Orange And Cal To Meet For First Time

Live audio | Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. –The Orange men's basketball team (2-0) travels to Madison Square Garden in New York City to play in the championship rounds of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. No. 24 Syracuse will face its first ranked opponent of the year in #13/12 California (2-0) in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday, Nov. 19. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The second game features defending NCAA champion #6/4 North Carolina versus #15/15 Ohio State.

Fans can watch the game live on ESPN2 or listen to the action via the Syracuse ISP Radio Network and its flagship TK 99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the radio broadcast will be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

Syracuse will go on the road for the first time after opening the season with two home wins in the regional round of the 2K Sports Classic. The Orange defeated the Great Danes of Albany, 75-43, in its season opener. With the victory, Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim became the third active Division I coach to reach 800 wins.

Two days later, the Orange trounced Robert Morris by the score of 100-60. Senior guard Andy Rautins led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 7-of-10 from behind the arc, while junior forward Wesley Johnson recorded 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Senior center Arinze Onuaku (14 points) and junior forward Rick Jackson (10 points) both paced the Orange with five rebounds. Freshman guard Brandon Triche rounded out the double-figure scorers for Syracuse, posting 12 points. Triche split time directing the offense at point guard with sophomore Scoop Jardine. Triche contributed seven assists while Jardine dished out nine, both career-best efforts.

Overall, Onuaku leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game this season. He is 13-for-15 from the field on the year (.867). He and Jackson are a combined 21-of-24 shooting (.875) in 2009-10. Jackson has connected on eight of his nine shot attempts in the first two games.

In addition, Rautins 3-point shooting display against the Colonials moved him past Marius Janulis into sixth on SU's career 3-point field goals list. Rautins has 191 in his career and he is tied for fifth on the Orange career record list with a .378 long-range shooting percentage (191-527).

ABOUT THE 2K SPORTS COACHES VS. CANCER CLASSIC

The four regional hosts: Syracuse, North Carolina, Ohio State and California, automatically advanced to the championship rounds at Madison Square Garden. The winner of each game Thursday will play in the tournament's championship game on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. while the remaining two teams will face off in a consolation game at 5 p.m.

The tournament's other participants are playing in subregionals in Albany and Miami. The Albany Subregional features the Great Danes as well as Robert Morris, Detroit and Alcorn State. The Miami Subregional is made up of Florida International, James Madison, North Carolina Central and Murray State.

SYRACUSE AND SEASON OPENING TOURNAMENTS

The 2009 season marks the sixth straight year the Orange has started the campaign as part of a season-opening tournament. Syracuse participated in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in 2008-09; the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2007-08; the BCA Invitational in 2006-07; the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in 2005-06; and the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in 2004-05.

The Orange claimed three tournament titles during the stretch, winning the 2008 O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with a 89-81 overtime win against Kansas; the 2004 Coaches vs. Cancer Classic against Memphis, 77-62, and the 2006 BCA Invitational at home against UTEP, 83-69.

THE ORANGE IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

The Orange's basketball association with Madison Square Garden dates back to Feb. 1, 1939 when Syracuse posted a 42-31 win versus Manhattan. The 2009-2010 season marks the 33rd consecutive campaign that Syracuse has played at least one game in MSG. Under Jim Boeheim, the Orange owns a 65-44 mark in games played at the World's Most Famous Arena.

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA

Thursday's game marks the first time Cal will be playing in Madison Square Garden since they won the NIT Championship in 1999. The Golden Bears were picked to win the Pac-10 in the conference media poll that came out on Oct. 29 and they enter Thursday's contest at 2-0 with a pair of victories in the regional round of the 2K Sports Classic. Cal posted a 75-70 decision against Murray State in its season opener and followed with a 95-61 defeat of Detroit.

Cal was led by seniors Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson against Detroit. Randle posted a game-high 19 points, while Robertson recorded 14 points and six rebounds. Fellow senior Patrick Christopher also notched 13 points in the win. Junior center Markhuri Sanders-Frison made his first start for Cal after transferring from South Plains College and collected a team-best seven rebounds. Sophomore center Max Zhang, the tallest player in school history at 7-3, had a career game, scoring seven points and recording four rebounds.

Overall, Randle (20.0 ppg) leads the squad in scoring average and Robertson is second at 18.0 ppg. Jamal Boykin (7.5 rpg) is the club's best rebounder.

Mike Montgomery is in his second season as the head coach of the Golden Bears and owns a 24-11 at Cal. He has compiled a 571-255 career coaching mark, serving as the head coach of Montana for eight years followed by 18 seasons as the head coach at Stanford. Montgomery also spent time in the NBA, serving as head coach of the Golden State Warriors from 2004-2006.

THE SERIES

Thursday's game is the first meeting between Cal and Syracuse.

Syracuse University Athletics

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