Upstate
Co 2020 Cali Winner, Rcd/Rcpts/TD Rcpts (5)/TFL
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- Aug 15, 2011
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3. Syracuse
I'm probably overreacting to James Southerland's return by giving Syracuse third place in college basketball's most powerful power rankings. But considering how many top teams keep losing and that Southerland makes Syracuse noticeably better, the Orange are a reasonable choice at no. 3. Last Sunday's win against St. John's proved this. The Red Storm were playing without Steve Lavin, who was grieving the death of his father, but having Lavin on the sidelines wouldn't have made much difference because Syracuse was virtually unstoppable all day. The Orange shot 54 percent from the field. They converted 10 3-pointers, had 20 assists as a team, and saw four different players score in double digits. Stats aside, Syracuse simply looked more comfortable on offense with Southerland back, probably because he forces defenses to account for him and that takes pressure off Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche, and C.J. Fair. It's still too soon to assume that Syracuse will be just as dominant as it was before Southerland was suspended for eligibility issues, but the Orange definitely have reason to feel optimistic about the next month and a half, which is something very few teams can say these days.
I'm probably overreacting to James Southerland's return by giving Syracuse third place in college basketball's most powerful power rankings. But considering how many top teams keep losing and that Southerland makes Syracuse noticeably better, the Orange are a reasonable choice at no. 3. Last Sunday's win against St. John's proved this. The Red Storm were playing without Steve Lavin, who was grieving the death of his father, but having Lavin on the sidelines wouldn't have made much difference because Syracuse was virtually unstoppable all day. The Orange shot 54 percent from the field. They converted 10 3-pointers, had 20 assists as a team, and saw four different players score in double digits. Stats aside, Syracuse simply looked more comfortable on offense with Southerland back, probably because he forces defenses to account for him and that takes pressure off Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche, and C.J. Fair. It's still too soon to assume that Syracuse will be just as dominant as it was before Southerland was suspended for eligibility issues, but the Orange definitely have reason to feel optimistic about the next month and a half, which is something very few teams can say these days.
