Men's Basketball Travels to Big Apple to Defend its College Hoops Classic Title
11/15/2005 4:22:48 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (.pdf)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Orange basketball team, ranked No. 16 in the nation in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls, takes its 2-0 record on the road to face Texas Tech (2-0) in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer at New York's Madison Square Garden on November 17, at 9 p.m. The other semifinal features Florida (2-0) vs. Wake Forest (2-0) in the night's first game at 7 p.m. The doubleheader will be televised by ESPN. Syracuse is the defending champion of the event.
Fans can listen to the game on the SU ISP Radio Network (WAQX-95.7 FM and WNSS-1260 AM in Syracuse). The broadcast can be heard through the internet right here at suathletics.com. Matt Park and Gene Waldron call all the action.
The first thing that comes to mind about the Syracuse vs. Texas Tech matchup is that it represents a meeting between two legendary coaches - Jim Boeheim and Bobby Knight. Between the two, there are 1,560 career victories and 2,134 games coached, not to mention Hall of Fame residence.
Boeheim and Knight met in the 1987 NCAA Championship game won by Knight and Indiana, 74-73. The two coaches have squared off three times since then. In 1988, SU defeated Indiana in the Preseason NIT semifinal, 102-78. The other two occasions were in the Maui Classic - a 77-74 SU victory in the 1990 title game and a 76-63 Orange win in the 1998 championship game. Syracuse and Texas Tech have met once previously, in the 1976 NCAA Tournament. The Red Raiders won, 69-56.
Each team left in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic hosted and won a four-team tournament to advance to the semifinals in New York City. Syracuse scored wins against Bethune-Cookman (68-37) and Cornell (67-62), while Texas Tech defeated San Jose State (88-54) and Georgia Southern (74-61).
SU junior forward Terrence Roberts was named the Syracuse region's most valuable player after he produced a career-high 19 points, 14 rebounds and five steals to help SU defeat Cornell in the regional final. He leads the team in scoring (17.0 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg) so far this season. Classmate Demetris Nichols is averaging 11 points per game and eight rebounds per game after SU's first two outings. Senior guard Gerry McNamara also owns an 11.0 points-per-game average. He is 13-of-14 from the free-throw line so far this season. He made a career-high 13 foul shots (on 14 attempts) in the victory against Cornell.
The Orange held Bethune-Cookman to the lowest point total by an opponent during Coach Jim Boeheim's tenure in a 68-37 triumph. The Orange improved to 26-4 in season openers under Boeheim.
If SU gets by Texas Tech, it will play the winner of the Florida vs. Wake Forest game at 9 p.m. on November 18. Both the championship and consolation games will be televised by ESPN2. The consolation game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
