Orange Gets Second Shot at No. 1 Connecticut
2/7/2006 11:20:59 AM | Men's Basketball
HARTFORD, CONN. -- A week after Terrence Roberts' buzzer-beating 3-pointer helped Syracuse sink Rutgers in overtime, 86-84, the Orange returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at the Hartford Civic Center to take on No. 1-ranked Connecticut (20-1, 7-1 BIG EAST). This will be SU's second shot at the top-ranked Huskies. On Jan. 16, UConn defeated the Orange, 88-80, at the Carrier Dome.
This latest matchup will take place at 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN. The Syracuse ISP Radio Network will provide a broadcast back to Syracuse, while SIRIUS Satellite Radio will carry a broadcast of the game on channel 110.
Syracuse's last pairing with a top-ranked team was on February 1, 1999, when the Orange defeated #1 Connecticut at the Hartford Civic Center, 59-42. It remains SU's only victory over the number one team in program history.
This will be the 77th meeting between Connecticut and Syracuse, with the Orange holding a 45-31 advantage in the series. UConn is 10-8 in the Hartford Civic Center against Syracuse and has won the last three meetings between the schools in Hartford. The Huskies took the first meeting between the schools this season, jumping out to a 12-0 lead and moving ahead by as many as 24 points in the first half of an 88-80 win.
Syracuse is 16-6 on the season, 4-4 in the BIG EAST Conference. The Orange's last win against Rutgers snapped a four-game losing skid and three of those four losses were to Top 10 teams. Against the Scarlet Knights, SU played the majority of the game without senior guard Gerry McNamara - the team's leading scorer (16.2 pgg) - who left in the first half with an injury. Sophomore guard Josh Wright came in and logged a season-high 34 minutes. He scored 14 points and came up with some big shots when the team needed it. Demetris Nichols is the squad's second-leading scorer this season with 15.9 ppg. He also averages 6.5 rebounds per game. In BIG EAST Conference games, Nichols is averaging 16.3 ppg.
Roberts and freshman guard Eric Devendorf are two other starters who made plays in the Rutgers contest. Roberts is the team's leading rebounder with 8.5 caroms per game. He is averaging 11.6 ppg. Meanwhile, Devendorf is averaging 11.7 points per game. He has made 40 percent of his three-point attempts this season (31-of-77).
The Huskies are led in scoring by sophomore Rudy Gay at 15.6 points per game. He also averages 6.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per contest. Senior Rashad Anderson is second on the team in scoring with 14.2 ppg. He has come off the bench in every game this season and is the nation's leading scorer among players without a start. In the first game against Syracuse, Anderson scored 21 points, including five 3-pointers. Junior point guard Marcus Williams is averaging 10.1 points and 7.8 assists since returning to action this month and has appeared in 10 games, starting seven. Senior Hilton Armstrong is averaging 9.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.1 blocks at the center spot. Junior Josh Boone is averaging 10.4 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the frontcourt. In his last six games, Boone is averaging 13.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.
