Men's Basketball Travels to Syracuse
February 17, 2015 | Men's Basketball
GAME FACTS - Louisville at Syracuse
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Carrier Dome, Syracuse, N.Y. (35,012)
Television: ESPN - Bob Wischusen, play-by-play; Sean Farnham, analyst.
Radio: WKRD (790 AM) Paul Rogers, play-by-play; Doug Ormay, analyst (Sirius 83, XM 83) Also: ESPN Radio -- Marc Kestecher, play-by-play; Bob Valvano, analyst.
Series History: Louisville leads 15-7 (7-3 in Louisville, 3-4 in Syracuse, 5-0 neutral)
Last Meeting: UofL 78, Syracuse 61 (March 16, 2013 at New York, N.Y. Big East Championship)
UofL National Ranking: 12th USA Today, 12th Associated Press
Officials: Tim Clougherty, Michael Stephens, Brian O'Connell
Next UofL Game: Feb. 21 vs. Miami, KFC Yum! Center, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Louisville takes to the road as the Cardinals face the Syracuse Orange on Wednesday. Louisville lost for just the second time in its last seven games in falling 65-74 to NC State in the KFC Yum! Center on Feb. 14 as the Cardinals shot just 32.8 percent from the field and were beaten 37-47 on the boards.
Louisville has four players averaging double figures. Terry Rozier leads the Cards in scoring with 18.0 points per game. Montrezl Harrell ranks second with 15.4 points, while Chris Jones ranks third on the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and Wayne Blackshear averages 10.9 points. The Cardinals are solid on the boards, Harrell leads the team with 9.3 rebounds per game. Rozier ranks second on the team in rebounding with 5.5 per game.
Louisville ranks among the nation's top 25 in eight statistical categories through games of Feb. 15. Individually, Harrell is 30th nationally in rebounding (9.3) and 22nd in field goal percentage (.576). Rozier is 57th in steals (1.9) and 46th in scoring (18.0). Jones is 30th in steals (2.0).
Syracuse (16-9, 7-5 ACC) has split its last four games, dropping its last game against Duke 80-72 at home on Feb. 14 despite a career-high 27 points from forward Michael Gbinije (10-of-14 field goals, 5-of-8 three pointers), who led four Orange players in double figures.
Center Rakeem Christmas leads Syracuse and is second in the ACC in scoring (17.7 ppg, 23 double figure scoring games this season). Gbinije leads the ACC in three point field goal percentage for league games only (.509, 29-of-57). Ranked 18th nationally in steals (8.4), Syracuse is 70th in the ratings percentage index (RPI) and 48th in the Sagarin Ratings through Feb. 15.
Louisville leads 15-7 in its series with Syracuse, winning the last two matchups. UofL won the last meeting 78-61 in the championship game of the 2013 Big East Tournament (3/16/13), overcoming an 18-point second half deficit as Montrezl Harrell scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Cardinals. The Cardinals also beat the Orange 76-66 in the title game of the 2009 BIG EAST Tournament championship. The Cardinals have a 3-4 record in games played at Syracuse, winning three of their last four in the Carrier Dome.
CARDINAL NOTES:
? Louisville's academic performance in the recently completed fall semester was impressive, with 15 of its 16 men's basketball student-athletes achieving a 3.0 or better grade point average. The Cardinals posted a collective 3.33 GPA for the 2014 Fall Semester, just short of the team record of 3.47 achieved last fall.
? Terry Rozier has averaged 19.7 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last seven games, scoring over 20 points in five. He has averaged 18.5 points overall and 19.1 in ACC games, both which are second in the league. He is third in the ACC in steals.
? Louisville's 116 victories over the last four years are the most wins in the nation in that stretch. Louisville is the only school in the nation with three straight 30- win seasons, including a school-record 35 victories by its 2012-13 NCAA Title team.
? In its six ACC road games this season, Louisville has shot a collective 53.2 percent from the field (158-of-311), while connecting on 37 percent of its field goals in six home games. The Cardinals have shot above 47 percent from the field on 12 occasions this season, including eight times in the last 13 games. Terry Rozier has averaged 21.7 points in Louisville's six conference road games.
? Louisville has a 44-12 record in February over the last eight years (since 2007-08), winning 13 of its last 15 in the month.
? Louisville has produced its 13th consecutive season with 20 or more victories.
