Devofan

Rutgers Scarlet Knights 9-7 (0-3 BE)

Rutgers Starting Lineup:
G Anthony Farmer Sr.
G Mike Rosario Fr.
G Corey Chandler Soph.
F Gregory Echenique Fr.
C Hamady N'Diaye Jr.

Key bench Players:
F J.R. Inman Sr.
G Mike Coburn Soph.
G/F Ear Pettis Soph.

Previous Game:  The Scarlet Knights went to 0-3 in BE play with a loss at home to # 18 Marquette on Wednesday 81-76.  Wesley Matthews for Marquette was a perfect 10-10 from the field and led MU with 23 points and 6 rebounds.  Rutgers did rally from a 19 point deficit when Corey Chandler and Mike Rosario turned it on, but it just wasn't enough.

Game Preview:  This game scares Syracuse fans, as all BE games do, but this one is a little moreso.  Any game against Rutgers at the RAC is a game Syracuse struggles in.  This game will really tell us some things about 'Cuse.  Now, if Cuse is going to win this game and win with relative ease, instead of worrying so much about Mike Rosario, the only double digit scorer on Rutgers, they need to worry about other people getting hot.  The freshaman Rosario averaging 17.6 ppg is almost doubling the point production of second leading scorer Anthony Farmer (9 ppg).  He is going to shoot the ball and shoot it a lot.  What Cuse doesn't want is someone like Gregory Echinique to get hot on the inside or J.R. Inman off the bench, that would open up a whole lot of things for Rutgers.  Cuse should also let Rutgers take those deep shots, shooting just 29% on the season from beyond the arc is one of the reasons they are just 9-7.  Cuse really needs to take care of the ball in this one, playing in such a hostile enviroment things they wouldn't normally do, they do.  Bad turnovers, bad shots and poor defense are the key things Cuse does not need to do if they want to keep the intense New Jersey crownd out of the game.  On the offensive side of the ball Andy Rautins needs to continue his hot streak, he has led Cuse in scoring the last 4 games and is averaging 21.5 ppg in that stretch while shooting 57% from 3 point range while averaging 4.8 apg, those are some eye popping stats.  He keeps that up Cuse will win.

My Prediction:  This game will tell Cuse some things about themselves, and help them for the tough roadies at G Town and Nova.  Cuse pulls it out 79-70.  Look for Rautins to continue to light it up, he has been deadly since Devendorf got suspended.

Final Score: 82-66 Syracuse