SU-UConn Part Of ESPN's Rivalry Week

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Conference rivals #23/23 Syracuse (18-6, 6-5) and #1/1 Connecticut (22-1, 10-1) will square off at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion on Wednesday, Feb. 11 as part of ESPN's Rivalry Week. The Huskies are the first top-ranked team the Orange has faced since it defeated then-No.1 Connecticut, 86-84, in overtime on its way to the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament title.

Wednesday's game will be televised on ESPN. It is the first half of a doubleheader that also features North Carolina at Duke. Fans can 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 on ESPN360.com

ABOUT THE ORANGE
Longtime rival Jim Calhoun and SU head coach Jim Boeheim will go head-to-head again when the two teams meet on Wednesday. The two coaches rank second and third, respectively, in active coaching wins. Calhoun has 796 victories. Boeheim has 788. The two court bosses rank first and second in BIG EAST coaching wins as well. Boeheim leads the way with 347, while Calhoun has 277. Both men were inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

The dynamic duo of guards Jonny Flynn (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) and Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) paced the SU offense for the third straight game Saturday at Villanova. Together they combined for 43 of the squad's 85 points. Flynn led the Orange with 22 points and eight assists on his way to his second consecutive BIG EAST Honor Roll nod. He also scored 22 points in the team's win against West Virginia last Wednesday.Devendorf scored 21 points in the Villanova loss. It was his fourth straight 20-point game, the longest streak of 20-point games in his career. Devendorf had three 3-pointers and went 6-18 overall from the floor.

Senior forward Kristof Ongenaet (Ghent, Belgium) has been seeing more playing time in the past three games. He is averaging 18.0 minutes per contest in that span after playing 10 minutes or less in six of the last eight games. Against the Wildcats, he grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.

SCOUTING CONNECTICUT
Calhoun's squad is on an 11-game winning streak since suffering its only loss of the season on Dec. 29 against Georgetown. The Huskies defeated Michigan, 69-61, in a non-conference matchup in their last outing on Saturday.

Senior forward Jeff Adrien (14.1 ppg, 10.1 rpg) tallied nine points and 14 rebounds against the Wolverines to become the fifth player in Connecticut history to reach 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Adrien leads the Huskies in scoring average and is the active BIG EAST leader in double-doubles with 43 in his career. Junior guard Jerome Dyson is second in squad at 13.7 ppg. He scored 19 points in the win against Michigan.

Junior Hasheem Thabeet finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks Saturday on his way to BIG EAST Player of the Week honors. Thabeet is Connecticut's top rebounder (10.2 rpg) and he is third in nation in blocked shots at 4.0 a game. Guard A.J. Price (12.2 ppg, 56 assts.) is the team's floor leader. He has started all 22 games he's played in this season.

Connecticut is among the nation's leaders in scoring margin (+17.3), rebound margin (+9.0) and blocked shots (7.3).

THE SERIES

SU has a 48-34 advantage in the overall series with Connecticut, including a 17-16 record in games played on the Huskies' home floor. The Orange has won three of the last five meetings since defeating Connecticut at the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament, including two of the three parings during the 2006-07 campaign.

Syracuse University Athletics

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