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Jan 21, 2012 - When you're ranked #1 in the College Basketball rankings, the last place you want to visit is South Bend, IN. For the sixth straight time, and the first since 1987, the #1 ranked team came in to play Notre Dame, and left not longer ranked #1. This time it was Syracuse, and the Fighting Irish came away 67-58 victors Saturday night at Purcell Pavilion.
This wasn't your typical game between the top team in the country against an upset-minded but less talented team, as the Irish had control of this game from beginning to end, scoring the first six points on their first two possessions, and the Orange never got the game to within one possession the final 38:43 of the game, and never got it closer than six points in the final 34 minutes. Notre Dame started the game hot, jumping out to a 11-2 lead. Then later in the half they went on another 22-9 run to extend their lead to 35-17 with just under a minute to go in the first half. Syracuse hit back-to-back three pointers to finish the half, cutting the lead to 12, and giving them some momentum going into the break.
But the Irish had an answer every time the Orange went on a mini-run. Notre Dame got the lead back to 17 at 50-33 with 12:30 left in the game, but they went on a 7:19 scoring drought where the Orange went on a 9-0 run, with the last two coming when ND's Jerian Grant tried to pass across the Syracuse basket and it went in the hoop. But right after that the Irish broke the press, and Jack Cooley finished with a thunderous dunk over two Syracuse defenders. The Irish only needed three baskets the final 12:30 of the game, all layups/dunks, but were 11/14 shooting free throws down the stretch to hold off any attempts at a comeback from Syracuse.
Cooley was the leading scorer in the game with 17 points and 10 rebounds, six of them on the offensive glass, and two blocks. Scott Martin had 13 points, including 2-2 from three point range, and Jerian Grant had 11 points and six assists, and was a perfect 6-6 from the Free Throw line. PG Eric Atkins fouled out in just 25 minutes, well below his 41 minutes/game conference game average, with just five points. The Irish outrebounded Syracuse 37-24, and had 17 assists on their 20 made baskets.
The Orange, who were without C Fab Melo, were led by James Southerland with 15 points, while Kris Joseph added 12 and Dion Waiters had 11. Scoop Jardine had just two free throws on the night, shooting 0-5 from the field. They shot just 35% from the floor, and just 7-23 from beyond the arc.
Even though it had been 25 years since the last time a top-ranked team came into the Joyce Center, they've had a 20-0 team come more recently, and they lost as well. Boston College was ranked 4th in the country and lost to the Irish 68-65 on February 8, 2005. The Fighting Irish may get all their press on the football field, but the basketball team has become quite good at beating top-ranked teams.
Notre Dame is now 12-8 overall and 4-3 in the Big East, while the Orange are now 20-1, 7-1 in conference. The Fighting Irish now hit the road for the next two games, playing at Seton Hall Wednesday, and at Connecticut next Sunday afternoon.
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