Valentine's Day Matinee

Tickets | Live audio | Live Stats | Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The #2/3 Orange (24-1, 11-1) look to extend its winning streak to 12 games when it hosts Louisville (15-9, 6-5) on Sunday at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim will face one of his former assistants, Rick Pitino, when the two teams go toe-to-toe on Valentine's Day. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m.

Tickets for the game are available online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) or in person at the Carrier Dome Box office. The game will be televised live on ESPN. Fans can also 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.

Fans are encouraged to provide an assist to the local community this Sunday when the Orange hosts Louisville. The Salvation Army of the Syracuse Area will be collecting donations of food and funds from fans as they enter the Dome prior to the game.

Food items collected before the game will be used in our pantry and monetary donations will allow the Salvation Army to continue to shelter record numbers of families in need. Many of the families seeking assistance from The Salvation Army have never before found themselves in need. This special food and monetary drive will help us obtain the necessary resources to be able to serve the tremendous increase in need right here in our community.

ABOUT THE ORANGE

Syracuse added to the program's best start in school history with a 72-67 defeat of Connecticut on Wednesday night. The Orange has won its last 11 in a row and sits atop the BIG EAST standings with an 11-1 record in league play.

In the game against the Huskies, all seven players that participated for SU contributed at least seven points, including three in double figures. Junior Rick Jackson led the team with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He also contributed three blocks. Sophomore Kris Joseph added 14 points, including a 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe. He also had six rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior Wes Johnson was also in double figures, adding 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Orange led by as many as 16 in the second half, but the Huskies rallied to tie the game at 65 with less than three minutes left. However, Syracuse converted 7-of-8 free throws in the final 35 seconds to turn back the visitors.

Syracuse was 23-for-54 (.426) from the field against the Huskies. Connecticut made 38.8 percent of its shots (26-67). The Orange has bettered its opponent in field-goal percentage in all 24 of its wins this season and leads the nation in field-goal percentage (.527). The team also leads the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.383).

The Orange is averaging 10.6 steals per game and 7.0 blocks, good for first and third in the league, respectively.

RAUTINS NEARING 1,000 POINTS

Senior guard Andy Rautins will likely finish his SU career as a 1,000-point scorer. Rautins currently has 962 points and he is trying to become the 53rd player in Orange history to reach that prestigious plateau. He is averaging 8.2 points per game in 117 career contests.

Rautins is bidding to join his father, Leo, in the 1,000-point club. The elder Rautins totaled 1,031 points at Syracuse from 1980-83.

JACKSON ONE OF SU'S MOST ACCURATE SHOOTERS

Jackson needs nine more shot attempts to qualify for the Orange's all-time list of field-goal percentage leaders (min. 500 attempts). He is 291-for-491 (.593) from the floor in his career. At his current clip of 59.3 percent, Jackson would tie SU legend Roosevelt Bouie for fourth on the Orange's career chart. Bouie was 631-of-1,064 from the field from 1976-80.

Jackson was 6-for-10 shooting in the team's last outing versus Connecticut. His 15 points against the Huskies tied his season high for points against a conference opponent. Jackson currently ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in overall field-goal percentage (.591, 101-171).

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

Louisville is coming off a 74-55 loss at St. John's on Thursday. The Cardinals had their worst offensive output of the season, scoring 25 points below their season average.

Louisville has two players averaging in double figures. Sophomore Samardo Samuels leads the team with 15.8 ppg and senior Edgar Sosa is at 13.0 ppg. Both have started all 24 games for the Cardinals this season. Samuels also leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 per game.

Sophomore forward Jared Swopshire (8.0 ppg., 5.9 rpg.) is another frontcourt threat for Louisville. He has started 17 games this winter. Senior guards Jerry Smith (9.0 ppg.) and Reginald Delk (6.6 ppg.) are two other likely starters for Louisville.

As a team, the Cardinals average 78.7 points per game, shooting 45 percent. They're connecting on 7.9 3-point field goals per game, which ranks second in the BIG EAST.

The Cardinals are coached by Rick Pitino, who is in his eighth season at Louisville and 23rd year overall. Pitino owns a 567-206 career record and has led four collegiate programs - Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville. He is the only coach to take three different schools to the Final Four, and he won the NCAA title with Kentucky in 1996. Pitino has also spent time in the NBA, as an assistant and head coach for the New York Knicks and head coach and president of the Boston Celtics.

Pitino, a former guard at Massachusetts, got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant at Hawaii in 1974. He spent two years there before coming to Syracuse to serve as an assistant under Boeheim from 1976-1978.

THE SERIES

Louisville has an 11-4 advantage in the series with Syracuse, but the Orange owns a 3-2 record in games played in the Carrier Dome. Overall, the Cardinals have won the last five series pairings. SU's last victory against the Cardinals came on Feb. 18, 2006 by the score of 79-66.

The two teams last met on March 14, 2009 in the championship game of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Cardinals defeated the Orange, 76-66, in Madison Square Garden to win last year's conference tournament championship.

Syracuse University Athletics

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