Q: How do you feel Syracuse will finish the year off? Will they make the playoffs? And will Donte Green and Jonny Flynn garner extreme recognition that many people have passed over? — Casey, New York, N.Y.

A: I feel nothing but good vibrations (apologies to Kevin Love and his Beach Boys family) around the Orange this season — and I demonstrated that up by positioning Syracuse at No.23 in my preseason Top 25 for MSNBC.com. After already watching them twice on TV, I think they will eventually climb higher than that. This is a team that will have a say in the Big East Conference championship — along with six or seven others. And, yes Casey, the Orange will be back in the NCAA Tournament. I talked to coach Jim Boeheim the night Syracuse was left out of the field last March. He would have made my all-time list of Top 5 dejected coaches. The selection committee made a big mistake. No one can ever give me a convincing argument that Syracuse didn’t belong in the field of 65.  Fast forward to this summer. Another phone conversation with Boeheim and this time he is pumped. I ask how motivated he is to prove the committee wrong by bouncing back this season and Boeheim replies: “The goal every year is to get to the tournament and then play well. That doesn’t change any because of what you did last year. But I’m probably more excited than I’ve been in a long time.”  Green already has a 25-point effort against Fordham. Flynn broke Carmelo Anthony’s freshman scoring record for freshmen with 28 points against Siena. Flynn followed that up with a tiebreaking three-pointer against Saint Joseph’s. It will be interesting to watch these two freshmen this week on the Madison Square Garden stage.

Q: How long will it be before Cincinnati gets back to the NCAA Tournament? — Jon, Cincinnati

A: That’s a real tough question Jon. I’m not sure there is anything I can say to make you feel better about the Bearcats. Mick Cronin’s team should be better than last season, when the Bearcats were last in the Big East and 11-19 overall. The good news for Cincinnati is that all 16 conference schools will make the Big East tournament in 2009. It’s hard to rebuild with some many teams in the Big East — not to mention great programs and Hall of Fame coaches.  Cronin was left with a bad situation and it is going to take time. This will be another long year, especially with Bob Huggins smirking at the Bearcats from West Virginia. The signing of point guard Cashmere Wright is a step in the right direction. But for this season, just being one of the 12 teams to reach the Big East tournament would be a major accomplishment.

Q: Can Wright State win the Horizon again and will Brad Brownell help recruiting for the Raiders? — Sandy Sanders, Mechanicsville, Va.

A: There certainly is more pressure on Brownell in his second season at Wright State. That’s what happens when you win 23 games, and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993 — in your first season. Without guard DaShaun Wood (Horizon POY last year) I can’t see Wright State beating out Butler this season. The Horizon just got tougher with the addition of Valparaiso too. Brownell’s recruiting class for this season wasn’t bad. He brought in four freshmen and three transfers to give Wright State one of the top classes in the Horizon. Ronnie Thomas transferred from Duquesne and John David Gardner played for Brownell at UNC Wilmington.

Q: Do you think Xavier's dynamic backcourt lead by Drew Lavender can take them deep into the tournament this season? — Stu, Chicago

A: I love watching Drew Lavender play and he has a strong supporting cast at Xavier. The Musketeers are the best team in the Atlantic 10 and they are a Top 25 team nationally. Sean Miller is one of the best young coaches around and Xavier had Ohio State on the ropes in last year’s NCAA Tournament. I’m not sure how you would define deep, Stu, but I can see this Xavier team surviving the first weekend. After that, it’s really a matter of the draw. Enjoy. Should be a fun team to follow.

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