November 15, 2006
The Northeastern Huskies have gotten a bit cocky. After playing a Final Four team twice last year - nearly winning once - and posting a solid 12-6 record in a conference that sent two teams to the NCAA's, the small Boston-based university has decided to up the ante, scheduling four of their first dozen games this season against Top-20 competition. It seems to me that this program, armed with its new coach from Boston College, has its sights set on using an improved strength of schedule and a little national exposure to make a push towards the Big Dance, despite returning just two starters to its lineup. The Huskies may not be good enough to get a seed just yet, but you should expect them to be in the mix with George Mason when the Colonial Athletic Association's automatic bid is decided in early March.
For this reason Syracuse should not take them too lightly tonight, despite nearly being a triple touchdown favorite. Northeastern's new coach, former Eagle assistant Bill Coen, pulled some strings with his old buddies from the Big East and scheduled SU, Pitt, UConn, and BC to discover exactly what his players are made of. The Huskies early-season experience against such top programs is bound to pay off when they play the likes of Towson, Delaware, and Georgia State down the stretch - Coen is using SU to get ready for his conference, just as Jimmy B's using Northeastern to prepare for the speedier teams of his own league.
When you go to the game tonight you'll notice how much smaller the Huskies are than the Cuse at all positions - Coach Coen will most likely play a 3-guard lineup with two forwards, as he has no true center on his ballclub. The only real big man on Northeastern's roster last season, Shawn James, transferred to Duquesne during the off-season, bringing his other-worldly 7.9 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game with him. The coach will have to compensate for this loss by speeding up the tempo with smaller players and force the larger Orange frontcourt to chase instead of defending the post man-to-man.
Just as UTEP helped Syracuse get ready for big, bruising teams like Georgetown and Pittsburgh, Northeastern should help the Orange prepare for small, speedy teams such as West Virginia or Villanova. Boeheim knew what he was doing when he put this game on the schedule, and will use it as practice for the future. As a fan, I'm excited to see how the Cuse handles Bobby Kelly and the Huskies in the half-court set - can the Orange play zone effectively and keep Northeastern's guards out of the lane? I doubt tonight's opponent will be faster than Syracuse in the open floor, but it will be interesting to see just where the team is in terms of their defensive development.
On Sunday we learned they have a little moxie - the Cuse definitely aren't scared to go body to body with a physical club. Maybe tonight we'll see just how well they can use their superior athleticism to play with a team that relies on jumpshots and quick passes to break down defenses instead of elbows and head butts.
