By Sean Fernandez
If you haven't already made plans for New Year's Eve, I have an idea... Watch the Syracuse Orange play their final game of the 2012 calendar year. They'll be taking on Central Connecticut State University at the Dome on December 31st.
The CCSU Blue Devils had an up-and-down season last year, going 13-16 (10-8) in the Northeast Conference. They are coached by Howie Dickenman, a 4-time Coach Of The Year in the NEC.
Last Year's Blue Devils squad featured a 'Big Three' that accounted for nearly 80% of their points. Of those three, only one remains, however. Combo guard Kyle Vinales averaged 17.9 points and 4 assists per game last year as a freshman. He'll be the go-to-guy for CCSU all year, and will be the focus of the Syracuse defensive game plan.
This matchup against Central Connecticut State is one of the first non-conference games that have been announced, joining the November 30th SEC-Big East Challenge clash with Arkansas and the November 9th game vs. San Diego State aboard the USS Midway on the Syracuse schedule.
Syracuse received plenty of criticism for facing a weak set of non-conference opponents last year. It'll be interesting to see if the games that are still TBA will feature more difficult competition against nationally-competitive teams. This year's Orange team lost a lot to the draft and graduation, so I wouldn't be surprised to see another game (or two) scheduled against one of the nation's best teams.
