in that gap at the foul line and force their defense to react, which in turn will open up some room on the wings.

That guy can shoot from mid range, skip pass somewhere back outside to open shooters, dump the ball down low if the center moves out to defend, etc. On paper, that's a great fit for CJ.

 

[TheRoyalIveyFund]

I think Fab really plays a big big role tonight. Dieng is a beast on the boards (averages 9.2 a game). Fab needs to be involved in the offense early IMO. Get him some touches and try to work on getting this guy in a little foul trouble. We also need to keep them off the offensive boards. Between Dieng and Behanan they are averaging about 17-18 rebounds per game. I also see Rak getting the early hook tonight for CJ strictly for rebounding purposes. It is imperative that if they are not shooting well to keep these guys off the boards and not give this team 2 shots. Fab also needs to stay out of foul trouble tonight as I think Keita will get manhandled inside. Kris also needs to really have his best reboundng effort tonight.

This is not your typical great shooting Louisville team but they still have Kuric and he can certainly make his fair share. I look for Siva to really try to penetrate the zone for kickouts or for them to really hammer the high post and try to get the ball down to the baseline where we have been vulnerable in past games.

They need to take the crowd out of the game early with a fast start. I know Kris and Scoop really want this game bad. I just hope they play in control and dont force the issue.

A win tonight will go a long way in shutting up some media people (not to mention stop the dozens of threads about Gottelib, etc). Winning tonight all but solidifies this teams regular season goals (#1 seed, winning the regular season, Pitt and Boston pods). I am confident that they will come out and play a solid game and we get the W.

A) That is, IMO, the biggest cause for concern. Extra possessions for them from Off rebounds from those two. Limit those and the game will be there to be won. Allow too many and that's an extra 10-12 attempts from three that Lou will eventually make.

B) Are they really not a good shooting team from 3? I haven't watched them, other than the UConn blowout, but their stats say that both Kuric and Chris Smith are excellent shooters. Smith is avg 43% from 3. If it were only Kuric, I'd feel better, but a shooter on each side of Siva's drives, with two great rebounders, with Rick P at the helm is not a great formula for us.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/97/louisville-cardinals

 

[Marsh01]

B) Are they really not a good shooting team from 3? I haven't watched them, other than the UConn blowout, but their stats say that both Kuric and Chris Smith are excellent shooters. Smith is avg 43% from 3. If it were only Kuric, I'd feel better, but a shooter on each side of Siva's drives, with two great rebounders, with Rick P at the helm is not a great formula for us.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/97/louisville-cardinals

Well they shoot it .328 from 3. We shoot it .352 from the 3. That should at least tell you sometihing.

 

[SUintheVille]

Also watch out for Russ Smith. Very aggressive and shoots a lot. When he gets hot, he can hit from anywhere, despite his overall 3-pt percentage. Wayne Blackshear is now another to have to watch from 3. Behanan is another beast on the boards. Fab, KJo, and CJ will need to be very active down low. Throw in Rak for a little body action too.

I assume UofL will play a fair amount of zone, which will test Cuse's shooters and half-court offense.

It will be a loud place in there...I'm hoping for a quiet place with only a handful of Cuse fans whooping it up!

 

[Madbiker]

If you've seen the last 7 games against UL you know the script. Pitino knows how to get shots against the zone. Super quick penetrating PG (this year its Siva) blows past our guards at the top of the key. The zone collapses. Whip pass out to the wings or the corners for wide open 3's. Same every year. This year's UL team doesn't shoot the 3 as well and not as many shooters. But they still have Kuric and for one game anyone can get hot and make a few. On defense, UL presses the entire game. They are 2nd in the BE in forcing TO's. So I expect Scoop will play a lot of minutes tonight since he's our best ball handler. Not a good matchup for Triche as he's a little shaky with the handle and not as quick as Dion to contain the UL guards off the bounce. This year UL is playing way more 2-3 than m-2-m. That usually means Dirty get minutes but his ball handling is so bad I don't know if JB will keep him in against the press. The key to the game IMO is that SU has to shoot the ball really well to score and limit UL transition and hope that UL doesn't shoot a great % on their open 3's. We need Dion to have a big game.

 

[Gonzo]

Pitino will undoubtedly try the press but if it doesnt work well, I would think he gives it up fast or goes to a 3/4 court press just to slow us down and be a pain. He doesnt have the horses to run with the Cuse for a full game. He is more apt to slow this one down and zone alot to get us into as much of a half-court plod as possible. It worked for Georgetown and the Cards are better at the zone than any Big East team not name Syracuse. If we hit our outside shots and more or less hold our own on the boards, it shouldn't matter to the outcome. But if we don't, we"ll have an ugly nailbiter on ourhands

 

[AZOrange]

Louisville always used to have a "dude" that I would worry about. Just dont see that guy this year.

 

[iommi]

Louisville always used to have a "dude" that I would worry about. Just dont see that guy this year.

I'm worried about Kuric; he's gone off against us in the past. That's as far as shooting "dudes" go. Another huge concern is their rebounding prowess. Melo has be play very strong against Deng. Let him make 10 footers, don't let him dominate in close and on the boards.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Also watch out for Russ Smith. Very aggressive and shoots a lot. When he gets hot, he can hit from anywhere, despite his overall 3-pt percentage. Wayne Blackshear is now another to have to watch from 3. Behanan is another beast on the boards. Fab, KJo, and CJ will need to be very active down low. Throw in Rak for a little body action too.

I assume UofL will play a fair amount of zone, which will test Cuse's shooters and half-court offense.

It will be a loud place in there...I'm hoping for a quiet place with only a handful of Cuse fans whooping it up!

Absolutely Russ Smith is important. He's their Waiters. It's funny, some people on here who clearly haven't watched UL think Dieng is some stiff and Fab will eat him up, lol. He's better than Fab and is on NBA Draft boards as well. He dosn't have more potential but he's better right now.

 

[BlueCurtain]

They press us tonight we win going away, and they will press us.

They don't send 5 guys into the backcourt. Their press is just designed to slow the ball progression.