Another easy 73-59 victory over Iow State. Everyone is so busy talking about Kentucky and the top Big East teams that KU is pretty much ignored.

I think Kansas gets their due. Everybody knows how good they are and they are #1 in both polls, aren't they?

They're the favorite to win it all. No way are they ignored.

slingshot4ever wrote: Another easy 73-59 victory over Iow State. Everyone is so busy talking about Kentucky and the top Big East teams that KU is pretty much ignored.

Iow State?? Must be a new team, never heard of them.
And congrats a win over a nobody vs. Kentucky beating #12 Tenn who BEAT Kansas.

Syracuse, IMO, is the best team in the country.

Kansas failed to cover the spread by 8 points.

reclegend22 wrote: Syracuse, IMO, is the best team in the country.

They been squeezing by lately in their games. I look for them to lose this coming week to Georgetown.

Kansas and Syracuse would be my Final Four "locks" as of now.

Kentucky is looking more and more like a team that will be bounced early. They finished really well tonight against Tennessee, but their youth has really shown in recent games and I don't trust Cousins' ability to keep under control in heated NCAA games. I could see his inability to control his emotion, and foul trouble as a result, becoming a severe liability in the Wildcats' chances in a regional semi type of game.

I've wavered back and forth, though, so I'm not sure. At one time, I thought I saw a definite Final Four club in UK. But I think inexperience will be too big a mountain to overcome in the regionals. This all depends on matchups, of course.

I'll agree that the Orangemen have barely gotten by a couple of opponents recently, but they've already beaten each Georgetown, Cincy and Pitt by double figures this season and I just really like their veteran leadership.

Kansas was in a game tonight with ISU midway through the second half in Phog Allen, trailed at Nebraska late and nearly lost in OT (should have) at a very average (they're 2-8 in conference) Colorado. The 'hawks aren't exactly smashing teams. Those three teams (ISU, Nebraska and Colorado have a combined Big 12 record of 5-25).

Teams might squeak by here and there, but a win is a win.

Im not sold on UK being a final 4 team either. They dont play with consistency. You always hear the announcers say " wait till these guys really start clicking, nobody in the country will be able to beat them". (not in exact words). Well, its 25 games in, and I see improvement and some games great games, but other games not so good. I dont see them improving drastically like they act like they can. All depends on the matchups in the brackets as you said rec

Kansas needed OT last week to beat a Colorado team who has been destroyed by Missouri by 18 and Kansas State by 17 since. Colorado is 2-8 in the Big 12 and were without 2nd leading scorer Burks.

This game alone shows that Kansas is not clearly the best team, but just in the discussion for the best. You can put a few other teams in that argument. There are another 20-25 after them who COULD make some serious noise.

reclegend22 wrote: Syracuse, IMO, is the best team in the country.

Care to change your opinion? They just lost to an average (at best) Louisville team at home.

You mean a team lost to someone they should not have lost to????? Stop the press!!!!

It's not a good loss and the Orange haven't been playing well lately but I have to laugh when a team loses a game and all of the sudden they aren't that good. Teams lose games that they shouldn't sometimes. Even very good teams do that occasionally. Disagree?

You'll have to ignore, slingshot. He has no idea what he's even saying.

Slingshot from last night:

slingshot4ever wrote:It is clear that overall as a conference the Big Ten has to play more high quality opponents. Maryland is a top 4 team in the ACC and lost to Duke by over 20. That shows how weak the ACC is.

Illinois is a top four team in the Big Ten and lost to Ohio State -- at Illinois -- by over 20. That shows how weak the Big Ten is.

LOL.

And, yes, I still believe Syracuse is the best team in the nation. I like them, got a problem with that?

One concern I have about Syracuse is who is their go-to-guy? Johnson is a great player, but can you put games on his back and get a monster game when the team needs it? This is especially true if the other team can turn the Cuse over and make outside shots against them, which Louisville showed signs of doing today. Today Johnson had a pretty awful game and it cost them.

Kansas has Collins
Kentucky has Wall

Those 2 guys are going to have the ball, take the big shots and aren't going to defer to the system or other players in crunch time. Will Wesley Johnson do this as well?

reclegend22 wrote: You'll have to ignore, slingshot. He has no idea what he's even saying.

Slingshot from last night:

slingshot4ever wrote:It is clear that overall as a conference the Big Ten has to play more high quality opponents. Maryland is a top 4 team in the ACC and lost to Duke by over 20. That shows how weak the ACC is.

Illinois is a top four team in the Big Ten and lost to Ohio State -- at Illinois -- by over 20. That shows how weak the Big Ten is.

LOL.

I absolutely agree, this does show that the Big Ten is not as strong at the top as I thought. However, they are still stronger than the ACC in my opinion. Also they didnt lose by over 20, they lost by 19. Sorry to bring up this fact.

killer_ewok wrote: You mean a team lost to someone they should not have lost to????? Stop the press!!!!

It's not a good loss and the Orange haven't been playing well lately but I have to laugh when a team loses a game and all of the sudden they aren't that good. Teams lose games that they shouldn't sometimes. Even very good teams do that occasionally. Disagree?

I asked him if he still thought they were the best team in the nation, not whether or not they are good. Obviously they are good (and I never said they weren't), you need to pay closer attention to the question that was actually asked of reclegend before posting an uninformed response.

reclegend22 wrote: And, yes, I still believe Syracuse is the best team in the nation. I like them, got a problem with that?

No problem with that at all, I was just curious.

slingshot4ever wrote:

killer_ewok wrote: You mean a team lost to someone they should not have lost to????? Stop the press!!!!

It's not a good loss and the Orange haven't been playing well lately but I have to laugh when a team loses a game and all of the sudden they aren't that good. Teams lose games that they shouldn't sometimes. Even very good teams do that occasionally. Disagree?

I asked him if he still thought they were the best team in the nation, not whether or not they are good. Obviously they are good (and I never said they weren't), you need to pay closer attention to the question that was actually asked of reclegend before posting an uninformed response.

I should not have said "not that good" but you basically posed the question while at the same time implying Syracuse's loss to Louisville must mean that they aren't as good as some thought. Well, he answered your question.

Regarding Az's question.....I'd say nobody. That's a weakness and a strength IMO. They are so much of a "team" in every sense of the word.....they don't have a go-to-guy. It could be Rautins, Johnson (hasn't been quite the same since a nasty fall vs. Providence), Joseph, Jardine, Jackson. The guys that Jimmy B. wouuld most likely want with the ball in their hands at the end of the game are Rautins and Johnson IMO. The good part is even if someone is having an off night it's not going to kill Syracuse. They go a legit 7 deep. I will say that Rautins is the MVP of this team.

You make a good point, Az. That's definitely a concern. Unlike last year's Orange club that featured Flynn, Harris and even Devedorf, all guys who could step up and take a game into their hands when called upon, Syracuse lacks the variety of true "go to" options. However, come tournament time, I really think you'll be able to count on Rautins for big time shots down the stretch. He's been playing very inconsistent lately, but he has that Gerry McNamara grit to him. That ice in his veins when the game is on the line. You saw it in last year's six overtime Big East Tournament game and today against Louisville in the final minutes, when he drilled those back-to-back threes down the stretch to put the 'Cuse ahead. That lead was ultimately lost due to some incredibly bad plays, especially the intentional foul, down the stretch, and a major lack of hitting the boards defensively. But Rautins, I thought, did what he could down the stretch.

Johnson is a good enough player to put up some big numbers in NCAA games. He might not be that closer that you speak of, but if Johnson can merely act as the setup man, Rautins could be the closer. Often times in the NCAA Tournament all you need down the stretch is one really, really good shooter to help you close out games. From what I've seen, Rautins could be that player that gets hot.

Overall, what I like most about Syracuse is its solid core of upperclassmen. Rautins, Onuaku, Jackson and Johnson (the former seniors and latter juniors) have been here before, and that will make a huge difference, IMO, come NCAA time. This is also why I like Kansas. Experience. It will help out Nova as well. Kentucky, on the other hand, lacks it greatly, and that's why I could see them stumbling early. UK is a tough call, though. The talent in Lexington is just as liable to bring home a title. Very tough to read.

I think more of what I was getting at is Syracuse beats people because they can stifle them on defense and get teams totally out of sync. However, I think they have 3 weaknesses.

1. They can be turned over. Suspect ball-handling, despite many players who can handle.

2. Teams can make shots. If a team is just hitting, which will undoubtedly happen sometimes, it will be a close game.

3. The above statement on Johnson.

Maybe all we can take out of this is that it's a pre-cursor as to why match-ups are SO IMPORTANT come NCAA time. Look at Louisville, an average team, but they can press you and get turnovers and they shoot a ton of 3's. It those things go their way like they did today, the Cuse can be beaten, and we saw that.

Only way Kansas will win the title is if Xavier Henry plays well..when he struggles, they don't look like a team who can win a championship...you need a 3rd scorer to win the title, and when he's struggling, they don't have that.

Azubuike24 wrote: I think more of what I was getting at is Syracuse beats people because they can stifle them on defense and get teams totally out of sync. However, I think they have 3 weaknesses.

1. They can be turned over. Suspect ball-handling, despite many players who can handle.

2. Teams can make shots. If a team is just hitting, which will undoubtedly happen sometimes, it will be a close game.

3. The above statement on Johnson.

Maybe all we can take out of this is that it's a pre-cursor as to why match-ups are SO IMPORTANT come NCAA time. Look at Louisville, an average team, but they can press you and get turnovers and they shoot a ton of 3's. It those things go their way like they did today, the Cuse can be beaten, and we saw that.

Of course if a team is hot shooting the ball then that zone makes Syracuse very vulnerable. That's how Pitt beat them back on Jan. 2. I would say a big weakness is foul trouble. You'd think that playing a zone that wouldn't be such an issue but if Rautins or one of the "big's" (Onuaku and Jackson) get in early foul trouble......the Orange will be in trouble. I've seen it happen several times this season although Syracuse has been good enough to overcome most of the time. But against a good/very good team.....if Rautins is picking up cheap fouls or Jackson/Onuaku have to hit the bench early because of fouls.....I see the Orange losing.

Today's loss wasn't good, but if it serves as a wake up call......it could be a blessing in disguise. We'll see. I think the Orange lost a little bit of their edge recently. Maybe all of the pats on the back and press clippings went to their head a bit. They just need to get back to playing balls to the wall.

Agreed with rec on Cuse---I think they and Kansas are Final Four locks. They're so long and so good defensively that it's hard for me to see anyone going off on them.

I definitely think the elite level teams of this year are a good notch below past years though. There are a lot of good teams this year but none that have really looked capable of overwhelming opponents. In past years we saw UNC destroy Michigan State, Florida blow the doors off of Ohio State, etc...there hasn't been that this year.

slingshot is a hardcore KU homer.. He comes into UNC threads just to get shots in on Roy.. Don't waste your time with him.