SYRACUSE, N.Y. — After taking care of business against Bucknell, 61-48, the men's basketball team will get the opportunity it came here looking for: a chance to play No. 6 Syracuse. The Orangemen fulfilled their part of the bargain in the late game Thursday night, scoring the first 24 points of its contest en route to a 104–54 win over Northern Colorado.
"I came back here to play games like the game tomorrow night," head coach Joe Scott '87 said. "It's going to come down to us, we've got to play the way we play."
Pulling off an upset won't be easy for the Tigers (1-0 overall). Syracuse is led by two of the best players in the country, senior forward Hakim Warrick and junior guard Gerry McNamara.
Warrick, a preseason All-American, considered entering the NBA draft before returning for his final year. He is best known for a blocked shot in the waning moments of the 2003 NCAA championship game that sealed the national title for the Orangemen.
McNamara, who started at point guard on the national championship team as a freshman, is just as dangerous. If he gets hot from beyond the arc, he can carry the team all by himself with his outside shooting prowess, as he proved in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament, when he put up 43 points in a victory over BYU. Against Northern Colorado, he notched 11 points and five assists.
Rounding out the Syracuse starting lineup is senior shooting guard Josh Pace, sophomore forward Demetrius Nichols, and senior center Craig Forth, who has started every game of his career.
If the Tigers hope to win, better rebounding is a must. Bucknell grabbed 14 more boards than Princeton, including a 14-1 edge on the offensive glass. The Tigers will need senior centers Judson Wallace and Mike Stephens to stay out of foul trouble and on the court.
"We have to be tougher than them," sophomore forward Luke Owings said, "then the size advantage won't matter."
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