Just a week ago, Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku were buckling down in preparation for Big East Preseason Player of the Year Luke Harangody. The pregame warm-ups were physical, and the frontcourt knew that slowing down one of the league’s best and most versatile forwards would be a proving ground for the rest of the season.

After Harangody’s 31-point, 14-rebound performance in Syracuse’s 84-71 victory over Notre Dame Monday, it was apparent the message wasn’t yet received.

‘(Luke) Harangody killed us the other day,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said, ‘so we worked on that in practice.’

Saturday’s game brought Jackson and Onuaku another opportunity to prove themselves against one of the elite forwards in the conference when Lazar Hayward and Marquette came into town. This time, with a little better result. The versatile Hayward notched 16 points and 8 rebounds against the Orange.

At 6 feet 6 inches, Hayward isn’t as imposing a big man as the 6-foot-8 Harangody, but at the same time he can pose more problems. With a knack for the 3-point shot and a propensity to use his speed advantage to beat bigger forwards to the basket, it could be more difficult to man him up and clear out the frontcourt to secure rebounds.

And after a suspect first half, Jackson and Onuaku did just that. Exposing one-on-one advantages, the two combined for 24 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson added a season-high seven blocks.

‘If there is a mismatch down low we are going to exploit it,’ sophomore forward Kris Joseph said. ‘For every good basketball team, they are going to realize that there is always a mismatch with Arinze down low. I do not think there is anyone in this league that can guard him because he is so big and agile. We also have Rick, who is a huge force down low. Having those two is always going to work to our advantage both now and in the post season.’

Carrier Dome records season-high attendance

It’s a record that is expected to be short-lived, but it’s a record nonetheless.

Saturday’s 29,011 in attendance at the Carrier Dome was the largest collegiate basketball crowd in the country this season.

‘29,000-plus today?’ Joseph said. ‘That’s awesome. It is definitely fun to go out there and see the student section back and all of the fans. We have great fans here in Syracuse. ‘Our fans are die-hard fans, and I think them being here and being so loud helps us a lot. I think it scares a lot of teams. Most teams aren’t used to all the fans roaring like that, so it really helps us out.’

Though nowhere near the Carrier Dome record of 33,633 set on March 5, 2006 against Villanova, it was without a doubt the loudest crowd at the Dome this season. Syracuse has an opportunity to break it tonight, though, as it faces off against conference rival Georgetown in what appears to be the best on-paper Big East matchup of the season so far.

Wes Johnson does it all

Though it may get lost in the box score, Saturday’s game was one of the best in a Syracuse uniform for junior forward Wes Johnson.

Playing all 40 minutes against a triangle-and-two defense intent on stopping him, Johnson logged 22 points while grabbing 15 rebounds against the undersized Marquette frontcourt. His performance on the glass was four shy of his career-high 19, which he registered against Seton Hall on Dec. 29.

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on January 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm