Jonny Flynn is averaging 8.75 assists in the last four games.
Orange And Panthers Go Head-To-Head on ESPN's "Big Monday"
1/18/2009 4:06:51 PM | Men's Basketball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The eighth-ranked Orange (17-2, 5-1) continues its BIG EAST gauntlet with a game at Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-1) at the Petersen Events Center on Monday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. The Panthers are the top team in the nation, but likely won’t retain their No. 1 ranking when the new polls are released Monday after losing their first game of the year, 69-63, at Louisville on Saturday. The Orange enter the contest fresh off one of its most impressive performances of the year, a 93-74 thrashing of #12/13 Notre Dame Saturday at the Carrier Dome.
Monday night's game will be televised live nationally on ESPN as part of the network's "Big Monday" coverage. Fans can also 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 free to any student on campus (to any student on any U.S. college campus) on ESPN360.com
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Coming off its first league loss of the season at Georgetown Wednesday, Syracuse faced a stiff challenge against the Irish. Behind a home crowd of more than 30,000, the Orange rebounded from that defeat with an emphatic 93-74 win. Syracuse placed six players in double figures and built on its spectacular season field-goal percentage, making 55.2 percent of its attempts (37-67). The Orange used a 16-2 run the first half to open up a 12-point advantage, and led by seven, 42-35, at halftime.
Syracuse led by 17 with a little more than 13 minutes to play, but the Irish surged to within five, 74-69, on a Kyle McAlarney three with six minutes left. However, it was all Orange after that as Syracuse closed the game with a 19-5 run.
Junior Arinze Onuaku (Lanham, Md.) had one of his best games of the year against national player of the year candidate Luke Harangody in the post. Onuaku tied his season high with 19 points and upped his Division I-leading field-goal percentage to 70.2 percent with a 9-for-12 showing from the field.
Onuaku wasn’t the only low-post player to display his skills Saturday. Sophomore forward Rick Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded his second career double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Onuaku and Jackson rank first and fourth, respectively, in the conference in field-goal percentage and give the Orange the most efficient frontcourt in the league.
Second-year point guard Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) dished out nine assists to go along with 17 points against Notre Dame. It was the third consecutive nine-assist game for Flynn. Over the last four games, he’s averaging 8.75 helpers against 2.0 turnovers. In addition, he is still the team leader in scoring average at 16.3 points per contest.
Junior guard Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) is adjusting to role as a reserve. Devendorf scored 16 points off the bench against the Irish and he is averaging 15.3 points per outing in SU’s five conference games as the team’s sixth man.
SCOUTING PITTSBURGH
The Panthers won its first 16 games of 2008-09 before losing to the Cardinals at Freedom Hall Saturday night. Much of the team’s success is predicated on defense, which has been a Panthers staple since Jamie Dixon took over as head coach six years ago. Pittsburgh has allowed just 59.4 points per game this year, the second-best mark in the conference behind West Virginia (58.9). It has surrendered more than 70 points just once this season (at Rutgers).
Pittsburgh’s defensive intensity will be tested Monday as Syracuse enters the contest second in the league in scoring offense (81.5 ppg).
Senior forward Sam Young (18.4 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) is the squad’s top scorer this season. He wa s voted the BIG EAST’s Most Improved Player a year ago. Sophomore DeJuan Blair (14.3 ppg., 12.8 rpg.) has developed into one of the top power forwards in the nation this winter, and both players are candidates for league player of the year honors. Senior guard Levance Fields (10.2 ppg., 7.0 apg.) leads the BIG EAST in assists average and is Pittsburgh’s floor general. Junior guard Jermaine Dixon (8.4 ppg.) had a squad-leading 19 points versus Louisville. The probable starting five also includes senior forward Tyrell Biggs (8.5 ppg., 5.4 rpg.).
Dixon has guided the club to a 148-41 overall record during his tenure.
THE SERIES
The Orange is 61-35 all-time against Pittsburgh. The margin is much slimmer when Syracuse serves as the visitor. The Orange is 23-21 versus the Panthers in games contested in Pittsburgh. The Panthers have gotten the better of Syracuse recently, winning five of the last six pairings, including an 82-77 decision at the Dome last season in a game the Orange led by 11 with less than four minutes to play. SU’s lone win in that stretch was a big one. Jim Boeheim’s club defeated the Panthers, 65-61, at Madison Square Garden in the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament title game to win the conference championship.
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