NEW YORK -- No. 11/11 Syracuse makes its debut at the 2011 BIG EAST Tournament against No. 17/18 St. John’s on Thursday, March 10. Tip off will at 2 p.m. or 20 minutes after the conclusion of the first quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden.
The Orange finished the regular season with a record of 25-6 and earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament with a 12-6 mark in league play. The Red Storm, the tournament’s fifth seed, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 65-63 victory against Rutgers in the second round. The win improves St. John’s record to 21-10.
Fans can watch the game live on ESPN or listen to the action via the Syracuse Sports Network and its flagship TK99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the radio broadcast will be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access. Subscriptions to Orange All Access are available at daily, monthly and yearly rates.
ORANGE IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT
Syracuse will play its 72nd game in the BIG EAST Tournament when it takes the court on Thursday. The Orange has an all-time record of 45-26 in the conference championship. Its 63.4 winning percentage ranks second all-time behind Georgetown’s 66.2.
The Orange has won five BIG EAST Tournament titles, including 1981, 1988, 1992, 2005 and 2006.
BIG EAST HONORS
Senior Rick Jackson earned the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award in a vote by the league’s head coaches. Jackson led the BIG EAST in rebounding average (9.9) and blocked shot average (2.83). Jackson is only the second player in school history to earn the recognition, joining two-time recipient Etan Thomas.
Jackson was one two Syracuse players to earn All-BIG EAST honors. He was a second-team selection, while junior Kris Joseph earned third-team accolades. In addition, junior Scoop Jardine was an honorable mention pick.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
Syracuse closed out the regular season in record-setting fashion with a 107-59 win against DePaul on Saturday, March 5 in the Carrier Dome. The Orange’s 48-point win against the Blue Demons was the largest margin of victory in BIG EAST history.
After DePaul scored the first basket of the game, Syracuse reeled off 11 unanswered points to take a nine-point lead at the 14:40 mark. The Blue Demons cut the lead to 11-6 before senior Rick Jackson sparked another Syracuse offensive outburst as Syracuse outscored DePaul, 14-2, to open up a 27-8 lead with 9:04 remaining. Freshman C.J. Fair and Dion Waiters combined for Syracuse’s next 11 points as SU led, 38-12, with 6:11 remaining. The Orange continued to build its lead, and a free throw by Waiters with 30 seconds on the clock gave SU its largest lead of the half, 57-25. DePaul hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the Orange’s advantage to 57-28 at intermission.
Syracuse continued to build on its lead in the second half as it recorded season highs in points (107) and field goals made (45). SU’s 71.4 field goal percentage tied for the third-highest mark in program history.
Jackson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds in his final game in the Carrier Dome. Junior Scoop Jardine also had 14 points to go along with eight assists. Waiters added 12 points, while Fair had 11 points. Freshman Fab Melo rounded out the double-digit scorers with a career-high 10 points.
SYRACUSE AND ST. JOHN’S ROUND TWO
Syracuse and St. John’s will meet for the second time this season on Thursday. The Orange defeated the Red Storm, 76-59, in Madison Square Garden on January 12. The victory was the 1,800 win in program history.
Senior Rick Jackson recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and joined Syracuse’s 1,000 career point club. Junior Kris Joseph went 8-for-11 from the field and finished with 18 points to lead the Orange.
SCOUTING THE RED STORM
Three St. John’s players are averaging double figures in scoring this season, led by Dwight Hardy’s 17.9 points per game. Hardy was named the BIG EAST Most Improved Player earlier this week. Justin Brownlee and D.J. Kennedy rank second and third on the squad in scoring, posting 12.1 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. The pair also leads the Red Storm in rebounding. Kennedy is pulling down 5.9 rebounds per game, while Brownlee is right behind with 5.2 per contest.
Head coach Steve Lavin is in his first season at the helm of the St. John’s program. He was named the 19th head coach in the history of the program on March 30, 2010. He previously served as head coach at UCLA for seven seasons, guiding the Bruins to on NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance and four trips to the Sweet 16. Overall, Lavin has a career record of 155-82 (.648). Prior to becoming a head coach, Lavin served as an assistant coach at UCLA and Purdue.
THE SERIES
Thursday’s game will be the 85th meeting between Syracuse and St. John’s on the hardwood. Syracuse leads the all-time series, 47-37. Though it holds a slight edge against the Red Storm since the two teams first met in 1912, the Orange has dominated the series lately, winning 11 of the last 12 meetings.
The Red Storm’s last win against Syracuse was in the first of two regular-season meetings in 2006-07. St. John’s defeated the Orange, 64-60, on its home court, snapping SU’s six-game winning streak in the series.
**Information Courtesy of SU Athletics**