12/22/24
March 05, 2003
Is Syracuse for real?: (warning: Orange Alum '94) They've won 9 of 10 and are 21-4 overall this season. Their ranking has climbed steadily from "also receiving votes" to #12. That warrants a 4 or 5 seed at worst in the tourney. Geez, even Boeheim is getting respect. Again, I ask, is Syracuse for real? Or will the bandwagon breakdown as soon as I jump on it?
posted by msacheson to basketball at 12:29 AM - 2 comments
they've surprised the hell out of me by not blowing easy conference games like they do every year... aside from rutgers I guess, but 1 letdown is OK. They looked great at Pitt for a while and beat them at home, took out ND twice, and played really well at MSU. I'm still conditioned to expect a disaster in the tournament (conference and/or NCAA) but you never know... this could be the team that surprises us all and makes the finals again, you never know. But that would be a bit of a stretch, they don't have THAT much talent. But assuming Anthony stays for another year and they get a big talented center they could kick some ass next year... One interesting point ym dad made is that they play so well as a team when Carmelo is out of the game that even if he does leave, they ought to be OK... maybe they just overcompensate and crank it up another notch or something... Anyway, I'm glad the hoops guys are playing well and hope they can keep it up for a few years while the football team is in the shitter... they had a god awful recruiting class and can't possibly improve on the 4-8 embarassment of this year...
posted by Bernreuther at 04:13 AM on March 05, 2003
I've only been able to see them play a handful of times this year, but yeah, they seem pretty for real. Carmelo Anthony is a stud, and Boeheim has arranged what appears to be a pretty good team around him, especially when all cylinders are firing. That said... parity is a beotch and makes all bandwagons fragile. So, um, don't fasten your seatbelts- it'll make the ride more fun, and it'll be easier to jump out the window if you suddenly see a cliff ahead. :)