Men's Basketball Begins BIG EAST Schedule Against USF on Jan. 8
1/6/2006 11:51:35 AM | Men's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The BIG EAST Conference portion of the schedule has arrived! Syracuse (12-2) jumps into league play at home on Sunday, Jan. 8, against the USF (6-8, 0-1 BIG EAST) at 1 p.m. The Orange tied for third in the conference last season with an 11-5 record and won the BIG EAST Tournament Championship. This year's BIG EAST Conference features 16 teams, including newcomers Cincinnati, DePaul, Louisville, Marquette and South Florida. Click here for the complete BIG EAST standings
The game between Syracuse and USF will be televised by ESPN Regional Television. The Syracuse ISP Radio Network provides a broadcast on WAQX - 95.7 FM and WNSS - 1260 AM in Syracuse and online at www.suathletics.com.
Prior to the start of the contest, the Orange will hold a men's basketball alumni game at 11 a.m. Adrian Autry, Roosevelt Bouie, Dennis Duval, George Hicker, Marty Headd, Jim Lee, Dale Shackleford and Howard Triche are a few of the former players scheduled to attend. Fans interested in watching the alumni game should enter the Carrier Dome at 11 a.m. through Gate B.
This will be the third meeting between Syracuse and South Florida. The Orange is 2-0 all-time against the Bulls. Each one of the previous games was played in Syracuse, including the most recent 80-68 triumph on Dec. 20, 2001.
If SU wins, it will be the team's 10th-consecutive victory. The Orange has not lost since a 74-69 decision to Bucknell on Nov. 22.
Senior guard Gerry McNamara leads the team in scoring with 16.9 ppg, while juniors Demetris Nichols (15.7 ppg) and Terrence Roberts (12.0 ppg) are second and third, respectively, in scoring. Roberts is the team's leading rebounder with 8.5 an outing. Nichols is shooting the ball better than 40 percent from three-point range (37-of-89).
The Bulls are looking to halt a three-game losing skid. Their most recent contest was a 57-53 loss to West Virginia in their BIG EAST Conference opener on Jan. 5. James Holmes leads four South Florida players in double-figure scoring average with his 18.7 ppg. He is the team's top three-point threat, having knocked down 40 treys already this year and shooting the long ball at 40.4 percent. Solomon Jones is averaging 13.6 ppg and a team-best 10.2 rebounds per game, while Melvin Buckley and McHugh Mattis average 12.7 and 10.1 points per game, respectively.
USF's six wins this season came against Alcorn State (69-52), Jacksonville (91-78), Georgia Southern (72-66), Stetson (77-52), Florida Atlantic (62-44) and Loyola Marymount (54-50).
SU Former Men's Basketball Players Scheduled to Attend Alumni Game
Adrian Autry
Mel Besdin
Roosevelt Bouie
Manny Breland
Melvin Brown
Sam Carello
Jon Cincebox
Hal Cohen
Bill DeMarle
Bill Drew
Dennis Duval
Leo Eisner
Mike Frank
Marty Goldstein
Dave Harmon
Marty Headd
Ronneil Herron
George Hicker
Rich Jaskot
Sean Kerins
Greg Kohls
Manny Klutschkowski
Vern Lambert
Mark Lauretti
Jim Lee
Mike Lee
Larry Loudis
John Ludka
Rob McClanaghan
Brian McLain
Paul Piotrowski
Chuck Richards
Steve Rochester
Mark Rosenholz
Dale Shackleford
Steve Shaw
Mike Sherban
Dave Sherban
Jim Seaman
Ernie Seibert
Doug Sherk
Phil Schoff
Neil Schlesinger
Sonny Spera
Howard Triche
Rex Trobridge
Carl Vernick
Rick Weber
Mark Ziolko
