Eight Straight!

Syracuse has now won eight consecutive Big East Tournament games. Just one shy of UConn's record of 9 straight. Syracuse won in the same fashion that they have been winning, big contributions from Nichols and Devo and then just enough from everyone else.

With the Orange down by two at the half I was sitting in my office just waiting for Nichols to start making some shots, something he failed to do in the Villanova game. Then, after missing his first three in the second half, he started to catch fire, going 7-11 on threes after his very cold start. Nichols finished with 28 points, 19 of which came after the first half. Once again, he was doing it from all spots on the floor. He hits a three from the corner, then scores on a drive to the hoop, then hits another three from a different spot on the floor, and then the game was essentially over. An 8-1 Nichols run put the Orange up 15 and well on their way to facing Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.

In the first half, without Nichols doing much, Devo was able to keep the Orange close by scoring 15 first half points. No outside shots by Devo in the first half...NONE! This is amazing considering how often he comes down and just pulls up from three. Devo was great at getting in the lane and finishing drives. I couldn't count how many layups he got in that first half as it just seemed to easy for him. With him scoring 15 points and Harris contributing a solid 6 points, the Orange were able to be down just 2 at the half despite shooting terribly to start the game.

This was a solid win for the Orange and should be enough to get them in the field of 65 (I thought they were in before this win). Now comes a rematch with Notre Dame, a team that just shot lights out against the Orange when they met in the Dome earlier this year. I don't think there is any possible way that Notre Dame can shoot like they did on that day, as they just couldn't miss anything, and they still only won by 12 points...103-91. Should be a very good game down at the Garden, just like most of the games are.

An interesting note from other games is that the higher seeded team advanced in every game except the Depaul/Villanova game...but who actually thought Depaul would win that anyways?

I was at work during the game and watching it online...my props to ESPN 360...so, I didnt hear Doug Gottlieb after the game, but I did hear him at halftime of the West Virginia game. For the first time in my life I actually heard Doug give the 'Cuse respect. He said that the Orange is on a roll now and he predicts they will beat Notre Dame and then with the way they are playing, they can go far in this tournament. He said, "Wouldn't it be interesting to see how high a seed the Orange could get if they can win the whole thing again?" Just goes to show you that when you play well, which the Orange has done of late, the "experts" will start to give you credit.

Big win for the Orange and now I am back at work and trying to squeeze all my work into a few hours so I can once again load up ESPN 360 and watch the Orange battle the Irish!

Stats from the game:

Scoring:Nichols: 28...Devo: 19...Roberts: 9...Watkins: 8...Rautins: 7...Harris: 6...Wright: 1

Rebounds:Watkins: 10...Roberts: 8...Harris: 8...Nichols: 5 Rautins 3...Devo...2...Wright: 1

Assists: Harris and Devo: 4...Nichols: 3...Rautins and Wright: 2...Watkins: 1

Turnovers:Harris and Rautins: 4...Nichols, Devo, and Watkins: 3...Roberts: 1

Steals: Harris and Rautins: 2...Watkins: 1

Blocks:Watkins: 3...Nichols, Roberts, Rautins, and Devo...1

Syracuse shot 45% from 3

UConn shot 35% from the field and just 21% from 3

GO 'CUSE!!