15/17 Orangemen Head To Michigan State For Non-Conference Test
2/21/2003 2:12:43 PM | Men's Basketball
Syracuse and Michigan State have met 14 times since the 1928-29 campaign and have split the games evenly. The last time the two squads met was in the 2001 Preseason NIT Semifinals, a game SU won against the 15th-rated Spartans, 69-58. Michigan State came out on top the time before with a 75-58 decision in the 2000 NCAA Regionals. MSU went on to the national championship that season.
The Orangemen extended their perfect Carrier Dome mark on Tuesday with a 66-60 win against BIG EAST rival St. John’s. With the win, Syracuse maintained its half-game lead in the BIG EAST’s West Division, staying ahead of Pittsburgh and Notre Dame. National player of the year candidate Carmelo Anthony paced the Orange with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the year. (Keep up-to-date on Anthony by logging on to his website, www.suathletics.com/carmelo.) With four successful attempts at the charity stripe, freshman Gerry McNamara extended his consecutive free-throws made streak to 30. Currently the NCAA’s second-best free-throw shooter (65-69, .942), McNamara is four made free throws away from tying the Syracuse season record set by Mike Lee in 1970-71. He is a perfect 41-for-41 in conference play.
Michigan State has had success against non-conference ranked opponents in 2002-03. The Spartans earned a homecourt victory over then-No. 22 Virginia and an impressive road win at then-No. 12 Kentucky, handing the Wildcats their only home defeat of the season.
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 CBS with Gus Johnson, Clark Kellogg calling the plays.
