Syracuse will retire former quarterback Don McPherson’s No. 9 jersey at SU’s game Oct. 5 against Clemson, SU Athletics announced in a release Friday afternoon.

McPherson was an All-American in 1987 and  finished second in the Heisman voting for that season. In McPherson’s senior year, he led the Orangemen to an undefeated season that ended with SU tying Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.

He was taken in the sixth round of the 1988 NFL draft with the 149th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles before playing four seasons in the NFL and three in the Canadian Football League. In 2009, he was enshrined in the college football Hall of Fame.

McPherson currently works as an advocate preventing men’s violence against women.

His is the first of two jerseys Syracuse is set to retire this season as Donovan McNabb’s No. 5 will be retired Nov. 2 against Wake Forest.

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Syracuse’s next opponent is the Yale Bulldogs, making their first NCAA tournament quarterfinal appearance since 1992. The Bulldogs came back from a 5-1 halftime to deficit to beat No. 8-seed Penn State 10-7 in their first-round matchup. They’ve won four straight, including the Ivy League championship game against Princeton, heading into Saturday’s 3 p.m. matchup in College Park, Md. With an on-paper advantage at the faceoff X and a defense primed with force and fortitude, Yale will be looking to upset the top-seeded Orange early in SU’s quest for a 12th national championship.

So here’s what you need to know about the Ivy League automatic qualifier:

Record:  12-4 (4-2 Ivy League)

Season outline: Yale has four losses, but only one after March 22. After dropping three of their first six games, the Bulldogs ride into Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium having won nine of their last 10 games. Victims in that stretch include Penn and Princeton, which Yale eliminated from the Ivy League tournament. The lone defeat was a one-goal loss to Maryland, which earned the No. 6-seed in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs have also scored double-digit goals in six of those nine victories.

Players to watch:

Brandon Mangan (36 goals, 25 assists): The junior attack is Yale’s leading goal scorer and assist man. He has a goal in every game this season and at least three points in 12 of 16. He set a season-low in point output with just one goal on six shots against the Nittany Lions. Look for Mangan as the most potent weapon in the Bulldogs offense, though fellow attacks Conrad Oberbeck (34 goals, 8 assists) and Kirby Zdrill (30 goals, 2 assists) have also proven to be capable scorers.

Peter Johnson (35 caused turnovers, 33 ground balls): The two-time All-Ivy League defender leads a Bulldogs back line that, out of the eight teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, ranks best in scoring defense and second in caused turnovers. Johnson leads Yale in caused turnovers and will likely mark either SU attack Kevin Rice or midfielder JoJo Marasco. Michael McCormack, a second-team All-Ivy selection, is expected to take the other one.

Dylan Levings (200-of-338 faceoffs, 123 ground balls): Levings may be the key to Yale’s upset hopes. SU’s greatest weakness lies at the center of each lacrosse field. Bryant’s Kevin Massa won 22-of-23 faceoffs against the Orange in their first-round game and the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead midway through the first quarter. If Levings can either draw from the X to himself or a teammate considerably more than his Syracuse counterparts, as he has done all season, Yale will at the very least have more possessions.

Head coach:

Andy Shay: The 10th-year coach has led Yale to a 43-17 mark over the last three-plus seasons and has turned a middle-of-the-pack Ivy League program into a defensive stalwart. Shay’s defenses have ranked in the Top 10 nationally in each of the last four seasons. Shay played collegiately at LeMoyne College, where he was a four-year defensive starter and two-year captain before graduating in 1994.

Odds and ends:

The Yale-Syracuse series: It’s been 13 years and five national championships since Syracuse has taken on the Bulldogs. It’s been 50 years since Yale last beat SU. The Orangemen won the last matchup 18-6 on March 11, 2000 and have taken 18-of-22 overall. That dominating stretch includes a 17-8 win on May 16, 1992 — their only other meeting in the NCAA tournament.  Yale’s last victory against Syracuse was an 11-9 win in New Haven in 1963.

Returning to Byrd Stadium: This is the second time this season Yale will play in College Park, Md., and the first since the Bulldogs dropped an 8-7 battle with the Terrapins on April 20. Exactly four weeks later, Yale returns to Byrd Stadium for Saturday’s national quarterfinal.

Rolling on the road: The Bulldogs have played five straight games away from New Haven. They’ve gone 4-1 in that span, playing three games on the road and two at neutral sites. On the season, Yale is 7-3 when playing away from Reese Stadium.

Remember? Me either: Yale won its lone national championship in 1883 when the sport was governed by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, which crowned the national champion until 1971 when the NCAA first sanctioned a national tournament.

That year – 130 years ago – the title was shared with Harvard and Princeton. There is no person on this planet known to have been alive at the time. Chester A. Arthur was U.S. president at the time.

North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states.

- Compiled by The Daily Orange sports staff, sports@dailyorange.com

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Five years ago, Bryant was wrapping up its 27th year as a Division-II competitor. In five years, the Bulldogs have risen to respectability on the national scene. Led by former Duke head coach Mike Pressler, the Bulldogs have a chance to play Cinderella on Sunday night at 7:30 in the Carrier Dome.

Record: 8-10 (4-1 Northeast Conference)

Season outline: Bryant started the season 0-7, losing nonconference games to Colgate, Fairfield, Bucknell, Vermont, Drexel, Albany and Harvard before squeaking out its first win of the season, 10-9, against Stony Brook on March 23. The Bulldogs then scored 47 goals in their first three NEC matchups, ultimately finishing 4-1 in conference play and claiming the top seed in the conference tournament. They beat Sacred Heart 11-9 in the semifinals before routing Robert Morris 14-7 in the final on Saturday to repeat as NEC champions. This year, though, the title came with an automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament.

Players to watch:
Colin Dunster: The junior midfielder is Bryant’s leading scorer with 31 goals and 14 assists. He tallied a game-high six points (two goals, four assists) in the NEC final.

Shane Morell: The sophomore attack is the Bulldogs’ most accurate regular scorer. With 27 goals and 18 assists, he’s tied with Dunster for the team lead in points, but shoots 28.4 percent and finds the cage on 61.1 percent of his shots.

Peter McMahon: The senior attack is playing to continue his career, and with three straight hat tricks entering the NCAA tournament, it shows. He was the NEC tournament MVP.

Kevin Massa: If there’s one player who can single-handedly hurt SU, it’s Massa, a quick-stick sophomore midfielder. The faceoff specialist is 293-for-411 (71.3 percent) at the X this year. Against Robert Morris in the NEC final, he won 21-of-25 faceoffs.

Gunnar Waldt: The redshirt freshman netminder has been a steady presence between the pipes through the second half of Bryant’s season. He’s saved 57 percent of shots this year and averages nine goals allowed per game. Waldt made 11 saves while allowing seven goals in the NEC final.

Head coach:
Mike Pressler: Pressler spent 16 seasons at Duke before being asked to step down after three of his players were accused of rape in April 2006. The accusations ultimately proved false and the charges were dropped, but Pressler has moved on to reshape the Bryant program in only seven seasons. He led the Bulldogs to a 14-4 mark last year, an undefeated record at home and their first-ever Division-I national ranking, cracking the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll at No. 20 in early April 2012. Now Pressler looks to push the program one step further when it takes on the Orange on Sunday.

- Compiled by The Daily Orange sports staff

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In a Sweet 16 rematch, Syracuse will host Indiana in the ACC- Big 10 Challenge next season, according to a tweet from InsidetheHall.com, an IU-focused blog.

Inside the Hall has learned that Indiana will play at Syracuse in this year’s Big Ten-ACC Challenge. #iubb

— Alex Bozich (@insidethehall) May 8, 2013

The games for the nonconference series, slated for Dec. 3 and 4, will be announced today at 2 p.m., according to an ESPN release.

The Orange is 4-1 all-time against the Hoosiers, most recently beating them 61-50 in the NCAA Tournament East region semifinals on March 28 in Washington.

Indiana has never played SU in the Carrier Dome and its only win against SU came in the 1987 national championship game.

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Brittney Sykes will participate in the 2013 USA Basketball U19 World Championship Team Trials, USA Basketball announced on Tuesday.

Sykes will play with USA Basketball for the second summer in a row. She’ll compete with 33 other players for 12 roster spots. The tryout is from May 16-19 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Sykes, ESPNU’s No. 30 prospect in the Class of 2012, flourished in her freshman year at Syracuse. The 5-foot-9 Newark, N.J., native averaged 8.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, fueling the Orange to a 24-8 record and its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2008.

She scored 20 points and snagged 10 rebounds in a win over Boise State and helped Syracuse knock off eventual national title runner-up Louisville by scoring 16 points and blocking two shots.

Her most impressive performance, though — one that earned her the top spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 — came against St. John’s on Jan. 23. Sykes stole the ball from her former high school teammate Nadirah McKenith and banked in a desperation shot from beyond halfcourt as time expired, giving the Orange a stunning 60-57 win.

Sykes was named to the Big East All-Freshman team and was one of three freshmen to start the majority of Syracuse’s games, along with Brianna Butler and Cornelia Fondren.

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The Atlantic Coast conference released the schedule for its 2013 bowl season on Monday. There are some familiar names from the Big East — the conference champion still is likely to play in the Orange Bowl — but other staples are gone. No longer can SU qualify for the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl or Syracuse’s postseason-staple Pinstripe Bowl. Here’s a full look at the bowl schedule, in order of selection process by the ACC:

Discover Orange Bowl
Friday, Jan. 3, 2014 8 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium in Miami (ESPN)

The Orange Bowl’s reserved for the ACC champion unless it’s selected for the national champion. Last year Florida State beat Northern Illinois in the game.

Chick-fil-A Bowl 
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 8 p.m. at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta (ESPN)

The ACC’s second-best team heads to the bowl formerly known as the Peach Bowl. It typically pits ACC teams against Southeastern Conference foes.

Russell Athletic Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 6:45 p.m. at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando (ESPN)

An old friend of the Orange. SU played in this one in 2004 when it was called the Champs Sports Bowl. Syracuse could meet an old Big East foe in this one.

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 2 p.m. at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas (CBS)

An unfamiliar one for the Orange. A strong season for SU could send it to El Paso. It pits ACC schools against Pac-12 ones.

Belk Bowl
Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 at 3:20 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. (ESPN)

The Belk Bowl was thought to be a potential destination for Syracuse last season. It’ll have a chance to head there this year. This could match the Orange up with an old Big East foe, too.

Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Monday, Dec. 30, 2013 at 3:15 p.m. at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn. (ESPN)

SU defeated Kentucky in this game in 1999. It’ll have a chance to head back there with the bowl’s affiliation with the ACC. It’s a potential destination for Syracuse this year. This is another ACC-SEC game.

AdvoCare V100 Bowl
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 at 12:30 p.m. at Independence Stadium in Shreeveport, Miss. (ESPN)

Another potential destination for the Orange in its first year in the ACC. Yet another ACC-SEC game.

Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman 
Friday, Dec. 27, 2013 at 2:30 p.m. at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (ESPN)

The Military Bowl usually holds a spot for a service academy, but this year it will match up an ACC team with one from the Big 12.

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (conditional)
Friday, Dec. 27, 2013 at 9:30 p.m. at AT&T Park in San Francisco (ESPN)

The ACC sends a team here if a Pac-12 school or BYU are not able to fulfill its commitment to the game.

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Syracuse is a five-point underdog to Penn State, according to 5dimes.com.

The Orange plays the Nittany Lions Aug. 31 in the season opener for both teams in New York’s College Classic at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

To see the line yourself, click here.

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Jason Hart will join USC as an assistant coach, Marty Wilson tweeted Monday morning.

Jason Hart will be joining the new USC staff. They are getting a first class person, family man & hard worker. Much respect! @jhart_1825

— Marty Wilson (@MartyWilson4) April 8, 2013

Hart, a South Central Los Angeles native, coached under Wilson at Pepperdine last season. He was also an SU point guard from 1996-2000, averaging 11.4 points, 5.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game.  He then played 10 seasons in the NBA with nine different teams.

Current SU assistant and fellow Southern California native Mike Hopkins interviewed for the head coaching position at USC, but was passed up for Enfield, after which Jim Boeheim the Trojans could not have hired a better candidate than Hopkins. Hopkins coached Hart in his early years as an SU assistant.

Two-year (1998-2000) SU guard Tony Bland is also interviewing for an assistant coaching job at USC, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. Bland transferred to San Diego State after his sophomore season, where he is currently an assistant coach and lead recruiter.

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James Southerland and Brandon Triche will play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a tournament featuring college basketball’s elite seniors.

Southerland and Triche are two of 64 players who will compete in the tournament, which will run from Wednesday to Saturday at Churchland High School in Portsmouth, Va.

The 6-foot-8 sharpshooting Southerland shot close to 40 percent from 3-point range on the season, connecting on a team-high 84 3s. He averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, helping the Orange embark on a Final Four run. Southerland carried SU to the Big East tournament finale, drilling 19 3s in Syracuse’s run at Madison Square Garden.

He’ll be joined by teammate Brandon Triche, who holds the record for the most wins in SU history. Triche averaged 13.6 points and 3.6 assists on the season, scoring 20 points in Syracuse’s second-round win over Montana and 14 in its upset over Indiana.

Southerland and Triche will be joined by Notre Dame’s Jack Cooley, Villanova’s Mouphtaou Yarou and Providence’s Vincent Council. Indiana’s Jordan Hulls, Michigan State’s Derrick Nix and Temple’s Khalif Wyatt will also compete in the tournament, which has featured NBA legends such as Scottie Pippen, John Stockton and Dave Cowens. NBA scouts from all teams will be present to witness the four-game, 12-day tournament.

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The Syracuse men’s lacrosse team will wear grey in its 5 p.m. game at No. 7 Princeton, according to an SU athletics release.

The Orange typically wear orange on the road, but Nike, which outfits the team, is releasing its Vapor jerseys. The 100-percent recycled Dri-Fit lightweight material that makes up the uniforms is also being featured on the Duke and Virginia men’s lacrosse teams. Syracuse’s jerseys are the only anthracite ones in the series.

SU will also wear special Dri-Fit grey shorts and cascade matte grey CPX-R helmet with an orange block “S” logo. A Hall of Languages watermark will also feature on the backs of the shoulders of the jerseys, and the Orange will help release the STX Shadow and Nike Vapor Elite gloves.

 

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Kevin Ware’s gruesome leg injury during Louisville’s win over Duke in the Elite Eight Sunday ended his run in the NCAA Tournament, but gave the Cardinals one more significant reason to fight through the championship game. Already a formidable team with a stifling defense and balanced offense, Louisville now has added drive to win the Tournament for Ware.

With just over six minutes left in the first half on Sunday, Ware ran from the lane to close out on Duke guard Tyler Thornton, who was about to shoot a 3-pointer from the right wing. Ware jumped up to block the shot, but was late. When he landed, his right leg buckled underneath him. His leg broke, and the bone broke through the skin. It left a horrendous scene until team trainers quickly covered his leg with a towel.

Head coach Rick Pitino said he nearly vomited, and some of the Cardinals were close to fainting.

Ware was taken to a hospital for emergency surgery. While he was there, Louisville dominated the Blue Devils, eventually winning the Midwest Regional final in an 85-63 blowout.

After having the surgery, Ware is already back up and walking, Pitino said on a teleconference Monday. Pitino said he visited Ware Sunday night and said he was in “great spirits.”

“He’s up and about. He’s on crutches walking,” Pitino said. “They want his blood flowing. They only thing they’re concerned about at this point in the next 48 hours, becomes the bone comes out of the skin, they’re concerned of a chance of infection. If not infection takes place, he’ll be very excited.”

Pitino said Ware will likely be out of the hospital by Tuesday, and will remarkably be with the Cardinals when they fly to Atlanta – Ware’s hometown – for the Final Four.

When Pitino went to the hospital Sunday night, be brought the Midwest Regional championship trophy with him and left it with Ware. He was a major reason for Louisville winning even though he couldn’t be on the court with his team.

“He said ‘Just win the basketball game, I’ll be fine, get me home to Atlanta.’ He kept repeating it over and over,” Pitino said. “That was the only words coming out of his mouth to the players: Just win the game.”

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Big number
24
Points scored by point guard Michael Carter-Williams in Syracuse’s 61-50 win over Indiana, a career high.

Free throw
Syracuse forward James Southerland’s sister, Sabrina, was named 2013 Girls Athlete of the Year by the Armory Track and Field Center on Thursday.

These two teams last met in the NCAA Tournament in 2011 when the Big East had 11 schools selected, forcing a second-round matchup between the No. 3-seed Orange and the No. 11-seed Golden Eagles.

The Matchups

Stats in 2013 postseason play

Point guard

Michael Carter-Williams

6-6 185 So.

10.1 ppg 6.7 apg

Junior Cadougan

6-1 205 Sr.

8.8 ppg 1.0 apg

Carter-Williams is as hot as he’s ever been while Cadougan’s tapered off in terms of raw production since the postseason’s started. If the Syracuse point guard shows the same range he did last game, the Orange becomes nearly impossible to defend.

Shooting guard

Brandon Triche

6-4 210 Sr.

13.4 ppg 2.9 apg

Vander Blue

6-4 200 Jr.

17.8 ppg 1.3 apg

Unlike Jordan Hulls, Blue can matchup physically with Triche. That doesn’t mean Triche should stop driving, though. When he does, SU’s offense transforms from predictable pass-and-shoot to a dynamic maze of slashes, dumps and kicks.

Small forward

James Southerland

6-8 215 Sr.

12.9 ppg 5.5 rpg

Trent Lockett

6-5 210 Sr.

7.0 ppg 8.5 rpg

Southerland’s quiet showing against the Hoosiers hints he’s due to drop a few 3s on Marquette. Ability to stretch the opposing defense aside, this matchup is most crucial on the boards where Southerland is severely underrated.

Power forward

C.J. Fair

6-8 215 Jr.

14.0 ppg 6.4 rpg

Juan Anderson

6-6 210 So.

0.5 ppg 1.8 rpg

Anderson’s likely to give way to Jamil Wilson as he only played six minutes against Miami in the Sweet 16. The struggle for either player will be to keep track of Fair around the lane and limit his deadly mid-range jumper.

Center

Rakeem Christmas

6-9 242 So.

2.8 ppg 2.6 rpg

Chris Otule

6-11 275 R-Sr.

7.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg

While Otule plays more significant minutes than Christmas, the real center battle will be fought by Baye Moussa Keita and Davante Gardner where Keita, and Christmas, will be tested by an even stronger physical presence than Indiana’s Cody Zeller.

Coaches

Jim Boeheim

919-313

37 seasons

Buzz Williams

136-70

6 seasons

The two coaches are no strangers and the Orange zone will surprise no one. Both teams roll about eight-deep. Boeheim’s biggest game planning will have been done on shutting down Davante Gardner and Williams will push his player to hit the defensive glass and keep SU out of the transition play it revels in.

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With a 6-foot-8, 290-pound physique, Davante Gardner resembles a bulky lineman more than he looks like the Marquette basketball player he is.

But on Feb. 25, Syracuse would’ve been better off if Gardner had the build of a natural basketball player.

“He doesn’t look like a good player,” said Marquette head coach Buzz Williams, who described Gardner as “obese,” after the game. “But he’s pretty good.”

Fresh off a disappointing home loss to Georgetown two days prior, the then-No. 12 Orange couldn’t contain Gardner on the interior as he led the then-No. 22 Golden Eagles to a comeback 74-71 victory in Milwaukee. Off the bench, the junior finished with a career-high 26 points while corralling eight rebounds, outmuscling Syracuse’s big men in the paint.

Marquette improved to 20-7 (11-4 Big East) and moved into second place in the conference, half a game behind Georgetown. Syracuse dropped to 22-6 (10-5 Big East) and into a fourth-place tie with Notre Dame.

SU’s Baye Moussa Keita and Rakeem Christmas – neither of whom carries more than a 245-pound frame – were no match for Gardner. In his 18-point second half, Gardner grabbed three offensive rebounds, which led to six second-chance points for Marquette.

Fouling him made it even worse as Gardner converted on 12-of-13 attempts from the free-throw line. He would finish the season at 84.4 percent from the charity stripe, third-best in the Big East.

“He just creates space, he doesn’t jump too much,” Syracuse guard Brandon Triche said after the game. “He obviously knows how to get fouled, and he’s shooting like 90 percent from the free-throw line.”

The Golden Eagles outrebounded the Orange by six boards, handing Syracuse its second losing streak of the season.

The Orange’s lone bright spots were its field-goal percentage – 47.5 percent, compared to its 34-percent clip in the loss to Georgetown – and C.J. Fair. The forward continued to be SU’s rock, scoring in double-digit figures for the 18th straight game.

But Syracuse’s recurring issues at the time were prominent against Marquette. After shooting 20 percent as a team from 3-point range against the Hoyas, usual sharpshooter James Southerland shot 4-of-11 from deep. Triche failed to crack the 10-point plateau before fouling out, disappearing against another Big East opponent. He and point guard Michael Carter-Williams combined to turn the ball over seven times against the Golden Eagles.

And similar to previous games, Fair was again left out of the offense in crunch time.

“I’m a good player, so I want the ball a lot,” Fair said after the game. “But it’s tough because they were pressing and then they were running zone. It’s hard, kind of, to get the ball inside.”

But in a game where the Orange relinquished an 11-point lead, Syracuse’s most noticeable deficiency ultimately was its lack of a big body in the middle to clash with Gardner.

The football player lookalike bulldozed Marquette’s way to a home upset and closer to the top of the conference standings.

“We lost the game because we didn’t rebound the ball in the second half,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. “And when they got it inside, we really couldn’t stop Gardner.”

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Marquette squares off against No. 4-seed Syracuse on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with a trip to the Final Four at stake. Neither team has made it that far since 2003. Here’s a look at the Golden Eagles’ journey through the Tournament and who got them to this point:

March 21

Marquette 59, Davidson 58

Up by four with 20.2 seconds to go, No. 14-seed Davidson was on the verge of upsetting No. 3-seed Marquette. But Jamil Wilson drained a 3 to cut the deficit to one with just 10 ticks left. After Davidson’s De’Mon Brooks threw the ball out of bounds, Vander Blue blew past Jake Cohen and converted a game-winning left-handed layup in the final second. Blue paced the Golden Eagles with 16 points, while Chris Otule contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds.

March 23

Marquette 74, Butler 72

Marquette came away with a down-to-the-wire victory once again, this time knocking off No. 6-seed Butler. Blue’s performance against Davidson was just a preview for what would come against the Bulldogs. He torched Butler with 29 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:25 to go to tie the game at 69. The Golden Eagles shot 85.2 percent from the free-throw line, escaping danger for good when Butler’s Andrew Smith lost his footing and his shot clanked off the buzzer as time expired.

March 28

Marquette 71, Miami 61

The Golden Eagles’ toughest test on paper was anything but in reality. After eking out two wins, Marquette had its most complete game of the Tournament, outplaying the No. 2-seed Hurricanes from start to finish. Marquette shot a sizzling 54 percent from the field, while limiting favored Miami to just 34.9 percent shooting overall and 30.8 percent from beyond the arc. Jamil Wilson led the Golden Eagles with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting. After taking a 13-point lead heading into halftime, Davante Gardner and Co. never looked back as the lead ballooned to as much as 22. With the win the Golden Eagles advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2003 when Dwyane Wade carried them to the Final Four.

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Ahead of Syracuse’s round of 32 meeting with No.-12 seed California, The Daily Orange has prepared a full menu of stats, matchups and generally enjoyable facts.

Stat to know

10

Number of California losses in which the Golden Bears have trailed at halftime. That is every single defeat except Cal’s 79-69 overtime loss to Utah in the Pacific-12 quarterfinals. The Golden Bears led by one at the break.

Good stat

9 SU steals per game

If Syracuse gets out, runs and doesn’t have to come up with half-court sets, Syracuse wins. That starts in Boeheim’s long 2-3 zone. By contrast, Cal averages 5.8 steals per game. There are very few teams the Orange doesn’t want to get into a track meet with. The Golden Bears are not one of those teams.

Bad stat

2, Syracuse’s losses to 10-plus loss teams

The Orange plays in the Big East where conference foes beat up in each other regularly. The two suchs teams SU lost to were UConn and Villanova. The Wildcats are a No. 9 seed and the Huskies would be a Tournament team if they weren’t banned from the postseason. In its last recognizable go-around the conference placed eight teams in the tourney.

Matchup to watch
Brandon Triche vs. Allen Crabbe
Though both teams run a zone, expect Triche and Crabbe to find themselves frequently matched up on the perimeter. Crabbe is a volume shooter – he attempts more than 14 shots per game – and shoots almost 35 percent from beyond the arc. Triche and fellow guard Michael Carter-Williams could be in for a taxing day on the defensive end. But Crabbe won’t have it easy either. Triche is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season and is firmly out of the slump that lasted the better part of the final six weeks of the regular season.

Player to watch
Tyrone Wallace
The freshman is a difference maker for California. The 6-foot-4 Wallace is a key component of the Golden Bears’ three-guard offense and, while he’s failed to log more than three points in Cal’s last three games, he’s gotten stronger as the season’s gone on. The former Scout.com No. 88 recruit matched a season high with 16 points and grabbed a season best 11 rebounds against Colorado on March 2. He’s a capable ballhandler and scorer, which could make him an effective zone-buster against Syracuse’s stout defense, though Michael Carter-Williams should be able to match Wallace’s length.

Free throws
Syracuse forward James Southerland drained just one 3-pointer in the Orange’s 81-34 win over No. 13-seed Montana in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and it led to his second consecutive single-digit scoring outing. Before Thursday’s victory, the last time SU won a game in which the senior failed to crack 10 points was during his suspension. Syracuse defeated then-No. 25 Notre Dame on Feb. 4.

C.J. Fair played perhaps the worst game of his career against Georgetown in the Big East semifinals when he scored just six points on 3-of-16 shooting. Since then, though, he’s been red hot. He’s made 5-of-6 3-point attempts, has scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

SU small forward Jerami Grant’s eight rebounds in the 81-34 win over No. 13-seed Montana led the team. It’s the first time Grant has led the team in a major category – points, rebounds or assists – since a Feb. 13 loss to Connecticut.

Syracuse has never lost to California, but the school’s have only met once, on Nov. 19 2009. The Orange won 95-73.
Big number
20-1
Syracuse’s record this season when point guard Michael Carter-Williams dishes out at least seven assists. The sole loss the Orange has suffered when Carter-Williams is distributing at this rate came in the Big East championship game against Louisville. The sophomore handed out nine helpers in that game, but just three during the disastrous second half.

—Compiled by  Jacob Klinger and David Wilson, asst. sports editors

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Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament opponents, the No. 13-seed Montana Grizzles have their own fair share of basketball history.

How they got here:

Big Sky conference champions, they beat Weber State Wildcats 67-64 in the tournament championship.

Home court:

Dahlberg Arena

NCAA Tournament appearances (10):

1975, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013

Best NCAA Tournament finish:

1975, Sweet 16. The Grizzlies lost to UCLA in the West region semifinals before losing to UNLV in the regional 3rd-place game.

Winningest coach:

George Dahlberg (1937-42, 1944-55)

235-233

Big Sky tournament titles (9):

1991, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013

Highest NBA draft pick:

M.R. Richardson, 4^th overall 1978, New York Knicks

Richardson played eight seasons in the NBA, four with the Knicks, half of one with the Golden State Warriors and the rest of his career with the New Jersey Nets.

Career stats

PPG14.8

RPG 5.5

APG 7.0

Steals/game 2.6

FG% 46%

3FG% 22%

FT % 69%

 

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Syracuse’s road to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament has to go through some strong teams along the way. Montana, UNLV and California are all teams the Orange will or could face this weekend, and each of them present different challenges for Syracuse. Depending on which Orange team shows up – the one that lost four out of five games to end the regular season, or the one that won three games in the Big East tournament – it’s very possible Syracuse could meet an early exit.

Montana

The 13th-seeded Grizzlies finished the season 25-6, and went 19-1 in the Big Sky Conference. And they did that while dealing with several injuries to some of its best players, including one that ended leading scorer Mathias Ward’s season. That’ll unquestionably hurt Montana on Thursday against Syracuse. But the Grizzlies are still a strong team in other areas. They’re fifth in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage, going 76.8 percent from the line. Syracuse is 231st at 67.5 percent. So the Orange will have to be mindful not to give the Grizzlies too many chances at the line.

Montana’s also a good shooting team. It’s ranked 23rd in the country in field-goal percentage at 47.4 percent. The Grizzlies average 18 3-pointers per game, and are shooting 38.5 percent from the arc, good for 19th in the nation. Jordan Gregory is the team’s best 3-point shooter right now. The sophomore guard is shooting 44.1 percent from the perimeter.

The Grizzlies are rolling into the NCAA Tournament. They’ve won their last six games, including a Big Sky Conference tournament championship. This is their second straight season with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, Montana is 2-10 in the Tournament.

UNLV

The Running Rebels, seeded No. 5, finished the regular season 25-9, including a 10-6 record in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV is a good rebounding team, ranked sixth in the nation in boards per game at 40.1. The Running Rebels also average about 28.1 defensive rebounds per game, so that’s an area Syracuse would need to be careful of if they meet. UNLV is also ninth in the country in assists at 16.2 per game, with Anthony Marshall handing out about 5.8 per game.

UNLV isn’t a tremendous shooting team from deep, which could really hurt it against Syracuse’s zone. The Running Rebels are shooting 33 percent from the arc. Anthony Bennett, a 6-foot-8 forward, is averaging 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Against most teams, Bennett creates matchup problems. But Syracuse’s forwards match him in height, whether he’s against James Southerland or Jerami Grant, who are both 6-foot-8 also. So an area that was an advantage for the Running Rebels most of the season won’t help much against the Orange should they meet in the second round.

California

If Syracuse ends up playing No. 12 seed Cal (20-11, 12-6 Pac-12) in the second round, it could be a tough matchup. First off, San Jose is only about 50 miles south of Berkeley, Calif., where the Golden Bears’ campus is located. Second, the Bears have some good wins this season. They beat then-No. 10 Oregon 58-54 back on Feb. 2, then-No. 7 Arizona 77-69 on Feb. 10, and then-No. 23 Oregon again 48-46 on Feb. 21. Cal also beat UCLA 76-63.

California also has the Pac-12 Player of the Year in Allen Crabbe, who’s averaging 18.7 points and six rebounds per game. His 18.7 points per game ranks him 35th in the country. Justin Cobbs, meanwhile, 15.7 points and 4.8 assists per game for the Golden Bears.

California is a strong team that could pose a tough matchup for Syracuse in the second round if both advance.

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If Seth Davis is to be believed, Syracuse will lose Friday. Within moments of the No. 4-seed Orange’s matchup with the No. 13-seed Montana Grizzlies appearing on TV screens across the country, CBS’s Seth Davis predicted Syracuse would fall to the Big Sky champions.

“The 13-4 line is where the most upsets are going to be in this tournament. I think Montana beats Syracuse to advance to the next round,” Davis said.

Davis is a studio analyst for CBS and writes the “Hoop Thoughts” column for SI.com.

After drawing the ire of Orange fans and others whose teams he picked against Davis tweeted:

 

Twitter reaction: If I picked your team to win, I’m awesome. If I picked em to lose, I’m a hater/moron. Let’s tip it up!!!

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 17, 2013

Syracuse is set to play Montana at 10 p.m. Friday in San Jose, Calif.

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The last time Syracuse played Pittsburgh, it had a thin bench and was coming off a disappointing overtime loss to Villanova the week before. Now one day after having one of its best offensive games of the season, the Orange gets another shot at the Panthers with a deeper bench.

But the key for SU could be James Southerland. He hit six 3-pointers against Seton Hall on Wednesday. Southerland stretches the floor out for Syracuse, opening up the middle for Michael Carter-Williams to drive and finish, or drive and kick out to the arc.

That being said, Pittsburgh is one of the best defensive teams in the Big East. It’s not going to be an easy game for SU against the physical Panthers. Here are three things the Orange needs to do Thursday to earn revenge over Pittsburgh.

1. Get Southerland the ball

Southerland had nine 3-point attempts on Wednesday. He made six long 3-pointers. No matter what Seton Hall did, the Pirates couldn’t stop Southerland. Time and again, he was ready and waiting on the arc, and Carter-Williams always seemed to find him.

He has to continue to do that against Pittsburgh.

Southerland has a 3-inch height advantage over 6-foot-5 Lamar Patterson, Pittsburgh’s small forward. The Panthers have to respect Southerland’s shot and defend him on the arc. That will help clear the way for Syracuse’s big men to go to work on the inside. Plus, Southerland has momentum coming off a hot-shooting performance. If he continues to shoot like he did Wednesday, Southerland can be a determining factor in whether or not Syracuse advances to the Big East tournament semifinals.

2. Crash the offensive glass

Syracuse shot 56.3 percent on Wednesday in one of the Orange’s best offensive displays this season. But SU has shown that it can be streaky. It can hit shots all night in one game, and then struggle tremendously from the outside in the next one. Which Syracuse team shows up Thursday remains to be seen.

But what’s certain is that Pittsburgh is a great rebounding team. Pittsburgh leads the Big East in rebounding margin at plus-6.9. Back on Feb. 2, the Panthers outrebounded the Orange 39-24.

That can’t happen again Thursday.

If the Orange starts missing shots again, it needs to crash the offensive glass hard to earn extra opportunities. And Syracuse’s centers, Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita, have to be physical in the low post and get putbacks. The two combined for only six rebounds and three points against Pittsburgh on Feb. 2. Getting more production from both on Thursday would be big for Syracuse, and that’s especially true on the offensive glass if the Orange goes cold from the outside again.

3. Stop Tray Woodall 

This is obvious, but it could be the most important thing Syracuse needs to do: Slow down Tray Woodall. The Pittsburgh guard is averaging 16.2 points in his last five games. He’s shooting 56 percent from the field during that same span. If that’s not enough, he also managed to hand out 11 assists two games ago against Villanova.

Woodall’s perhaps the most dangerous offensive player for Pittsburgh, and shutting him down would severely hinder the Panthers’ offense.

Pittsburgh is first in the Big East in field-goal percentage at 47.9 percent, but Syracuse is first in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 37.6 percent. Woodall presents the Orange defense’s next challenge.

Prediction: Syracuse has some momentum right now coming off a great shooting performance. Having Southerland back will give the Orange a different look from the last time SU played Pittsburgh, and the Panthers won’t have home-court advantage like it did on Feb. 2. Madison Square Garden might be considered a neutral court, but MSG is the Orange’s home away from home.

It’ll be a tight game, but Syracuse wins 64-60.

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Otto Porter was named the Big East Player of the Year on Tuesday. Big East coaches voted unanimously to give the honors to Porter, and they could not vote for their own players.

During conference play, Porter is second in the Big East with 18.1 points per game. He’s also fifth in rebounding and tied for third with steals with an average of 1.8 per game. In all games, Porter’s averaging  16.4 points per game.

He’s shooting just over 50 percent from the field, and 44 percent from behind the arc.

Porter was a major reason why Georgetown was able to go fro being unranked to being ranked fifth in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. He also led the Hoyas to a tie for the Big East regular season championship. Georgetown is also a possible No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, especially if the Hoyas claim the Big East Tournament championship.

Porter’s head coach, John Thompson III, was named the Big East Coach of the Year. Thompson guided Georgetown to a 24-5 record, including a 14-4 record in conference play.

St. John’s forward JaKarr Sampson took the Big East Rookie of the Year award. He’s the second member of the Red Storm to win the award in the last two years, as Moe Harkless won it last season.

Sampson is averaging 14.9 points per game to go along with his 6.6 rebounds per contest.

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