With a 99-85 loss to #4 Syracuse last night, the Providence Friars drop their 7th game in a row, and their 4th in a row to a team ranked in the TOP EIGHT.  It’s been a brutal stretch, with some brutal stretches of bad play leading to these losses.  This time, it was a poor 2nd half against Syracuse after quite the offensive performance in the first.  Even though PC lost and looked quite over matched in last 20 minutes, boy was that first half entertaining.  It was raining threes by EVERYONE (including BMac!), there were alleyoops from Curry to Greedy, and even RAY HALL was dropping some points.  Providence took a surprising 5 point lead (52-47) into the half.

What should the Friars have done?  They should have pulled a George Costanza and left on a high note!  “Alright that’s it for me - Good night everybody!”

Bottom line: Syracuse is freakin’ good and have only lost TWO games all year — we will know more about the state of our program after the final three games (with two of then winnable IMO) and their performance in the BIG EAST Tournament.

(AP Photo/Stew Milne)

Liftoff after the jump!

Read More

Fear not Friar fans, the end of the GAUNTLET is almost here!  Sure, we’ve gotten a big fat ZERO points along the way, and nothing but bruises all over our bodies, but hey it looks like we will make it out alive. That’s not enough though. To make it through the rest of this season in Friartown, we need to be like Jack Bauer. We need to persevere and not give up. What did Jack do this season when Renee (she’s always been hot, now she’s crazy chick hot) stabbed him in the abdomen accidentally after repeatedly stabbing a Russian mobster to death?  He didn’t pass out, fall to the ground in agony, or even “feel pain”.  He pulled that mother effer out of his gut, and made a back handed throw into the neck of a different Russian Mobster to save the day.

So let’s do this tonight Friars!  Let’s stab the Russian Mobster that is Syracuse Basketball and end this losing streak!

Now that’s a sexy GUANTLET!

WHAT TO: KNOW

Game Time: 7:00PM

Opponent: Syracuse Orange (25-2, 12-2)

Location: The DUNK

Spread: Syracuse -8.5

ESPN AccuScore Prediction: Syracuse 86, PC 74 (Cusewins in 80% of 10,000 sims)

CBS Prediction: Syracuse 87, PC 75

Pomeroy Prediction: Syracuse 84, PC 74 (80% confidence)

WHAT TO: LOOK FOR

• Vincent Council is still questionable to play tonight, and this is obviously a huge huge factor.  Even if he does get on the court, you would wonder how effective he will be with a very sore right hand.  Look for Sharaud Curry to play 40 minutes, and Johnnie Lacy to see more time than usual as well.
• Bilal Dixon is also shaking off an injury to his ankle.  Remember, PC was able to stay in the game in the first half with great offensive rebounding when PC met Syracuse earlier in the month.  Dixon can obviously pull in his share of offensive boards, so the Friars need him at full strength.
• Andy Rautins has been on fire lately, and we all know what big shooters can do against the defense.  Rautins missed the game last year which Providence won at the DUNK due to an injury.
• Lots of Girls dressed like Lady Gaga

WHAT TO: READ

StatSheet.com Pregame

Friars.com Gamenotes [PDF]

The Friars return to action on Tuesday, February 23 versus No. 4/4 Syracuse at 7:00 p.m. in Providence. The Friars have posted a 10-42 mark all-time versus the Orange. The Friars are 6-20 at home, 3-18 on the road and 1-4 on neutral courts all-time against Syracuse. The two teams first met on December 29, 1969 with Syracuse earning a 94-83 win in Charlotte, N.C. Last season, the Friars defeated No. 15 Syracuse, 100-94, on January 28, 2009 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. In the first meeting between the two teams this season atthe Carrier Dome, Syracuse earned an 85-68 win over the Friars on February 2.

SUAthletics.com: Providence Awaits #4/4 Syracuse

Syracuse is 10-0 away from the Carrier Dome this season. The team is 7-0 in true road contests and 3-0 in neutral-site affairs. The last time the Orange did not lose a road game in the regular season was in 1917-18.

Projo: Under Davis, Friars are always very early to the gym

With time on their side, the Friars settle into their home arena early on game nights. Make that real early. In a new schedule this season, Davis brings his players together five hours before a game at The Dunk. During that time, they’ll study an opponent’s attack, eat a catered meal, receive treatment on injuries, catch a nap, talk on the phone and be free to shoot as many free throws as they’d like.

Projo: Capsule Preview: Syracuse at Providence

Syracuse is one of the country’s elite offensive teams. Orange leads the country in field-goal shooting (52%) and averages 80.6 points a game

Syracuse.com: Orange Scouting Report: Syracuse at Providence

Andy Rautins wasn’t just hot, he was on fire at Georgetown. His five 3-pointers tied the most he’s made in Big East play this season. His 26 points were three shy of his career-high, which he set last season against Coppin State. He was 5-for-9 from 3-point range and also went 9-for-11 at the foul line.

CBS Preview

Two wins away from the program’s first perfect road record in 92 years, the fourth-ranked Orange visit Providence on Tuesday night with plenty of confidence after blowing out the Friars earlier this month.

The Sports Network: Orange and Friars hook up in Big East action

A 75-71 triumph at nationally-ranked Georgetown last Thursday, coupled with a Villanova loss on Sunday, moved the Orange into sole possession of first place in the Big East at 12-2. The victory over Georgetown not only improved Syracuse to 6-0 against ranked teams, but it also kept the team perfect in true road games at 7-0. The Orange are now a healthy 25-2 overall and will host Villanova on Saturday in a game that could ultimately determine the Big East champion.

Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician: Not You Again, Providence

If any fanbase can understand Providence’s frustrations in the midst of the six-game losing streak (and losers of eight of their last nine), it’s Syracuse.  Providence is just-about completeing a Big East gauntlet not seen since, well, Syracuse ran it last year.

Orange:44: Providence - Syracuse Preview

But make no mistake: this is a big game for Syracuse. Not in the sense that it’s necessary to secure a 1-seed in the NCAA Tourney or anything of significant importance, but more so to keep the high intensity going into that Nova game. Providence is a shell of its former self this year, somehow finding itself near the bottom of the Big East Conference, with lowly Rutgers and DePaul. Still, at 12-14 overall and 4-10 in the conference, the Friars can still steal games

The Daily Orange: 5 Keys: Syracuse/Providence

4. Get Wes back to 100 percent — Johnson vowed he’d be back to “Old Wes” by Tuesday. We saw glimpses in D.C., glimpses that he is losing the post-injury tentativeness that had been holding him back. While he has proven himself to be an effective shooter, SU truly needs Johnson to get to the rim with reckless abandon. If he’s healed, he’ll do just that against Providence.

CuseOrange: SU Faces Davis’ High-Flying Attack

SU’s loss to Providence last January remains as one of the most frustrating losses in Big East memory. The ‘Cuse hung  94 on the Friars that night at the Dunk and still lost, bringing back memories of high-scoring shortcomings to UMass and Rhode Island from 2007. 35 points from Jonny Flynn and 27 from Eric Devendorf, all for naught, thanks to double-figure scoring efforts from 7 Providence players.

WHERE TO: WATCH

The game will be carried on ESPNU

WHERE TO: FOLLOW

Friars.com Gametracker

As always, I’ll be on Twitter @friarblog with in-game updates.

As original members of the BIG EAST, Providence and Syracuse have a long history.  Aside from the win at the DUNK last year, the Orange have pretty much owned the Black and White recently.  We need to become better rivals.  Why, you ask?  So a blog like Hoya Suxa can create videos like this when they beat us.  You may have seen this floating around the web a few weeks ago when Syracuse beat Georgetown.  If not, here ya go.

Forget wins, NCAA Tournament appearances, blah blah blah.  Keno’s legacy at Providence should be measured by whether or not our team can inspire awesome internet hi-jinks/hatred on opposing teams’ blogs.

Anyways, aside from the Greedy dunk, there wasn’t too much excitement in this game.  The Cuse remembered that they were way better/bigger/faster/stronger than PC right out of the gate in the 2nd half and didn’t look back.

Hit up the rest of the recap, after the jump.

Read More

In lieu of the regular preview around these parts (I’m just swamped with work and won’t have time to put anything together), here is the grand PODCAST DEBUT of yours truly.  Syracuse bloggers Sean from Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician and Brian from Orange:44 were kind enough to invite me on their podcast last night to discuss tonight’s game, our teams, and other BIG EAST happenings.  I think I did OK for it being my first time doing such a thing, even if I did fumble around and repeated myself at times.  Like our beloved Friars, it’s a learning experience.  Anyways, check out the podcast below.  Hope you enjoy! Any feedback is appreciated.

via TalkShoe

You can also download the mp3 directly here for your Zunes, or whatever you kids use to listen to music these days.

Thanks again to Sean and Brian for letting me join in on the good conversation!

Sean runs the fantastic Syracuse blog “Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician”.  Check it out for all things Syracuse sports, without any of that “journalistic integrity”. Follow him on Twitter!

I exchanged some questions with him via email.

Friarblog.com: Let’s get the most important question out of the way — Who is your favorite “Zooperstar“  character?

TNIAAM: I was immediately drawn to Iciroach Suzuki.  The name was creative and feels like it should be horribly racist but I can’t put my finger on why.  And then I start to wonder if it’s just me that’s racist and then things get really dark. So…

Friarblog.com: What is your level of confidence heading into the game tomorrow?

TNIAAM: Completely shot.  I don’t know what to think of this team now.  The wheels are coming off, figuratively and literally.  We’ll be lucky to show up with 7 active players the way injuries have been popping up.  And even if we were healthy, I’d still be concerned given the recent struggles.  I feel like the team is losing it’s identity and almost everyone is going into a rut at the same time.  The last thing we need is a road Big East game where we’re disliked.  As we’ve seen this season so far, we don’t play well under those conditions.

Friarblog.com: Syracause has had a lot of success against PC over the past decade basically.  Do you throw that out the window given Providence’s new coach and veteran team?

TNIAAM: Well, I never give much credence to yearly streaks and results.  What does what happened in 2002 have to do with these two teams?  And in this conference, anyone can beat anyone else on any given night.  Except DePaul.  They can’t beat anyone.

What the series has lacked in national appeal it always makes up for in old school hate.  We don’t like you guys and you don’t like us.  And that’s rare to come by these days in the expanded Big East.  Playing Marquette and Cincy are important games but I don’t get emotionally wrapped up in them.  I do for Providence, it’s a classic Big East match-up.  You gotta take advantage of those things these days to maintain what makes the Big East truly great.

Friarblog.com: If you could have only one of the following, what would it be? 

- Andy Rautins in the lineup
- Paul Harris rocking the FRO in the lineup.

TNIAAM: DAMN YOU, that’s a hard choice.  Sub-question…can Andy rock the FRO instead AND play?  If not, then I have to go with Andy Rautins playing.  He’s a sparkplug and, quite frankly, our best scoring threat.  No other player on the team consistently changes the game like he can with his threes.  Paul Harris will still be there, ‘fro or not, doing Paul Harris things.  The ‘fro would be nice, and I do think it’s time to pull it out again (that’s what she said), but I can live without it for another game.

Friarblog.com: If Rautins does not play (he’s doubtful), what does that do to the offense (aside from jacking up 10 less threes)?  Who needs to step up?

TNIAAM: Where’s Jonny Flynn been?  That’s what I want to know.  We need Jonny to put us on his back for this one.  We need him to put together a 24-point, 12-assist, 7-steal game.  We need a nasty posterizing dunk like the one from the Rutgers game.  We need some swagger out of him. 

If not Jonny, then it’s gotta be Devo.  He’s got an outside shot as well and, when he’s on, he can take over a game.  The problem is, when he’s off, he’s doesn’t know not to keep trying.  So it’s a double-edged sword.

Friarblog.com: Jonny Flynn hasn’t been shooting too well in BIG EAST play.  Do you think its a) his 35 mins / game is starting to wear on him b) increased competition in the league coupled with a tough schedule c) just a coincidental poor stretch.

TNIAAM: I think he’s been in a poor stretch and he’s dealing with a team dynamic that is set up for different players to score on different nights.  I wouldn’t say I expect any one player to lead the team in scoring every night.  Sometimes it’s Rautins.  Sometimes it’s Flynn.  Other nights it’s Devo.  And Arinze and Paul always have their contributions as well. 

As for Flynn, I think he’s gotta flip that internal switch.  Earlier this year it seemed like it was on all the time.  These days it seems like it’s hit-or-miss.  But at the end of the day, he’s the leader out there, whether he’s scoring 25 or 5.  He needs to set the tone and get back that old form.

Friarblog.com: I don’t know if you saw any of the PC-Marquette highlights (well, the basketball ones), but Providence lead for most of the game until the three Marquette seniors basically willed the team to victory in a great comeback at the end.   Have you seen any of that “no quit” mentality from Syracuse this season?

TNIAAM: Earlier this season, I saw Syracuse win some basketball games that many previous Syracuse teams would have lost.  Namely the Kansas win where the JayHawks just wouldn’t go away and the Richmond game where SU held off a frisky underdog.  Last year, we lose both those games.  So early on, our expectations were re-calibrated.  But since they got into the Big East gauntlet, it’s like that old team mentality has creeped back in.  They’re getting pushed around and out-played.  It’s extremely worrisome, especially since we know for a fact this team is better than that.

Friarblog.com: Final Predictions

TNIAAM: I’m very scared but that won’t stop me from predicting a 76-73 Syracuse win in an extremely well-contested match-up.  Good luck!

Thanks Sean!

This is what we are up against tomorrow folks…

via Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician

Well, first there is obviously the game — which if PC can beat Seton Hall this Thursday, will be another huge home game against a ranked team for the Friars…a second chance to travel down the road to relevance if you will.

Then there is the small internet clash that surfaced a few weeks ago over Friar Dominic’s Facebook Event to “Black Out The Dunk Against Syracuse”, which then prompted the Syracuse blog “Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician” to post the response: “Providence Still Plays Basketball?”.  Friendly greetings and pleasantries were exchanged amongst the two internet fanbases.

Well here is another one to make things even more interesting.  After Randall Hanke’s 7-7 performance on Monday night against Cincinnati, he overtook Syracuse forward Arinze Onuaku for best shooting percentage in the nation.