18 f e b r u a r y 4 , 2 0 1 3
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(18-4) NOTRE DAME AT 6SYRACUSE (18-3) STARTING LINEUP
CARRIER DOME, 7 P.M., ESPN
POINT GUARD
MICHAEL CARTERWILLIAMS
6-6 185 SO. 12.6 PPG, 8.6 APG
SHOOTING GUARD
ERIC ATKINS
6-2 182 JR. 13.2 PPG, 4.9 APG
Carter-Williams’ lofty assist number has come back to Earth since conference play began, but he still has a massive advantage over Atkins in terms of size and passing ability.
POWER FORWARD
BRANDON TRICHE
6-4 210 SR. 14.9 PPG, 3.4 APG
FREE THROWS
SMALL FORWARD
JERIAN GRANT
6-5 202 JR. 13.2 PPG, 6 APG
Triche and Grant are actually very similar as shooting guards who play on the ball almost as much as they play off of it. Triche is a more complete scorer, but Grant is the more complete guard.
CENTER
JERAMI GRANT
6-8 203 FR. 5 PPG, 3 RPG
PAT CONNAUGHTON 6-5 212 SO. 9 PPG, 4.4 RPG
Grant played the entirety of Syracuse’s loss to Pittsburgh and was inconsistent. Battling with Connaughton provides a different challenge, as the Notre Dame swingman mainly plays on the perimeter and is three inches shorter than the freshman.
COACHES
Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant is SU’s Jerami Grant’s older brother. Their father Harvey played 11 seasons in the NBA after being drafted 12th in 1988 out of Oklahoma. Harvey’s brother Horace won three NBA titles playing for Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in the early 90s before adding another title with Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in 2001. Jerian and Jerami’s older brother, Jerai, plays for Enel Brindisi in Italy’s Serie A.
STAT TO KNOW
Notre Dame out-rebounds its opponent by an average of 4.3. Syracuse is averaging 5.8 more rebounds per game than its opponents this season, but was outrebounded in every game since James Southerland became ineligible, except for the Louisville upset.
BIG NUMBER C.J. FAIR
6-8 215 JR. 13.7 PPG, 7 RPG
TOM KNIGHT
6-10 258 SR. 7 PPG, 3.1 RPG
Fair has played in every minute of the Orange’s last four games. He’s also been SU’s most reliable scoring option. Knight’s played just 15 games this season and started just three while playing less than 20 minutes per game.
RAKEEM CHRISTMAS
6-9 242 SO. 6.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG
JACK COOLEY
6-9 246 SR. 14.7 PPG, 11.2 RPG
Cooley has dominated the paint for much of the season. He’s the same height as Christmas and several pounds heavier.
JIM BOEHEIM
37 SEASONS, 908-307
MIKE BREY
13 SEASONS, 278-136
Boeheim undoubtedly has the advantage in experience with 24 more seasons and 600 more wins than his counterpart, but Brey had the upper hand last year as Notre Dame handed Syracuse its first loss of the season.
0-1
Notre Dame’s record in Big East games where Jack Cooley does not lead the team in rebounds.