Syracuse vs. Oklahoma Sweet 16 Preview

Why Oklahoma Can Win: Umm, have you followed college basketball this season? I'm going to say it is because they have the best player in the country suiting up for them in Blake Griffin. The guy averaged 22 and 14 on the season, and has stepped that up to 31 and 15 in the tournament this far. Bottom line, he is a beast. Next question.

Why Syracuse Can Win: They play zone. Playing this zone means that it is will be fairly easy for the Orange to swarm, collapse, surround, molest, and do anything else that they can to force Griffin to go up against two and three and even four defenders at a time. It is only more beneficial to the Orange that Willie Warren, Austin Johnson, and Tony Crocker have been inconsistent from beyond the arc this year. If Syracuse can slow down Griffin and/or the Oklahoma wings are not hitting their perimeter shots, the Orange will have an excellent opportunity to become the 4th/5th Big East team in the Elite 8.

Key To The Game: Eric Devendorf. You know who Oklahoma's 1-2 punch is. The Orange? Not so much. Syracuse is going to need someone outside of Flynn to rise to the occasion, make some shots, and create plays for some teammates. Devo is the guy. He is fast earning a reputation as a clutch shooter and a big game player, and the Orange are going to need the Devo from the ASU game to show up, not the Devo from the SFA game.

Sidenote: I cannot wait to watch Warren and Flynn square off. These two are both NBA players, and it should be exciting to watch them go at it. Believe it or not, this is the third best PG match-up on Friday.

BIAH Pick: We're going mild upset. Syracuse win.