The Huskies Are Coming

Matt Janning: Looks like he's 16, but he scores 16 a game

Nothing creates a buzz like an appearance in the Carrier Dome by the Huskies. A hated rival, two Hall of Fame coaches squaring off, an OBNOXIOUS rival fan base (these people are unbearable at the Big East Tournament) and a great game are in store for Syracuse fans..........on February 6th. On Sunday, none of those things will happen, but Northeastern Huskies are visiting anyway.

Here are a few things you should know about Huskies (other than they need a more original name, every other friggin team in the country seems to be called the Huskies - enough already).

Conference: The Colonial Athletic (the home of George Mason, VCU, and that pesky Drexel team we all remember from last year)

Record: 4-6

The Good News: The Huskies are ranked 11th in the nation

The Bad News: 11th in college hockey

Leading Scorer: Matt Janning. Janning is averaging 16.4 points per game

Common Opponents: Syracuse and Northeastern do have one thing in common, they both lost to Rhode Island. The Huskies got pasted 92-72 in their worst loss of the season and the Orange infamously gave up 107 points to the Rams in a loss earlier this year.

Interesting Facts/Idiotic Analysis: Other than the Rhode Island loss, Northeastern has been pesky this year, losing by only 2 to BC, losing by 9 to UConn and losing by 2 to Maryland. In addition, they are road tested, having played only 2 homes and 8 on the road, and 8 of their 10 games have been decided by 9 points or less.

Coached by former BC assistant and Hamilton College graduate Bill Coen, the team plays hard and won't roll over simply because they are playing against a Big East foe. On paper this is a team that SU should handle, but as we've seen in the past, nothing is a given and you have to be worried about the mind frame that the extremely young Orange will be in after returning from their respective homes for the Holiday break.

Prediction: I see SU and Northeastern playing a close game in the first half, with Boeheim peeling the paint off the locker room walls at half time and Syracuse pulling away at the end for 15 point victory - call it 81-66.

Bonus predictions: Paul Harris is screamed at 17 times, the Belgian Waffle dives for loose balls 7 times, Donte Green attempts 8 three pointers and Jonny Flynn does something you haven't seen before.