SU-Georgetown Round 3

Tournament Central | Bracket | Tournament Notes | Live audio

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The #3/3 Orange (28-3) enters the BIG EAST Conference Tournament as the top seed after winning the league regular-season title. The Orange received a double-bye in the conference tournament and will play in the first game of the quarterfinal round on Thursday, Mar. 11 at 12 p.m. against eighth-seeded Georgetown (21-9).

Thursday's game will be televised live nationally on ESPN. Fans can also catch the action on the radio via the Syracuse ISP Sports Network and its flagship station TK 99 (99.5 FM). Live streaming audio of the game will be available online on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access.

The Orange and Hoyas are the winningest teams in BIG EAST Tournament history. Georgetown has won 46 conference tournament games, while the Orange has won 45. Thursday's quarterfinal is the third matchup this season between these two longtime archrivals. Syracuse won both regular-season meetings, defeating the Hoyas, 73-56, on Jan. 25 and 75-71 on Feb. 18.

ORANGE IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT

Syracuse has participated in all 31 BIG EAST Conference Tournaments and has logged more games than any other league member with 69. The Orange is 45-25 all-time in the tournament.

This is the fifth time in school history that Syracuse will enter the tournament as the conference's top seed. The Orange also owned the top nod in 1999-00, 1990-91, 1989-90 and 1979-80. The Orange hopes for better results this time around. When seeded first, the Orange has only made the championship game of the tournament twice (1979-80 and 1989-90) and lost both times.

SYRACUSE BRINGS HOME POSTSEASON HARDWARE

Syracuse was presented with three of the BIG EAST Conference's major awards this week. Head coach Jim Boeheim was named the league's coach of the year for the fourth time on Tuesday, March 9 in the New York City. The same night junior Wes Johnson tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Year.

Boeheim is the winningest coach in BIG EAST Conference history and the only court boss who has worked the sidelines since the league's inception. He owns a 371-203 overall record in the conference (includes regular-season and conference-tournament games). He was previously named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year in 1983-84, 1990-91 and 1999-00.

Johnson has started all 31 games this year and leads Syracuse in scoring (15.7), rebounding (8.5) and minutes played (34.5). He has scored in double digits in 28-of-31 contests and has posted 11 double-doubles.

Johnson is the fourth Syracuse player to earn conference player of the year honors joining Derrick Coleman (1989-90), Billy Owens (1990-91) and Hakim Warrick (2004-05). Johnson is the first transfer student to be named BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year. Earlier in the week, he was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team.

In addition to Boeheim and Johnson, sophomore forward Kris Joseph was rewarded for his outstanding season with the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Joseph has played in all 31 games this season, coming off the bench in 30 of them. He is averaging 11.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing, the third-best marks on the squad.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

Georgetown is the No. 8 seed in this year's tournament. The Hoyas knocked off USF (69-49) on Wednesday afternoon to advance to the quarterfinal round. Georgetown was 20-9 during the regular season and 10-8 in league play.

The Hoyas are led by a pair of All-BIG EAST performers. Sophomore Greg Monroe was the team's-second leading scorer in the regular season, averaging 16.0 points per game. He also pulled down 9.6 rebounds per contest, which was fourth in the BIG EAST. Monroe had 16 points in the win against the Bulls Wednesday.

Junior Austin Freeman was recognized with second-team all-league honors. Freeman led the team and ranked eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.3 ppg). He scored 19.5 points per game against conference opponents, which ranked fourth in the league.

Freeman, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, had eight points versus USF.

Chris Wright and Jason Clark have been solid contributors for the Hoyas this year. Wright (15 points) and Clark (16 points) were both in double figures versus USF.

THE SERIES WITH GEORGETOWN

The Orange holds a 46-37 advantage in the all-time series with Georgetown. The Orange has captured six of the last seven and 11 of the last 14 meetings, including this season's two wins. The two squads have split their 12 BIG EAST Tournament pairings with each side winning six.

Syracuse University Athletics

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