Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will be seeking his 898th career win on Saturday night against the Monmouth Hawks. Here is a scouting report for the game:
COACH RICE SUSPENDED: Monmouth will be out head coach King Rice on Saturday after he was suspended for making critical comments after a game against Navy. Rice was ejected with under two minutes to play in a 85-66 loss. “Here’s the problem,” Rice was quoted by the Asbury Park Press. “I don’t cuss at these guys, they’ve got a chip on their shoulder towards me.” The newspaper said Rice was specifically referring to officials Brian Dorsey and Steve Ruppenthal. Rice apologized in a statement released by Monmouth on Thursday.
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“I want to apologize to the Monmouth community, and the whole Monmouth athletic department for my comments in the newspaper, and for getting ejected last night,” he said. “It was totally out of character for me to make comments about officials. I should have had better control of my emotions. I know that I am not supposed to do that, and it was my mistake. I am deeply sorry and I apologize greatly to my team, our fans and everybody who supports Monmouth men’s basketball.”
In his absence, Rick Callahan will likely be the acting head coach. SU fans may remember Callahan as a graduate assistant at Syracuse in 1980 and as an assistant coach in 1981.
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SCOUTING THE HAWKS: The Orange will have to zero in on 6-6 guard Andrew Nicholas. He leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game, and for good reason. He has taken nearly twice the amount of shots than his next closest teammate Dion Nesmith. Still, he’s shooting just 38 percent on the season, which is what he shot in his freshman year. The Orange will certainly have a size advantage, as the tallest player on the Hawks is 6’9″ and as a team, they only average 31.8 rebounds a game.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: Saturday will mark the first matchup between these two games.
GAME INFORMATION: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 7 p.m. at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY. TV: SNY.
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