SU Opens BIG EAST Play At Seton Hall

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Having started the season 12-0 for the seventh time under head coach Jim Boeheim, the #5/5 Orange now turns its attention to the conference portion of its schedule. Syracuse opens BIG EAST play at Seton Hall (9-2, 0-1) on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. at the Prudential Center.

The matchup will be televised live on the BIG EAST Network. Fans can also listen to the action live 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.

Tuesday's game is a contest between two of the top scoring clubs in Division I and the top two scoring offenses in the conference. Syracuse has already posted two 100-point outings this season and is averaging a BIG EAST best 88.3 points per contest. Seton Hall has a 134-point showing against VMI and is just behind the Orange in scoring average with an 88.1 mark, second in the league. According to cbssportsline.com, the schools are ranked third and fourth in the nation, including games of Dec. 27.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

The number of unbeaten teams in Division I men's basketball is down to six and Syracuse is one of them. In addition to the Orange, Kansas, Texas, Kentucky, Purdue and West Virginia are also undefeated. The Mountaineers survived a scare from Seton Hall on Dec. 26, holding off the Pirates, 90-84, in overtime.

Syracuse upped its record to 12-0 with a 92-60 win against Oakland on Dec. 22. Freshman Brandon Triche scored a career-best 27 points in the victory, including hitting all six of his 3-point attempts. Triche's six made three's is the most without a miss in school history. The performance carried him to BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors for the second time this season.

Junior forward Wes Johnson registered his fifth double-double of the year with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Johnson was 8-for-12 from the floor against the Golden Grizzlies, the 11th straight game he connected on at least 50 percent of his field-goal attempts. Johnson has been an all-round force so far this year. He ranks in the top 10 of the BIG EAST in seven statistical categories – scoring (16.8 ppg), rebounding (8.2 rpg), field-goal percentage (.597), 3-point percentage (.524), steals (2.1 spg), blocks (2.1 bpg) and defensive rebounds (6.4 per game).

ANOTHER BOEHEIM MILESTONE

Orange court boss Jim Boeheim will coach his 1,100 college basketball game Tuesday when the Orange takes on the Pirates. He will become the third active Division I coach to patrol the sidelines for at least 1,100 games joining Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun. Of the three, Boeheim is the only one to achieve the feat at one school. Krzyzewski was the head coach at Army before taking over the Blue Devil program and Calhoun served as the head coach at Northeastern prior to his arrival in Storrs.

SYRACUSE IN CONFERENCE OPENERS

The Orange is 21-9 all-time in BIG EAST Conference starters. Syracuse's first-ever BIG EAST game was against Seton Hall on Jan. 5, 1980 and the Orange emerged with a 99-76 win. SU is 4-0 all-time against the Pirates in conference starting games.

SCOUTING THE PIRATES
Seton Hall reeled off eight straight wins to begin the season, but has lost two of its last three. A 71-65 home defeat against Temple on Dec. 19 knocked the Pirates from the ranks of the unbeaten. They rebounded with a 94-56 drubbing of Navy on Dec. 22 before falling to West Virginia in overtime Saturday.

Seton Hall features junior guard Jeremy Hazell, the second-leading scorer in the BIG EAST Conference. Hazell is averaging 21.9 points per game and just over three 3-pointers per outing. He scored 41 points, including a three that sent the West Virginia game into overtime. The Pirates also feature junior forward Herb Pope (13.7 ppg), who leads the league in rebounding average (11.8 rpg).

The Pirates have two other players averaging in double digits -- senior forward Robert Mitchell (10.6) and junior guard Jamel Jackson (10.0).

Head coach Bobby Gonzalez is in his fourth season at Seton Hall. He's guided the Pirates to a 56-48 record during his tenure.

THE SERIES

Syracuse leads the overall series with Seton Hall, 43-15. The Orange earned a home win in the regular season (100-76) last year then defeated the Pirates again in the opening round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Syracuse is 16-7 all-time in road games against Seton Hall.

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