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CLEVELAND, Ohio – No. 12/14 Syracuse will face rv/- Marquette in the third round of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday, March 20 at 7:40 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena. The Orange advanced to the third round with a 77-60 victory against Indiana State on Friday.
Eleventh-seeded Marquette knocked off fifth-seeded Xavier, 66-55, in the second round to keep its season alive. The Golden Eagles are 21-14 overall, while Syracuse moved to 27-7 this season after winning its first NCAA Tournament game.
Fans can watch the game live on truTV 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 NCAA TOURNAMENT
Syracuse will play its 86th game in the NCAA Tournament when it takes the court on Sunday. The Orange has an all-time record of 53-33 in the national tournament. Head coach Jim Boeheim’s 63.4 (45-26) winning percentage ranks seventh in Division I Tournament history.
The Orange won the NCAA Championship in 2003 and has advanced to the Final Four on four different occasions (1975, 1987, 1996, 2003).
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE
Third-seeded Syracuse defeated 14th-seeded Indiana State, 77-60, on Friday to advance to Sunday’s third round.
The Sycamores came within four, 42-38, with 15:56 remaining in regulation, but the Orange pulled away and led by as much as 23 in the second half.
Senior
Rick Jackson had a season-best 23 point performance, going 9-11 from the foul line and also contributed seven rebounds and two blocks. Junior
Kris Joseph recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and a season high 10 rebounds. Freshman
C.J. Fair added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior Scoop Jardine finished with nine points, nine assists and three steals.
Jackson jump started the Orange’s offense from the start, scoring its first four points. He continued to produce with four more consecutive points to put SU up 14-8.
The Sycamores put together a 5-0 run to pull within eight, 38-30, at the half.
Jardine opened the second half with a three-pointer to put Syracuse back up by double-figures, 41-30, but Indiana State quickly cut that lead to six, 41-35, at the 17:43 mark. The Sycamores continued to claw back, trailing by just four, 42-38, with 15:56 remaining.
ISU would not go away and counteracted an SU run to pull within 10, 56-46, at the 7:15 mark. Syracuse began to pull away, increasing its lead to 15, 65-50, with 3:15 remaining in regulation. The Orange led by as much as 23 with 1:48 to play before securing the 17-point victory.
Syracuse had an all-around solid shooting night, going 23-44 (.523) overall from the floor, 7-16 (.438) from behind the arc and 24-31 (.774) at the charity stripe.
SYRACUSE AND MARQUETTE ROUND TWO
Syracuse and Marquette will meet for the second time this season on Sunday. The Golden Eagles defeated the Orange, 76-70, in Milwaukee on January 29.
Jardine led SU with a double-double, including 13 points and a career high 13 rebounds. Joseph netted a team high 18 points. Jardine and Joseph each went 3-6 from three point range.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Marquette defeated Xavier, 66-55, on Friday to advance to the third round. The Golden Eagles are led by junior guard Darius Johnson-Odom’s 16.0 points and senior guard Jimmy Butler’s 15.9 points per game. Johnson-Odom surpassed the 1,000 points milestone in his career against Xavier. Junior forward Jae Crowder leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.7 per outing and is also third in scoring at 11.7 points per game.
Head coach Buzz Williams is in his third year at the helm of the program. The Golden Eagles have made trips to the NCAA Tournament during each year under Williams. In 2010, Marquette lost to Washington, 78-80, in the second round of the national tournament.
THE SERIES
Sunday’s game will be the first meeting between Syracuse and Marquette in the NCAA Tournament. The two teams have men just once in postseason play in the 1981 National Invitation Tournament. SU came away with an 88-81 victory in that matchup.
The Orange and the Golden Eagles have met eight times during the regular-season and Syracuse holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series.