5 things to watch for as Syracuse basketball hosts former Big East rival St


Back to Main MenuWeather HomeSchool Event ClosuresBack to Main MenuCrime Safety HomePolice BlotterReported CrimesCity of SyracuseNorth Suburbs Oswego CountyEast Suburbs Madison CountyWest Suburbs Cayuga CountyCNY TrafficBack to Main MenuPhotos HomePhoto EssaysBuy Photo ReprintsYour PhotosBack to Main MenuVideos HomeNews VideosSports VideosHigh School Sports VideosEntertainment VideosLiving VideosSyracuse, which left the Big East after the 2012 13 season, is in its second year as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. St. John's remains in the Big East, which bears only slight resemblance to the Big East of old with the likes of Creighton, Butler and Xavier among the league's membership.St. John's is 5 1 and off to the best start in Steve Lavin's five years as the Red Storm's head coach. The only loss of the season for St. John's was a 73 66 loss to nationally ranked Gonzaga. Syracuse, meanwhile, is 5 2 and coming off a 66 63 loss at No. 17 Michigan on Tuesday.Syracuse has won nine straight games against St. John's and 15 of the last 16 in the series. St. John's hasn't beaten Syracuse at the Carrier Dome since a 75 70 win over the Orange on Jan. 27, 1999.A St. John's win tonight would not only break the Red Storm's losing streak against Syracuse, but it would also snap the Orange's 55 game home win streak against non conference opponents. Could a former conference rival be the one to end SU's non conference domination?Here are five things to watch as the Orange takes on St. John's:Syracuse senior Rakeem Christmas leads the Orange in both scoring and rebounding this season. Chris Obekpa is not the offensive threat that Christmas is, but the 6 foot 10 junior is one of the nation's leaders in blocked shots.Christmas has become Syracuse's go to guy. His 17.1 points per game is the highest average for a Syracuse player since Jonny Flynn scored 17.4 points per game in the 2008 09 season. The last SU player to average more than Christmas' 9 rebounds per game was Rick Jackson, who averaged 10.3 boards in 2010 11.Michigan gave Christmas some problems by double teaming him when he got the ball in the low post. Obekpa's presence gives St. John's the luxury of double teaming when it wants to, instead of when it has to. Obekpa is already St. John's all time leader in blocks. He led the nation as a freshman, ranked 11th last year and is currently fifth in the country this season at 3.8 per game.Can Christmas find a way to score against the Red Storm's shot blocker? Will Obekpa shut down SU's top scorer? And will foul trouble play a factor?This will be the biggest matchup, literally and figuratively, in tonight's game.Often in non conference games, Syracuse will enter the [url=http://www.fashionshoes.us.com/blue-pvc-suspenodo-sling-100mm-replica.html]... PVC Suspenodo Sling 100mm game with an advantage because the other team has never faced a zone defense quite like the Orange's 2 3.But in St. John's, Syracuse is playing a non conference foe that has played the Orange in each of Black Ostri Sling 120mm the last 12 seasons. Of course, last year's game at Madison Square Garden was the first non conference game between Syracuse and St. John's since the 1978 79 season, which was the year before both schools became part of the Big East Conference.Experience becomes an even bigger factor due to St. John's lineup of veterans. The Red Storm starts three seniors guards Phil Greene IV and D'Angelo Harrison plus wing Sir'Dominic Pointer. Obekpa, a junior, starts at center. In fact, in one game this season, St. John's coach Steve Lavin used a starting lineup of four seniors plus Obekpa.All of the St. John's players have seen the Syracuse zone, most on multiple occasions. Will that help the Red Storm? St. John's might need the edge. As a team, the Red Storm is making just 28.9 percent of its 3 pointers this season.Cooney had struggled from 3 point range in Syracuse's first six games. The junior guard had made just nine of his 33 attempts (27.3 percent) from beyond the arc.The rough start to the season came on the heels of Cooney's late season slump in the last 10 games of the 2013 14 season. In those games, Cooney had gone 16 for N... PVC Suspenodo Sling 80mm 69 (23.1 percent) on his 3 point attempts. Combine the end of last season with the beginning of this season and Cooney's numbers were 25 of 102 (24.5 percent).Cooney's shooting stroke returned against Michigan. He made four out of nine shots from beyond the arc. All of his makes came in the second half, helping Syracuse rally from a 10 point deficit. That one game raised Cooney's percentage up to 30.9 percent.It's important that Cooney remain a threat from 3 point range. His 13 made 3 pointers are more than the rest of the team combined. Cooney's teammates are a combined 11 for 64 (17.1 percent) from the 3 point line.Michigan shot the ball poorly in the first half of its game against Syracuse, but the Wolverines stayed close thanks to 11 offensive rebounds in the first half.