24/-- Orangemen Travel to Rutgers
1/28/2003 5:04:36 PM | Men's Basketball
The Orangemen are fresh off a 54-49 win at Miami on Sunday. Defense was the key, as SU held the Hurricanes scoreless through the final 8:37 of the game as Syracuse erased an eight-point, second-half deficit. The Orangemen’s 2-3 zone caused Miami to miss its last 17 field goal attempts, including 10 three-point tries. The Hurricanes scored 19 second-half points – the lowest 20-minute total of any SU opponent this season. On the offensive side, sophomore Hakim Warrick led both clubs with 18 points. Freshman Carmelo Anthony added 12 points and 14 rebounds, including a personal-best 12 defensive boards.
Rutgers (8-9 overall, 0-5 BIG EAST) is the only BIG EAST club that has not won a conference game in 2002-03. They have won three of the last four encounters with Syracuse at the Louis Brown Athletic Center, including an 82-74 decision last year. The last time the Orangemen won at “The RAC” was on Jan. 9, 2001, when they earned a 64-63 victory. SU, who holds a 26-8 series advantage, has won four of its last five meetings with the Scarlet Knights. The Orangemen have won eight of 11 regular-season contests against Rutgers.
Jerome Coleman leads the Scarlet Knights, averaging 17.9 points and 2.3 steals per game. Ricky Shields is also averaging double-figures in points with 13.4 Herve Lamizana is the team’s biggest defensive threat, averaging 5.5 rebounds and an NCAA-eighth 3.12 blocked shots per outing.
Fans can listen to the game in the Syracuse area on the SU Radio Network, 1260 AM. Voice of the Orange Mark Johnson will handle the play-by-play duties, while Matt Park will provide color commentary. The game will also be televised on ESPN Regional, WB-43 cable channel 7 in Syracuse. John Sanders and Jim Spanarkel will host the broadcast.
