The last regular season meeting in Big East Basketball takes place tonight between the No. 6 Syracuse Orange and the Connecticut Huskies. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN. Currently the odds for the game have Syracuse favored by 4.5 points.
Tonight's game between Syracuse and Connecticut is the end of era in college basketball as the Big East is essentially breaking up completely. This could be the last time we ever see Syracuse and Connecticut take the floor against each other. But that is just a sign of the times and the expansion of the college conference scene. James Southerland looks to be back tonight for Syracuse as he's figured out his academic problems and gotten squared away. That will obviously be big for the Orange.
Syracuse has dropped two straight road games but still sits atop the Big East standings, a half game above Marquette and Georgetown in the loss column. Brandon Triche and C.J. Fair lead the Orange at more than 14 points per game and with the growing up of Michael Carter-Williams, the Orange are a very dangerous team moving forward this season. They'll certainly be a highly-ranked seed in the NCAA Tournament and a win tonight only helps them increase their lead in the conference standings. Shabazz Napier of UConn will probably have to guard Carter-Williams and there is definitely a height problem there for the Huskies. But, Napier is very hard to stop off the dribble offensively. He leads the team at better than 17 points per game.
UConn has dropped two straight home games to the Orange and haven't lost three straight at home to Syracuse since 1986-88. Kevin Ollie and the group will need to rebound well tonight to beat Syracuse. The Huskies can't play in the NCAA Tournament this season because of problems stemming from Jim Calhoun's tenure and academic problems. Overall this season Connecticut has won 10 of their 11 home games.
The Huskies will also have to shoot well tonight. Syracuse runs a very effective zone defense, contradicting the adage that a team can't win without playing tough man-to-man defense. The Orange also like to rebound and get out in transition, taking advantage of spacing the floor and Carter-Williams dishing the rock. Remember, now that he has Southerland back in the lineup it gives Syracuse another guy that can finish at the hoop. Carter-Williams leads the country at 8.5 assists per game this year.
In the end, there's probably too much Syracuse in this one. The Orange have one of their leaders back and have a very modest 4-2 record on the road this season. This game will have a lot of emotion in it but we think Syracuse does a better job of handling that.
Free Pick: Syracuse 68, Connecticut 60
College Basketball Free Picks: Syracuse at Connecticut Betting
What college basketball bettors need to know about Syracuse Orangemen at Connecticut Huskies on Wednesday (2/13/13) - a free pick from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik, with Brian Leonard.