New York, NY (My Sportsbook) - The 13th-ranked California Golden Bears have made the long trek to New York's famed Madison Square Garden for a matchup with the Syracuse Orange in the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Syracuse's Jim Boeheim became the eighth Division I coach in NCAA history to record 800 career wins as Syracuse defeated Albany, 75-43, in this event last week to open the 2009-10 season. The Orange improved to 2-0 by beating Robert Morris by a 100-60 final on November 11th, and they have been idle since. The Big East Conference is expected to take a major step back from last season, but there are still plenty of good teams in the league, and Syracuse is certainly one of those.
Like Syracuse, California has opened the season with back-to-back home victories. The first win was much closer than expected, as Mike Montgomery's squad barely squeaked by Murray State by a 75-70 final. The next outing was much more impressive, a 95-61 romp over Detroit. Considering the fact that the Pac-10 doesn't appear to be as strong as last season, the Golden Bears have an outstanding chance of making a title run.
The Orange and the Golden Bears have never met on the hardwood before tonight.
All five starters scored in double figures for Syracuse in the victory over Robert Morris last time out. Leading the way was Andy Rautins, as he nailed 7- of-10 shots from three-point range en route to 22 points. Wes Johnson scored 15 points, and Arinze Onuaku added 14. Brandon Triche posted 12 points and seven assists, while Rick Johnson had 10 points. The Orange connected on 58.3 percent of their field goal attempts, including a 13-of-26 showing from three- point range. All of the positives enabled Boeheim's team to overcome a high total of 23 turnovers. Five players scored in double figures in the season- opening victory over Albany as well, and it will be interesting to see if the Orange are able to achieve such balanced scoring against a tough opponent like Cal.
California's starting lineup is loaded with talent. In the romp over Detroit last time out, both Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson scored 22 points. As for Patrick Christopher, who joins Randle in the backcourt to create one of the nation's premier guard combos, he scored 18 points. Jamal Boykin pulled down 10 rebounds for Cal, which earned a 45-32 advantage on the boards. A 30-of-35 effort from the foul line was key to the blowout win for the Golden Bears, who also limited their overmatched opponents to just 35.1 percent shooting from the floor. Four of the five starters reached double figures in scoring in the narrow victory over Murray State to open the season, and Randle led the charge with 18 points. The reason that game was so close was that Cal surrendered 50 percent shooting from the floor to the Racers.
