SWC75
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(Schedule, not Scedule)
PRE-CONFERENCE
I’m tardy with this and we have already played four games, including two exhibitions so I’ll briefly summarize those.
We opened playing Carleton University of Ottawa. They are known as the “UCLA of Canada”, a distinction that might not mean much to younger fans but those of us of a certain age remember when UCLA under John Wooden won 10 of 12 national championships from 1964-1975 and it seemed the rest of the country was vying for the honor of finishing second to them. The Ravens have an identical streak going in Canada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._P._McGee_Trophy
They play several games each year against US opposition and do very well indeed. This season they lost to Indiana by 10, beat Vermont and Illinois-Chicago and beat Memphis twice, by 10 and 32 points. Last year we played them in Canada and had to rally from a 15 point second half deficit to win 69-65 in overtime. And with such a young, untested team this year, we had to be concerned, especially since Carleton was a veteran team that had been playing since August.
Carleton plays a beautiful brand of basketball, passing the ball crisply and unselfishly. Their players can really shoot and know how to finish around the basket. They go up quick and can score with either hand. They also know how to use the backboard. It looked early as if we were going the way of Memphis as we fell behind 4-13, rallied to within 21-23 and then watched them, (and that’s about what we were doing) score 12 unanswered points. We got a free throw and they scored again to put us down 15, just like last year, at 22-37. But this was in the first half and when we rallied, we were able to beat them in regulation 76-68. They are the best team in Canada but a top Canadian prospect, (like Tyler Ennis last year), usually comes to the State to play his college ball. Carleton just didn’t have the size and athleticism Syracuse had, (although they disturbingly managed to out-rebound us 31-45). But Rakeem Christmas and Chris McCullough started to dominate them inside. We had 4 blocks and 7 steals. Kaleb Joseph shot the ball well, scoring 19 points on 7 for 9 shooting. The best part of it was that we actually beat them by showing some of their characteristics. We had good spacing and shared the ball very well while only committing 7 turnovers. A big thing was that we got to the line 31 times to their 13. Both teams shot poorly from the line but we out-scored them 20-7 from the stripe. I came away proud that we’d beaten such an accomplished team two years in a row, even if we had to come from way back to do it each time, and that we’d done it with good fundamental basketball, not just our size and talent.
The second exhibition was a walk-over against Adrian a Division III team from Michigan who didn’t have a player over 6-5. The toothless Bulldogs, who were 5-20 last year, played hard but it was hopeless as SU pulled away from a 37-24 halftime score to open the second half with 23 unanswered points and win 84-35. Adrian was held scoreless for an 11 minute 35 second stretch beginning late in the first half. It could have been worse but we shot the ball poorly, particularly Chris McCullough who towered over the players defending him but who couldn’t score over them, missing 9 of 11 shots.
I wish we played Le Moyne and then Carleton every year. It would do more to prepare us for a season than Adrian could ever hope to.
The games counted now but it didn’t mean the opposition was much better, even if Kennesaw State is technically a Division I school. They are coming off consecutive seasons of 3-28, 4-27 and 6-25. Their coach is trying to get them on their feet, (they were an NAIA team until 1994 and a Division II team until 2005. In their nine seasons in Division I they were 75-200. I wonder what the point is of such a school playing Division I ball. Their coach, Jimmy Lallathin is trying to upgrade the program with transfers but that’s usually a temporary fix. Schools like this should be in Division II where they can have winning season and contend for championships. Even with the transfers, they were no match for Syracuse, losing 89-42. We out-rebounded them 56-26 and forced 25 turnovers.
We thought Hampton might be a more formidable opponent. They were 18-13 last year and a favorite in their conference. Then they got blasted by Iowa, 56-90. It appeared we might have another walk-over. Instead Hampton refused to go down easily. They hung with us on the boards, 32-38, had only 15 turnovers and actually ran the fast break better than we did, getting 6 more fast break points and, amazingly 2 more points in the paint than we did. (Vs. Kennesaw, we had 10 more fast break points and 36 more points in the paint). It was 45-40 with 9:12 left when Trevor Cooney awoke from the dead with a big three pointer to start a 13-2 run that put the game away. We won 65-47 but left the game wondering about how strong Iowa might be- especially since we might be playing them in New York at the end of the week.
Here’s the rest, with comments based on what I’ve read in pre-season magazines. It may not reflect late changes. (see this article for an explanation of TV designations: http://www.syracuse.com/axeman/index.ssf/2013/11/syracuse_basketball_a_guide_to.html )
Thursday, November 20, 2014 at Madison Square Garden vs. CALIFORNIA on ESPN2 at 9PM
The Golden Bears are familiar with us. We beat them 95-73 in 2009, 66-60 in the 2013 NCAA tournament and 92-81 in Maui last year. Cal was a 21-14 NIT team last year. Their coach, Mike Montgomery decided to retire. Cuonzo Martin , who led Tennessee to the Sweet 16 last year, moved over to replace Montgomery. They also lost their star point guard Justin Cobbs. But three starter return. Including highly touted sophomores Jabari Bird, a 6-6 guard and Sam Singer, a 6-4 point guard, both of whom had disappointing freshman years. They will have to blossom if Cal is to have a good season. Cal also has a 7-1 center, Kinglesy Okoroh, from England, who will tower over our players, and Dwight Tarwater, (6-6 230) who transferred from Cornell, below. This game is part of the “2K Classic”, which used to be Coaches vs. Cancer and is now a fund-raiser for Wounded Warriors. The final is the next night. There will be a consolation game.
Friday, November 21, 2014 at MSG. Vs. Iowa or Texas on ESPN2 or ESPNU at 5 or 7PM
Iowa is the team that blew out Hampton by 34 before we could only beat them by 18, (and had to pull away down the stretch to make the margin that large). Comparing the box scores, Iowa shot the ball from outside better than we did (43% vs. 28%), made it harder for Hampton to score inside the arc than we did (38% vs. 47%) and rebounded much better than we did, (48-32 vs. 38-32).Iowa was a 20-13 team last year after a 19-6 start, (we can sympathize), losing to Martin’s Tennessee team in the first round of
the NCAAs. They lost their star player, Roy Devyn Marble but they have a big frontcourt, going 6-9, 7-1, 6-9 up front. I’m not sure they are quite as good as they looked vs. Hampton but we may have a chance to find out.
Texas is the highest ranked team in the tournament, (#10 in both polls: SU is #23/24, Iowa and California unranked). The Longhorns were 24-11 last year. Like us, they lost in the round of 32. The difference is, Rick Barnes gets everyone back, plus a couple of top recruits. Point guard Isaiah Taylor averaged 13 points and 4 assists a game. Kendal Yancy was a highly-touted guard recruit last year but was a disappointment. Their frontcourt of 6-8 Jonathan Holmes 6-9 Cameron Ridley and 6-10 Prince Ibeh 6-9 Connor Lammert gives them good size. Holmes was second team all-Big 12 with 13 points and 7 rebounds a game. They’ve added 6-11 Myles Turner, whom Lindy’s lists as “the nation’s #2 recruit”. Wingman Jordan Barnett, 6-6 is also a top recruit. They’ve won two blow-outs over lesser teams and we will find out how good Texas is this week, just as we’ll find out how good Syracuse is. Historically we’re tough to beat this time of year, especially in New York.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at Carrier Dome LOYOLA (Maryland) on RSN at 7Pm
The Greyhounds were 11-19 last year and lost 21 point scorer Dylon Cormier. If this one isn’t another easy win, that would be concerning.
Friday, November 28, 2014 at Carrier Dome HOLY CROSS on ESPN3 at 7PM
The Crusaders once won the NCAA championship. They’ve had great players like Bob Cousy, George Kaftan, Togo Palazzi, Tom Heinsohn and Ronnie Perry, none of whom will be in uniform for them this year. They did win 20 games last year, losing 14. They wound up in something called the CIT: College Insider.com Post Season Tournament, where they lost to Yale. They, too, lost their best player, 6-9 David Dudzinski. 6-7 forward Malcom Miller is their best returnee. They should be better than Loyola but not as good as Syracuse.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at MICHIGAN on ESPN at 7:30PM
This is a game in the ACC-Big 10 challenge, the diluted version of the old ACC-Big East challenge that was so great because all the teams played in quadruple-headers on consecutive nights. It will be our first meeting with the Wolverines since they beat us in the national semi-finals in March, 2013. Last year the Wolverines were a strong 28-9, 15-3 in the conference. They lost by 3 to Kentucky in the Elite 8. But they lost four key players form that team and John Belin will be doing some rebuilding. 6-7 guard Caris Levert averaged 12.9 points and was second on the team in assists with 106. But Beilein must replace his entire front line. 6-7 Cameron Chapman is the top newcomer.
Saturday, December 6, 2014 at Carrier Dome vs. ST. JOHN’S on ESPN2 at 5:15 PM.
When Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC, a decision was made to try to continue some of the old rivalries by playing former Big East teams in the pre-conference schedule. But the impact of that is to make that part of the schedule more difficult. That can be a good thing but we’ve had seasons before where losses in November and December were cited as reason for a poor seeding in the NCAA tournament or for missing it altogether. People mocked our perennial 13-0 starts but we may pine for them now and in the future. I can remember back in the 70’s when St. John’s was the biggest game of the year- and we typically lost it because St. John’s was the best team on our schedule. Now they are a preliminary to the ACC schedule. Last year the Johnnies went 20-13 and went to the NIT. They lost 6-9 Jamar Sampson, who opted for the NBA and then found he wasn’t drafted. Returning is their best player, the high scoring D’Angelo Harrison, a 6-4 guard who averaged 17.5 points and 5 rebounds a game. Backcourt mate Rysheed Jordan scored 10 a game as a freshman. They get back 6-9 Chris Obeka, who led the Big East, (yes, there’s still a Big East) in blocked shots.
Sunday, December 14. 2014 at Carrier Dome LOUISIANA TECH on ESPNU at 4PM
The Bulldogs don’t have Karl Malone but they had a heck of team last year when they went 29-8 and tied for 1st in Conference USA 13-3. They lost in the conference tournament and were snubbed by the NCAA tournament , but went to the NIT quarterfinals, where they lost to Florida State 75-78. They get four starters back from that team and will thus be a formidable opponent. Raheem Appleby, “a prolific shooting guard” scored 11 a game. When he hurt his ankle Alex Hamilton replaced him and scored 31 points against Oklahoma, led the team with 14.5ppg and made the all-conference team. 6-10 Michael Kyser is “a relentless shot-blocker”. “Speedy” Smith was the CUSA defensive player of the year. Watch out for this team!
Saturday, December 20, 2014 at Villanova on FOX at 1PM
Another former Big East rival who we will be playing on the road. Last year the Wildcats were a very strong 29-5. They won the Big East with a 16-2 record. They lost to eventual national champions Connecticut in the round of 32. They are currently ranked #12, having returned four starters and three key reserves from that team. They will be favored to repeat in the Big East and be one of the better teams in the country. They lost their leading scorer, James Bell, a 6-6 forward. Wing man Darrun Hilliard, also 6-6, was just behind Bell, (14.3 vs. 14.4) and led the team in steals. 6-7 240 Jayvon Pinkston was just behind them at 14.1ppg. Daniel Ochefu at 6-11 is a defensive and rebounding force.
Monday, December 22, 2014 at Carrier Dome COLGATE on ESPNU at 7PM
We last lost to Colgate on February 24, 1962. That streak will likely continue, although the Red Raiders aren’t as bad as they used to be. Last year they were 13-18 in the Patriot League. They led the league with 8.4 three pointers per game so they have a puncher’s chance. They do have a good 6-11 center in Ethan Jacobs (11.5 ppg).
Sunday, December 28, 2014 at Carrier Dome LONG BEACH STATE on ESPN2 at 2Pm
The 49ers were 15-17 last year but 10-6 in the Big West. Per Lindys’, they play “another jaw-dropping non-conference schedule, (at BYU, San Diego State, UCLA, Louisville, St. John’s, Xavier and Texas- oh, my!)” it seems to me that a name is missing from that group. They have a “deep, experienced backcourt” led by 6-0 Michael Caffey, who averaged 16.2ppg last year and 6-5 Tyler Lamb, (15.4)But they only have one player as tall as 6-8.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at Carrier Dome CORNELL on ESPNU at 6Pm
We last lost to Cornell on December 4, 1968. We won’t lost to them, either. They were a dismal 2-26 last year, 1-13 in the Ivy League. And their leading scorer, Nolan Kressler, transferred to Vanderbilt. They also lost Dwight Tarwater to California because he’s a graduate student and the Ivys don’t allow grad stduents to play, so Tarwater, whio played against SU for Cornell last year, will play against SU for Cal this year. They do get back 6-7 Shonn Miller, who scored 12.3 two years ago but was hurt last year. He will need plenty of help, but won’t get it.
Comment: If we get a 13-0 record through these games, it will be amazing. We’ve beaten Kennesaw State and Hampton. I think we’ll handle Loyola, Holy Cross, Colgate, Long Beach and Cornell as well. But that’s only 7 guaranteed wins. The other teams will certainly challenge us. I expect 2-3 losses, which means we’ll have very little slack heading into the ACC schedule which will be much more difficult.
PRE-CONFERENCE
I’m tardy with this and we have already played four games, including two exhibitions so I’ll briefly summarize those.
We opened playing Carleton University of Ottawa. They are known as the “UCLA of Canada”, a distinction that might not mean much to younger fans but those of us of a certain age remember when UCLA under John Wooden won 10 of 12 national championships from 1964-1975 and it seemed the rest of the country was vying for the honor of finishing second to them. The Ravens have an identical streak going in Canada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._P._McGee_Trophy
They play several games each year against US opposition and do very well indeed. This season they lost to Indiana by 10, beat Vermont and Illinois-Chicago and beat Memphis twice, by 10 and 32 points. Last year we played them in Canada and had to rally from a 15 point second half deficit to win 69-65 in overtime. And with such a young, untested team this year, we had to be concerned, especially since Carleton was a veteran team that had been playing since August.
Carleton plays a beautiful brand of basketball, passing the ball crisply and unselfishly. Their players can really shoot and know how to finish around the basket. They go up quick and can score with either hand. They also know how to use the backboard. It looked early as if we were going the way of Memphis as we fell behind 4-13, rallied to within 21-23 and then watched them, (and that’s about what we were doing) score 12 unanswered points. We got a free throw and they scored again to put us down 15, just like last year, at 22-37. But this was in the first half and when we rallied, we were able to beat them in regulation 76-68. They are the best team in Canada but a top Canadian prospect, (like Tyler Ennis last year), usually comes to the State to play his college ball. Carleton just didn’t have the size and athleticism Syracuse had, (although they disturbingly managed to out-rebound us 31-45). But Rakeem Christmas and Chris McCullough started to dominate them inside. We had 4 blocks and 7 steals. Kaleb Joseph shot the ball well, scoring 19 points on 7 for 9 shooting. The best part of it was that we actually beat them by showing some of their characteristics. We had good spacing and shared the ball very well while only committing 7 turnovers. A big thing was that we got to the line 31 times to their 13. Both teams shot poorly from the line but we out-scored them 20-7 from the stripe. I came away proud that we’d beaten such an accomplished team two years in a row, even if we had to come from way back to do it each time, and that we’d done it with good fundamental basketball, not just our size and talent.
The second exhibition was a walk-over against Adrian a Division III team from Michigan who didn’t have a player over 6-5. The toothless Bulldogs, who were 5-20 last year, played hard but it was hopeless as SU pulled away from a 37-24 halftime score to open the second half with 23 unanswered points and win 84-35. Adrian was held scoreless for an 11 minute 35 second stretch beginning late in the first half. It could have been worse but we shot the ball poorly, particularly Chris McCullough who towered over the players defending him but who couldn’t score over them, missing 9 of 11 shots.
I wish we played Le Moyne and then Carleton every year. It would do more to prepare us for a season than Adrian could ever hope to.
The games counted now but it didn’t mean the opposition was much better, even if Kennesaw State is technically a Division I school. They are coming off consecutive seasons of 3-28, 4-27 and 6-25. Their coach is trying to get them on their feet, (they were an NAIA team until 1994 and a Division II team until 2005. In their nine seasons in Division I they were 75-200. I wonder what the point is of such a school playing Division I ball. Their coach, Jimmy Lallathin is trying to upgrade the program with transfers but that’s usually a temporary fix. Schools like this should be in Division II where they can have winning season and contend for championships. Even with the transfers, they were no match for Syracuse, losing 89-42. We out-rebounded them 56-26 and forced 25 turnovers.
We thought Hampton might be a more formidable opponent. They were 18-13 last year and a favorite in their conference. Then they got blasted by Iowa, 56-90. It appeared we might have another walk-over. Instead Hampton refused to go down easily. They hung with us on the boards, 32-38, had only 15 turnovers and actually ran the fast break better than we did, getting 6 more fast break points and, amazingly 2 more points in the paint than we did. (Vs. Kennesaw, we had 10 more fast break points and 36 more points in the paint). It was 45-40 with 9:12 left when Trevor Cooney awoke from the dead with a big three pointer to start a 13-2 run that put the game away. We won 65-47 but left the game wondering about how strong Iowa might be- especially since we might be playing them in New York at the end of the week.
Here’s the rest, with comments based on what I’ve read in pre-season magazines. It may not reflect late changes. (see this article for an explanation of TV designations: http://www.syracuse.com/axeman/index.ssf/2013/11/syracuse_basketball_a_guide_to.html )
Thursday, November 20, 2014 at Madison Square Garden vs. CALIFORNIA on ESPN2 at 9PM
The Golden Bears are familiar with us. We beat them 95-73 in 2009, 66-60 in the 2013 NCAA tournament and 92-81 in Maui last year. Cal was a 21-14 NIT team last year. Their coach, Mike Montgomery decided to retire. Cuonzo Martin , who led Tennessee to the Sweet 16 last year, moved over to replace Montgomery. They also lost their star point guard Justin Cobbs. But three starter return. Including highly touted sophomores Jabari Bird, a 6-6 guard and Sam Singer, a 6-4 point guard, both of whom had disappointing freshman years. They will have to blossom if Cal is to have a good season. Cal also has a 7-1 center, Kinglesy Okoroh, from England, who will tower over our players, and Dwight Tarwater, (6-6 230) who transferred from Cornell, below. This game is part of the “2K Classic”, which used to be Coaches vs. Cancer and is now a fund-raiser for Wounded Warriors. The final is the next night. There will be a consolation game.
Friday, November 21, 2014 at MSG. Vs. Iowa or Texas on ESPN2 or ESPNU at 5 or 7PM
Iowa is the team that blew out Hampton by 34 before we could only beat them by 18, (and had to pull away down the stretch to make the margin that large). Comparing the box scores, Iowa shot the ball from outside better than we did (43% vs. 28%), made it harder for Hampton to score inside the arc than we did (38% vs. 47%) and rebounded much better than we did, (48-32 vs. 38-32).Iowa was a 20-13 team last year after a 19-6 start, (we can sympathize), losing to Martin’s Tennessee team in the first round of
the NCAAs. They lost their star player, Roy Devyn Marble but they have a big frontcourt, going 6-9, 7-1, 6-9 up front. I’m not sure they are quite as good as they looked vs. Hampton but we may have a chance to find out.
Texas is the highest ranked team in the tournament, (#10 in both polls: SU is #23/24, Iowa and California unranked). The Longhorns were 24-11 last year. Like us, they lost in the round of 32. The difference is, Rick Barnes gets everyone back, plus a couple of top recruits. Point guard Isaiah Taylor averaged 13 points and 4 assists a game. Kendal Yancy was a highly-touted guard recruit last year but was a disappointment. Their frontcourt of 6-8 Jonathan Holmes 6-9 Cameron Ridley and 6-10 Prince Ibeh 6-9 Connor Lammert gives them good size. Holmes was second team all-Big 12 with 13 points and 7 rebounds a game. They’ve added 6-11 Myles Turner, whom Lindy’s lists as “the nation’s #2 recruit”. Wingman Jordan Barnett, 6-6 is also a top recruit. They’ve won two blow-outs over lesser teams and we will find out how good Texas is this week, just as we’ll find out how good Syracuse is. Historically we’re tough to beat this time of year, especially in New York.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014 at Carrier Dome LOYOLA (Maryland) on RSN at 7Pm
The Greyhounds were 11-19 last year and lost 21 point scorer Dylon Cormier. If this one isn’t another easy win, that would be concerning.
Friday, November 28, 2014 at Carrier Dome HOLY CROSS on ESPN3 at 7PM
The Crusaders once won the NCAA championship. They’ve had great players like Bob Cousy, George Kaftan, Togo Palazzi, Tom Heinsohn and Ronnie Perry, none of whom will be in uniform for them this year. They did win 20 games last year, losing 14. They wound up in something called the CIT: College Insider.com Post Season Tournament, where they lost to Yale. They, too, lost their best player, 6-9 David Dudzinski. 6-7 forward Malcom Miller is their best returnee. They should be better than Loyola but not as good as Syracuse.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at MICHIGAN on ESPN at 7:30PM
This is a game in the ACC-Big 10 challenge, the diluted version of the old ACC-Big East challenge that was so great because all the teams played in quadruple-headers on consecutive nights. It will be our first meeting with the Wolverines since they beat us in the national semi-finals in March, 2013. Last year the Wolverines were a strong 28-9, 15-3 in the conference. They lost by 3 to Kentucky in the Elite 8. But they lost four key players form that team and John Belin will be doing some rebuilding. 6-7 guard Caris Levert averaged 12.9 points and was second on the team in assists with 106. But Beilein must replace his entire front line. 6-7 Cameron Chapman is the top newcomer.
Saturday, December 6, 2014 at Carrier Dome vs. ST. JOHN’S on ESPN2 at 5:15 PM.
When Syracuse left the Big East for the ACC, a decision was made to try to continue some of the old rivalries by playing former Big East teams in the pre-conference schedule. But the impact of that is to make that part of the schedule more difficult. That can be a good thing but we’ve had seasons before where losses in November and December were cited as reason for a poor seeding in the NCAA tournament or for missing it altogether. People mocked our perennial 13-0 starts but we may pine for them now and in the future. I can remember back in the 70’s when St. John’s was the biggest game of the year- and we typically lost it because St. John’s was the best team on our schedule. Now they are a preliminary to the ACC schedule. Last year the Johnnies went 20-13 and went to the NIT. They lost 6-9 Jamar Sampson, who opted for the NBA and then found he wasn’t drafted. Returning is their best player, the high scoring D’Angelo Harrison, a 6-4 guard who averaged 17.5 points and 5 rebounds a game. Backcourt mate Rysheed Jordan scored 10 a game as a freshman. They get back 6-9 Chris Obeka, who led the Big East, (yes, there’s still a Big East) in blocked shots.
Sunday, December 14. 2014 at Carrier Dome LOUISIANA TECH on ESPNU at 4PM
The Bulldogs don’t have Karl Malone but they had a heck of team last year when they went 29-8 and tied for 1st in Conference USA 13-3. They lost in the conference tournament and were snubbed by the NCAA tournament , but went to the NIT quarterfinals, where they lost to Florida State 75-78. They get four starters back from that team and will thus be a formidable opponent. Raheem Appleby, “a prolific shooting guard” scored 11 a game. When he hurt his ankle Alex Hamilton replaced him and scored 31 points against Oklahoma, led the team with 14.5ppg and made the all-conference team. 6-10 Michael Kyser is “a relentless shot-blocker”. “Speedy” Smith was the CUSA defensive player of the year. Watch out for this team!
Saturday, December 20, 2014 at Villanova on FOX at 1PM
Another former Big East rival who we will be playing on the road. Last year the Wildcats were a very strong 29-5. They won the Big East with a 16-2 record. They lost to eventual national champions Connecticut in the round of 32. They are currently ranked #12, having returned four starters and three key reserves from that team. They will be favored to repeat in the Big East and be one of the better teams in the country. They lost their leading scorer, James Bell, a 6-6 forward. Wing man Darrun Hilliard, also 6-6, was just behind Bell, (14.3 vs. 14.4) and led the team in steals. 6-7 240 Jayvon Pinkston was just behind them at 14.1ppg. Daniel Ochefu at 6-11 is a defensive and rebounding force.
Monday, December 22, 2014 at Carrier Dome COLGATE on ESPNU at 7PM
We last lost to Colgate on February 24, 1962. That streak will likely continue, although the Red Raiders aren’t as bad as they used to be. Last year they were 13-18 in the Patriot League. They led the league with 8.4 three pointers per game so they have a puncher’s chance. They do have a good 6-11 center in Ethan Jacobs (11.5 ppg).
Sunday, December 28, 2014 at Carrier Dome LONG BEACH STATE on ESPN2 at 2Pm
The 49ers were 15-17 last year but 10-6 in the Big West. Per Lindys’, they play “another jaw-dropping non-conference schedule, (at BYU, San Diego State, UCLA, Louisville, St. John’s, Xavier and Texas- oh, my!)” it seems to me that a name is missing from that group. They have a “deep, experienced backcourt” led by 6-0 Michael Caffey, who averaged 16.2ppg last year and 6-5 Tyler Lamb, (15.4)But they only have one player as tall as 6-8.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at Carrier Dome CORNELL on ESPNU at 6Pm
We last lost to Cornell on December 4, 1968. We won’t lost to them, either. They were a dismal 2-26 last year, 1-13 in the Ivy League. And their leading scorer, Nolan Kressler, transferred to Vanderbilt. They also lost Dwight Tarwater to California because he’s a graduate student and the Ivys don’t allow grad stduents to play, so Tarwater, whio played against SU for Cornell last year, will play against SU for Cal this year. They do get back 6-7 Shonn Miller, who scored 12.3 two years ago but was hurt last year. He will need plenty of help, but won’t get it.
Comment: If we get a 13-0 record through these games, it will be amazing. We’ve beaten Kennesaw State and Hampton. I think we’ll handle Loyola, Holy Cross, Colgate, Long Beach and Cornell as well. But that’s only 7 guaranteed wins. The other teams will certainly challenge us. I expect 2-3 losses, which means we’ll have very little slack heading into the ACC schedule which will be much more difficult.
