Pilchard
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 17,192
- Reaction score
- 6,471
Tomorrow at noon, Deacs make their push for 11th in the ACC against Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange. Cuse will be in the house!
Record: Another good, but not remarkable, regular season for Cuse -- 18-10 (9-6) #37 KP. That said, Cuse really needs tomorrow's game to lock up an NCAA bid. After tomorrow's game, Cuse will be dogs in its final 2 (home versus UVA and @ Clemson). If WF upsets the Orange, Cuse could be staring at a 9-9 conference record and find themselves on the NCAA bubble. The Orange are 5-3 on the road, and are coming off a tough loss at UNC (NC won 93-85; the Orange led at half). Syracuse has been erratic this year losing to GT (by 14!), ODU and UCONN. OTOH, Cuse has a win at Duke. WF played Cuse 3 times last year, beating Cuse at the Joel (73-67), but losing at Cuse and in the ACC Tourney.
Offense: The Orange often struggle to score (they are #9 in the ACC on offense). Cuse shoots a league worst 66% from the line, and only 47% from 2 in ACC games. They are heavily reliant on the 3 point shot. 39% of their offense comes from 3s (#1 in the ACC), and 45% of all of their FGAs are from behind the arc. Cuse generally plays at a slow tempo (#9 in the ACC on length of offensive possession), but they sped it up at UNC on Tuesday (72 possessions; 178 points scored between the two teams). At the end of the day, Cuse's offensive success is pretty simple, if they are hitting from deep they can score a lot of points (shot 44% against Duke and scored 95; 85 in regulation; shot 45% against UNC and scored 84; shot 21% against GT and scored 59; shot 20% vs. State and scored 58).
Defense: Cuse's zone defense is a constant (they are #7 on defense). They have a lot of big bodies (#1 in the nation in average height), and their size makes it hard to shoot over them and their long arms disrupt passing lanes. The Orange zone defense has trouble keeping opponents off the offensive glass (#14 and WF is #1 in the ACC in offensive rebounding) in ACC games, and they have fouled a lot (#14 in the ACC in FTA/FGA defense). Cuse's strength on defense is forcing turnovers (#1 in the ACC forcing TOs in 21% of opponents offensive possessions). Also, with their size, the Orange leads the league in blocked shots.
Lineup: Big, but not a deep bench. They start: 6-5 PG Sr. Frank Howard, 6-6 Jr. SG Tyus Battle, 6-6 Jr. SF Elijah Hughes (ECU transfer), 6-8 PF Oshae Brissett, 7-2 Sr. C Paschal Chukwu. Cuse brings 6-10 Marek Dolezaj and 6-5 Buddy Boeheim (yes, JB's kid). Everyone except Chukwu can shoot the 3. Hughes is the Orange's most prolific 3 point shooter with 72 threes. Battle, Brissett and Howard all have had some struggles hitting the 3 as they all shoot 31% or below.
Bottom line: KP projects 72-64 Cuse win. giving the Deacs a 23% chance at winning. This is a game where WF could really use Sarr as he has the length to match up Cuse's size. If Sarr can play effectively and WF defends the behind the arc, Deacs have a chance. That said, the Deacs got lucky on Tuesday, and a Cuse loss would leave the Orange's season in jeopardy. Guessing Sarr either won't play or will be hobbled, and Cuse will pull away late for a double digit victory. A win would somehow give the Deacs a chance to avoid ACC play-in Tuesday (WF would still need to beat FSU at home). Just can't imagine that happening. *Didn't realize that the 10th and 11th place teams play on ACC play-in Tuesday; so, WF will take it's regular spot in play-in Tuesday regardless if WF beats Cuse and FSU*
Record: Another good, but not remarkable, regular season for Cuse -- 18-10 (9-6) #37 KP. That said, Cuse really needs tomorrow's game to lock up an NCAA bid. After tomorrow's game, Cuse will be dogs in its final 2 (home versus UVA and @ Clemson). If WF upsets the Orange, Cuse could be staring at a 9-9 conference record and find themselves on the NCAA bubble. The Orange are 5-3 on the road, and are coming off a tough loss at UNC (NC won 93-85; the Orange led at half). Syracuse has been erratic this year losing to GT (by 14!), ODU and UCONN. OTOH, Cuse has a win at Duke. WF played Cuse 3 times last year, beating Cuse at the Joel (73-67), but losing at Cuse and in the ACC Tourney.
Offense: The Orange often struggle to score (they are #9 in the ACC on offense). Cuse shoots a league worst 66% from the line, and only 47% from 2 in ACC games. They are heavily reliant on the 3 point shot. 39% of their offense comes from 3s (#1 in the ACC), and 45% of all of their FGAs are from behind the arc. Cuse generally plays at a slow tempo (#9 in the ACC on length of offensive possession), but they sped it up at UNC on Tuesday (72 possessions; 178 points scored between the two teams). At the end of the day, Cuse's offensive success is pretty simple, if they are hitting from deep they can score a lot of points (shot 44% against Duke and scored 95; 85 in regulation; shot 45% against UNC and scored 84; shot 21% against GT and scored 59; shot 20% vs. State and scored 58).
Defense: Cuse's zone defense is a constant (they are #7 on defense). They have a lot of big bodies (#1 in the nation in average height), and their size makes it hard to shoot over them and their long arms disrupt passing lanes. The Orange zone defense has trouble keeping opponents off the offensive glass (#14 and WF is #1 in the ACC in offensive rebounding) in ACC games, and they have fouled a lot (#14 in the ACC in FTA/FGA defense). Cuse's strength on defense is forcing turnovers (#1 in the ACC forcing TOs in 21% of opponents offensive possessions). Also, with their size, the Orange leads the league in blocked shots.
Lineup: Big, but not a deep bench. They start: 6-5 PG Sr. Frank Howard, 6-6 Jr. SG Tyus Battle, 6-6 Jr. SF Elijah Hughes (ECU transfer), 6-8 PF Oshae Brissett, 7-2 Sr. C Paschal Chukwu. Cuse brings 6-10 Marek Dolezaj and 6-5 Buddy Boeheim (yes, JB's kid). Everyone except Chukwu can shoot the 3. Hughes is the Orange's most prolific 3 point shooter with 72 threes. Battle, Brissett and Howard all have had some struggles hitting the 3 as they all shoot 31% or below.
Bottom line: KP projects 72-64 Cuse win. giving the Deacs a 23% chance at winning. This is a game where WF could really use Sarr as he has the length to match up Cuse's size. If Sarr can play effectively and WF defends the behind the arc, Deacs have a chance. That said, the Deacs got lucky on Tuesday, and a Cuse loss would leave the Orange's season in jeopardy. Guessing Sarr either won't play or will be hobbled, and Cuse will pull away late for a double digit victory. A win would somehow give the Deacs a chance to avoid ACC play-in Tuesday (WF would still need to beat FSU at home). Just can't imagine that happening. *Didn't realize that the 10th and 11th place teams play on ACC play-in Tuesday; so, WF will take it's regular spot in play-in Tuesday regardless if WF beats Cuse and FSU*
Last edited:
