Big East College Basketball Preview- Syracuse Orange

Here is the second installment of the Big East Men's Basketball Preview...

Syracuse Preview
Outlook

The success of Syracuse depends on their ability to return from injury. Devendorf and Rautins both tore their ACLs last year and need to bounce back for Syracuse to be in the upper third of the Big East. The loss of Donte Greene hurts, but the return of Devendorf lessens the blow. The Orange have the talent to be an Elite 8 team but if Harris and Flynn struggle at all, Syracuse could find themselves on the outside looking in. On top of that, the defense needs to improve from last year for the team to be successful.

Projected Starters

G Jonny Flynn 6-0 Sophmore
15.7 ppg 5.3 apg

As a freshman, Jonny Flynn started every game at the point guard position. Flynn prospered last year by having Donte Greene around to provide a ton of offense. Flynn turns the ball over too much to be a top point guard in the nation but his defense and ability to shoot the ball makes up for it. When tournament time rolls around, Flynn should be ready to lead this team to a Sweet 16 berth.

G Eric Devendorf 6-4 Junior
17 ppg 3.9 apg (10 games)

Devendorf went down last year with a torn ACL which really set back the team. The loss of Devendorf forced the Orange to settle with an NIT berth. Devendorf, if he can return to form, could provide help in the scoring department for Syracuse. If Devendorf is not the same player as before he went down, Syracuse will be no better than a middle of the back Big East team.

G Andy Rautins 6-5 Junior
Injured last year

Rautins did not play at all last season due to a torn ACL in his knee. Like Devendorf, Rautins needs to prove that he can return to form in order for the Orange to be effective. Rautins has a great outside shot and with Flynn running the point, Rautins can provide a big time spark at the swing position.

F Paul Harris 6-5 Junior
14.5 ppg 8.2 rpg

Harris is an explosive player that has the ability to not only post up, but hit the long shot as well. Harris is a great rebounder and can also find the open man when needed. Harris is one of the hardest working players in basketball and it shows with his defense and rebounding. Harris needs to become the leader of this team if they want to be successful.

F Arinze Onuaku 6-9 Junior
12.7 ppg 8.1 rpg

Onuaku was the surprise Syracuse needed after all of the injuries last year. He has the ability to score at any time and will look to be a double double threat every game. Arinze Onuaku is the best low post presence on the team. His ability to rebound will ensure Jim Boeheim keeps him in the starting line up.

Big East College Basketball Preview- West Virgina Mountaineers

With Basketball season fast approaching, I will be taking a look at the upcoming season for Big East Basketball. Check out the first preview with the West Virgina Mountaineers...

West Virgina Preview

Outlook
Bob Huggins put together an impressive year last year with a limited amount of talent. Joe Alexander is now in the NBA and Darris Nichols is gone as well leaving the team with some holes to fill in. Huggins did a nice job recruiting landing projected starter Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones at the forward position but failed to land an impact point guard. While the backcourt is a little thin this year, the front court has a ton of depth and will carry this team. The Mountaineers will be a top 25 team for most of the year, but with the Big East as deep as it is, some tough road losses will have this team looking at a 6th or 7th seed come March.

Projected Starters

G Joe Mazzulla 6-2 Junior
5.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg

Mazzulla will have to fill the large shoes of veteran point guard Darris Nichols. Mazzulla has the ability to make plays and has the unique ability to create scoring for himself off the dribble. This left handed point guard will be a key in leading the Mountaineers deep into March.

G Alex Ruoff 6-6 Senior
13.8 ppg

Ruoff is the leading returning scorer for the Mountaineers. Ruoff has the ability to shoot the jumper from any point on the court, especially from deep range connecting on 98 3-pointers last year. Ruoff does struggle in creating his own shots which may pose a problem when playing some of the good defensive teams in the Big East

F Da'Sean Butler 6-7 Junior
12.9 ppg 6.2 rpg

Da'Sean Butler is a multi-dimensional player who is capable of backing down the defense or shooting the long ball. Butler is better when playing on the perimeter and looks to have a similar style as recent WVU star Joe Alexander. Butler is the offensive key to this team because his ability to make plays

F Devin Ebanks 6-9 Freshman
Incoming Freshman

Ebanks, a top recruit out of high school, is one of the most talented incoming freshman in all of the country. Rated the No. 2 small forward by rivals, Ebanks is a star on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Ebanks has the potential to be a lottery pick in the future, but right now his goal is to lead this team to the final four.

F Wellington Smith 6-7 Junior
5.2 ppg 3.9 rbg

Smith will likely be the last starter on this mountaineer team, but his job is no where near safe. True freshman Kevin Jones and Junior College transfer Dee Proby have the skills to start at the division 1 level but it looks like Smith will hold them off to start the season. Smith led the team in blocks last year with 1.6 per game.

Game 5 preview

Lineups for tonight

Phillies:
Rollins. SS
Werth. RF
Utley. 2B
Howard. 1B
Burrell. LF
Victorino. CF
Feliz. 3B
Ruiz. C
Hamels. LHP

Dodgers:
Furcal. SS
Ethier. RF
Ramirez. LF
Martin. C
Loney. 1B
Blake. 3B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 2B
Billingsley. RHP

Must win for the Dodgers...

Phillies lead 3-1

Game 4 Wrap

Despite their attempts to succeed, the Dodgers dug themselves a deeper hole in Game 4 of the NLCS falling to the Phillies 7-5. The strongest aspect of the team failed miserably when the game was on the line. Broxton, Wade, and Kershaw, the future of the club in terms of pitching, all struggled immensely. The Dodgers need to get back on the horse quickly because they face an elimination game Wednesday as Phillies Ace Cole Hamels takes on Chad Billingsley. The thoughts of a World Series bid are beginning to fade away as the Matt Stairs homer keeps replaying over and over again.

The Good
Manny Ramirez-Manny had two hits and walked three times continuing his consistency at the plate
Andre Either's catch-saved the game at the time, until the Dodgers found another way to let it go...
Juan Pierre-in a rare start Pierre comes up big with two hits
Raffy Furcal-Did his job as a leadoff hitter getting on three times
Hong Chi Kuo-shattered JRolls bat, struck out Werth and Utley

The Bad
The young hurlers- Kershaw, Broxton and Wade all gave up runs despite being so clutch in the NLDS and Regular Season.
Russell Martin- Not only did he go 0-5 but he also left 8 men on base
Blake Dewitt- 0-3 with 6 LOB
Tim McCarver- The television should honestly be put on MUTE when this guy speaks

Next up

Chad Billingsley vs. Cole Hamels
Wednesday Night 8:22pm

Chad Billingsley needs to bounce back with a quality start if the Dodgers want to find a way to pull out this series. Dodgers down 3-1 and if they can find a way to win Wednesday, they will head back to Philly.

Game 3 Wrap

In front of a packed house, the LA Dodgers continued their dominance at home taking down the Phillies 7-2. Fans were going crazy, especially in the third inning when Dodgers pitcher Hiroki Kuroda went head hunting against Shane Victorino. Whether or not the throwing at Victorino was intentional, the message was clear: "Don't mess with us." The Dodgers meant it too. After being thrown at repetitively, the Dodgers sought revenge and achieved it on Sunday Night. Not only did the Dodgers win the game, they pushed the momentum back onto their side. Joe Blanton will start Game 4 for the Phillies against Derek Lowe. Torre chose Lowe over young gun Clayton Kershaw and old timer Greg Maddux.

The Good
-Blake Dewitt's 3 run triple in the first
-Kuroda's protection of his teammates
-Furcal's reemergence as a phenomenal lead off hitter
-The ability to stay jump on pitcher Jaime Moyer
-The pitching staff as a whole
-Ryan Howard breaking out of his slump going 2-4

The Bad
-Jeff Kent's late inning at bat (struck out on three pitches)
-Jaime Moyer's performance (1.1 innings and 6 ER)
-Jimmy Rollins offensive performance (0-4 in Game 3 and .077 on the series)

Next Game
Blanton vs. Lowe Tonight at 8:22pm on FOX.
(Phillies lead series 2-1)

Rutgers Football vs. UC

Rutgers Football struggled again this week losing 13-10 to the Bearcats of Cincinnati. Cincinnati improves their record to 5-1 and will take on UCONN in their next game after a bye week. Rutgers football falls to 1-5 and will return home to take on UConn next Saturday. The questions continue for Rutgers football.

The Good
Teddy Dellaganna- 10 punts for an average of 46.6 yards including a bomb at 61 yards
San San Te- 50 yard FG
Tim Brown on ST-Finally a return man that can catch and run
The Defense as a whole-limited UC to 13 points and UC was 0-11 on 3rd down
Kordell Young-22 rushes for 78 yards

The Bad
Mike Teel- Consistently makes terrible throws when receivers are wide open
Mike Teel- Can not lead a two min. drive to save his life
Tiquan Underwood- Does he even play for RU anymore?
-0 receptions vs. UC
-1 reception for 5 yards vs. WVU
-2 receptions for 28 yards vs. Morgan St.
-1 reception for 20 yards vs. Navy
This guy was suppose to be a go to guy, now he should begin to ride the pine
Drops- Kenny Britt had two key drops, Underwood had two drops

Overall, the team needs to begin looking towards the future. Being 1-5, a bowl bid appears to be out of reach, Schiano needs to start looking towards the future

My suggestion on changes:
-Bench Mike Teel in favor of CPE (enough said)
-Give David Rowe more time in the secondary (when he has played he has done well)
-Find a way to establish the run (this team can not win without a running game)
-Find a new OC (the play calling has been terrible)

Predictions
If Teel starts and plays the majority of the game RU loses by 10.
If CPE starts and plays the majority of the game RU wins by 3.

I usually do not put that much stock in one person but Mike Teel has looked lost.

I'll leave you with this quote from former Rutgers Quarterback and ex NFL star Ray Lucas

"Mike Teel could not throw the ball in the ocean if he was standing on the beach"

-EW

Dodgers Game 3

After some tough losses in the city of brotherly love, the Dodgers return home to take on the Jaime Moyer and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Some Notes:
Jaime Moyer vs. Hiroki Kuroda
Nomar will get the start at 1b due to his success against Moyer in the past

Lineups

Phillies:
Rollins. SS
Victorino. CF
Utley. 2B
Howard. 1B
Burrell. LF
Werth. RF
Feliz. 3B
Ruiz. C
Moyer. LHP

Dodgers:
Furcal. SS
Ethier. RF
Ramirez. LF
Martin. C
Garciaparra. 1B
Blake. 3B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 2B
Kuroda. RHP

-EW

While its usually Colletti, Reagins and the Angels finally screwed up

Casey Kotchman and a prospect for Mark Teixeira.

An interesting trade based on a few things:
-Kotchman is currently hitting .287 Teixeira is hitting .283
-Kotchman has 12 Homeruns, Teixeira 20 homeruns
-Kotchman arguably the best defensive first baseman, Teixeira not on that level
-Kotchman signed through 2011 while Teixeira is done after 08

The Angels, its tough for me to say, are currently the best team in baseball. They have the best pitching staff. They have an above average hitting team and they have one of the best bullpens in the league. Once the 8th inning comes around, game over with sheilds and frankie come in.

With that being said, I think they royally screwed up. They had a young, successful first baseman who still has not hit his prime. Kotchman, as said before, is probably the best defensive first baseman in the league and although he does not have the power numbers, he makes up for it in defense.

The angels made a big mistake in trading one of their young talents for a virtual rent-a-player. I understand the Angels are making a run for this year, but they are already the best team in baseball. Kotchman was a big reason for this. The angels will regret this trade when they go into the playoffs and lose in the first round because their new "power hitter" strikes out or boots a ball at first.

The Angels were better off now and for the future with Casey Kotchman.