Syracuse-St. John's: The Traveling Orangemen Still Aren't Packing Defense

ryan johFeb 23, 2009

Syracuse (19-8) vs. St. John’s (13-14)

Game time: 7:30 PM ET

Game line: St. John’s +5

The Red Storm of St. John's host Syracuse in Queens, NY in what will be another let down for the Orangemen. Syracuse has only won three games out of seven on the road and are 2–7 against the spread.

The Red Storm are led by a very talented fleet of perimeter players that will cause mismatches all over the floor for Syracuse.

Red Storm G/F Anthony Mason Jr. is 6’7", and has a very lengthy wingspan. He is averaging 14 points a game. G/F D.J. Kennedy is 6’6" and is averaging 13 per game. These two can shoot the three with finesse, or finish strong above the rim.

The Red Storm are coming off two impressive home games. They lost to Duke by seven points in which they were 12-point underdogs, and they beat Seton Hall by five where the line was even.

When I look at this matchup, I can’t help but think about Syracuse's road game at Providence. St. John’s has emerged into a better team than Providence down the stretch, and my hunch is that Syracuse comes in a little overconfident.

Syracuse has played embarrassing basketball over their last 10 games and for some reason has been ranked through all of them. Are the polls that biased to keep Syracuse in the Top 25 when they have won only three of their last 10 games?

As of Monday, Syracuse is finally out of the polls and should stay out after they lose their next two games to St. John’s and Cinci. The Orangemen are a team that has been unable to put two solid halves together, and they play very poor defense.

Syracuse gave up a number of easy layups to Villanova in their last home game. In a must–win scenario, they played terrible defense down the stretch to hand the game to the Wildcats.

Jonny Flynn has excellent vision, and may be the best point guard in the Big East. Outside of Flynn, the team just isn’t very good. Eric Devendorf lacks lateral quickness in their zone, and Paul Harris has looked lost on the floor.

The problem for Syracuse is not with their offense. They can score plenty of points in a hurry. Their problem is with their terrible defense. They give up way too many easy baskets. They are allowing 72 points a game on average, with that being close to 80 points in Big East play.

Look for the Red Storm to get to the rim all night long. Syracuse will once again try to run and gun on the road, and my hunch is that they blow it again.