#8/8 Orange Prepped for #9/12 Cardinals

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The eighth-ranked Orange (17-3, 5-2) concludes a stretch of four consecutive games against ranked opponents with a 12 p.m. contest against #9/12 Louisville (14-3, 5-0) Sunday, Jan. 25 at the Carrier Dome. The Orange is coming off a 78-60 loss at Pittsburgh Monday, but has followed up each of its previous two defeats this year with a victory.

Sunday's game will be televised on the BIG EAST Network and can be seen live locally on Time Warner 26. 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 also be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access. The game is also available free to any student on campus (in fact, to any student on any U.S. college campus -- nearly 18 million people) on ESPN360.com

ABOUT THE ORANGE

The BIG EAST has proved to be one of the most competitive leagues in the nation this season, and Sunday’s game marks the Orange’s fourth in a row against a conference team listed in the national polls. The last time the Orange faced four straight ranked opponents was in 2004-05 (Connecticut, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Boston College). Prior to that, the last time SU faced such a difficult stretch was in 1996 when it squared off against Connecticut, Georgetown, Boston College and Villanova in consecutive games when they were all nationally ranked.

Syracuse kept the game close early Monday at Pitt, but the combination of Sam Young and DeJuan Blair proved to be too much for the Orange to handle. Young finished with a game-high 22 points, while Blair added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Junior guard Andy Rautins (Jamesville, N.Y.) paced the Orange with 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Rautins is averaging 10.9 ppg. this season with an even higher scoring average against league foes (12.4 ppg.).

Sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) scored in double figures for the 19th time this season with 12 against the Panthers. He also dished out seven assists to improve his season assist average to 6.0, the second-best mark in the conference. Flynn leads five Orange players averaging double digits (16.1 ppg.).

Despite scoring just 60 points at Pittsburgh, Syracuse is still averaging better than 80 points a game (80.4) and remains the only conference team shooting better than 50 percent from the field on the year (.504, 584-1159).

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE

The Cardinals handed then-No. 1 Pittsburgh its first loss of the season last Saturday and they own an overall record of 14 -3 and 5-0 in the BIG EAST after defeating Rutgers by the score of 78-59 on Wednesday. Terrence Williams led the Cardinals with 23 points against the Scarlet Knights and both Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels contributed 15 points each in the victory. Rick Pitino’s squad began the year ranked in the top five before losing to Western Kentucky in its third game of the year. Louisville heads into the matchup with Syracuse on a six-game winning streak.

Clark, a forward, is one of the most dynamic players in the league. He leads Louisville in scoring (14.0 ppg.) and rebounding (8.9 rpg.). Rookie Samuels has emerged as one of the top freshmen in the nation. He is second on the squad at 13.7 points per contest and leads the team with 28 blocks. Samuels is the reigning BIG EAST Rookie of the Week after he averaged 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in victories against Notre Dame and Pitt.

Williams, a senior and reigning league player of the week, averaged 22.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in the wins against the Irish and Panthers. For the season, Williams is averaging 13.4 points per outing and leads the Cardinals in rebounding at 9.3.

Pitino is in his seventh year as the head coach of the Cardinals. He is 35-43 at Louisville. Orange head coach Jim Boeheim gave Pitino his college coaching start, hiring him as an assistant in 1976. He remained at Syracuse until 1978. In addition to the Cardinals, Pitino has served as the head coach at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. His 1995-96 Kentucky squad defeated Syracuse, 76-67, to win the national championship.

THE SERIES

Louisville holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series; however, the Orange has won three of the four meetings in Syracuse. Since the Cardinals joined the BIG EAST for the 2005-06 season, Louisville has claimed two of the three matchups, including the last two. Last year, the Cardinals posted a 61-50 victory at Freedom Hall.

Syracuse University Athletics

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