2015 Orange Awards

by James Finneral

Although this year was unsuccessful overall for Syracuse, we have to look at the positives. This year's team had some talented players, but they just could not come together as a team. Here are a couple of the Orange players that should be recognized for their performances.

Most Improved Player:  

Michael Gbinije transferred from Duke University and did not have a great season in 2013-2014. This year Gbinije was a starter for the Orange and played a pivotal role on the team. He was an all around guy for Syracuse and supplied athleticism which the Orange needed in the ACC. Gbinije played the second most minutes on the team and never missed a game. Gbinije's jump shot is coming along well and will probably improve even more by next season. Look for Gbinije to have a nice senior season and be a leader for the Orange.

Defensive/Offensive MVP:      

Rakeem Christmas was the heart and soul of Syracuse this year. The fourth year senior was the true leader of the team and performed on both the offensive and defensive end. He averaged the second most points in the ACC with 17.5 points per game. The Orange offense flowed around Christmas. They constantly tried to get Christmas the ball in the post where he could either go to work or dish it out to a shooter. His presence was also felt on the defensive end averaging 9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. These numbers are even more impressive when you take into account the other powerhouse big men in the ACC who guarded Christmas. Christmas was recognized for his efforts when he was named to the All ACC First Team. He completely deserved that achievement and he should also be recognized for keeping Syracuse afloat this year. It must have been a frustrating senior season for Christmas, but he did his best to help out the Orange.  

A Look Into the Final Showdown in Indianapolis

by James Finneral

After all the madness this March we are finally down to two teams. The Wisconsin Badgers have hit their stride in the tournament and are coming off a big win against the formerly undefeated, Kentucky Wildcats. Another team that has peaked in the tournament is the Duke Blue Devils. The Blue Devils have been battle tested in both the regular season and the tournament. Both teams are loaded with talent and this game will probably come down to the wire.

#1 Wisconsin vs. #1 Duke:  

These teams matchup very well against each other. The battle between Frank Kaminsky and Jahlil Okafor will be one for the ages. Both Kaminsky and Okafor will get their fill, but they will have to earn it. The Justise Winslow matchup against Sam Dekker and/or Nigel Hayes will also be fun to watch. All three of these guys are very athletic and can dribble drive to the rim. It will be interesting to see who Coach K sticks on Dekker and who he sticks on Hayes. This will definitely be a close game, but I think the difference in this game will be Quinn Cook of Duke. Duke has many young players who will be drafted to the NBA, but the heart and soul of this Blue Devils team is Quinn Cook. Cook has been productive all year and has been a model of consistency in the tournament. He is yet to score under 10 points in the tournament. Wisconsin will be game planning for Jahlil Okafor when they should probably be worrying about how to slow down Cook. I believe Cook will get it going from three point range and give the Blue Devils the push they need to come out on top in the end. As I said in my Final Four predictions, if Sam Dekker is able to keep playing at a high level then Wisconsin will be tough to beat. With a very athletic Winslow on him, I think Dekker will be slightly slowed down and Wisconsin will not get the same production out of him as they have in the past two games. This one can go either way, but I believe Coach K will add another incredible feat to his resume.

Prediction: #1 Duke 71........... #1 Wisconsin 69 

Will This Final Four Live Up to the Hype?

by James Finneral

The 2015 Final Four features three one seeds, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Duke. The fourth team is the Michigan State Spartans, who have taken out some of the best teams in the country just to make it to Indianapolis. Here's a look at the two games going down on Saturday.

#1 Kentucky vs. #1 Wisconsin: 

This game is the equivalent to a national championship. These are the two hottest teams coming into the Final Four and the winner will have a good chance against either Duke or Michigan State. This is also a rematch from last year's Final Four where the eight seeded Wildcats beat the Badgers by a score of 74-73. Wisconsin will be playing with a chip on their shoulder and they are certainly capable of taking down Kentucky, but I will give a slight edge to Kentucky. As of now Wisconsin is being powered by their superstar front-court players, Frank Kaminsky and Sam Dekker. These guys have been excellent in the tournament, but they are going to have a tougher time against the Kentucky front-court as opposed to the Arizona front-court. On the other hand Wisconsin will win this ball game if Sam Dekker plays similar to his Elite Eight game where he went 5-6 from behind the arch and finished with 27 points. Trey Lyles may try to match up with Dekker, which would most likely give Dekker a solid opportunity to create open shots for himself. The X Factors in this game for Kentucky are the Harrison twins. This is where Kentucky can create the greatest matchup problems for Wisconsin. The twins have been to the Final Four before and will be great leaders for the Wildcats. Bronson Koenig is going  to have trouble keeping up with Andrew Harrison and Harrison is going to be able to get to the lane and kick it out to his brother or Devin Booker. This is going to be a dog fight that will come down to the last possession of the game. It will be interesting to see if history repeats itself or not.

Prediction: #1 Kentucky 78........ #1 Wisconsin 76 (OT)


#1 Duke vs. #7 Michigan State:

Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo have once again lead their squads to the Final Four and one of them will be heading to the championship. Duke and Michigan State are two of the most successful programs in history and they are both hungry for another title. Michigan State has taken out the likes of Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville. The Spartans seem to have something special about them, but I think this is where their journey ends. Michigan State has some great guards in Travis Trice, Denzel Valentine and Bryn Forbes, but they will be matched by Duke's incredible guard duo of Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook. The difference in this game will be Duke center and Wooden Award Finalist, Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is going to cause some real problems Matt Costello and the Michigan State front-court. Okafor will be able to overpower Costello and if he is double teamed he can kick it to shooters on the perimeter. Michigan State will certainly make this a close contest. Branden Dawson has been an intangibles guy for Michigan State and has really picked up his play in the tournament. If Dawson can help Costello contain Okafor, the Spartans can pull out a win. This will be a battle, but I give a slight edge to the Blue Devils.

Prediction: #1 Duke 70......... #7 Michigan State 67 

The Final Four always showcases some great basketball and this year will be no different. This is shaping up to be one of the best Final Fours yet and it will all come down to who wants it more.

   

Elite 8 Predictions: Day 1

by James Finneral

After having sixty-eight teams announced in this year's field, we are down to the Elite Eight. In past years the Elite Eight has showcased some of the greatest games in tournament history and this year should be no different. Lets take a look into the first two games of the Elite Eight.

#1 Kentucky vs. #3 Notre Dame:

Notre Dame is a great team with some talented players, but they are going to have issues containing the size and strength of Kentucky. The Irish have Zach Auguste and 6'6" Bonzie Colson down low. These guys will not be able to match up against Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Trey Lyles, who are all at least 6'10". Look for Kentucky to get many second chances from offensive rebounds leading to easy scores. The only way Notre Dame will be able to win this game is if they shoot the lights out. With Jerian Grant, Pat Connaughton and Demitrius Jackson, the Irish are certainly capable of taking over a game from behind the three point arch. Unfortunately for Notre Dame the Harrison twins of Kentucky will do a nice job containing the shooters and Notre Dame will have nowhere else to turn. Even if the Notre Dame guards play well, Kentucky will have too much of an advantage in the post.

Prediction: #1 Kentucky 68...... #3 Notre Dame 54


#1 Wisconsin vs. #2 Arizona:

This game is a rematch of last year's Elite Eight except Wisconsin is now a one seed and Arizona is a two seed. Last year's game ended dramatically with Arizona's, Nick Johnson missing a buzzer beater and Wisconsin advancing to the Final Four. I believe we are in store for a similar treat because these two teams are equally talented. Arizona has a talented point guard in T.J. McConnell to go along with 6'7" wingman Stanley Johnson. Wisconsin also has a nice wing with Traevon Jackson, Negil Hayes and Sam Dekker. The difference in this game is going to be Wisconsin senior big man, Frank Kaminsky. Kaminsky has been the leader for Wisconsin all year and has been nothing short of phenomenal in the tournament. Nothing against Kaleb Tarczewski, but he will not be able to handle Frank the Tank down low. This game will go down to the wire, but Kaminsky will give Wisconsin the slight edge that they need to knock out the Wildcats and head to Indianapolis.

Prediction : #1 Wisconsin 62....... #2 Arizona 58 

Potential Early Upsets in the Tournament

by James Finneral

They don't call it March Madness for no reason. Year in and year out the NCAA Tournament provides us with multiple exciting games filled with overtimes, buzzer beaters and yes upsets. There are shocking upsets in just about each round of the tournament and the people of America try to predict where these upsets will take place in their brackets. I will give you a couple games in the round of 64 where some upsets could take place. If you use this article to help fill out your bracket and you are correct, you can thank me, but if not it was your choice and you only have yourself to blame.

Midwest Region: 

#11 Texas over #6 Butler:

Butler is a great team that could do some damage in the tournament, but they hit some bad luck drawing Texas for their first game. The Longhorns are big, physical, athletic and create some real matchup problems for Butler. Firstly Texas is 8th in the country in rebounds per game and Butler is outside the top 50. Myles Turner at 6'11", 240 lbs is going to be a nightmare for Kameron Woods to match up with. Look for Turner to come down with many offensive rebounds leading to easy buckets. Another potential issue for Butler will be the Texas back-court. Although Roosevelt Jones and Kellen Dunham are good, they are not going to be able to match the speed and athleticism of Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix. Taylor is one of the premier guards in the country and he will have to perform big time for the Long Horns to make a run in the tournament. Overall the matchups will greatly favor Texas and they have a good chance to knock off Butler.

West Region:

#10 Ohio State over #7 VCU:

There is nothing about VCU that makes them likely to be upset, but Ohio State has one of the best players in the entire nation in D'Angelo Russell. Russell's numbers don't lie. He has averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists per game in a very tough Big Ten Conference. Russell has the ability to take over basketball games and I think he will do just that against VCU. He can hurt you from inside and out and very few teams have found the solution to stopping him. Also look for Sam Thompson to use his athleticism to his advantage and come up with many baskets from drives to the hoop. VCU has played some talented teams, but they have yet to face a player of Russell's caliber. No matter how much they prepare for him VCU will be not be able to slow Russell down and the rest of the Ohio State offense will flow because of this.

East Region:

#9 LSU over #8 NC State:

Although this is only a 9 over 8 upset, many people seem to think that NC State has this game locked up and should look forward to Villanova. NC State should be focussing all their energy towards LSU because the Tigers are absolutely no joke. The reason why LSU will win this game is simple, they have a powerhouse front-court. Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin have been the best players for the Tigers this year and have both earned spots on the All SEC First Team. These two both make their presence known on the offensive and defensive end. This year LSU has averaged the 12th most rebounds per game and a large part of that comes from Mickey and Martin. NC State is going to have trouble containing both of them down low. They will also not be able to get very many offensive rebounds, limiting their second chances. Trevon Lacey of NC State will be tough for the LSU guards to defend, but it will not matter because Mickey and Martin will take over the game. NC State's front-court is just not strong enough to contain this dynamic duo and LSU will be the team that needs to focus their efforts on Villanova.

South Region:

#12 Stephen F. Austin over #5 Utah:

Utah has had a tremendous season and their program is rising, but I do not think they are a tournament team. As for this Stephen F. Austin team they are looking to at least match their performance last year, where they knocked out the number five seeded, VCU Rams. The Lumberjacks are returning many guys this year and are hungry for a deep run. They are led by junior, Thomas Walkup who has been productive in all aspects this year. This Stephen F. Austin team has a chance to take down Utah this year because of their ability to share the basketball. They lead the country in assists per game with nearly 18. When you share the basketball typically you create open shots and Stephen F. Austin has done that all year. They are 5th in the country in field goal percentage, shooting nearly 50% from the field. The Lumberjacks create open looks by sharing the basketball and with many knock down shooters, they can be a tough team to stop. I believe Stephen F. Austin will go on huge runs against Utah and Utah will not have the resilience to fight back. There has to be one 5 over 12 upset and this will be it.

This looks to be an extremely exciting tournament and I cannot wait to see what madness is in store for us.

Day 4: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

The 2015 Big East Championship game showcased the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers. Both teams had to fight past quality ball clubs to make it to the championship game. It was obvious that both teams wanted the win, but it was also obvious that one team wanted it more than the other.

Villanova came out knocking down jump shots and putting instant pressure on the Xavier offense. Josh Hart was a huge contributor off the bench once again with 15 points and 7 rebounds. JayVaughn Pinkston also came up big in the first half and did an excellent job of containing Matt Stainbrook in the post. With Stainbrook essentially taken out of the game, Xavier found themselves down by 13 at half time. In the second half Xavier would go on little runs, but it was not nearly enough to cancel out the performances from Dylan Ennis and Darrun Hilliard. The second half never really became exciting because Xavier never trimmed the lead down to single digits. The game ended with a final score of 69-52. Hilliard finished with 12 points and 4 rebounds and Ennis finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds. The overall team effort is what allowed Nova to cruise past Xavier.

Villanova was the strongest team in the Big East all year long and deserve to bring home the trophy. With this victory under their belt, the Wildcats have most likely locked up a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. It will be interesting to see how Villanova and other Big East teams will fare in the big dance.

Day 3: Big East Tournament

by James Finneral

Yesterday consisted of two great games featuring teams that should get into the NCAA Tournament. Coming into the semi finals people expected some intense match-ups and these games did not disappoint.

#1 Villanova vs. #4 Providence:

This game featured the Co MVPs of the Big East in Ryan Arcidiacono and Kris Dunn. Kris Dunn looked like the real MVP in this game and lead the way for Providence with 22 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Frairs basketball is a team sport and their team did not play their best. In the early going Providence's defense was pitiful allowing many layups. Luckily for them Villanova did not take full advantage of the defensive lapses and only lead by 5 at halftime. In the second half the Friars came to life. Although a lot of their points were scored by Kris Dunn, the Friars team looked more energized and focused on the defensive end. For Villanova Daniel Ochefu, Darrun Hilliard and Josh Hart all played well and combined for 45 of the Wildcat's 63 points. The saying "big time players step up in big time games" cannot be emphasized enough in this game. Although Arcidiacono only scored 6 points, he stepped up when his team needed him to. The game was tied with three seconds to go and Arcidiacono drew a foul on Ben Bentil of Providence. Just like big time players should Arcidiacono knocked down both his free throws and won the Wildcats the game after a half court heave from LaDontae Henton. The final score ended up being 63-61 and Villanova is back in the Big East Championship after being knocked out early last year. Villanova played hard all game and deserved to win this one. They are just one game away from one of their main goals and they need to stay focussed and finish the drill.

#2 Georgetown vs. #6 Xavier:

Xavier proved to the nation last night that they are very worthy of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Big Matt Stainbrook had his way down low and was the key for the Musketeer's offense. When Georgetown double teamed Stainbrook it opened opportunities for shooters to have good looks at the hoop. With their offense flowing Xavier was up by 9 points at halftime. In the early second half Xavier dominated and was up by as much as 21, but then the let their guard down. Georgetown started knocking down jump shot after jump shot and made it a very close game down the stretch. It all came down to free throws in the end and although Xavier missed a couple they were still able to make enough to win the game. For Georgetown Jabril Tarwick had 19 points and Isaac Copeland had 15 points and 7 rebounds. It was a valiant effort by Georgetown, but they dug themselves into too deep a hole in the early second half. Stainbrook lead all scorers with 20 points and he also grabbed 9 rebounds. Xavier advances to face the number one seeded Villanova Wildcats for the Big East Championship. Xavier seems to be hitting their stride at the right time and have a chance to knock off the Wildcats if they play their best.