Written by
The Sports Network
Syracuse, NY (Sports Network) - The third-ranked Syracuse Orange put their
nine-game winning streak on the line this Saturday, as the George Washington
Colonials come to the Carrier Dome for a non-conference tussle.
George Washington is an even 4-4 on the young season, which is certainly a
disappointment to coach Mike Lonergan as his team opened with a 4-1 record.
Three straight losses here in the month of December have fans wondering if the
Colonials will be able to compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference this year.
Following this clash, GW returns home for four in a row, and the league slate
gets underway at St. Bonaventure on January 4, 2012.
Syracuse has opened the season 9-0 for the fourth straight year, but the team
has a ways to go before matching last year's 18-0 start -- which was the
second-best start in school history, and was only one win shy of equaling its
best-ever start when it went 19-0 to open the 1999-2000 campaign. The Orange,
who continue to excel despite the ongoing scandal regarding former assistant
coach Bernie Fine, has yet to play a true road game, but will do so at NC
State next Saturday.
Syracuse has won seven of the previous eight meetings with George Washington,
but it was the Colonials who claimed their lone win in the last encounter,
that being a 111-104 decision on November 16, 1994.
During its recent three-game slide, George Washington has averaged just 57
ppg, dropping its season scoring average to 63.2 ppg. The Colonials have
actually performed pretty well considering, as they are shooting 41.5 percent
from three-point range, while limiting the opposition to 64.9 ppg on just 39.8
percent overall field goal efficiency. The team has just one double-digit
scorer coming into this contest, as Tony Taylor has turned his 50 percent
showing from beyond the arc into 14.1 ppg. He is also the team's primary
playmaker with 4.9 apg. Three others are netting at least 8.8 ppg, and Lasan
Kromah has been effective in producing 9.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
David Pellom came off the bench to score 19 points and grab six rebounds, but
the Colonials made good on only 37.9 percent of their total shots and lost the
battle on the boards (42-29) as they dropped a 65-55 decision to Loyola-
Maryland on Wednesday night. Kromah was the only starter to reach double
figures, but he missed nine of his 13 field goal attempts in tallying a mere
11 points.
Syracuse leads the nation in steals (12.4 per game), while ranking second in
turnover margin (+8.2). Adding to its impressive defensive effort, the Orange
is permitting just 58.1 ppg on typical shooting efforts of 37.6 percent
overall and 31.1 percent from three-point range. SU is also securing more
rebounds than its opposition (+4.6), and coach Jim Boeheim's club features
three double-digit scorers and 10 guys who average at least 12 minutes of
playing time per game. Kris Joseph (14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Brandon Triche (11.4
ppg) and Dion Waiters (11.1 ppg) have done their part to keep Syracuse
undefeated, the latter of whom doing so despite coming off the bench in all
nine games thus far. The Orange played host to Marshall earlier this week, and
put forth another stifling defensive effort in claiming a 62-56 triumph. The
Thundering Herd shot just 33.8 percent from the floor, made good on only 5-
of-24 long-range tries (.208) and were guilty of 19 turnovers. Waiters led the
way for SU with 15 points, while Joseph finished with 11 and Scoop Jardine
chipped in 10. Jardine added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to
his stat line, while Joseph pulled down a team-high eight boards.
The Sports Network