Syracuse, Louisville ready for Big Monday clash

Monday, February 18, 2008 @ 7 P.M.
Freedom Hall Louisville, KY

Syracuse helped scratch Louisville’s back over the weekend, upsetting Big East leading No. 8 Georgetown 77-70 early Saturday afternoon. Just a few hours later, Louisville held off Providence 80-72, and with the help of Syracuse, Louisville moved into a 1st place tie atop the Big East standings with Georgetown. Now, as the two teams are set to square off in Freedom Hall on Monday night, Syracuse won’t be looking to help out Louisville, rather the Orange will be looking for their second straight win over a ranked Big East team.

With both teams in action on Monday, No. 23 Louisville can claim sole possession of first place in the Big East with win and a Georgetown loss to Providence. Over the past week, the Big East race has tightened. Georgetown has dropped two of their last three and pulled even with Louisville, while UConn and Notre Dame remain just one game back.

In the last meeting between these two teams, Louisville slipped past Syracuse 76-71 on Jan. 27, 2007. Edgar Sosa led five Cardinals in double figures in scoring with 19 points. Eric Devendorf paced Syracuse with 18 points off the bench.

Louisville enters as one of the hottest teams in the Big East, winners of their last five and 11 of their last 13 games. The Cardinals have dominated at Freedom Hall in 2007-08, boasting a 12-2 home record, 5-1 against Big East foes. During their five game winning streak, the Cardinals have won by an average of 17.4 points per game. Defensively, Louisville is holding opponents to 59.6 ppg over the last five games, while averaging 77 ppg on offense. The Cardinals have held three of their last five opponents under 60 points. Earl Clark led Louisville with 20 points in the 80-72 win over Providence on Saturday. Terrence Williams finished with 12 points and Jerry Smith and David Padgett each had 11. The Cardinals closed out the game on a 14-3 run to hand the Friars their third straight loss.

Syracuse is riding an emotional wave, coming off their first win this season against a ranked opponent, bouncing back after shocking loss to South Florida 89-78. The Orange notched their first signature victory of the year, a tournament resume building win over arch rival Georgetown, who surrendered 70-plus points for only the second time all year. Paul Harris led Syracuse with 22 points and Donte Green added 18. Freshman Jonny Flynn finished with 17 points and nine assists. Syracuse held Georgetown to just 22 first half points, and led by 16 at the break.

The win avoided a three game skid for Syracuse, who’s won four of their past six games. Syracuse will be looking for back-to-back wins over ranked opponents for the first time since 2006, when the Orange had a magical run in the Big East Tournament, upsetting No. 1 UConn, No. 23 Georgetown and No. 15 Pittsburgh to win the Big East Tournament.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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