Josh Wright dished out seven assists against Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Syracuse and St. John's Renew Acquaintances Sunday
1/20/2007 10:30:45 AM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Two of the winningest men’s basketball programs in NCAA history square off when the Orange (15-4, 4-1) takes on St. John’s (10-8, 1-4) at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on ESPN Regional and be shown in the Syracuse area on Time Warner 26. Live audio of the contest can be heard on suathletics.com via Orange All Access and fans can also tune in to the Syracuse Radio Network broadcast on WAQX (95.7 FM) and WNSS (1260 AM). Sirius Satellite Radio listeners can hear the game on channel 143.
Syracuse enters the contest ranked seventh in Division I in all-time winning percentage at .686 (1,695-775). The Red Storm is right there as well with a mark of .673 (1,699-825), good for eighth on that list. That’s the where the similarities end though, as St. John’s has struggled of late. The Red Storm hasn’t won more than 12 games since 2002-03 and hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2001-02 under Mike Jarvis. It has posted overall records of 6-21, 9-18, and 12-15 the last three seasons. By comparison, SU has gone 23-8, 27-7, and 23-12 with two BIG EAST titles to its credit the last three years.
Syracuse also puts its 47-game winning streak against teams from New York State on the line Sunday. The Orange is 5-0 against Empire State institutions this season. The last New York school to hand SU a defeat was the Red Storm back in 2000.
This season’s edition of the Orange has won its last four in a row, including a 77-76 thriller against Cincinnati on Jan. 17. Sophomore guard Eric Devendorf lifted SU to victory, nailing two free throws with 12 seconds left, to provide the winning margin. Syracuse appeared to have in the game well in hand, but its poor shooting in the second half and a career performance from Cincinnati’s Marcus Sikes (eight three’s) nearly doomed the Orange. Senior Terrence Roberts tied his season-best with 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. It marked the first time in his career he achieved that feat. The contest also marked the return of senior Matt Gorman who hit two three’s versus the Bearcats. Gorman missed SU’s first four BIG EAST games with an ankle injury.
Sunday’s game will be the second for the Orange at Madison Square Garden. SU took the Big Apple stage against Oklahoma State on Dec. 5 as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic to benefit the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The Cowboys handed the Orange its second loss of the year, 72-68.
St. John’s is in the midst of a four-game conference losing streak. After opening the league slate by beating DePaul (64-53), the Red Storm has lost at West Virginia (73-46), Seton Hall (79-63) and at DePaul (71-63), with a home loss to Connecticut (68-59) mixed in.
Senior forward Lamont Hamilton (13.2 ppg., 6.6 rpg.) leads the Red Storm in scoring and rebounding marks. He and junior guard Eugene Lawrence (7.2 ppg., 5.1 apg.) have started all 18 games this season. Sophomore guard Avery Patterson (12.3 ppg.) and sophomore forward Anthony Mason (10.8 ppg.) are two other scoring threats.
Syracuse has a 42-36 advantage in the all-time series with the Red Storm, a series that dates to 1912. SU has won the last six meetings.
With a victory Jim Boeheim will own sole possession of 14th place on the career Division I coaching wins list, passing John Chaney. Next up is Phog Allen and Jim Calhoun who are currently tied for 12th with 746 career victories.
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