Men's Basketball Faces Syracuse Saturday in Regular-Season Rematch
March 01, 2013 | Men's Basketball
March 1, 2013
| No. 10/9 Louisville at No. 12 Syracuse | |||
| Date: Saturday, March 2 | |||
| Time: Noon ET | |||
| Location: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y. | |||
| Game Notes: Louisville | Syracuse | |||
| TV: CBS / Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Clark Kellogg (analyst) | |||
| Radio: WKRD 790 AM | Listen Here | SIRIUS 92, XM 190 | |||
| Audio: | Kevin Keatts Russ Smith | Video: | Kevin Keatts Russ Smith |
| Podcast: Click Here | |||
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's basketball team will bring its four-game winning streak to upstate New York this weekend for a Saturday matchup at 12th-ranked Syracuse.
Tipoff for the March 2 contest is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on CBS, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) calling the action. Fans also can tune in to WKRD 790 AM to listen to Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst).
No. 10/9 Louisville (23-5, 11-4 BIG EAST) overpowered DePaul, 79-58, at the Allstate Arena on Wednesday night. Louisville's defense held DePaul to 35.9 percent from the field, including an 11-percent stint from beyond the arc. The Cardinals finished with a major advantage on the glass, outrebounding DePaul, 46-33.
With 7:52 left in the second half, Russ Smith scored his 1,000th career point on a made free throw. He became the 65th Louisville men's basketball player to reach the plateau. Smith finished with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals. Peyton Siva totaled 16 points, six assists and four rebounds. Joining them in double figures was Montrezl Harrell (11), Gorgui Dieng (10), and Chane Behanan (10). Brandon Young led the Blue Demons with 22 points and six assists and Cleveland Melvin added 20 points.
Louisville's superior defense continues to be one of its mainstays, as the Cardinals rank No. 3 nationally in turnover margin (6.1), No. 3 in steals per game (10.8), No. 4 in scoring margin (15.9), and No. 21 in scoring defense (58.5).
Syracuse enters Saturday's contest with a 22-6 overall record, including a 10-5 mark in league play. The Orange have dropped back-to-back games, falling to Georgetown and Marquette, respectively. Their most recent loss came at Marquette, a 74-71 decision. C.J. Fair, playing in all 40 minutes, totaled 20 points and seven rebounds. Davante Gardner came off the bench to lead the Golden Eagles with 26 points and eight rebounds.
Syracuse prides itself on its stellar zone defense, ranking in the top-20 nationally for field-goal percentage defense (No. 4), blocks per game (No. 5), scoring margin (No. 8), steals per game (No. 9), 3-point field-goal defense (No. 9), and turnover margin (No. 14).
The Orange are under the direction of Jim Boeheim, who is in his 37th season as head coach. Currently, he owns a 922-309 record, all coming at Syracuse. The 2005 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee has compiled 35 20-win seasons, good for most on the all-time list.
Stealing Darrell Griffith's record: Peyton Siva needs nine steals to strip Darrell Griffith of his 23-year school record for most career steals. Siva's two steals against DePaul moved him into sole possession of third, totaling 222. He ranks behind Labradford Smith (227) and Griffith (230).
THE SERIES - Louisville at Syracuse
The Cardinals own a 13-7 advantage in the series against Syracuse. Louisville has won seven of the last 10 meetings, with Syracuse winning the last three. Earlier this season, Brandon Triche scored 23 points to lead sixth-ranked Syracuse to a 70-68 victory. Russ Smith had 25 points in the loss. Prior to Syracuse's two regular-season victories last year, Louisville's seven-straight wins included two in the Carrier Dome.
GAME FACTS - Louisville at Syracuse
Date: Saturday, March 2
Time: Noon ET
Site: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y.
Television: The game will be broadcast on CBS, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play) and Clark Kellogg (analyst) calling the action.
Radio: WKRD 790 AM will air the game, with Paul Rogers (play-by-play) and Doug Ormay (analyst) announcing the game. It also will be on Dial Global Sports, with Scott Graham (play-by-play) and Pete Gillen (analyst).
SIRIUS: Fans also can listen to the game on SIRIUS channel 92 and XM channel 190.
Series History: UofL leads the all-time series 13-7 (7-3 in Louisville, 2-4 in Syracuse, 4-0 neutral).
Officials: John Cahill, John Gaffney, Mike Eades
Next UofL Game: Monday, March 4 vs. Cincinnati, Louisville, Ky., KFC Yum! Center (ESPN Big Monday), 7:02 p.m. ET
