My Personal Best Winning Streak Came To An End Thursday
Eastern Michigan (-4.5) Central Michigan 55-56 lost
First loss in eleven games

March Madness Goes 2-0
Coastal Carolina (-15.5) UNC-Asheville 92-73 WON
Evansville (+9.5) Missouri State 46-52 WON

Get on board for winners all the way through the NCAA Final!

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HOW SYRACUSE BECAME NUMBER ONE
The polls have finally acknowledged it.
Kelso's been saying for SEVEN STRAIGHT WEEKS!

Syracuse, the team that will help the University of Louisville say goodbye to Freedom Hall on Saturday, clinched the Big East basketball championship Tuesday.

That makes this an ideal time to share a few preseason love letters that were written to coach Jim Boeheim's team, currently ranked first in both the writers' and coaches' college basketball polls.

Let's begin with The Sporting News, which predicted the Orange would finish eighth in the league, behind Louisville and Cincinnati. Please hold all groans until reading the next three paragraphs.

Sports Illustrated was slightly better, placing Syracuse sixth in the league and 35th in the nation, trailing South Carolina, Minnesota and other NIT wannabes.

Yahoo!Sports was not a believer — sixth in the league, 42nd in America. ESPN The Magazine guessed 46th, tucked behind mighty Oregon State (13-15).

Basketball Times did place the Orange (seventh) ahead of Louisville (eighth) in the Big East, but figured Connecticut, Cincinnati, Seton Hall and Notre Dame would all outplay Boeheim's team.

What does Boeheim say about that?

“I think I did say we were going to be good, a few dozen times,” he said. “A lot of times people say coaches just say that. I usually don't say that.”

So I can say this: After 827 career victories, eight Big East regular-season titles, three NCAA Final Fours and the 2003 NCAA title, Boeheim, 65, might actually win his first national Coach of the Year award. Please be advised that during Boeheim's 34-season career, the U.S. Basketball Writers have honored Dick Versace, Perry Clark and Kelvin Sampson.

But not Boeheim.

There is a lot to like about Boeheim's 28-2 team. “Syracuse is underrated offensively because they pass it so well,” ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. “They've got multiple threats, especially inside.”

The Orange is also in direct violation of several rules the wise guys say cannot be violated if you expect to win big.

Recruiting is always a delightful place to start. According to the rankings of Scout.com, this is how many of Boeheim's players were ranked in the top 50 of their recruiting class:

Zero.

“Coach knows how to pick 'em,” Syracuse guard Andy Rautins said. Rautins, of course, is a former one-star recruit who is now the only player ranked in the top five of the Big East in assists, steals and three-pointers made.

Boeheim's best player is forward Wesley Johnson, who is running third in the National Player of the Year sweepstakes.

Compared to Rautins, Johnson was a prep megastar. He earned two stars as a high school senior. But his path to Syracuse did not include a stop at the McDonald's All American game.

Johnson grew up in Corsicana, Texas, about an hour south of Dallas. He committed to Louisiana-Monroe, changed his mind after a coaching shuffle, attended The Patterson School in Patterson, N.C., for a year, played two seasons at Iowa State and then transferred to Syracuse.

The addition of Johnson, and the subtraction of shot-happy underclassmen Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris, tightened the vibe around the Orange. The guys who left were more interested in making shots than defending shots.

Of course, that brings us to another rule Boeheim violates. Many coaches would hand over their endorsement checks before they'd agree to play zone defense.

The 2-3 zone has become Boeheim's trademark. The Orange play it so effectively there is a staggering 12-point gap between their .518 field-goal percentage (best in the nation) and their opponents' .391 field-goal percentage.

Not that anybody was predicting this in November.

by Rick Bozich
from courier-journal.com

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