Saturday, March 3
Syracuse, NY
4:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
vs
Louisville
#2/2 Orange Hosts Cardinals in Regular-Season Finale
3/2/2012 2:11:12 PM | Men's Basketball
| Syracuse vs. Louisville | ||
| Game Details |
Saturday, March 3 | Syracuse, N.Y. | 4 p.m. Carrier Dome | Tickets |
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| Game Coverage |
TV: CBS | Radio: WTKW 99.5 FM Orange All Access: Audio | Live Stats Twitter: @Cuse |
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| Syracuse Links | Notes | News | Roster | Schedule | |
| Louisville Links | Notes | News | Roster | Schedule | |
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- No. 2/2 Syracuse (29-1, 16-1) closes out its most successful regular season in school history when it hosts No. 19/18 Louisville (22-8, 10-7) on Saturday, March 3 at 4 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Fan are encouraged to arrive early as the Orange's seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony as they play their final regular-season home game.
The contest will be televised on CBS. Tickets for Saturday's game are available online, by phone (1-888-DOMETIX) or in person at the Carrier Dome Box Office. Fans can also follow the action on the Syracuse IMG Radio Network and its flagship TK99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the broadcast will be available on Orange All Access on SUathletics.com. Subscriptions to Orange All Access are available at daily, monthly and yearly rates.
THANK YOU SENIORS
The Orange's senior class will be honored in a ceremony prior to tipoff on Saturday. Scoop Jardine, Kris Joseph, Brandon Reese, Nick Resavy and Matt Tomaszewski will be recognized for their contributions to the Syracuse program.
NEARING A MILESTONE
Syracuse is one win away from posting its fifth 30-win season in school history. The Orange won a school-record 31 games in 1986-87. In addition, Syracuse recorded 30 wins in 2009-10, 2002-03, 1988-89 and 1995-96. This year's squad has already established a school record for wins during the regular season with 29. A win against the Cardinals would mark the first 30-win regular season in program history.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
Sophomore Fab Melo's dunk with 31 seconds remaining gave Syracuse a 71-69 victory against Connecticut on Saturday, Feb. 25. With the victory, the Orange clinched the outright BIG EAST regular-season championship for the second time in three years.
The Huskies used a 14-3 scoring run to erase a 17-point deficit and tie the score at 63-63 with 4:17 to play. The teams traded baskets before Andre Drummond's tip-in with 47 seconds left on the clock knotted the game at 69-69.
Head coach Jim Boeheim called timeout to set up a play for the Orange's final possession. #C.J. Fair# missed a shot, but Melo grabbed the rebound and dunked the ball to give SU a 71-69 advantage. The Huskies went for the win on a three-pointer by Ryan Boatman, but Dion Waiters deflected the ball out of bounds off the Orange with 13 seconds remaining to give the Huskies one final possession.
Following back-to-back timeouts by Connecticut, Roscoe Smith drove the lane and put up an off-balance shot, which was blocked by Fair to secure Syracuse's 29th win of the year.
Senior Kris Joseph led all scorers with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Melo finished with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Waiters had 10 points, helping the Orange to a 26-0 advantage in points off the bench.
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
Louisville arrives in Syracuse with a 22-8 overall record, including a 10-7 mark in BIG EAST play. The Cardinals are coming off a 58-51 loss against South Florida on Wednesday.
A trio of UofL players average in double figures and lead the Cardinals offensively. Kyle Curic leads the team with 13.1 points per game, while Russ Smith and Chris Smith average 12.0 and 10.3, respectively. Gorgui Dieng leads Louisville in rebounding, with 9.0 boards per contest. Dieng is also first in the BIG EAST in blocked shots (3.2), and fourth in rebounding. Additionally, Russ Smith is third in the conference in steals (2.4).
Rick Pitino is in his 11th year as head coach for Louisville. He has led the Cardinals to a 267-104 record over the span. Pitino, who served as an assistant coach at Syracuse, has a 619-228 career record, and is the only coach to lead three different teams to the NCAA Final Four (Providence, Kentucky and Louisville).
THE SERIES
Louisville leads the all-time series with Syracuse, 13-5. The Orange snapped a seven-game series losing streak to the Cardinals on February 13, when SU recorded a 52-51 triumph in Louisville. In that game, the Orange scored the final six points of the contest and Dion Waiters steal on the Cardinals' final possession sealed a 52-51 victory. Sophomore #C.J. Fair# scored a team-high 13 points to lead the Orange.
UP NEXT…
New York's College Team returns to Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament. The Orange is the tournament's top seed and has a double-bye into the quarterfinals. Syracuse will play on Thursday, March 8 at noon.
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