SU Tries To Remain Unbeaten on Saturday

Tickets | Live audio/video | Live Stats | Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The #8/7 Syracuse Orange (7-0) returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 5, when it hosts Maine (3-3) at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Both teams are coming off wins against Colgate. The Orange defeated the Raiders, 92-58, on Tuesday and the Black Bears posted a 76-66 win over the Raiders Thursday night.

Tickets for Saturday's game are available online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office. That matchup will be televised live in the Syracuse area on Time Warner Sports. Fans can also listen to the action live via the Syracuse ISP Radio Network and its flagship TK 99 (99.5 FM). The video and audio streams of the broadcast will be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

The Orange takes the court owning its highest in-season ranking in the Associated Press Poll since January 19, 2009. The team's seventh-place ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll is Syracuse's best since the 2004-2005 season. Syracuse proved its place on Tuesday versus Colgate, its seventh straight win, all of which have been by at least 15 points.

The Orange utilized a well-balanced offense against the Raiders, with five different players scoring in double figures and eleven players recording points overall. Syracuse shot 57.4 percent (39-68) from the floor while holding Colgate to 36.4 percent (20-55) shooting. The Orange also outrebounded the Raiders, 42-29.

Junior Wes Johnson led all scorers with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and 3-of-4 from long range. Senior Arinze Onuaku connected on six of his seven shots from the floor. Redshirt freshman Mookie Jones, sophomore Kris Joseph and freshman James Southerland all posted 10 points for the Orange.

As a team, the Orange played unselfish offense, posting 35 assists, three shy of the school record. Senior Andy Rautins and sophomore Scoop Jardine led the way with eight assists each.

Johnson leads the team in scoring (18.4 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg) and was recently tabbed a player of the year candidate by Fox Sports' Jeff Goodman. Johnson is one of four SU players listed in the top 10 in the conference in field goal percentage, joining Onuaku, Rick Jackson and Brandon Triche.

1,000 WINS FOR COACH JIM BOEHEIM

Tuesday's defeat of Colgate marked the 1,000^th victory in head coach Jim Boeheim's Orange basketball career as a player, assistant coach and head coach. Boeheim was part of 55 wins as a player, 139 as an assistant coach and 806 as the head coach. Overall, Boeheim has been involved in 56.8 percent of the program's 1,760 varsity basketball victories.

ORANGE DOMINATES NATIONAL STATS

Syracuse ranks among the top 25 in 10 different team categories in the NCAA statistical rankings released on Dec. 2. The Orange leads the nation in assists per game (23.0) and is second in both steals per game (14.6) and field-goal percentage (.551). Syracuse also boasts the fourth-best scoring offense in the nation at 88.9 points per game.

Onuaku is fifth among Division I performers in field goal percentage (.709) and Rautins is third in steals per game (4.0).

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS

Maine enters Saturday's contest against Syracuse with a 3-3 record, posting wins over Fordham, Delaware State and Colgate. The Black Bears' victory versus the Raiders snapped a two-game losing streak.

Maine is led by sophomore guard Gerald McLemore, who is averaging 14.0 points per game and three 3-pointers per game, which ranks 20th nationally. Junior forward Sean McNally is averaging nearly a double-double with 13.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. Classmate Terrance Mitchell is also in double figures for the Black Bears (13.2 ppg). Mitchell scored a game-best 24 points in the Colgate triumph.

Maine enters the contest averaging 65 points per game and converting 33.9 percent of its 3-point field-goal attempts. The team also makes its presence felt on the boards, as the Black Bears average 35.7 rebounds per game.

Ted Woodward is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Black Bears. Maine is 57-96 under his direction. Before being named head coach in August 2004, Woodward served as the associate head coach during the 2003-2004 season and was a Maine assistant for the previous eight years. Woodward also worked as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State, Harvard and Connecticut.

THE SERIES

Syracuse leads the all-time series against Maine, winning all three previous contests. The last time the Orange faced the Black Bears was on Nov. 26, 1996 and Syracuse posted an 85-65 win.

Syracuse University Athletics

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