Syracuse-DePaul: Preview and Prediction
Feb 02, 2013; Rosemont, IL, USA; DePaul Blue Demons guard Brandon Young (20) dribbles the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Jerian Grant (22) defends during the second half at Allstate Arena. Notre Dame won 79-71 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
The Syracuse Orange look to halt a three game skid on senior night in the Carrier Dome against the DePaul Blue Demons. Tipoff is set for 7:00 on Jim Boeheim Court, and is being televised on Time Warner Cable Sports in the Syracuse Market and SNY for the rest of New York.
While the circumstances surrounding this game are not as ideal as Syracuse fans would hope for, this game still has a lot of good story lines heading in to this game. Syracuse enters this game eliminated from contention for defending their Big East Regular Season Championship, but definitely need to work on things and right the ship before heading down to DC to take on the Georgetown Hoyas this weekend. This game is also the final Big East game in the history of the Carrier Dome, as well as being the finale for Orange seniors Matt Laude-Cajuste, Griffin Hoffman, Brandon Triche, and James Southerland.
I’m going to be blunt here: DePaul stinks. The Blue Demons have struggled mightily in conference this season, sitting in the basement of the Big East with a 2-14 record. DePaul has conference wins over Rutgers and Providence, and has their best win of the season being a victory over an absolutely terrible Auburn Tiger team. This is the Blue Demons’ final Big East road game of the season, and would be the biggest win of the season for the program if they could find a way to get it done. Here are the probable starting lineups in the Dome tonight:
DePaul |
Syracuse
#12 Cleveland Melvin, F, Junior
#5 CJ Fair, F, Junior
#23 Donnavan Kirk, F, Junior
#25 Rakeem Christmas, F, Sophomore
#0 Worrel Clahar, G, Senior
#3 Jerami Grant, F, Freshman
#20 Brandon Young, G, Junior
#1 Michael Carter-Williams, G, Sophomore
#32 Charles McKinney, G, Sophomore
#20 Brandon Triche, G, Senior
DePaul is led by what can only be described as their only two scorers on the team. Junior forward Cleveland Melvin has seven double-doubles on the season, averaging 16.5 points a game while grabbing over seven rebounds a contest. Melvin is a 6’8 athletic player that has the capability to block a lot of shots and steal the basketball in the paint. It will be a tall order for him to be highly productive against the 2-3 zone tonight, but he is athletic enough to have an impact on this game.
The other offensive threat the Blue Demons bring to the table is junior guard Brandon Young. Young has over 100 assists on the season, and has scored just under 17 points a game. While the Big East isn’t as strong top to bottom as it has been in recent years, those are still very impressive stats for a player on a team that doesn’t have a lot of strong points. Young is also very capable of making a three ball, with 27 three pointers on the season. If the Orange lose him beyond the arc, he is a player that can definitely light up the scoreboard and make Syracuse pay for a defensive mistake.
This game is going to be interesting to see how this team plays on offense. Under ideal circumstances this would have been a game that fans would be worried that the Orange would overlook, but given the way the team has played over the past week and a half I don’t see that as an issue tonight. I think Jim Boeheim will definitely work on running some sets and working on some things on offense, and hopefully the team will gain some confidence in their ability to make a jump shot before the Georgetown game. I think we saw a team that had trouble dealing with the pressure from the hype of the first Syracuse-Georgetown game, so any confidence the team can gain could take them a long way on Saturday.
I think that this game will be a Syracuse-Providence type of game, as DePaul really doesn’t have the talent to hang with the Orange. Look for Syracuse to have an absolutely monstrous advantage on the glass, and the Orange will have a blowout under their belt heading in to the Verizon Center this weekend for what will be a historic game.
Prediction
Syracuse 76
DePaul 49