NEW YORK - New York's College team will be in action in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Feb. 4 when No. 2/2 Syracuse takes on St. John's. Tipoff is set for noon. The Orange enters the game with an overall mark of 22-1. SU leads the BIG EAST with a 9-1 record. The Red Storm is 10-12 overall, 4-6 in the BIG EAST.
The game will be available on ESPN and on ESPN3. 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.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Syracuse will be playing in Madison Square Garden for the third time this year and the 159th time in the program's history. The Orange first played there on Feb. 1, 1939. Since then SU has an all-time record of 87-71 in the historic venue. Syracuse played two games in MSG earlier this season. The Orange defeated Virginia Tech and Stanford to claim the NIT Season Tipoff title.
NUMBER FOUR AND CLIMBING
Head coach Jim Boeheim needs one more victory to tie Dean Smith for third place on the Division I all-time wins list. Boeheim currently has 878 career victories, one behind Smith's 879. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski leads the all-time list with 918 wins, while Bob Knight is second with 902 victories.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
Syracuse remained unbeaten at home with a 63-61 victory against West Virginia in the Carrier Dome on Saturday, Jan. 28. A crowd of 28,740 gathered to watch the game, which is the largest college basketball crowd of the season.
The Mountaineers held its largest lead of the game at 22-16 before the Orange defense held West Virginia to one field goal and just two points in the final eight minutes of the first half. Kris Joseph's layup at the 1:11 mark gave SU a 25-24 lead, and Scoop Jardine's three-pointer as the clock hit zero gave SU a 28-24 halftime advantage.
West Virginia fought back in the second half and tied the game at 61-61. Brandon Triche was fouled with1:28 remaining, sending him to the free throw line. He connected on both attempts, which proved to be the game-winning points. The Mountaineers had one last chance to either tie the game or take the lead with 28 seconds remaining. After an SU defensive stop, West Virginia retrieved the loose ball with six seconds remaining on the clock. A three from the corner by Kevin Jones fell short and Syracuse held on for the victory.
Triche led the Orange with 18 points, while Joseph added 13 points to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. Jardine added nine points and five assists.
SCOUTING THE RED STORM
St. John's has posted a 10-12 overall record during the 2011-12 campaign, including a 4-6 mark in the BIG EAST. The Red Storm won its second consecutive conference game on Wednesday with an 87-81 victory at DePaul.
St. John's has battled some of the nation's top teams this season, facing both Kentucky and Duke on the road during the non-conference slate. Three players average double digits in scoring for the Red Storm, led by D'Angelo Harrison's 16.4 points per game. He ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in scoring, while Moe Harkless is 10th with a 16.3 per game average. In addition, God'sgift Achiuwa is contributing 10.5 points per game. Harkless leads St. John's on the boards with 8.8 rebounds per game, which ranks fifth in the league. He is also fifth in the BIG EAST in blocked shots (1.7 per game).
Steve Lavin is in his second season at the helm at St. John's. In his inaugural campaign with the Red Storm, Lavin guided the squad to a 21-12 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. SJU compiled six Top 25 victories during the 2010-11 season, and returned to the Top 25 rankings for the first time since 2000-01. Lavin also guided the Red Storm to its first 20-win season since 2002-03.
SERIES HISTORY
Syracuse leads the all-time series with St. John's, 48-37. The Orange has won the last six meetings versus the Red Storm, with its latest victory coming in the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal by a final margin of 79-73. Brandon Triche scored a career-high 22 points in the post-season victory at Madison Square Garden, while Kris Joseph poured in 14 points.
**Courtesy SU Athletics**
