Eric Devendorf scored 20 points at Georgetown on Wednesday.
Largest On-Campus Crowd Of The Year Expected For Syracuse-Notre Dame
1/15/2009 5:56:09 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - #8/8 Syracuse (16-2, 4-1) returns to the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 17 after back-to-back road games to host #12/13 Notre Dame (12-4, 3-2) at 12 p.m. It’s the Orange’s second straight outing against a top-25 team. The largest on-campus crowd in the nation this season is expected to be on hand for the contest. Syracuse has hosted the largest on-campus college basketball gathering in each of the last 28 seasons. In 2007-08, it was the Orange’s home matchup with Georgetown that claimed that title with 31,327 fans in attendance.
The Carrier Dome staff is suggesting that fans planning on attending the Notre Dame game make arrangements to arrive earlier than usual. Traffic may be heavy around the Dome because of that. Those fans with parking passes should plan on arriving around 10:30 a.m. Those fans who do not have a parking pass for a campus lot should use the Manley/Skytop lots on Colvin Street to park and ride the shuttle bus to the Dome.
Tickets for Saturdays game are available online, by phone through Ticketmaster in the Syracuse area at (315) 472-0700, or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office. Fans not in attendance can watch the game live nationally on ESPN, or listen to the action via the Syracuse ISP Sports Network and its flagship station TK 99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the radio broadcast will be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access. The game is also available on ESPN360.com
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse is coming off its first conference loss of the season, 88-74, at Georgetown on Wednesday night. Despite the defeat, the Orange played a solid second half against the Hoyas, hitting 56.7 percent of its field-goal attempts (17-30) and outscored the hosts, 42-38. Junior guard Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) led Syracuse in scoring for the second time this season with 20 points off the bench. He connected on a team-best four 3-point field goals. Classmate Paul Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) recorded the 25th double-double of his career with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Arinze Onuaku (Lanham, Md.) also secured double-digit rebounds with 11. Sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) dished out nine assists for the second straight game at Georgetown. Flynn is second in assists average in conference play (6.8) behind Pitt’s Levance Fields (9.0). Sophomore center Rick Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa.) had his best offensive game in an SU uniform against the Hoyas. He tallied a career-best 17 points and was 8-for-10 from the floor. Jackson is averaging 10.3 points per game since joining the starting lineup against Memphis.
HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSES
Saturday’s game should be a high-scoring affair as it features two of the top three scoring teams in the BIG EAST. For the season, Syracuse leads the BIG EAST and ranks fifth nationally in field-goal percentage (.505, 524-1,037). It’s third in the league in overall scoring at 80.9 points per game and SU leads the league in scoring average against conference foes (80.0 ppg). The Irish is third in that category against league opponents (79.5 ppg). Notre Dame’s 82.2 points-per-game scoring average for the year is the top mark in the conference.
Syracuse has five players averaging in double figures. The Irish has four, including reigning BIG EAST Player of the Year Luke Harangody. He leads the league and ranks fourth in the nation at 24.5 points per contest.
DEVENDORF MOVES UP CAREER SCORING LIST
Junior guard Eric Devendorf’s (Bay City, Mich.) 20 points at Georgetown moved him into a tie with Billy Gabor and Demetris Nichols for 28th on the school’s career scoring list. All three players have 1,344 career points. Devendorf owns a career scoring average of 14.0 ppg. He is seven points shy of Mike Lee (1,351) for 27th place on the SU all-time record list.
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
In addition to Harangody, sharpshooter Kyle McAlarney (16.6 ppg), point guard Tory Jackson (11.6 ppg) and guard Ryan Ayers (11.3 ppg) are also in double figures. McAlarney leads the league with 67 triples and he is second in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting percentage (.479, 67-140). Jackson is one of the top floor generals in the league and leads the Irish with 95 assists.
The Irish have pieced together two separate four-game winning streaks this season and have won two of their last three. In their most recent outing on Jan. 12, Notre Dame lost in overtime at Louisville, 87-73. Harangody led the way against the Cardinals with 28 points and 13 boards. McAlarney chipped in 19 points, including five 3-point baskets.
Head coach Mike Brey is in his ninth season at Notre Dame and owns a 179-90 record at the school. Overall, Brey is in his 14th year as a collegiate head coach and is 278-142.
THE SERIES
Syracuse holds a 21-18 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1914. The Irish has gotten the better of the Orange recently, winning the last three meetings. SU’s last series win was an 88-82 victory at the Joyce Center on Jan. 11, 2006.
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