SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The #13/11 Orange (13-1, 1-0) begins the new year with its first conference road game on Friday, Jan. 2. when it visits Tampa, Fla. for a matchup with USF (5-7, 0-0). The contest tips off at 8:30 p.m. from the Sun Dome and represents the league opener for the Bulls. Syracuse is 1-0 in BIG EAST play, opening its league slate with a 100-76 win against Seton Hall on Tuesday.
Friday's game at USF will be televised live nationally on ESPN. Fans can also listen to the action via the Syracuse ISP Sports Network and its flagship station TK 99 (99.5 FM). The audio stream of the radio broadcast will also be available on SUathletics.com as part of Orange All Access.
The game is also available free to any student on campus (in fact, to any student on any U.S. college campus -- nearly 18 million people) on ESPN360.com
ABOUT THE ORANGE
Syracuse won its conference opener for the 21st time on Tuesday, beating Seton Hall, 100-76. The game represented one of the Orange's most impressive offensive performances of the season as it hit 100 points against a league foe for the first time since 1995. The Orange connected on 56.5 percent of its field goals (35-62) and 54.5 percent of its 3-point attempts (12-22.)
Junior guards Eric Devendorf (Bay City, Mich.) and Andy Rautins (Jamesville, N.Y.) combined for 46 points in the contest. Devendorf netted 20 and Rautins scored 26. The pair did most of their damage from behind the arc. Devendorf was 3-for-6 from distance and Rautins was 7-for-10. It was the second straight 20-point effort for Rautins, who tallied a career-high 29 points in SU's win against Coppin State. In the last two games, Rautins has made 16 triples, and he is averaging 21.3 points in SU's three games since joining the starting rotation at Memphis on Dec. 20.
Sophomore Rick Jackson (Philadelphia, Pa.) turned in another solid outing in Tuesday's win. Jackson equaled his career high with 14 points. He also had seven rebounds and three blocks. He achieved it all in just 14 minutes of action.
HARRIS NEARS MILESTONE
Junior Paul Harris (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) can join an exclusive club with a good showing at USF. Harris needs just 12 points to become the 50th 1,000-point scorer in school history. Harris has 988 points in 84 career games (11.8 ppg.) and is the Orange's active leader with 24 double-doubles. This season, Harris leads the club in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and he is averaging 12.9 points per game, which lists third on the squad.
SCOUTING USF
Coach Stan Heath is in his second season of running the Bulls. The former Kent State and Arkansas head coach brings a 129-103 record into the pairing with Syracuse. USF was 12-19 in his first campaign at the helm.
USF is off to a 5-7 start this winter. The Syracuse outing represents the BIG EAST opener for the Bulls. In the club's most recent contest on Dec. 27, USF defeated Iona, 68-55.
Sophomore guard Dominique Jones (17.1 ppg.) and senior guard Jesus Verdejo (16.3 ppg.) are a formidable offensive tandem. The pair has contributed 54 percent of USF's points in the 12 games its played. Jones was a unanimous pick on the BIG EAST Conference All-Rookie team last year and an honorable mention All-BIG EAST pick. He had a career-high 36 points versus Iona. Verdejo spent a season at Arizona before transferring to USF. He is the club's top 3-point threat and he is averaging just under three threes per contest while shooting .422 from behind the arc.
In the post, rookie Augustus Gilchrist and senior Aris Williams are the Bulls' main threats. Gilchrist is the club's leading rebounder (5.3 rpg.) and he is averaging 8.2 points per contest. Williams is averaging 4.4 points and 4.8 boards per game. Williams also leads the team in blocked shots with nine.
THE SERIES
Syracuse has won five of the six all-time meetings with USF. The Orange's only loss in the series came last season at the Sun Dome, 89-78. Four of the six matchups have come in league play. The two teams first met during the 1987-88 season.