Pitarresi: SU the pick over Sooners

 I have a real good feeling about Syracuse tonight.

 

The Orange will have trouble with Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, to be sure. The guy is an absolute beast, averaging 22.5 points and 14.4 rebounds. However, SU has played so well the last 10 games, I don’t doubt the Orange's to beat anyone in the NCAA tournament.

 

If Griffin has a big night, SU can make up for it with big performances from Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendort and Andy Rautins, and they have been delivering them. Paul Harris hasn’t been scoring, but he will rebound and he will get about all the loose balls on the court. So Kristof Ongenaet will get the rest. Any offense they get from Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson – and they’ve both put in some very good minutes in the tourney – will be a bonus.

 

The sticking point might be if the Orange believe Oklahoma really is a one-man team. Griffin is head and shoulders above his teammates – and a lot of other players around the country – but Willie Warren and Austin Johnson both can score, Tony Crocker is a big guard who can score, and Taylor Griffin can rebound and pick up points. The Sooners are a decent 3-point team – as good or better than SU - rebound well, they do a good job taking care of the ball, and they’ve beaten a lot of tournament teams.

 

Oklahoma supposedly is a one-point favorite. That amounts to zero. It’s a toss-up game, and while a possible Griffin explosion makes this scary, but the Orange are playing by far their best basketball of the season. I’m picking SU.