Orange Scouting Report: Syracuse at Louisville

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Who's hot for Syracuse

Scoop Jardine put together the best all-around game of his career on Saturday against Connecticut. He scored a season-high 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting. He made all four of his 3-point attempts. He also dished out six assists against just one turnover.


Three points

Observations from an assistant coach familiar with the Louisville Cardinals:

"Louisville?s going to need to hit shots. Threes. Louisville?s not a good shooting team, but that?s because of their big guys. Their guards can shoot and that?s key against the zone."

"Fab Melo?s improvement is still unbelievable. How will Louisville defend him? Dieng can block shots, but he?s thin. Behanan?s stronger, but he?s only 6-6."

"Turnovers could make the difference. Both teams create a lot of steals, but Syracuse usually doesn?t turn it over a lot. Syracuse must control the ball against Louisville?s pressure."



Key Cardinal

Peyton Siva is a 6-foot junior guard who averages 8.5 points and 5.7 assists.

Assistant's take: "It?ll be interesting to see how Peyton Siva does against Syracuse?s zone. Siva?s a drive-and-dish guy. He sets up their shooters, Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith. But Siva?s not a good shooter himself and it?ll be interesting to see if he can still get penetration against the zone."

Stray fact

Syracuse leads the Big East in field-goal shooting at 48.1 percent. But Louisville leads the Big East in field-goal percentage defense (37.2 percent). SU?s last two opponents ranked second (UConn, 37.9 percent) and fourth (Georgetown, 38.8 percent) in field-goal defense.

 

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Syracuse to test Rick Pitino, Louisville





University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino wasn't reverting to the psychological tactics or motivational ploys he's prone to utilizing when he essentially predicted the Cardinals' current six-game winning streak a month ago.

He believed even in defeat the Cards (20-5, 8-4 Big East) had played well with the only bad effort at Providence.

"We never panic at Louisville, we just don't," Pitino said. "Because you all are interested in the last game played ? and it's not just you in particular; it could be at Indiana, it could be this team, it's everywhere. We look at the big picture."

So while it was hard not to focus on the Cardinals losing five out of seven when it entered the Pittsburgh game, Pitino stayed focused on their potential. He said right before the streak began that he wouldn't be surprised to see his team win six or seven in a row.

The six wins Louisville has reeled off have come against teams in the bottom half of the standings. Winning a seventh straight will be a bit tougher.

No. 2 Syracuse (25-1, 12-1) invades the KFC Yum! Center tonight at 7 with a 67-58 loss at Notre Dame the only blemish on its record. The Orange present a good measuring stick for Louisville to see where it stands against elite team.

"We've got great respect for Syracuse. We think they're a great basketball team, so we're going to get tested," Pitino said.

The Cardinals own a seven-game winning streak against the Orange, including a memorable upset of then-No. 1 SU in 2010.

Senior Kyle Kuric said this version of the Orange is a better team than any they've seen.

"They're not the same team as they have been. They're a lot better this year, a lot longer and talented," Kuric said. "We've just got to go in with the same mindset as we have in the past."