The nation’s #1 team will be without its big man, Fab Melo, tonight as it heads to South Bend to take on a program that has knocked off a number of top-ranked teams in its illustrious history.

Game #70. #1 Syracuse will travel to South Bend, Indiana, Saturday night to take on the struggling Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Orange’s 20-0 record represents the best start in school history. On the contrary, the Irish are a disappointing 11-8 and coming off losses to UConn at home and Rutgers on the road. Syracuse is led into its 21st game by senior forward Kris Joseph and senior guard Scoop Jardine. The Irish, who will look to pull off the miracle, are led by sophomore guard Eric Atkins and junior big man Jack Cooley. Notre Dame is always a tough out at home, so look for the Irish to give Syracuse a tough game.

Recap:

Number one has fallen. On a night where it was plagued by poor shooting, Syracuse fell from the ranks of the unbeaten at the hands of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 67-58. The Orange shot just 34% from the field and only 30.4% from the three-point line. The Irish controlled the pace of the game all night in an attempt to limit the number of possessions. The plan was effective, as the Irish shot 50% from the field and from the three-point line. The Irish attack was very balanced, as they got 17 points and 10 rebounds from junior forward Jack Cooley, 13 points from senior forward Scott Martin, and 11 points from sophomore guard Jerian Grant. The Irish had a significant advantage over Syracuse in the rebounding category, as they outrebounded the Orange 38-25. The loss drops Syracuse to 20-1 overall and 7-1 in the Big East. The win brings the Irish to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in Big East play.

rtmsf (3998 Posts)

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 21st, 2012 at 3:01 pm by rtmsf and is filed under 11-12, RTC Live. Tagged: big east, notre dame, syracuse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.