Saturday, January 16
Morgantown, WV
12:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
at
West Virginia University
Mookie Jones came off the bench for Coach Jim Boeheim and had 11 points at Rutgers.
SU-WVU Poised For Top 10 Battle
1/15/2010 4:31:15 PM | Men's Basketball
Live Stats | Live audio | Game Notes
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - #5/5 Syracuse (16-1, 3-1) continues a three-game road swing on Saturday, Jan. 16 when it faces #10/9 West Virginia (13-2, 4-1) in a matchup of Top 10 teams at the WVU Coliseum. Tipoff is at 12 p.m.
For Syracuse, it's the third time this season it has clashed with a Top 10 opponent. The Orange faced North Carolina in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in November. Syracuse also matched up with Florida in the DirectTV SEC/BIG EAST Challenge in Tampa when the Gators were listed 10th in the AP poll.
Saturday's game will be televised live on ESPN. 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.
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse began its current road swing with an 81-65 triumph at Rutgers. Senior guard Andy Rautins had his best all-round game of the season to lead the Orange. Rautins played all 40 minutes and scored a season-best 23 points. He also tied his career high with nine assists and established a new personal best with eight rebounds, narrowly missing a triple-double.
The victory at Rutgers was SU's third straight and boosted the team's conference record to 3-1 on the season. Syracuse and West Virginia are two of five BIG EAST teams that enter this weekend with one loss in the league.
The Orange remains among the nation's leaders in scoring average (85.2), field-goal percentage (.532) and steals average (12.1).
TWO OF THE BEST GO HEAD-TO-HEAD
Two of the top five coaches in active career victories will be on the floor when Syracuse visits the Mountaineers. SU Hall-of-Fame mentor Jim Boeheim is third on the list with 815 career victories, one behind Connecticut's Jim Calhoun. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is fourth with 652 career wins. The majority of Huggins' triumphs came when he was the head coach at Cincinnati. He is 62-25 in his two-plus seasons at the helm of the Mountaineers.
JOHNSON TOPS 1,000 POINTS
Junior forward Wes Johnson scored 11 points at Rutgers to reach the 1,000-point mark for his career. Johnson has 1,005 points in 75 career games, including 58 in his two seasons at Iowa State. He boasts a career scoring average of 13.4 points per game.
Johnson also pulled down 10 rebounds against the Scarlet Knights to record his eighth double-double of the season. He has a double-double in three of the team's four BIG EAST games and Syracuse is 8-0 on the season when he achieves the feat.
JONES HEATING UP
Redshirt freshman Mookie Jones scored 11 points, two shy of his career high in the win at Rutgers. Jones connected on three of his six 3-point attempts and played a career-high 22 minutes. In the last two games, Jones is 5-for-10 (.500) from 3-point range. He is currently sixth in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting accuracy at 4.63 percent (25-54).
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
West Virginia won 11 straight to open the season before falling from the unbeaten ranks with a loss at nationally-ranked Purdue on Jan. 1, 77-62. The Mountaineers also lost at Notre Dame on Jan. 9, 70-68. In the club's most recent outing, WVU defeated USF, three days after Syracuse earned a win against the Bulls.
WVU is led by senior forward Da'Sean Butler (15.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg.), freshman forward Kevin Jones (15.3 ppg., 7.8 rpg.) and sophomore forward Devin Ebanks (12.5 ppg., 8.3 rpg.). The trio stands, 6-7, 6-7 and 6-9, respectively. Butler, Jones and 6-7 senior forward Wellington Smith (5.0 ppg.) have started all 15 games. Along with Ebanks, the other likely starter is sophomore guard Darryl Bryant (9.8 ppg.).
THE SERIES
Syracuse leads the overall series, 31-16, and has won 10 of last 11 meetings with the Mountaineers. The Orange defeated West Virginia twice last season, including a 74-69 overtime triumph in the BIG EAST Tournament. West Virginia captured the most recent encounter in Morgantown, 81-61, in 2008.
Syracuse leads the overall series, 31-16, and has won 10 of last 11 meetings with the Mountaineers. The Orange defeated West Virginia twice last season, including a 74-69 overtime triumph in the BIG EAST Tournament. West Virginia captured the most recent encounter in Morgantown, 81-61, in 2008.
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