Rivalry Renewed: Orange and Hoyas Clash on Big Monday

Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange (13-6, 2-3) faces a stiff road test when it squares off against #5/6 Georgetown (14-2, 4-1) at the Verizon Center on Monday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. It will mark Syracuse’s second encounter with a nationally-ranked opponent in three days. The Orange lost its first conference home game of the year on Saturday to #25/21 Villanova, 81-71.

Voice of the Orange Matt Park and former men's hoops standout Matt Roe will have the call on the Syracuse ISP Network’s flagship (TK-99.5 FM) with the pre-game show beginning an hour before tipoff. The radio network broadcast is available live on Orange All-Access. In addition, Monday’s game will be televised live on ESPN.

Orange fans in the Washington, D.C. area planning to attend the game are invited to join the SU Alumni Relations staff for the Orange Friendzy at Clyde's of Gallery Place located at 707 7th Street NW (7th and H Streets), next to the Verizon Center at the Gallery Place Metro Station (Red, Yellow and Green Lines).The Orange Friendzy will run from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. EST. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. Snacks and giveaways will be available (while supplies last). Click here for a location map and directions to Clyde's of Gallery Place. Entrance to a parking garage under Gallery Place is on 6th Street between G and H Streets.

The ESPN “Big Monday” matchup pits two of the more storied programs in BIG EAST Conference history against one another. Syracuse and Georgetown have combined to win two national championships (Georgetown, 1984; Syracuse, 2003) and 12 BIG EAST titles. Orange head coach Jim Boeheim has won 335 conference games (including the BIG EAST Tournament), far and away the most in league history. Retired Hoya mentor John Thompson still ranks third on the list with 231 triumphs.

SU leads the overall series with the Hoyas, 42-35. Georgetown is ahead in games played on its home court, 18-10. A year ago, Syracuse upset then #9 Georgetown in the Carrier Dome.

The Orange is still searching for its first conference win on the road. Syracuse is 0-2 away from the Dome in league play this year, losing back-to-back games at Cincinnati and West Virginia. SU ended the skid with a home win against Rutgers, but couldn’t tame the Wildcats on Saturday.

Freshman Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) had his second straight 20-point outing, leading the Orange with 23 points against Villanova. Rookie backcourt mate Scoop Jardine (Philadelphia, Pa.) also turned in a solid offensive showing, scoring 15 points.

The Orange led by five at the break, 35-30, but a 10-5 Villanova spurt at the start of the second half tied the game at 40 and a pair of Scottie Reynolds’ free throws put the Wildcats in front to stay with 12:33 to play.

SU leading scorer Donte’ Greene (Baltimore, Md.) was forced to sit for extended periods in the second half with four fouls. He played just 23 minutes. Center Arinze Onuaku (Lanham, Md.) also played a portion of the second stanza with four personals.

While the Orange stumbled at home, Georgetown roared to an 84-65 home victory against Notre Dame. It was the Hoyas’ sixth win in their last seven outings and they enter Monday’s pairing in first place with a 4-1 conference mark.

Senior center Roy Hibbert (13.1 ppg., 6.5 rpg.), who had a game-high 21 points against the Irish, is Georgetown’s top scorer and rebounder. The Hoyas are ranked nationally in scoring defense and have yielded an average of just 57.2 points-per-outing.

Coach John Thompson III is in his fourth season in charge of the Hoya program his father helped construct. He owns a 86-32 record at Georgetown and guided the team to last season’s Final Four.

Syracuse University Athletics

Rivalry Renewed: Orange and Hoyas Clash on Big Monday

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