Syracuse Defeats #15 Notre Dame 70-58 on New Years Day

It was one of the toughest tests so far this season for the Orangemen, and they responded just like we would have hoped. Notre Dame, who came to the Carrier Dome ranked 15th in the nation and coming off a victory against #9 Georgetown just days earlier, was dispatched of seemingly effortlessly by Syracuse and their trusted 2-3 zone. Notre Dame, who averages 78.8 points per game (31st best in the nation), was held to just 58 points during the New Years Day matinee.

Kris Joseph once again lead the Orangemen in scoring with 18 points on 8 of 17 shooting from the floor. While Joseph played a great game, it was Scoop Jardine who stole the show. Scoop had 15 points on 5 of 9 shooting and handed out 9 assists during the game, however lost on the scorers sheet is the schoolyard moves Scoop was handing out all night on the Fightin' Irish.

Scoop made it look like he was back on the playground, knocking down acrobatic shots and just schooling his defenders as he drove the lane. The one down side to Scoop's performance Saturday afternoon was the 5 turnovers he committed, a team high.

The biggest moment in the game came after Notre Dame surged to a 6 point 2nd half lead with a 7-0 run out of the locker room. With that, Jim Boeheim turned to Rick Jackson to take over the center position within the zone, and the Orangemen never looked back. Syracuse responded with a 29-7 run to push the lead to 63-47 Cuse.

Boeheim turned to Jackson to play the 5-spot after Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita each gave up easy baskets under the hoop during the Irish's offensive run at the start of the 2nd half. Rick Jackson responded, cementing the back line of the defense and turning away a game high six blocks for the Orangemen. Fab Melo played just 7 minutes and was held without a point for the third straight game. Melo grabbed 1 rebound and 1 steal.

Keita pitched in 11 minutes of action, the same number of minutes he played in the Big East opener against Providence. Keita managed just 1 rebound against Notre Dame. Thankfully, Syracuse had their newest weapons ready to explode off the bench.

James Southerland put forth another impressive performance for Jim Boeheim posting 12 points and 3 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Southerland finished 5 of 7 from the floor (2-4 from 3-point range) and had 3 steals and a block for the Cuse.

C.J. Fair also returned from his brief ankle injury to play 4 minutes. Fair finished with 2 points and 3 rebounds, and picked up his lone bucket and two rebounds on the first sequence of the game he participated in. Jim Boeheim told reporters after the game that after Syracuse's seven day layoff before traveling to Seton Hall that C.J. Fair should be 100%.

Sitting court-side for the game opposite the SU bench was the 2011 recruiting class, Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Christmas and Trevor Cooney which ranks #10 nationally. Behind them sat 2012 prized prospect DaJuan Coleman, who plays down the road at Jamesville-Dewitt High School.

The #5 Orangemen, who remain undefeated with the victory, are now 15-0 on the season for just the third time in Jim Boeheim's career. Syracuse is off until Saturday January 8th when they travel to Newark, NJ to take on the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center at 12:00PM. This is the best start for Syracuse since the 1999-2000 season, when Jim Boeheim's Orangemen jumped out to a 19-0 record. The win was number 844 in Coach Boeheim's career.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com

New Years Day Fight with Notre Dame

While we all recover and relish the victory at Yankee Stadium yesterday and start thinking about how tonight is New Years Eve, we as Cuse fans can not forget that tomorrow is a huge game for the basketball team.

The University is probably a little distracted by football right now. Safe to say it's been a long time since a Syracuse squad ranked 5th in the nation was over shadowed by the football team. But thanks to Doug Marrone and the rest of the SU Football team that's the world we're living in right now. There's a ton of excitement out there about the football team and rightly so.

For Jim Boeheim and the 14-0 Syracuse Orangemen, tomorrow is a New Years Day matinee against the #15 Notre Dame Fightin' Irish (12-1) in the Carrier Dome. Take out the Pinstripe Bowl victory and this is the biggest sporting event this weekend for Central New York.

Notre Dame is coming off a 69-55 victory against the #9 Georgetown Hoyas on Wednesday night in South Bend. Tim Abromaitis lead the Irish with 20 points, 5 of 7 from 3-point range, and Tyrone Nash had 15 points 10 rebounds. Now they're taking on the #5 Syracuse Orangemen.

In what has the makings to be a classic, the Orangemen enter the Dome undefeated and since the Michigan State game on December 7th have won each game by an average of 24 points. Kris Joseph has scored 20+ points three times in the past four games, including 27 points against Providence in the Big East opener on Tuesday night.

Scoop Jardine has a pair of 21 point games in his last two outings, and dished another 7 assists on Tuesday against Providence. As a team, Syracuse averages 17.7 assists per game, which ranks 17th in the nation.

For the Irish, senior Tim Abromaitis (6'8" 235 pounds) is the leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is also shooting 38.2% from 3-point range. Directly behind him is Ben Hansbrough (6'3" 206 pounds) averaging 15.5 points per game and a 47.8% accuracy rating from behind the 3-point line. He is also Tyler Hansbrough's brother, of UNC fame.

Two more players average in double figures for Notre Dame, Carleton Scott (6'7" 217 pounds) and Tyrone Nash. Scott averages 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, and had a season high 23 points against Gonzaga on December 11th. Scott has also pulled down a season high 11 rebounds twice and shoots 33.9% from beyond the arc. Tyrone Nash (6'8" 232 pounds) out of Queens, NY had 15 points 10 rebounds in Wednesday night's game against #9 Georgetown. Nash averages 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

It will be interesting to see if freshman C.J. Fair plays in this game, after sitting out the past three games with an ankle injury. Prior to Tuesday's game against Providence Fair said he would be healthy enough to play. Fair sat on the bench in uniform although he did not take the court. Jim Boeheim said he had trouble jumping on Monday, we'll see if he plays Saturday.

Fab Melo was held to just 5 minutes of action and 2 rebounds in Tuesday's conference opener against the Friars. Baye Moussa Keita played just 11 minutes, so that means that Rick Jackson saw many of his 36 minutes on the court at the center position. We'll continue to monitor that situation as Conference play progresses.

Tip off for #5 Syracuse - #15 Notre Dame is at 3:30PM and the game will be televised live on ESPNU. Check back with The Cuse Connection after the game for full recap and analysis.

photo courtesy of syracuse.com