Syracuse and Notre Dame Meet Again on Monday
2/15/2004 6:15:20 PM | Men's Basketball
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The #arv/25 Orangemen (16-5, 6-4) will tangle with Notre Dame (12-9, 6-5) for the second time this season when the Irish invade the Carrier Dome on Monday, Feb. 16 for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
The Orangemen are riding a two-game winning streak, having beaten Miami 91-74 in its most recent outing on Feb. 14 and defeating Rutgers 63-61 on Feb. 10.
Syracuse shot a season-best 64.4 percent against the Hurricanes (38-of-59). Junior Hakim Warrick connected on all 11 of his field goal attempts and finished with a game-high 27 points. He is tied for third in the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game. Sophomore Gerry McNamara contributed 23 points, including five three-point field goals. He leads the conference with 69 triples for the campaign and he ranks second in three-pointers made among Syracuse sophomores. Matt Roe buried 74 treys in his sophomore season in 1997-98. Senior Jeremy McNeil chipped in a season-best 10 points.
The Orangemen are tied fourth in the BIG EAST at 6-4 with the Seton Hall Pirates. SU ranks second in the league and fourth in Division I at 6.7 blocks per outing. Junior Craig Forth is fifth in the conference averaging 2.29 rejections per contest.
The Fighting Irish own an overall mark of 12-9 and conference record of 6-5. They have won their last two games, including an upset of fifth-ranked Connecticut, 80-74 on Feb. 9.
Against the Huskies, Chris Thomas became Notre Dame’s all-time assists leader and now has 594 for his career. Thomas has scored 20-or-more points in the Irish’s last three games and leads the squad at 19.0 points per game. Torrin Francis is club’s top rebounder, averaging 8.8 boards per contest. He also owns a 14.2 scoring average. Chris Quinn is the only other Notre Dame player in double figures at 14.0 points per game.
The Orangemen recorded a victory against the Irish earlier this season, defeating Notre Dame, 81-70, at the Joyce Center on Jan. 17. Warrick paced the Orange with 19 points in the triumph, while McNamara and sophomore Billy Edelin scored 17 each.
Syracuse owns an 18-14 record in the overall series and has won the last six meetings. The last time the Irish came to Syracuse, McNamara sunk Notre Dame, hitting the game-winning three with 20 second remaining to lift the Orange to an 81-80 win on Feb. 15, 2003.
Monday night’s game will televised live on ESPN. Syracuse alum Sean McDonough will handle the play-by-play duties and Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas will provide color analysis.
Fans can also listen to the game on the SU Radio Network with the “Voice of the Orange” Mark Johnson and color analyst Matt Park. The pre-game show will begin 60 minutes prior to tip off on 1260 AM with the rest of the network joining the broadcast 30 minutes before game time. Fans can also hear the contest live via the Internet at www.suathletics.com
Tickets for Tuesday’s game are available at the Carrier Dome Box Office (Gate B), by telephone (1-888-DOMETIX) or on the Internet at www.dometix.com
