Orange Faces No. 11 West Virginia on President's Day
2/19/2006 5:03:22 PM | Men's Basketball
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Riding high after Saturday's 79-66 win against Louisville, the Orange will attempt to make it two in a row when No. 11 West Virginia (18-7, 9-3 BIG EAST) visits the Carrier Dome on Monday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised by ESPN with Sean McDonough, Bill Raftery and Jay Bilas providing commentary and analysis.
Radio listeners can tune in to WAQX - 95.7 FM and WNSS - 1260 AM) to hear the Syracuse ISP Radio Network broadcast, led by Matt Park and Gene Waldron. This can also be heard through Orange All Access right here at suathletics.com. In addition, SIRIUS Satellite Radio will carry a broadcast of the game on channel 125.
Syracuse is 18-8 on the season and in ninth place in the BIG EAST Conference with a 6-6 record. Senior guard Gerry McNamara scored 30 points in the win against the Cardinals and leads the team with 16.5 points per game. He is sixth on the school's all-time scoring list (1,969 career points) and needs 31 points to become the sixth player in SU history to reach the 2,000-point milestone. McNamara also has a good shot at breaking the BIG EAST record for career 3-point field goals made. He is currently in second place with 169 three's. The record of 178 is held by Miami's Steve Edwards (1992-96). Overall, McNamara has drained 371 career 3-pointers. That ranks him in a tie for eighth among the NCAA Division I career three-point field goal leaders.
West Virginia sits third in the league standings behind Villanova and Connecticut. This game wraps up a stretch of four out of five games on the road for the veteran Mountaineers (four seniors and a junior start). This is their fourth game in the last eight days. Senior center Kevin Pittsnogle leads WVU in scoring with 19.0 ppg. He also averages 5.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Mike Gansey is averaging 18.1 ppg and 5.7 rpg. He is shooting 46.2 percent from three-point range (60-of-130). Johannes Herber (9.6 ppg, 4.7 apg), Frank Young (8.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg) and J.D. Collins (4.8 ppg, 3.9 apg) round out the starting five.
This will be the 44th meeting between Syracuse and West Virginia. The Orange has won the last seven meetings, including a 68-59 decision in last year's BIG EAST Championship at Madison Square Garden.
