Syracuse and Villanova: We Meet Again

It's rematch time. Back on January 22nd Syracuse, then ranked #3 in the nation and sporting an 18-1 record hosted then #7 Villanova who came into the Dome with a 16-2 overall record. Syracuse would suffer their 2nd straight loss that afternoon, falling 83-72 in front of 33,736 fans, including yours truly.

Fast forward to today, Syracuse is currently ranked #17/20 in the nation and Villanova is clinging to a #14/15 spot in the polls (note: the new rankings have yet to be released at the time of this publication). Nova is coming off a nail biting victory at Depaul on Saturday, where we saw the Wildcats and Blue Demons head to overtime before Villanova pulled out a 77-75 victory over the Big East doormat. The Wildcats are currently 21-6 on the year, 9-5 in Big East play.

Syracuse is coming off an equally frustrating win against another one of the weaker Big East opponents. The Orangemen survived going to overtime with the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (who entered the Dome with a 4-9 Big East conference record) and emerged victorious 84-80 behind strong games by Kris Joseph, Rick Jackson and C.J. Fair.

The last time these two teams met James Southerland and Dion Waiters received extended minutes, minutes that we have seen go to C.J. Fair recently. And he has not disappointed. Fair scored 17 points and pulled down 8 rebounds against Rutgers on Saturday while playing 37 of a possible 45 minutes. Fair is averaging 12 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over his last four contests.

For the Wildcats, senior guard Corey Stokes has sat out the last three games with a big toe injury. Stokes is averaging 14.6 points per game and shoots 41.5% from behind the 3-point line. With Syracuse looking extremely vulnerable from 3-point range lately, it would be a tremendous loss for Nova to play without Stokes tonight at the Pavilion.

This is a tremendous game for the Big East standings as well as the seeding for the Big East tournament in Madison Square Garden. Syracuse has three games remaining and are currently in a log jam of teams jockeying for seeds 3 and 4 in the Big East. There are four Big East teams with 9 wins (Nova, Louisville, St. Johns and Syracuse) and three with 8 wins (Cincinnati, Connecticut and West Virginia). Throw in Notre Dame at 10-4 and Georgetown at 10-5 and the top tier of the Big East standings are still very much in reach for both Nova and Cuse, who have both struggled lately.

Be sure to check back in with The Cuse Connection following the game for complete recap and analysis from the game. Also be sure to follow us on twitter @CuseConnection for live, in game reaction and commentary throughout the course of the game. Tonight's game is at 7:00PM and will be broadcast live on ESPN.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

Orangemen Look to get Back on Track against Villanova

After losing their first game of the season on Big Monday in Pittsburgh, the #3 Syracuse Orangemen look to rebound on Saturday in the Carrier Dome at 12 noon against the #7 Villanova Wildcats. Villanova is also coming off a loss on Monday, their second of the season, when Kemba Walker knocked down a mid-range runner at the buzzer to give #8 UCONN a 2-point victory in Storrs, CT.

Ticket sales at the Carrier Dome have nearly equaled last year's NCAA on campus attendance record, with over 33,000 tickets sold as of Wednesday afternoon. Last season's match up, which Syracuse won 95-77, had 34,616 orange-clad fans. At that time, Syracuse was ranked #4 and Villanova was ranked #7. This year Villanova comes to the Carrier Dome sporting a 16-2 overall record, 4-1 in the Big East.

There are a lot of familiar faces on this year's Wildcat squad, most notably the Coreys. Corey Fisher (6'1" 185 pounds) is leading Villanova in scoring, averaging 16.1 points per game and Corey Stokes (6'5" 195 pounds) is right behind him with 15.8 points per contest. Against UCONN on Monday Fisher scored a season high 28 points and has been shooting 32.1% from behind the 3-point line on the year.

Corey Stokes, who was cited for public urination 2 days before the game in the Carrier Dome last year, has yet to be caught pissing outside this season and has shot 43.8% from beyond the arc on the year. Stokes struggled in the game against UCONN going 0 for 6 from the floor in 38 minutes and made just 4 of 14 shots the game before that against Maryland. Stokes has made just 16 of his last 42 shots over the past five games (38%).

Sophomore Maalik Wayns (6'2" 185 pounds) out of Philadelphia, PA is averaging 13.5 points and 5.3 assists per game for the Wildcats. Wayns posted a season high 22 points against Maryland on January 15th and is averaging 15.3 points over his last 7 games. Also a sophomore Mouphtaou Yarou (6'10" 250 pounds) is leading the Wildcats in rebounding with an average of 7.8 per game along with 8.7 points. Yarou scored a season high 18 points against Louisville on January 12th while shooting 8 of 12 from the field and pulling down 11 rebounds. As a team, the Wildcats average 39.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 29th best in the nation.

The Syracuse Orangemen (18-1, 5-1 Big East) are hoping to have leading scorer Kris Joseph back after he missed Monday's Pittsburgh game with a concussion. Word around campus is that Kris Joseph is feeling much, much better and Orangemen fans everywhere are hoping to see him in uniform and on the court for Saturday's marquee match up.

After showing signs of life against Cincinnati, Fab Melo relapsed into his old self on Monday against Pittsburgh. Melo played just 2 minutes, the first 2 minutes of the game, and missed his only field goal attempt while grabbing zero rebounds. Baye Moussa Keita didn't do any better, playing six minutes while not putting up a single statistic.

Tip off for the #3 Syracuse against #7 Villanova Wildcats will be at 12 o'clock and the game will be televised live on ESPN. For those fans who are unable to make the game, be sure to follow @CuseConnection on twitter to catch all the updates as we tweet live from Marshall St. starting on Friday night and then live from the Carrier Dome for the Big East showdown beginning early Saturday morning.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com