Brian Otskey is the Big East Correspondent for RTC. He is reporting from the Big East Tournament all week, and will sum up his thoughts on the day’s action each evening. You can find him on Twitter @botskey.
Syracuse took a punch from Cincinnati right out of the gate on Friday evening and the Orange failed to do enough to get back on their feet. Behind a stellar performance by Sean Kilpatrick and the solid interior play of Yancy Gates, the Bearcats advanced to their first-ever Big East final, where they will take on Louisville in Saturday night’s edition of “Conference USA has come to the Big Apple,” as Rick Pitino put it. The Cardinals jumped on Notre Dame from the start and never looked back. Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng had terrific games for Pitino, who will face his former assistant Mick Cronin for all the marbles.
- This time around, Syracuse got burned in the half court – It was an outstanding game plan by Mick Cronin. The Bearcats featured a tough zone that cut off driving lanes, deflected passes and gang rebounded. It helped quite a bit that Cincinnati was on fire from deep in the first half but it was UC’s zone that won the game. Syracuse was out of sync for 30 minutes and couldn’t make a big play when it needed to. Jim Boeheim said they played well over the last 10 minutes but obviously that wasn’t enough in a full 40-minute game. I think this is a legitimate concern for Syracuse going forward and I mentioned it in this spot yesterday. Aside from Mr. Instant Offense himself, Dion Waiters (28 points), Syracuse failed its test against a team that is tough, physical and can keep them in the half court. SU had only two fast break points all game, never able to utilize perhaps the best transition game in the nation. The Orange have the talent to win the national title but I’m not so sure they can win six straight games that will feature fewer transition opportunities and more conservative approaches.
- Cincinnati’s NCAA seed will surge – Even if the Bearcats don’t win on Saturday night, their NCAA Tournament seed is going to take a big step up. The Selection Committee has historically rewarded great performances in the Big East Tournament and a win like this certainly qualifies. Just a week or two ago, Cincinnati was considered to be on the bubble because of a poor RPI and an atrocious non-conference schedule. Not anymore. The Bearcats sport six RPI top 50 wins even before Friday and I feel they’re worthy of a five or six seed in the field of 68, especially if they win tomorrow.
- Louisville looked magnificent yet again – All of a sudden the Cardinals look like the team that was ranked in the Top 10 to begin the season. Louisville shot 56% tonight and looked nothing like the team ranked near the bottom of the Big East in offensive efficiency. Point guard Peyton Siva played perhaps his best game in his three seasons wearing a Louisville uniform, turning the ball over only twice while posting 13 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. The beneficiary of most of those assists was center Gorgui Dieng, who made all eight of his shots. Louisville appears to have very good chemistry on both ends of the floor (especially on defense) and the improved play out of Siva makes this team very dangerous heading into the NCAA Tournament. The ball pressure from Rick Pitino’s stifling defense really disrupted Notre Dame on the perimeter as the Irish made just two of 17 threes on the night.
- It is tough to predict how Notre Dame will do in the NCAA Tournament – The Fighting Irish play a style that is conducive to winning in March because teams become conservative and the games are played with fewer and longer possessions. Mike Brey loves to take the air out of the basketball offensively and has players who can execute late in the shot clock. However, this is a team that’s lacking a bit in talent and is always vulnerable to a poor shooting night like we saw on Friday evening. A team that’s really physical like Kansas State could be one that gives Notre Dame some problems. The NCAA Tournament is always about matchups but that’s especially true with Notre Dame. Depending on whom they play, the Irish could lose in their first game or advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Keep in mind that this team did nothing out of conference. In a scenario where you are facing a team you’ve never seen before, it could be hard for the Irish to prepare given its shortfall in talent. Notre Dame had great game plans against familiar Big East teams but it is not going to know its NCAA opponents nearly as well. It may not be so easy to prepare and devise a successful game plan in the Big Dance.