Orangemen Take Step Up In Rankings

Thanks to UCONN's 78-63 loss to Pittsburgh last week, Syracuse (15-0, 2-0) has taken the Huskies place at #4 in the nation in both the ESPN/USA Today and AP Top 25 polls that were recently released. The Orangemen are now the highest ranked Big East team in the country.

Big East teams receiving AP rankings are:

4. Syracuse

5. Pittsburgh

7. Villanova

8. Connecticut

13. Georgetown

14. Notre Dame

24. Cincinnati

Also receiving votes was Louisville.

In the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll the rankings vary slightly. UCONN is ranked 9th in the coaches poll, Notre Dame remained at #15 and Louisville is ranked #23 while Cincinnati is ranked 25th. In total there are an amazing eight Big East teams ranked in the Coaches Poll.

For those of you keeping score at home, the ACC just has 1 ranked squad [Duke]. For complete rankings, click here.

Conference Play Set to Start - Providence and Syracuse Square Off

Syracuse basketball fans have enjoyed watching their team jump out to a 13-0 start and a #5 ranking nationally. Beating then #8 Michigan State in Madison Square Garden by 14 was fantastic. Winning the Legends Classic down in Atlantic City, NJ was wonderful. Now it's time to bunker down and get SERIOUS about Syracuse basketball. Throw those 13 games out and get ready for the toughest test in college hoops. The Big East regular season schedule.

Seven of sixteen Big East members are ranked in the Top-25. Two more teams are receiving votes from both the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today polls. To raise the stakes even higher, five of the nations Top-10 teams hail from the Big East Conference. Even the ACC's biggest cheerleader Dick Vitale tweeted today that "Flat out the Big East will be the best conference in the nation!" Will be? We've been for years!

Today, Syracuse will take on their first Big East conference member, the Providence Friars (11-2), in the Carrier Dome at 9:00PM on ESPNU. Although unranked, the Friars are averaging 81.2 points per game (17th in the nation) and 42.5 rebounds per contest (5th in the nation) and it's their best start since the 1988-89 season. The Friars have yet to play any ranked opponents, and their two losses came against La Salle (84-73) and at Boston College (88-86). Providence also beat Morgan state 77-55, a team Syracuse beat 97-55 back on December 20th.

Marshon Brooks (6'5" 190 pounds) a senior out of Stone Mountain, Georgia is leading the Friars this season with 23.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Brooks has scored a season high 33 points twice this season, most recently against Alabama. He is also shooting 35.5% from 3-point range this season and has six double-doubles through 13 games this season.

Providence is also getting good production from Brooklyn born guard Vincent Council (6'2" 180 pounds). Council is averaging 16 points, 6.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. He shoots 33.9% from beyond the arc and dropped a season high 29 points against Wyoming on November 24th. Against Brown on December 6th Council dished out a season high 16 assists.

Gerard Coleman (6'4" 170 pounds) is another offensive contributor for the Friars, averaging 10.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. In Providence's win over Alabama Coleman had a season high 18 points for the Friars.

Providence has had an interesting travel schedule. Originally set to depart Rhode Island via airplane, the Friar's flight was cancelled due to the winter snow storm that has literally crippled the North East. As a result, the Friars boarded a team bus at 12:30PM on Monday and they will be busing it to the Carrier Dome in order to arrive on time for the 9:00 tip.

For the Orangemen, C.J. Fair has returned to practice following the Christmas break. While the rest of the team went home for the holidays, Fair stayed behind and received treatment consisting of ice baths and ultrasound to loosen up the ankle and get back on the court quickly. Fair told reporters "I expect to play on Tuesday," which is good news for Syracuse fans.

Fab Melo, who was looking extremely impressive against Morgan State with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 4 blocks on 3 of 4 shooting rolled his ankle during the contest and was limited to just 8 minutes against Drexel in Syracuse's final tune-up before the conference schedule began. Melo practiced on Sunday along with the rest of the team and did not appear to be limited.

As usual, check back with The Cuse Connection for complete recap and analysis from the first Big East conference basketball game of the season.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Syracuse (11-0) Stays at #5 in ESPN/USA Today and AP Top 25

If any basketball analysts call you up and talk to you about Syracuse's non-conference strength of schedule or how difficult their travel itinerary was, be sure to point this out to them:

Five of the top 10 teams in both the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 are from the Big East! Don't let Dick Vitale convince you that the Big 10 (11?) or the ACC is the cream of the crop. It's the Big East, and it has been for years.

No one needs to worry about the non-conference schedule for the Syracuse Orangemen. Once conference play begins, the gauntlet is on!

Duke remains #1, however there are no other ACC teams in sight. In the AP Top 25 Connecticut is the highest ranked Big East program, grabbing the #4 spot, immediately followed by Syracuse (#5) and Pittsburgh (#6). At #8 is Villanova and #10 is the Georgetown Hoyas.

In the Coaches Poll, the 4-5-6 is the same, however Georgetown is ranked #9 in the country.

Rounding out ranked Big East teams are Notre Dame (#22 in AP, #20 in ESPN/USA TODAY) and Louisville (#25 ESPN/USA TODAY, NR in AP Top 25). West Virginia is nipping at the heels of the top 25 in the Coaches Poll, coming in 28th with 32 votes.

Louisville is just outside the AP Top 25 with 124 votes, enough for 26th place. Also receiving votes in the AP Top 25 are West Virginia, Cincinnati and Drexel, Syracuse's opponent on Wednesday.

For the complete rankings, click here. Photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Big East Conference Roundup (Week 7)

One cannot talk about Big East Football this week without starting with Rutgers junior defensive tackle Eric LeGrand. During Saturday's game against Army at the New Meadowlands Stadium, LeGrand ran down the field on kickoff coverage with 5 minutes and change left in the game and delivered a tackle to the Army return man Malcolm Brown. He laid on the ground motionless and was carted off the field.

Yesterday, everyone's worst fears became reality when they announced that LeGrand underwent emergency spinal cord surgery and it was determined that he is now paralyzed from the neck down.

In a sport as violent as football its a wonder more serious injuries don't occur every day. However, when it does its always a shock. Eric LeGrand, a 6'3" 263 pound junior from Avenal, New Jersey is currently in the Intensive Care Unit at Hackensack University Medical Center.

Fans who wish to send Eric LeGrand a message can do so by clicking here thanks to a website set up by Rutgers University. I'm not sure what one says to a young man who loved the game of football as much as he did, and who now has now has to make sense of this tragedy, but for those of you who are able to find the words you can click here and send them directly to him.

Scores from around the Big East:

West Virginia defeated South Florida 20-6 in a Thursday night match up. BJ Daniels followed up his awful performance against the cuse with an even worse one. Daniels threw 3 interceptions on 20 of 30 passing for just 119 yards. He ran for 4 yards as well. West Virginia is now 5-1 overall (1-0 Big East) and ranked 20th in both polls. Next week West Virginia will host Syracuse at 12 noon on ESPN2. South Florida (3-3 overall, 0-2 Big East) will travel to Cincinnati for a Friday night game.

Speaking of Cincinnati, they won a shootout against Louisville 35-27 on the road. Zach Collaros threw for 5 touchdowns (and 2 interceptions) on 18 of 28 pasing attempts for 275 yards for Cinci. Isaiah Pead ran for 145 yards on 21 carries for the Bearcats, and Bilal Powell ran for 209 yards and 2TDs for Louisville. Armon Binns caught 8 balls for 175 yards and 3 TDs for Cinci as well. Louisville will host UCONN at home Saturday at 3:30PM on ESPNU.

Finally Rutgers defeated Army in overtime 23-20 in East Rutherford, NJ. Rutgers will travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday for a noon kickoff.

Current Big East Standings:

1. West virginia 5-1 (1-0)

2. Rutgers 4-2 (1-0)

3. Cincinnati 3-3 (1-0)

4. Pittsburgh 3-3 (1-0)

5. SYRACUSE 4-2 (1-1)

6. Connecticut 3-3 (0-1)

7. Louisville 3-3 (0-1)

8. South Florida 3-3 (0-2)

Syracuse's loss drops them from 1st place down to 5th place in the Big East standings.

Big East Roundup (Week 6)

Now that the dust has settled on an outstanding Syracuse weekend and we all begin to dry out from what was surely two nights of celebration, we can sit back and look at how the rest of the Big East did this weekend.

The first game on the slate this weekend was the Friday night game UCONN at Rutgers. Rutgers freshman QB Chas Dodd starting in place of Tom Savage threw for 18/29 322 yards and 2 TDs. Rutgers scored 10 straight 4th quarter points to edge the Huskies in Piscataway, final score 27-24. Rutgers kicked a 34 yard field goal with just 13 seconds left to give them the edge on this night. Rutgers will host Army at the New Meadowlands stadium this Saturday at 2PM while UCONN will be enjoying a bye week.

Louisville absolutely destroyed Memphis at home, 56-0. Louisville quarterback Adam Froman threw for 235 yards on 12 of 16 attempts with 4 TD passes. Bilal Powell, Cardinal running back, tallied 204 rushing yards of his own to go along with 2 rushing scores. The Cards defense held Memphis to just 39 rushing yards on the day and it was the program's first shut out since beating Temple 62-0 in 2006. Louisville will face off against Cincinnati at home this weekend to open up their conference schedule.

Pittsburgh traveled to South Bend this past Saturday and lost to the Fightin' Irish 23-17 in a contest that was hardly ever in doubt. Pittsburgh would jump out to an early 3-0 lead, however Notre Dame responded with 20 unanswered points. The loss drops Pittsburgh to 2-3 on the year. It was Notre Dame's first win over Pitt since 2005. Additionally, they haven't beaten Pitt in South Bend since 2002. Pittsburgh will travel to Syracuse next week.

Elsewhere in the conference West Virginia topped UNLV at home 49-10 and Cincinnati dominated Miami of Ohio 45-3. Geno Smith of WVU threw three touchdown passes, all to Brad Starks, and Noel Devine rushed for two scores of his own in this lopsided victory. Cinci would jump out to a quick 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Zach Collaros threw for 3 TD passes and 216 total yards and Isaiah Pead rushed for 197 yards on 10 carries with 1 TD. Next week Cinci will travel to Louisville in a Big East match up, and West Virginia will host South Florida on ESPN Thursday night at 7:30.

Through six weeks of Big East play, the conference standings are as follows:

1. SYRACUSE 4-1 (1-0)

2. Rutgers 3-2 (1-0)

3. West Virginia 4-1

4. Louisville 3-2

5. Cincinnati 2-3

6. Pittsburgh 2-3

7. South Florida 3-2 (0-1)

8. Connecticut 3-3 (0-1)

[UPDATE: Senior Max Suter named Big East Defensive Player of the week. Suter recorded 8 tackles, six of them solo three for a loss, and a sack. Suter was a 2007 Big East Special Teams Player of the week in 2007 after a 93 yard kickoff return for a touch down in Louisville.]

Catching Up with the Syracuse Orangemen Defense

The Syracuse Orangemen's football season is one third of the way through and the defense has been responding in a big way. Last season Syracuse's passing defense left much to be desired and it was the rushing defense that kept the Orangemen in the game. This season with a year of experience and a few fresh faces both areas of the defense have seen improvements and the early season results are in.

We are all very aware that SU has played two FCS opponents and Akron, however after enduring years of losing and humiliation at the hands of college football's bottom feeders, it feels good to win the games you EXPECT to win. Now Syracuse has to carry these good vibes and winning ways into the conference schedule. A conference schedule packed with mediocre teams.

FBS Defensive Standings:

Points per game - 16.3 - 23rd overall

Rushing yards - 526 - T-29th overall

Rushing yards per attempt - 3.7 - T-41st overall

Passing yards - 678 - 16th overall

Passing yards per game - 169.5 - 23rd overall

Total Yards per game - 301.0 - 25th overall

Individually Syracuse has gotten big performances out of Derrell Smith, Chandler Jones and true freshman Marquis Spruill. Smith is currently the team's leading tackler with 39 total tackles in 4 games, 23 of them unassisted, 3 tackles for a loss and two forced fumbles. Phillip Thomas is second on the team in tackles with 32 total and Spruill is third with 24 tackles, 12 of them solo and 3 tackles for a loss.

Chandler Jones has 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles to go along with 20 tackles. He is clearly one of the leaders on the defense along with Derrell Smith, and his huge frame has helped him to knock down 3 passes thus far this season. Jones also has 2.5 tackles for a loss. If the junior can continue to put up big numbers once the conference schedule gets underway, Syracuse fans might be watching Jones on Sunday.

Syracuse's rushing defense has done a great job except in the case of Nate Eachus. Eachus, Colgate University's lone offensive threat, was able to rack up 147 yards on 35 carries in the Dome. This is worrisome considering the quality of opponent, however Syracuse has been decent at limiting the rush, holding opponents to just 3.7 yards per attempt. Syracuse fans will just have to hope that it was Eachus' unique rushing ability and relentless drive that enabled him to attain those totals.

The secondary has done a much better job not giving up big plays outside of the game at Washington. Da'Mon Merkerson and Mike Holmes have one interception a piece, and internet sensation slash heavy hitter Shamarko Thomas has 18 tackles. The true test for this group will be once the conference schedule gets underway. The first match up against USF will be the second strong QB the team will see on the road so far this season.

BJ Daniels, starting quarterback for the Bulls, was 14/19 for 155 yards and a TD pass this past Saturday against Florida Atlantic. Daniels is also a threat to run the ball, and as we have seen so far this season Syracuse is very susceptible to the ball fake. He will be a tremendous challenge for Syracuse's defense. Last season, Daniels came into the Dome as a freshman and walked out having completed 12 of 20 passes for 208 yards and 2 TDs including 32 rushing yards leading the Bulls to a 34-20 victory.

Derrell Smith & Co. will need a huge all around effort to keep Syracuse atop the Big East standings. If Syracuse intends to go bowling this season, the defense will need to be the group driving the bus.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com