Syracuse Remains Undefeated, Lose Kris Joseph to Head Injury

The good news for Syracuse: The Orangemen remained undefeated and beat the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Carrier Dome on Saturday afternoon 67-52 with 24,338 in attendance. The Bad news for Syracuse: Kris Joseph got slammed in the first half taking the ball to the hoop, which resulted in Joseph slamming the back of his head on Jim Boeheim Court.

There was no foul called on the play, which was completely ridiculous, and after spending several minutes on the floor Joseph was able to walk off on his own and headed directly to the Syracuse locker room. Kris did not return to the game and he has been ruled out for tonight's match up on the road in Pittsburgh. It is believed that Kris Joseph suffered a concussion on the play, however he never appeared to lose consciousness.

Another storyline that emerged from the game was the play of Fab Melo in the second half. Melo played 15 minutes in the game, the most since December 20th against Morgan State. Fab Melo scored 6 points on 3 of 4 shooting from the floor, grabbed 4 rebounds (3 offensive) and blocked 4 shots. It was the kind of performance Syracuse fan's have been waiting for after watching Melo score 9 points against Morgan State. Hopefully it is the start of something big for Fab Melo that he can build on and learn from. Melo told reporters after the game "I felt very comfortable out there today. I think I'll play even better the next game." We are going to need it!

Rick Jackson was once again a beast in the middle for the Orangemen. Jackson logged his 11th double-double of the season finishing the Big East conference tilt with 15 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field with 11 rebounds to lead the Cuse. Jackson also dished 3 assists swatted 2 blocks and had a steal.

With Kris Joseph out for the 2nd half and the final 6 minutes and change in the first, it was on James Southerland to step up his play. He responded as well as one would hope, playing 25 minutes and shooting 3 of 4 from the field including 2 of 2 from 3-point range. Southerland finished the game with 8 points and zero turnovers. We will need to see more of the same from Southerland tonight, as he is expected to start in place of KrisJo.

The win pushed Syracuse's record to 18-0, 5-0 in Big East games, and leaves the Cuse just 1 win shy of the best start in school history. Syracuse began the 1999-2000 season 19-0. The next game is tonight at 7:30 against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Panthers are 17-1 (5-0 Big East) and have been a thorn in Syracuse's side for years. The game is part of ESPN's "Big Monday" showcase and will be televised live on ESPN.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Undefeated Syracuse Orangemen Host Cincinnati

Coming off a rousing 76-59 victory over the Red Storm of St. Johns, the #4 Syracuse Orangemen will host the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Carrier Dome Saturday for a 12:00PM tip-off. The Bearcats, ranked 25th in the AP Top-25, come to Syracuse after knocking of the USF Bulls 74-66 and are 16-1 on the year, 3-1 in the Big East.

Cincinnati's lone loss came January 9th when the Bearcats traveled to Philadelphia, PA to take on the #7 Villanova Wildcats. Nova beat Cinci 72-61 on that fateful day. Cincinnati also has a very balanced and deep bench which boasts a 9 man rotation.

Leading the Bearcats in scoring is Dion Dixon (6'3" 195 pounds) who is averaging 12.5 points per game and shoots 31.1% from beyond the arc. While Dixon isn't much of a rebounding threat, he has averaged 7 rebounds per game in his last 3 outings and had a season high 23 points on December 21st at Miami of Ohio.

Local kid Yancy Gates (6'9" 260 pounds) out of Cincinnati, OH is the second leading scorer on the team, averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Gates shoots 50.3% from the field and scored a season high 22 points against Xavier on January 6th while pulling down 14 rebounds (also a season high).

Freshman guard Sean Kilpatrick (6'4" 215 pounds) is a serious scoring threat and spark off the bench for Cinci. Although he averages just 10 points per game, he shoots 41.5% from 3-point range. Kilpatrick was 4 of 5 from three in the last game against USF en route to a 18 point night, twelve of which came in the first half. He also posted a season high 26 points on December 1st against Wright State while going 5 for 5 from beyond the arc.

Leading the 17-0 (4-0 Big East) Syracuse Orangemen has been Rick Jackson, Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche. All four players are averaging in double digits this season, and Rick Jackson is also averaging 11.8 rebounds per game to lead the Cuse.

Kris Joseph is averaging 18.4 points in his last 7 games and has been piling up the rebounds in that same time period. Brandon Triche is coming off back-to-back strong shooting efforts and 15 point games while the Philadelphia Connection has been pacing the Cuse.

Rick Jackson has averaged 10.5 points and 11.5 rebounds during Big East play while his Scoop Jardine has averaged 16.6 points in his last 5 games. All four players have picked up their games another notch since Big East play began, and Rick Jackson has been playing an increased role at the center position.

With Rick Jackson playing increasingly more minutes at center, that means that Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita have been playing sparingly. While Keita was able to hold his own defensively during the non-conference portion of Syracuse's schedule, his defensive shortcomings have been exposed in the Big East.

With #5 Pittsburgh lurking in the shadows of Big Monday, it's very important for Syracuse to not get caught looking past the Bearcats. The Orangemen must have the same sense of urgency they have shown all season on defense, and not let the Bearcats get hot from the floor. Cincinnati is 16-1, they are no pushover, and in an extremely tough Big East, every game will be a dog fight.

The game will be televised live on the Big East Network, SNY, and tip-off is at 12:00PM from the Carrier Dome. Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Football Team Back Out on the Road, Travels to Cincinnati

On Saturday the Syracuse University Orangemen travel to Cincinnati, OH to take on the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium, the 5th oldest venue in college football. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:00 and the game will be televised live on ESPNU. The biggest question on everyones minds is whether or not QB Zach Collaros will get the start for the Bearcats.

Zach Collaros left last weeks 38-30 loss to USF in the 4th quarter with a knee injury and did not return. He was seen on crutches this week, however he was on the practice field in a limited role. Backup Chazz Anderson worked out with the Bearcats starters, while Collaros worked mainly with the second team. If Collaros is unable to play, Anderson will get his first start for Cinci since 2008. On Tuesday, Zach Collaros said he felt as if his knee was "sliding around a little bit," however he has not been officially ruled out of Saturdays game.

The Bearcats have struggled this season, losing 3 of the first four games under new head coach Butch Jones, formerly the head coach of Central Michigan University. Butch Jones, who took over the head coaching duties after Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame, has steered the team to a 3-4 overall record, 1-1 in the Big East.

Syracuse on the other hand is coming off the program's biggest win in years, a stirring 19-14 victory over the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown. The win pushed the Orangemen's record to 5-2, 2-1 in the Big East. Syracuse hadn't won in Morgantown since 2000, and now Syracuse will look to get their first win ever against Cincinnati in Big East play. Syracuse beat Cincinnati in 2004 19-7, the season before the Bearcats joined the conference.

If Zach Collaros is unable to play it will be a tremendous blow to the Bearcats who rely heavily on the passing game. Last week Collaros had 4 touchdown passes before being forced from the game and has 20 TD passes on the year. In comparison the team just has 7 rushing scores, nearly a 3:1 ratio.

Leading the receiving corp are D.J. Woods and Armon Binns. Woods has 40 catches for 687 yards and 6 TDs. He averages 17.2 yards per catch and had 137 yards on 9 catches in last weeks game against USF. Binns has 44 catches for 683 yards and 9 touchdowns. In the USF game Binns had 158 yards on 12 catches and 2 TDs. With 15 touchdown grabs between the two receivers through 7 games, Syracuse will certainly have their hands full with or without Collaros under center.

The rushing game is led by Isaiah Pead, who has 595 yards on 77 carries. Pead has just 1 rushing TD on the season, with the majority of scores going to John Goebel who leads the team with 3 rushing touchdowns on 26 carries. Goebel has just 179 total yards on the year however he averages 6.9 yards per carry.

On defense Cincinnati is ranked 64th in the nation with an average of 367.71 yards per game allowed. Their 23.4 points per game allowed is 51st overall. Conversely, Syracuse's defense allows just 301.57 yards per game, 16th best in the nation and the Orangemen's 19 points per game allowed is 28th best in the country.

The offensive side of the ball is where the Orangemen's troubles have been during conference play. While the rushing attack has been relatively strong for the cuse (minus the Pittsburgh game where nothing went right) the passing attack has been extremely limited. In last week's win over West Virginia, Syracuse rushed for 183 yards on the #4 rushing defense in the country, while Ryan Nassib was held to just 63 passing yards. Nassib completed only 5 passes on 15 attempts, however he did throw a touchdown pass to Van Chew and was not intercepted. As long as Nassib protects the ball and doesn't turn it over, the Orangemen should be in business.

Syracuse will be looking to improve to 6-2 on the year, something the Orangemen haven't done since 2001 (lost the first two games before winning eight straight). The game is at noon and will be televised on ESPNU. After receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and USA Today Polls last week, a win on the road in Cincinnati may propel the Orangemen back into the rankings. Win or lose though, the Orangemen are still on track for a bowl bid.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Good News on Delone Carter

Delone Carter was back on the practice field yesterday, and said he is 100% ready to go for the game this Saturday at Cincinnati. Carter, who suffered a bruised hip on a rushing attempt, left the West Virginia game late in the 2nd quarter and did not return. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game at half time and Syracuse fans everywhere feared for the worst.

Considering Delone Carter had to sit out the entire 2007 season with a hip fracture, fans had a reason to worry. Thankfully Carter was back on the field Tuesday at practice running and cutting and feeling fine. Crisis avoided for the Orangemen. DC3 is just 43 yards behind the #8 All-Time leading rusher at Syracuse University, Bill Hurley. Carter needs just 119 yards to pass the #7 rusher Dee Brown, which can come as early as saturday if Carter gets off to as hot a start as he did versus the Mountaineers.

In other injury related news, Cincinnati quarter back Zach Collaros was seen on crutches before Tuesday's practice with a large brace on his left leg. Collaros threw 4 touch down passes before being forced out of the USF game on Saturday, a game the Bearcats lost 38-30. Zach Collaros said his knee felt like it was "sliding around a little bit" yesterday, which is bad news for Cinci fans. Chazz Anderson came in at QB following the injury and would get his first start in two years if Collaros is unable to play.