Beilein versus Boeheim

When I realized we were playing Syracuse, it sparked a memory that Beilein hadn't had much success against Syracuse and Boeheim, so I researched it. Sure enough, he is 0-9 lifetime against him. Interesting food for thought. Of course, we just need him to be 1-9 against him.

Yeah- usually if not always with inferior teams, still I think it may be of SOME benefit (the experience).

'shoes

...so it looks like the law of averages is on our side!!!!

Perhaps Beilein hasn't figured out the zone defense yet. Or maybe he hasn't had a combinations of players that are quick, can dribble penetrate and can shoot good from the perimeter.

Something I noticed from watching the Syracuse v Marquette game was that Syracuse played a bit of the Match zone. I think it might be because the whole team has size and it allowed them to stay put in their zone spaces rather than switch off to defend certain players. That could take away our ability to catch them out of position and hit gaps and\or kick the ball out to the shooters.

One thing we definitely have going for us is that Syracuse hasn't faced a team yet (in the tourney) that has two guards (Timmy and Nik) that can get hot. So if Trey can dribble penetrate, which I'm sure he will because no team has stopped him all year, and kick the ball out efficiently we could be in business.

The weird stat about Syracuse is their rebounding. Zone teams typically don't get in position fast enough to get those boards but Syracuse is a top rebounding team. Their size and athleticism most definitely has something to do with it but if Mitch can grab us 10 offensive boards we'll be tough to beat.

Look for them to switch up the zone scheme (i.e. 2-3 to 3-2) to try to figure us out. But I think if we score 65 points we win.