SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball (14-12, 7-8 ACC) will again seek to escape its freefall when the Orange host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-13, 7-8 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.
The game is set to tip off just after 4 p.m. at the Carrier Dome and will be televised on ACC regional sports network (RSN) affiliates. Tom Werme and Mike Gminski will be on the call.
In Central New York and many New York state markets, viewers will be able to see the game on the YES Network.
In the Syracuse area, YES is available on these channel numbers:
- Spectrum: 53 (SD) and 321 (HD)
- Verizon FiOS: 76 (SD)/ 576 (HD)
- DirecTV: 631 (SD/HD)
- New Visions: 76 (SD) & 762 (HD)
For other areas and TV systems in the state, you can use the YES Network Channel Finder, available here: http://web.yesnetwork.com/schedule/programs/channel_finder.jsp
In other markets outside New York, the contest will be shown on these 12 additional regional sports networks: AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh Plus, FOX Sports Arizona, FOX Sports Detroit, FOX Sports Florida, FOX Sports Midwest Plus, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Wisconsin, FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus, NESNplus, and SportsTime Ohio.
Syracuse basketball is in dire need of a parachute to arrest its sharp drop. The Orange have lost three games in a row and five of their last six to obliterate any chance of an NCAA at-large bid. The most-recent Cuse defeat came Wednesday night at the hands of Louisville, 90-66 down in the Derby City. After the game, Orange head coach Jim Boeheim discussed his team’s struggles. He said, “We’re not good enough at the end of the game, in the games we’ve lost, to win. That’s the bottom line. I wish we were better. I wish we were doing something wrong that we can correct., but we’re just not quite good enough. These guys have fought hard.”
Syracuse now desperately needs to get back in the winning column if it’s going to save its fading chances of making even the National Invitational Tournament, better known as the NIT.
Georgia Tech enters Saturday’s matchup in an opposite state from the Orange. The Yellow Jackets are on the upswing, having won two straight games and five of their last seven contests. Georgia Tech was last in action Wednesday night, toppling Wake Forest 86-79 on the road.
Saturday’s game is the 13th all-time meeting between Syracuse and Georgia Tech, with the series currently tied at 6-6. The teams have also split the eight matchups since the Orange entered the ACC in the 2013-2014 season. Syracuse won the teams’ first meeting this season in Atlanta on Dec. 7, squashing the Yellow Jackets 97-63. Georgie Tech, however, was playing without its second-leading scorer and fiery, emotional leader, Jose Alvarado. The 6’0 junior point guard from Brooklyn was injured. The Jackets were also without Jordan Usher a talented swingman transfer from USC, who was not yet eligible at the time. Usher has started every game since becoming eligible and is Georgia Tech’s fifth leading scorer.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com
Photo by Adam Rombel/CNYBJ
Updated on 2/21 at 4:37pm.