Who's it gonna be? Kansas or Syracuse?
 

Vote now please.

I say,

Kansas 83 Syracuse 77.

Syracuse by 9.

It's Roy's year. Jayhawks 80, 'Cuse 69

kansas by about 15, how about 75-60

It'll be similar to the year when John Wallace carried Syracuse to the national title game against Kentucky.... Kansas by 9, 92-83.

Kansas gets ahead by a comfortable margin in the 1st Half (10 Points or so), and keeps the lead in that range the rest of the way..

In a Final that lacks any 2nd Half drama, KU takes the cake 82-70.

My question is how long after the Final Buzzard until Roy Williams is asked about the UNC Job? Will Bonnie Bernstein (5 Star Hottie! WOW!!) or whomever it is from CBS that interviews him right after the game do so?

The media will ask him about it right after the game, and Roy will either refuse to comment about it, or come right out and say that he is not leaving KU.

Kansas 90, Syracuse 78.

...and no one will believe a word of it.

please please roy leave KU this time. That's really the only thing I care about coming into this final four... I always hated Syracuse, Texas and Marquette are boring, and Kansas I like but eh. It's all about the UNC job :)

Syracuse 85, Kansas 72

Syracuse. Anthony will be the MVP.


Todd

Should be a great game where lead changes should be often. The team that controls the tempo will win.

If Kansas can push the ball up the court quickly and keep Syracuse from getting into the 2-3 zone then Kansas could win. Another option is to push the ball inside for Kansas since Syracuse has some soft spots in their underbelly.

Syracuse will need to slow Kansas down and stay in the zone. They are not very good at man to man and will really have to rely on the freshmen to put some points on the board if it indeed becomes a faster paced game. Syracuse has shown they can score in bunches as well in the Texas game, but their defense wasn't as strong as they'd like it to. Kansas will be a tough test, but the Texas win proves they are up to the challenge.

meanstrosty,

I would not say that syracuse is not very good at man to man. Obviously, their main defense is the 2-3, but there were a few occassions this season, most notably Pittsburgh, where syracuse was down in the second half, and they switched defenses to a m2m press. They came back to win the games they did this.

I think a few of the players (in fact, Billy Edelin stated a few months back), that he prefers m2m, and plays better in the man than the zone.

The above is why I sometimes wonder if the talking heads really watch anymore basketball than I do. They talk about how we will lose a game if the zone is broken, but Boeheim has shown many times this season that he will play m2m, and on even more occassions will press and then fall back into either zone or m2m. The Syracuse press has been very, very good this year, and a great weapon.

I cannot really argue with the rest of your analysis, but I did want to add that Syracuse can play a good m2m defense....not great, but pretty good.

Also, Boeheim has commented several times during the season that over half of the time they play m2m in practice. I guess it just does not take a ton of practice to play zone defense. (?)Probably just practice the adjustments you are making for the team you are playing next.

Sorry Marm, Rock Chalk.

They're just way too loaded.

Interesting Notes.....

Syracuse has been to the final four in the years following the Patriots being in the Superbowl. They lost 2, we lost 2. they won in 2002.

It has been 44 years (see signature) since SU has won a NC in football or basketball.

A major snowstorm is predicted for the East coast.

:)

Marmel,

I'm sure that Syracuse can play fine man to man defense, but that's not their bread and butter. They need to keep teams from the inside and force them to shoot outside. That's how they beat Pitt by forcing bad shots from the guards. When they lost to Connecticut, the Huskies exploded with great interior play.

The key to Syracuse will be McNamara. If he can hit his shots...Syracuse can and probably will win this game. If he struggles though, he can quickly become a liability on the floor.

2 words, CARMELO ANTHONY!!!

That's why Syracuse is going to win...

Orangemen by 5.

Syracuse is looking awfully impressive right now. Doing a great job forcing Kansas outside with the 2-3 zone and really getting at it on the offensive end. Boeheim and company came to play today folks. Very impressive stuff.

81-78 Cuse. I really thought Kansas would win, but congrats to the Cuse.

Great game, I really hate when foul trouble comes into play, but it is part of the game. (Also sucks when injury does, Carmelo Anthony)

Fantastic game though. Syracuse and Kansas both played to their strengths and just led to a great game. Truly couldn't have asked for a better effort from either team. Congrats to Coach Boeheim.

I'm going out on a limb and say; Syracuse 81 Kansas 78. :)

LOL. Watch ESPN Classic over the next couple of years to see if you're right, lol.

I'm picking Syracuse.

I think you may be right. Kansas will keep it close with their superior offensive rebounding, but Syracuse's three point shooting will do them in... :D

Well, you called it.