Orange and Wildcats Collide in NCAA Third Round

Syracuse vs. Kansas State
Game Details	Saturday, March 17 \| Pittsburgh, Pa. \| 12:15 p.m. Consol Energy Center
Game Coverage	TV: CBS \| Radio: WTKW 99.5 FM Twitter: @cuse
Syracuse Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule \| Tournament Bracket
Kansas State Links	Notes \| News \| Roster \| Schedule

PITTSBURGH – Syracuse's NCAA Tournament journey continues on Saturday, March 17 when it takes on Kansas State in the third round at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. Tipoff is set for 12:15 p.m. The Orange (32-2) is the No. 1 seed in the East, while Kansas State (22-10) is the eighth seed.

The game will be broadcast on CBS. Fans can also follow the action on the Syracuse IMG Radio Network and its flagship TK99 (99.5 FM).

32 AND COUNTING
Syracuse's victory against UNC Asheville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament was its 32nd of the season, which is the highest single-season wins total in program history. Prior to 2011-12, the Orange had won 30 or more games in a season four times, most recently in 2009-10. The previous single-season wins record was 31, which was set by the 1986-87 squad.

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
Syracuse won its NCAA Tournament opener for the fourth straight season with a 72-65 victory against UNC Asheville on Thursday, March 15. The Orange rallied from a four-point deficit at halftime to win its school-record 32nd game of the year.

Senior Scoop Jardine tallied seven quick points after intermission and his layup at 15:07 gave SU a 41-40 lead. The teams traded baskets before James Southerland connected on his second three-pointer of the game to put the Orange ahead 50-48. Freshman Rakeem Christmas extended the lead to four when he converted on an assist from Jardine with 8:30 to play.

With the game tied for the sixth time at 54-54, Southerland hit a baseline jumper out of a called timeout, and Kris Joseph's three-point play put the Orange up by five with 5:41 on the clock. Southerland gave SU its largest lead of the game at 62-54 with another three-pointer from the top of the key with 2:36 remaining.

The Bulldogs managed to cut the lead to three with 1:04 left, but the Orange sealed the victory by going 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch.

Southerland led four players in double-figure scoring with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. Sophomore Dion Waiters and Joseph had 12 points each, while Jardine tallied all 11 of his points in the second half. Joseph and Southerland led SU on the boards with eight apiece.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Kansas State advanced to the NCAA Tournament Third Round with a 70-64 victory against Southern Miss. The Wildcats enter Saturday's game with a 22-10 record.

Junior guard Rodney McGruder is Kansas State's leading scorer, averaging 15.9 points per game. He scored a game-high 30 points in the Wildcats second-round victory. Senior forward Jamar Samuels also averages double figures in scoring (10.0 ppg.) and leads K-State on the boards, grabbing 6.6 per game.

Frank Martin is in his fifth year at the helm of the Kansas State program. He has guided the Wildcats to a record of 117-44 and five postseason appearances.

THE SERIES
Syracuse and Kansas State have split the two previous meetings between the two schools. The Wildcats defeated the Orange , 88-68, in Manhattan, Kansas during the 1968-69 campaign. The most previous meeting was in the NCAA Tournament East Region final in 1974-57. The Orange posted a 95-87 overtime victory to advance to its first Final Four.

Syracuse University Athletics

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