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Archive for the tag “Syracuse”

11 Feb 2014
2 Comments

Syracuse Orange: Team of Destiny?

With the Syracuse Orange having recently ascended to their third #1 ranking in five years, a lot of the talk has been if Jim Boeheim’s squad is the team to beat.  The notion has been phrased different ways; “the national title Syracuse’s to lose”, “The title is there for the taking”, but all boil down to the idea that Syracuse is really, really good and deserve their share of time at #1.  The fact that Syracuse’s selection was the first unanimous one since  Duke in the 2010-11 season lends weight to that argument and, of course, a 23-0 record doesn’t hurt either.

Yet, looking back at that Orange this season, another phrase comes to mind when I think of this particular squad: a team of destiny.

Now, what do I mean when I say that?  Do I mean that I literally believe some cosmic entity has preordained the Orange to win a national title? Well…no, of course not.  What I mean is that whatever it’s taken for Syracuse to win, that’s exactly what has happened.

Read more…

Posted by cuseorangeblood in Basketball, Syracuse correspondent and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
04 Feb 2014
1 Comment

Whither the Wolfpack? The remaining schedule

So this past week was a bit of a downer for the Pack following the rout loss at UNC.  It might have been OK if it were even close, but the Pack was trounced in the first half and while the second was better, let’s face it, the Heels really didn’t have to try anymore.

Just as an exercise in getting our collective minds off that game, let’s take a look at the remaining schedule and make some predictions: Read more…

Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC only, Basketball, NC State Correspondent, Predictions and tagged , , , , , , , , ,
04 Feb 2014
5 Comments

Syracuse, a Unanimous #1, Holds Off Notre Dame (with Poll!)

Congratulations to the Syracuse Orange for being the first school since 2010-2011 (conference-mate Duke) to be a unanimous #1.  Equally impressive is rebounding from an emotional and hard-fought win over Duke to beat a desperate Notre Dame team last night to improve to 22-0.  Trevor Conney led the way with 33 points for the Orange.   Every game, someone else steps up for Syracuse.

It was the only action in the ACC last night.

Looking forward, there are possible bumps in the road for Syracuse:

  • February 25 @ Pittsburgh
  • February 22 @ Duke
  • February 24 @ Maryland
  • March 1 @ Virginia
  • March 9 @ Florida State

Actually, Syracuse’s schedule is heavily weighted towards road games at the end… four of the final five.

What do you think?  Will Syracuse lose again during the regular season?  If so, when?

 

 

 

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Poll and tagged , , , , , ,
19 Jan 2014
1 Comment

Syracuse Defeats Pittsburgh, Solidly Leading the ACC

The Syracuse Orange and Pittsburgh Panthers entered the ACC hoping to add to the top notch basketball reputation of the conference.  Two weeks into conference play, Syracuse and Pitt were #1 and #2, at 17-0 and 16-1 overall, and 4-0 in conference, respectively.  On Saturday, they faced off in the Carrier Dome to determine who would move forward as the #1 team.  Despite being significantly tested, Syracuse defeated Pitt 59-54 to move to 18-0 (5-0) and take a solid lead atop the ACC.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Results and tagged , , ,
15 Jan 2014
6 Comments

The ACC’s New World Order

Earlier this year, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim answered a question about how it felt to be a part of what might be the best basketball conference in history.  To which he replied, “We already were.”  Referring, of course, to the Big East in its former configuration.

Now this correspondent is an old-school ACC guy, so naturally I bristled a little.  As did many of us.

And the thought crossed my mind, “wait until he gets into the conference schedule for real…”

Read more…

Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC only, Basketball, NC State Correspondent, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , ,
14 Jan 2014
2 Comments

Syracuse Orange to Leave Carrier Dome?

There is a lot of talk right now about New York State and Syracuse University, among others, partnering to create a new stadium costing approximately $500,000,000.  The details are sketchy, and the Syracuse Mayor may be pointlessly interfering with the idea, but these are interesting times on the Hill.

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in News and tagged , , ,
12 Jan 2014
27 Comments

The ACC–a Football Conference?

So, here we are… a few years after the Big 10 went on a colonization imperialistic expansion spree.  The expectation was that the Big 10 would leverage Ohio State/Michigan and its history to catch up to the SEC in that sport (the money sport).  Here we are in 2013-2014 and it does not appear to be shaping up that way.  Instead, it appears that the Big 10’s basketball has passed its football, the ACC has set up its football to pass its basketball.  For this year anyway.  Consider:

Read more…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , ,
11 Jan 2014
17 Comments

ACC Attendance by the numbers

An interesting point was made by acaffrey in the comments section of his recent article regarding potential division realignment in the ACC and the ramifications of moving to a schedule with 10 conference games.

The schools that pack their stadiums need 6 or 7 home games a year.

Coincidentally, I started compiling the attendance data for ACC home games just before the end of the regular season but never got around to completing a full post. So, it was a good reminder and a perfect opportunity to look deeper at which schools can boast the best attendance. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only, Football and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
17 Dec 2013
2 Comments

The Confidential Correspondents’ Basketball Poll: December 17, 2013

The votes are in.  It is time to reveal this week’s Confidential Basketball Poll.  As a reminder, if you want to be part of our football bowl Pick’em, head over to Yahoo and group 20211. Returning to hoops, here is the top 10:

1.  Syracuse, 10-0, 59 Points (5 first place votes).  The Orange are off to a great start, winning Maui and nice wins over Indiana and St. Johns.  Next big game: Villanova on 12/28.

2. Pitt, 10-0, 50 points (1 first place vote).  The Panthers make it 1-2  for former Big East teams atop the ACC standings.  Next big game: Right now, vs. Cincinnati!

3. Louisville, 9-1 (47 points).  More former Big East action, as the Cardinals slot in at #3.  The sole Cards loss was to UNC.  Next big game: @ Kentucky on 12/28.

4. Duke, 8-2 (43 points).  The Blue Devils have losses to #1 Arizona and Kentucky.  And a nice win over Michigan.  Next big game: UCLA on 12/18.

5. North Carolina, 7-2 (39 points).  The Tar Heels have losses to Belmont and UAB.  Wins over MSU, Louisville, and Kentucky make this team quite an enigma.  Next big game: Texas on 12/18.

6. Wake Forest, 8-2 (30 points).  Not sure the Demon Deacons deserve the #6 spot with few quality wins, but there is a lot of mediocrity between #6 and #12 right now.  Next big game: @ Xavier on 12/28.

7. Notre Dame, 8-3 (20 points).  The Fighting Irish have some really bad losses.  But that win over Indiana seems to have folks excited again.  Next big game: Ohio State on 12/21.

8. North Carolina State, 7-2 (13 points).  The Wolfpack are looking for a really good win to help offset some tough losses.  The chances will come.  Next big game: @ Tennessee on 12/18.

9. Virginia, 7-3 (10 points).  Like the teams immediately above it, hard to find a good win for Virginia.  Not hard to find some bad losses.  Next big game: @ Tennessee on 12/30.

10. Clemson, 8-2 (7 points).  At first, this looks like a football record and pick.  But Clemson has a nice win over Temple and acquitted itself well against Arkansas.  Next big game: @ Auburn on 12/19.

The rest: Florida State (5 points), Georgia Tech (4 points), Maryland (4 points), and Virginia Tech (1 point).  Miami and Boston College did not receive votes.

What do you think?  Feel free to share your poll.

 

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Correspondent Poll, Correspondents, Rankings and tagged , , , , ,
01 Dec 2013
2 Comments

ACC Bowl Projections: 11-teams

The Confidential has been saying for weeks now that the ACC had a great chance of getting 11 bowl-eligible teams and detailed the scenarios needed to make it happen. I’m very proud to report that the scenarios we projected occurred almost exactly to plan.

The good news is that, thanks to Syracuse’s win over Boston College to close out their regular season, the Orange are now 6-6 and are bowl eligible for the second consecutive year. Furthermore, the ACC can now boast that they have 11 teams that are eligible for post-season play. That’s a record for the Conference and matches the SEC’s best.

The bad news is that thanks to Clemson’s complete meltdown on National TV against their in-state rivals, the ACC is likely to only have 1 representative in the BCS. Granted that one representative will likely be Florida State in the National Championship Game, but losing out on a 2nd BCS team not only means lost revenue (approx. $18M) but also makes it more difficult to find bowl sites for the remaining 9 bowl eligible teams.

Worst of all, that means that there is a good chance that at least one bowl-eligible team from a Power Conference will not be invited to a bowl game this year. Currently Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina are all on the bubble. Read more…

Posted by Vinnie Saltine in ACC only, Bowls and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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