Seton Hall vs Syracuse: Big East Basketball Tournament Predictions
Written March 11, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
As Seton Hall was pulling away from South Florida last night as Jordan with Betfirms predicted they would, The Orange saw that their game with the Pirates will be a stone cold battle. Jeremy Gazell was spectacular last night. He is a pure scorer who has athletic ability. Eugene Harvey controlled the game nicely and Robert Mitchell played well. Now, keep in mind I am in no way comparing the South Florida Bulls to the Syracuse Orange. They are a different caliber of animal. However, this match up is one that could work very well to The Hall’s favor. The Cuse plays their famous Zone Defense which The Pirates could very easily exploit with their scorers. They will make this a transition game and have all the ability to go toe to toe with the Orange in that aspect as well. Seton Hall averaged five less PPG this year then Cuse. They gave up one more point a game as well. I see this game being very close late, a big advantage that The Pirates will hold is while they shoot 72% from the free throw line, Syracuse shoots a horrid 64%. While once again Hazell will have to be the main man, the key today will be if Eugene Harvey is able to neutralize Jonny Flynn. I don’t see Seton hall having major matchup issues elsewhere.. The battle of the point guards will be the major factor for Seton Hall. Syracuse is currently favored by 6.5 points over Seton Hall.
The Orange will go as far as their offense will take them. They have as much raw talent as any team in this Big East. Jonny Flynn has established himself as a top flight point guard. Eric Devendorf is a lights out shooter with plenty of past experience in big games, Paul Harris is simply a freakish athlete (very similar to a Tayshaun Prince type player) and Rick Jackson has filled the big man spot nicely as Arinze Onuaku has been playing hurt for quite some time now. The Orange average a stunning 80 PPG while shooting 49% from the field on the year and collect 35 rebounds per game as well. The problem that the Cuse has faced though is will their defense be so suspect that if they have a down shooting night they won’t be able to overcome it. They are well on their way to an NCAA tournament bid and realistically have nothing to play for tonight besides seeding in the big dance. They have plenty of nice wins this year which include @ Florida, @ Kansas, @ Memphis, vs West Virginia and @ Marquette. The Orange are much bigger then Seton hall on the inside, that would normally play a big factor in my pick. Tonight I expect a high tempo game that will consist of guards making plays. Who will have the hot hand? This game will be a shootout, do not miss it.
Prediction: Seton Hall is playing the highest level basketball they have played all year. The explosive scoring they bring I believe will be able to match Syracuse. They MUST be able to keep the Orange off the glass. If they are unable to do that giving them second and third chances around the hoop all night long they will end up on the losing end. If Syracuse comes out with all intentions to play hard with a desire to improve their seeding, they should win this game. I just do not see that happening. Jim Boehim teams have a tendency to take games off, this will be one of them. Expect the Jeremy Hazell clinic to continue tonight, The Pirates are a dangerous team right now who look to claim another victory tonight. Seton Hall is 17-9 ATS this year while Syracuse is 14-13. Syracuse defeated Seton Hall 100-76 back on 12/30/08. Bobby Gonzalez will have his bunch ready to roll tonight and they will upset The Orange in the second round of the Big East Tournament.
Final Regular Season Records:
Seton Hall 17-14 (including win over South Florida yesterday)
Syracuse 23-8
Betting Line: Syracuse -6.5
Jordan’s Pick: Seton Hall +6.5
Final Score Prediction:
Seton Hall 81
Syracuse 76
Get the latest NCAA Basketball betting help by grabbing our great college basketball picks and checking out the best college basketball lines for all the tournament games at Betfirms.
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One Response to “Seton Hall vs Syracuse: Big East Basketball Tournament Predictions”
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you have a nerve to think that Seton Hall can beat syracuse tonite. I think su will take the lead early in the game and just blow them out in the second half. My prediction Syracuse 87 seton hall 68
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