SU and DePaul Stage First BIG EAST Meeting
2/28/2006 11:53:42 AM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse (19-9, 7-7 BIG EAST) and DePaul (11-14, 6-7 BIG EAST) have met six times previously, but Thursday night's encounter between the two clubs is the first as BIG EAST Conference members. DePaul is in its initial season in the BIG EAST.
The game will be played Thursday, March 2, at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN and its broadcast team of former voice of the Orange Dave Pasch and former Utah coach Rick Majerus.
The Syracuse ISP Radio Network will provide its broadcast on WAQX - 95.7 FM and WNSS - 1260 AM and through Orange All Access right here at www.suathletics.com. SIRIUS Satellite Radio will provide a broadcast of the game on channel 117.
The matchup may clear up the murky BIG EAST Conference Tournament bracket. The Orange has two games left to improve its seed in the postseason event, while the Blue Demons are holding out hope for a spot in the Madison Square Garden lineup. The 2006 BIG EAST Conference Tournament will welcome 12 of the 16 members. With four league victories in hand, DePaul must play its way into the bracket. The Blue Demons took a step in that direction last Saturday, defeating Seton Hall, 67-64. The Pirates beat the Orange earlier in the campaign.
Jerry Wainwright is in his first season as coach at DePaul. He replaced Dave Leato, who was hired at Virginia. Wainwright came to Chicago following head coaching stints at UNC-Wilmington and Richmond. Wainwright is a native of Chicago and started his coaching career in the Illinois scholastic ranks.
The Syracuse series with DePaul is tied, 3-3. In 1985, Syracuse defeated DePaul in the NCAA East Regional, 70-65. The Orange won in the 2000 Great Alaska Shootout, 92-84, and in the 2001 Preseason NIT, 74-60. In Syracuse’s only other visit to the Allstate Arena in 1981, DePaul won 91-69.
