Sports Thread #2 For 3/25/10: NCAA Tournament, Sweet 16- Syracuse vs Butler Preview

Jardins looks to help lead Syracuse to the Elite 8

(With the preview of this contest tonight, here is the return of the Sheed one)

West Region #1 Syracuse Orangemen vs #5 Butler Bulldogs Thurs 7:07

#1 Syracuse- How Syracuse got here- Rd 1 beat #16 Vermont Cantamounts 79-56, Rd 2 beat #9 Gonzaga Zags 87-65

Despite being without the services of starting pivot Arinze Onauku and using a 6 man rotation the Orangemen haven’t missed a step cremating their first two opponents by an average of 22.5 points per game. Coach Jim Boeheim’s squad had a very impressive thrashing of a very good Gonzaga team which was ranked throughout the year. Cuse rangy 2-3 zone has been a conundrum neither Vermont nor Gonzaga could solve. The Orangemen blanketed both teams like a mattress, holding them to a dismal 38.3 percent shooting overall and 18.7 percent from treyland.

The Cuse is led by Big East Player of the Year nm National POY candidate Wesley Johnson. The 6’7 swingman possesses stupid athleticism, an explosive first step, a swift second jump which enables him to board his own misses around the bucket and a smooth mid range jumper. In the tourney Johnson (16.5 pts, 8.5 boards, 50% fg, 41% three’s) has raised his scoring average from a team high 16.5 points to 24.5, boards from a team-leading 8.5 to 10.5, triple accuracy from 41.3 percent to a blistering 64 percent. Johnson also makes an impact on the defensive end averaging 1.7 thefts and 1.9 blocks game.

Senior floor general Andy Rautins has improved his game exponentially. The 6’4 combo guard (2 steals, 80.3 ft %) has raised his scoring from 12 pts a night to 17.5 pts in the Dance, fg from 43.8 percent to 50 percent, and triple percentage from 41 percent to 50 percent. Rautins is the undisputed team leader. He’s a pure pyromaniac with unlimited range that can heat up any minute and he can deliver bedazzling highlight reel hot plates to his teammates for buckets.

Big East Sixth Man of the Year Kris Joseph (11 pts, 5.5 rebounds, 49.4% fg) is a great ankle cracking slasher. Sturdy guard Brandon Triche (8.3 pts, 50.3% fg, 41% treys) aggressively penetrates gaps and efficiently bust jumpers. Point guard Scoop Jardine is a good distributor (8.9 pts, 4.3 assists) and is an outside threat (49.5 % fg, 39.6 three’s). It will be pivotal Orangemen center Rick Jackson (9.9 pts, 7 bounds, 2 blocks, 59% fg) plays judiciously since they limited front court depth with Onauku out to be an interior defensive presence. If Cuse elects to utilize the 6’9, 240 pound Jackson he can be a load inside for thinner Butler center Matt Howard especially since he has a penchant for getting in foul trouble.

# 5 Butler Bulldogs- How they got here- Rd 1 beat #12 UTEP Miners 77-59, Rd 2 beat Murray State Racers 54-52

After soundly smacking the torrid UTEP Miners in the opening round, the Horizon regular season and conference tournament champion Butler Bulldogs narrowly survived a low scoring, but captivating battle over the Murray State Racers that came down to the final possession.

Butler is led by Horizon POY Gordon Hayward. The 6’9 forward (15.2 pts, 8.3 boards, 47.1% fg, 81.9 % ft) may look like he could be the fourth member of the Hansons but please don’t get it tangled cause he’ll roast you like KFC rotisserie gold if you disregard his skills. Hayward can is sublime player who’s equally adept at scoring in the post or from the perimeter. Although Hayward’s only connecting on 28 percent of his treyball attempts (shot 45 percent last year) his stroke has to be respected. The sophomore has been off thus far in the tourney. Butler’s leading scorer and rebounds is shooting a putrid 28.6 percent from the floor, 10 percent on three’s and is only averaging 5.5 boards a game. All of those numbers will have to increase drastically for the Bulldogs 2 have a chance to pop the West region’s top seed.

Bulldogs pivot Matt Howard (12 pts, 5.3 rebounds, 49.6% fg, 80.4% ft) posted very substandard digits last weekend. Last year’s Horizon League POY only averaged 7 points 3.5 rebounds and 6 shots in Butler’s two wins. That ain’t getting it done against Syracuse. Butler will have to make a concerted effort to get the big fella more involved. If Howard is fed the pill he could be very valuable in the post at the bottom of Syracuse’s zone. Look for him 2 hide behind the Orange bigs, capitalistically positioning himself for inside buckets. It’s also essential Howard stays on the floor. If he gets in foul trouble the game will instantly be a done dada like ripped prada.

Shooting guard Shelvin Mack (14.1 pts, 3.1 asst 47% fg, 40% treys) is a firestarting three point hurler. Mack blazed the nets like Newport cigarette in Butler’s win over UTEP in the first round to the tune of 7-9 from the land of plenty and 25 points. His ability to drill trifectas will be crucial to loosening Cuse’s staunch zone, which can create driving lanes and zone vulnerabilities. Point guard Ronald (6 pts, 3.1 asst) isn’t a major offensive threat but he’s shown he’s capable of elevating his game when necessary, scoring 11 massive points in the Butler’s triumph over Murray St.

Look for Butler to make it a slow down affair to combat the Orange outstanding transition game. Butler will need to methodically move the ball around to get the zone moving from side to side, expose infirmities and get quality looks. Butler should use Hayward at the free throw line and try to go high low in the post to Howard. It’s obligatory the Bulldogs make triples.

The Bulldogs are a very formidable foe and should be commended for getting to the Sweet 16. It’s a great accomplishment. But unless Mack makes it monsoon, not make it rain like Fat Joe and Lil Wayne, but MONSOON it will be extremely difficult for Butler to thwart Syracuse high octane attack and maddening 2-3 zone. Tick tock. Tick tock. The pretty Cinderella is about to get clocked.