SWC75
Bored Historian
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 33,810
- Like
- 65,172
Non-Conference Opponents
BINGHAMTON (10-19: We last played them 12/7/13 and won 93-65 and are 5-0 all-time)
At this writing, the Bearcats will be on SU’s schedule but the date has not been set yet. They’ve had a bumpy ride in recent years: their coach, Tommy Dempsey has an 8-year record there of 67-180. A lot of those losses have been to big-time schools that love to schedule them.
Their and their league’s leading scorer, Sam Sessoms, (19.4ppg), jumped to Penn State but they have three transfers coming in: 6-9 230 Ogheneyole ‘Savior’ Akuwovo from Howard U., 6-8 220 Bryce Beamer from College of Central Florida, (as opposed to the University of Central Florida) and 6-3 190 Hunter Crist from Green Bay. 6-6 200 George Tinsley was the America East conference’s rookie of the year last year, (11.6p/7.4r) and will likely be their best player this year.
BUFFALO (20-12: We last played them 12/18/18 and lost 59-71 but are 28-6 against them all-time)
The Bulls have reached the 20 win mark in 5 of the last 6 years. They “welcome back four double-figure scorers”. They also beat us just two years ago and will not be intimidated.
6-3 200 Jayvon Graves passed on the NBA for now. He averaged 17.1 points and hit 73 three pointers. 6-2 180 Keishawn Brewton transferred in from Coastal Carolina where he averaged 14.5ppg and hit 65 treys. They should make a good pair. Up front, Josh Mballa, (6-7 217, 10.8p/9.6r) was the MAC’s leading rebounder. 6-5 200 Jeenathan Williams, (11.6p/4.7r) “is a strong wing who needs to shoot three pointers more efficiently to get the Bulls to the next level”.
BRYANT (15-17: We have never played them before.)
Lindy’s calls the Bulldogs “a team of high hopes”. They retain four key players and have brought in nine more, most of them transfers.
5-11 155 Michael Green III was Northeast Conference’s Rookie of the Year with 9.3p/2.4r/3.1a.6-4 185 Charles Pride was prideful enough to score 8.2ppg and 5.0rpg. They have their own “Linsanity”, in 6-4 180 Benson Lin, (no relation to Jeremy), who averaged 8.6p/1.9r. 6-8 230 Hall Elisias has a 7-2 wing span and blocked 78 shots, breaking the school record by 54. 6-5 200 Peter Kriss transferred from Rutgers, (sorry kid, you have to play SU anyway), where he averaged 6.0p/2.2r. 6-8 200 Melo Eggleston came from Arkansas State, where he averaged 842p/5.1r.
GEORGETOWN (15-17: We last played them 12/14/19 and lost 79-89 but are 51-44 against them all-time.)
Pat Ewing lost four players who decided to transfer out during the season and another, internet sensation and the Hoya’s leading scorer, Mac McClung, left after the season for Texas tech and massive center Omer Yurtseven opted for the NBA draft. Now he’s basically starting over in his attempt to rebuild the Hoyas into a power.
Losing McClung and third guard Terrell Allen made 6-4 190 Jahvon Blair, (10.8p/3.1r/2.0a) the only experienced backcourt player but 6-2 156 Arkansas transfer Jalen Harris, a senior averaged 4.2p/2.4a. behind them will be freshmen Tyler Beard, (6-1 175), who “brings toughness, defense and the ability to run a team”, TJ Berger, (6-3 170), a Penn decommit, who has “the ability to shoot and pass”. (Those are good qualities for a guard). “Those who like to watch fast players will like Dante Harris, (6-0 170), a distributor who can also shoot some but needs to add strength”. He put up some big numbers in high school: 30.6 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals per game.
Former Orange recruiting project Qudus Wahab, (6-11 237, 5.5p/4.3r), is the next man up at center for the Hoyas. “He could finish close to the basket and hit the boards well. He’s also a pretty good shot blocker”. Two other big guys are 6-11 250 Timothy Ighoefe, (2.5p/2.7r), “a soldi rebounder who can finish well in close” and 6-11 205 Malcom Wilson. Who “took a redshirt to get stronger but has some skill and can defend”. 6-8 208 Jamarko Pitckett, (10.2p/6.3r), needs to “step forward as a scorer this year. That means he must shoot better inside the arc.. Pickett has a good long-range eye and is a solid rebounder and defender but has to cut down on turnovers.” The highest rated freshman recruit is Jamari Sibley, (6-8 200), who has “long arms and quick feet”. Another freshman is Kobe Clark (6-8 180), who “plays hard and is versatile”. 6-7 200 Chudler Bile transferred in from Northwestern Louisiana, where he averaged 14.3p/7.6r. (Chudler Bile?!?)
RUTGERS (20-11: We last played them 1/2/13 and won 78-53 and are 39-9 against them all-time.)
Back in the day, for a brief time, Rutgers was probably our biggest rival. The year after we made our first Final Four in 1975, the Scarlet Knights actually cruised into the Final Four undefeated un Coach Tom Young. They might have played Bobby Knight’s undefeated Indiana team in the final but Michigan got in the way. Then Jim Boeheim took over at the ‘Cuse and recruited Louie and Bouie while Young recruited 6-9 shot blocker James Bailey and the Syracuse-Rutgers games were the most important regular season games in the East in the late 70’s. We beat them in Manley 82-72 in 1977. They beat us down there 73-77 in 1978. We beat them here in 1979 71-65 and down there 69-66 in 1980. Rutgers should have bene the new Jersey team in the Big East but Joe Paterno convinced them not to join because he was going to form a football conference with them in it that never materialized. Seton hall became the Big East’s New jersey team and they eclipsed Rutgers in basketball. Eventually the Scarlet Knights did join the Big East but became bottom feeders, (except when Herve Lamizana was shooting banked threes). They improbably wound up in the Big Ten where they went 61-101 in their first six years, (16-76 in conference). But now they’ve improved to 20-12, (11-9) and expect to be better than that this year, just in time for use to play them in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. For those of us with long memories, this may seem like the old days.
Seven of their top 8 players are back, including senior point guard Geo Baker, (6-4 195, 10.9p/3.5a). 6-2 185 Jacob Young, (8.5p/2.7r/1.9a), “hit double figures 11 times in Big Ten play”. 6-7 195, (6.7p/3.7r but 8.4/5.6 in Big Ten play), is a “scorer”. 6-4 205 Montez Mathis, (7.4p/3.5r), “sets the team’s tone with his perimeter defense”.
Ron Harper Jr., (6-6 245, 12.1P/5.8R), son of the former NBA star is “a stat sheet stuffer at both ends of the floor”. Myles Johnson, (6-11 255, 7.8p/7.9r with four double-doubles), is “not a scorer by trade, but he’s a ridiculous rebounder at both ends”. 6-11 240 freshman Cliff Omoruyi is a top 50 recruit and “is a mobile big man who will make Rutgers defense and board work even better”. Coach Steve Pikell: “Cliff is huge and talented and a worker. He’s our kind of guy. Of three more freshmen, Oskar Palmquist, (6-8 220), Mawot Mag, (6-7, 215) and Dean Reiber (6-10 225), Pikel said “They can all shoot”. (Mawot Mag ?!?)
Pikell is big on defense. Rutgers was #6 in defensive efficiency last year and Pikell says “I’m hoping we can become a better defensive team this year. I mean really good -and able to do some different things because we’re a veteran ballclub”. They should be a major challenge for Syracuse but we should be a major challenge for them, too, with all our firepower.
Normally, we play 13 non-conference games, 42% of the regular season schedule. It gives us a leg up on getting a winning record and continuing The Streak and becoming eligible for post-season play. This year we have 5 non-conference games, 19% of the schedule and 2 of the 5 are against ‘name’ teams and Buffalo is no slouch, as we found out two years ago. Our overall record and our ACC record aren’t going to be very different from each other this year. We need to be good.
BINGHAMTON (10-19: We last played them 12/7/13 and won 93-65 and are 5-0 all-time)
At this writing, the Bearcats will be on SU’s schedule but the date has not been set yet. They’ve had a bumpy ride in recent years: their coach, Tommy Dempsey has an 8-year record there of 67-180. A lot of those losses have been to big-time schools that love to schedule them.
Their and their league’s leading scorer, Sam Sessoms, (19.4ppg), jumped to Penn State but they have three transfers coming in: 6-9 230 Ogheneyole ‘Savior’ Akuwovo from Howard U., 6-8 220 Bryce Beamer from College of Central Florida, (as opposed to the University of Central Florida) and 6-3 190 Hunter Crist from Green Bay. 6-6 200 George Tinsley was the America East conference’s rookie of the year last year, (11.6p/7.4r) and will likely be their best player this year.
BUFFALO (20-12: We last played them 12/18/18 and lost 59-71 but are 28-6 against them all-time)
The Bulls have reached the 20 win mark in 5 of the last 6 years. They “welcome back four double-figure scorers”. They also beat us just two years ago and will not be intimidated.
6-3 200 Jayvon Graves passed on the NBA for now. He averaged 17.1 points and hit 73 three pointers. 6-2 180 Keishawn Brewton transferred in from Coastal Carolina where he averaged 14.5ppg and hit 65 treys. They should make a good pair. Up front, Josh Mballa, (6-7 217, 10.8p/9.6r) was the MAC’s leading rebounder. 6-5 200 Jeenathan Williams, (11.6p/4.7r) “is a strong wing who needs to shoot three pointers more efficiently to get the Bulls to the next level”.
BRYANT (15-17: We have never played them before.)
Lindy’s calls the Bulldogs “a team of high hopes”. They retain four key players and have brought in nine more, most of them transfers.
5-11 155 Michael Green III was Northeast Conference’s Rookie of the Year with 9.3p/2.4r/3.1a.6-4 185 Charles Pride was prideful enough to score 8.2ppg and 5.0rpg. They have their own “Linsanity”, in 6-4 180 Benson Lin, (no relation to Jeremy), who averaged 8.6p/1.9r. 6-8 230 Hall Elisias has a 7-2 wing span and blocked 78 shots, breaking the school record by 54. 6-5 200 Peter Kriss transferred from Rutgers, (sorry kid, you have to play SU anyway), where he averaged 6.0p/2.2r. 6-8 200 Melo Eggleston came from Arkansas State, where he averaged 842p/5.1r.
GEORGETOWN (15-17: We last played them 12/14/19 and lost 79-89 but are 51-44 against them all-time.)
Pat Ewing lost four players who decided to transfer out during the season and another, internet sensation and the Hoya’s leading scorer, Mac McClung, left after the season for Texas tech and massive center Omer Yurtseven opted for the NBA draft. Now he’s basically starting over in his attempt to rebuild the Hoyas into a power.
Losing McClung and third guard Terrell Allen made 6-4 190 Jahvon Blair, (10.8p/3.1r/2.0a) the only experienced backcourt player but 6-2 156 Arkansas transfer Jalen Harris, a senior averaged 4.2p/2.4a. behind them will be freshmen Tyler Beard, (6-1 175), who “brings toughness, defense and the ability to run a team”, TJ Berger, (6-3 170), a Penn decommit, who has “the ability to shoot and pass”. (Those are good qualities for a guard). “Those who like to watch fast players will like Dante Harris, (6-0 170), a distributor who can also shoot some but needs to add strength”. He put up some big numbers in high school: 30.6 points, 9 assists, and 4 steals per game.
Former Orange recruiting project Qudus Wahab, (6-11 237, 5.5p/4.3r), is the next man up at center for the Hoyas. “He could finish close to the basket and hit the boards well. He’s also a pretty good shot blocker”. Two other big guys are 6-11 250 Timothy Ighoefe, (2.5p/2.7r), “a soldi rebounder who can finish well in close” and 6-11 205 Malcom Wilson. Who “took a redshirt to get stronger but has some skill and can defend”. 6-8 208 Jamarko Pitckett, (10.2p/6.3r), needs to “step forward as a scorer this year. That means he must shoot better inside the arc.. Pickett has a good long-range eye and is a solid rebounder and defender but has to cut down on turnovers.” The highest rated freshman recruit is Jamari Sibley, (6-8 200), who has “long arms and quick feet”. Another freshman is Kobe Clark (6-8 180), who “plays hard and is versatile”. 6-7 200 Chudler Bile transferred in from Northwestern Louisiana, where he averaged 14.3p/7.6r. (Chudler Bile?!?)
RUTGERS (20-11: We last played them 1/2/13 and won 78-53 and are 39-9 against them all-time.)
Back in the day, for a brief time, Rutgers was probably our biggest rival. The year after we made our first Final Four in 1975, the Scarlet Knights actually cruised into the Final Four undefeated un Coach Tom Young. They might have played Bobby Knight’s undefeated Indiana team in the final but Michigan got in the way. Then Jim Boeheim took over at the ‘Cuse and recruited Louie and Bouie while Young recruited 6-9 shot blocker James Bailey and the Syracuse-Rutgers games were the most important regular season games in the East in the late 70’s. We beat them in Manley 82-72 in 1977. They beat us down there 73-77 in 1978. We beat them here in 1979 71-65 and down there 69-66 in 1980. Rutgers should have bene the new Jersey team in the Big East but Joe Paterno convinced them not to join because he was going to form a football conference with them in it that never materialized. Seton hall became the Big East’s New jersey team and they eclipsed Rutgers in basketball. Eventually the Scarlet Knights did join the Big East but became bottom feeders, (except when Herve Lamizana was shooting banked threes). They improbably wound up in the Big Ten where they went 61-101 in their first six years, (16-76 in conference). But now they’ve improved to 20-12, (11-9) and expect to be better than that this year, just in time for use to play them in the Big Ten/ACC challenge. For those of us with long memories, this may seem like the old days.
Seven of their top 8 players are back, including senior point guard Geo Baker, (6-4 195, 10.9p/3.5a). 6-2 185 Jacob Young, (8.5p/2.7r/1.9a), “hit double figures 11 times in Big Ten play”. 6-7 195, (6.7p/3.7r but 8.4/5.6 in Big Ten play), is a “scorer”. 6-4 205 Montez Mathis, (7.4p/3.5r), “sets the team’s tone with his perimeter defense”.
Ron Harper Jr., (6-6 245, 12.1P/5.8R), son of the former NBA star is “a stat sheet stuffer at both ends of the floor”. Myles Johnson, (6-11 255, 7.8p/7.9r with four double-doubles), is “not a scorer by trade, but he’s a ridiculous rebounder at both ends”. 6-11 240 freshman Cliff Omoruyi is a top 50 recruit and “is a mobile big man who will make Rutgers defense and board work even better”. Coach Steve Pikell: “Cliff is huge and talented and a worker. He’s our kind of guy. Of three more freshmen, Oskar Palmquist, (6-8 220), Mawot Mag, (6-7, 215) and Dean Reiber (6-10 225), Pikel said “They can all shoot”. (Mawot Mag ?!?)
Pikell is big on defense. Rutgers was #6 in defensive efficiency last year and Pikell says “I’m hoping we can become a better defensive team this year. I mean really good -and able to do some different things because we’re a veteran ballclub”. They should be a major challenge for Syracuse but we should be a major challenge for them, too, with all our firepower.
Normally, we play 13 non-conference games, 42% of the regular season schedule. It gives us a leg up on getting a winning record and continuing The Streak and becoming eligible for post-season play. This year we have 5 non-conference games, 19% of the schedule and 2 of the 5 are against ‘name’ teams and Buffalo is no slouch, as we found out two years ago. Our overall record and our ACC record aren’t going to be very different from each other this year. We need to be good.
