3 keys for Syracuse against Louisville

Get Rautins involved early

We’ve seen a few streaky games from Syracuse’s team leader as of late, and it’s translated to streaky play overall for the Orange. The secret to unlocking the full potential of Boeheim’s run-and-gun offense, though, depends on getting Rautins’ touches early. If the guard can scare Cardinal defenders from beyond the arc in the first half, it will force extra defenders to peel off Wes Johnson and pick up extra duty on Rautins. It’s a time-tested theory that if Rautins draws extra defenders, the rest of the offense flows uninterrupted. When players like Brandon Triche and Rick Jackson go off for 15-plus on a night, chances are No. 1 was on fire early.

Contain Edgar Sosa

Even though Samardo Samuels is the best scoring threat for the Cardinals night in and night out, the secret for the Orange will be keeping Edgar Sosa from following suit. Sosa can be dynamic at times – don’t let his 13.6 points per game average fool you. The speedy guard can hit better than 40 percent from beyond the arc and slice some pretty eye-opening passes once he gets going. This year, it hasn’t been the big-time forwards that have bothered the Orange, but instead a heavy dose of guard play. Like in the Notre Dame game, Syracuse will be better off letting the high-scoring forward have his points and bring extra help up top to make sure there aren’t two leaks in the boat.

Go small with Joseph

In no way does this suggest Syracuse’s starting lineup is flawed – the team’s best start in program history does the talking. But when head coach Jim Boeheim makes the switch and goes with a smaller lineup (Brandon Triche or Scoop Jardine, Andy Rautins, Wes Johnson, Rick Jackson or Arinze Onuaku, and Kris Joseph), possibilities just seem to increase exponentially. Joseph is now second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points a game, and that’s off the bench. His ability to create during dry spells is invaluable and should be experimented with more during games. Should he be playing more than 26.9 minutes per game? Should Onuaku or Jackson take more of a breather and allow him more room to create? It’s difficult to have a definitive answer to that question until it’s put into action. Louisville might just be the perfect opportunity to try it out.

– Compiled by Sports Editor Conor Orr

Published on February 11, 2010 at 12:00 pm