Orange Crushed; Orange Crush-er; UConn hosts Orange Coat; Duke at Wake;

Syracuse's awful first half doomed them.  Down eleven at the half, at home, to #7 Villanova, the #3 Orange never were able to dig out of the early hole they dug themselves.  The presence of Kris Joseph in their lineup again (he suffered a head injury against Cincinnati and sat out at #5 Pitt) wasn't enough, even though he did pour in 23 points.  He managed only one rebound and shot 8-16 from the floor.  Rick Jackson, aka Double-Double Machine, added 16 points and 13 boards but the rest of the team (besides Brandon Triche, 14 points) struggled mightily.  The Orange shot 39% for the game while Nova shot 46% (including a +14 advantage from the stripe).  Villanova bounced back nicely after their last-second loss to #10 UKem...UConn in Storrs to improve to 16-2, 5-1 in the Big East.  The Orange dropped their second game in a row and fell to 19-2, 5-2 in the Big East.  Villanova travels to Providence Wednesday.  Syracuse host Seton Hall on Tuesday.

#1 Ohio State survived another tough test within the Big Ten, escaping the always hostile Alumni Hall with a 73-68 win over #23 Illinois.  After trailing at the half by a point, the Buckeyes did just enough in the 2nd half to hang on.  They're 7-0 in the Big Ten with their average  margin of victory a measly 7.8 points (they beat Iowa by 22 and Indiana by 18).  Their next one is a prime time match up versus thormoo's #14 Boilermakers on Wednesday at 9pm.  The Illini head to Hoosier Country on Thursday.

Ohio St. is good, but this 7-man rotation they have is going to come back to get them come tournament time.  A key factor in this one was the charity stripe - Ohio St. was 24-27 and the Illini were 8-10.  Tough to win when you get outscored by 16 at the stripe - ask Syracuse.  Jared Sullinger (27 points, 16 boards) is a beast though.  Had Kyrie Irving stayed healthy, it'd be a battle for best freshman in the country. 

#8 UConn hosts Bruce Pearl and his orange coat'ed Vols today.  Pearl is coaching this non-conference game because his suspension is only for SEC games.  Kemba Walker's knuckle-ball tear-drop gave them the win versus #7 Villanova the other night.  Tennessee has some group of athletes, but they don't always come to play.  So far, they're leading the Huskies 21-15 following the third media timeout.  UConn shooting 37% and Kemba has a goose egg.  U U U aaaah U, That's Who!  Let's go UConn, the Big East needs this one.

#4 Duke heads to Wake Forest as a 23 point favorite at 4:00pm.  I will be stuck here laying down floor decals for tomorrows men's game on MSG.  Wake has fallen on some tough times this season with some of their losses coming to Stetson, VCU, Winthrop, UNC-Wilmington, and Presbyterian.  I didn't even know Presbyterian was a Division I program.  I think Duke will struggle early, but pull away late, as they did the other night against Virginia.  They need to come out of the gate hard and put the game away by the first media timeout.  Wake, 0-4 in the ACC, only faces Duke this one time, so this may be their lone chance at a court storming.  Personally, it better not happen, but crazier things have happened. (see Presbyterian Blue Hose; yes, that is their nickname).  Let's Go Duke!

This women's game is almost at the half, therefore I have to sacrifice my office to the officials for 15 minutes.  38-21 Marist at the half.  Yikes!