As Syracuse develops its defensive game plan for Georgetown, there likely will be one name in bold on the scouting report: Kaiden Rice.
The Hoyas’ graduate transfer obliterated the program’s record for 3-pointers in a game on Wednesday and hopes to remain hot Saturday in Washington, D.C., in a matchup of former Big East Conference rivals.
Georgetown’s school record for threes in a game was seven until Rice drained 10 in 12 attempts against UMBC. Rice, a transfer from The Citadel, had gone 0-of-10 from the field (0-of-8 from 3-point range) in the previous game against South Carolina.
However, he got into the zone early and often against the Retrievers en route to a career-high 34 points.
“I love these guys,” said Rice, who made three 3-pointers in the first 5 1/2 minutes and never looked back. “They do a really good job of finding me. Our two point guards had 13 assists combined together. When that happens, my job is easy — all I have to do is knock it down.”
Rice and the Hoyas (4-4) likely will be aggressive from 3-point range against the Syracuse 2-3 zone. The Orange (5-4) are coming off a 67-53 loss to No. 6 Villanova in which the Wildcats attempted 50 3-pointers — the most in school history.
Jimmy Boeheim carried the Orange offense with 21 points, although his brother Buddy managed only six on 3-of-15 shooting.
“I think a lot of it was getting good looks, getting to my spots, (but) I just couldn’t make them,” Buddy Boeheim said. “I was frustrated with how I played. I definitely let the guys down and I’ve got to be better. But I felt like a lot of the shots I took were good shots. I’ve just got to make them.”
Syracuse leads the all-time series 51-43, and the teams have split six matchups since the Orange left for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2011.
In last year’s meeting, Syracuse prevailed 74-69 at the Carrier Dome as Buddy Boeheim scored 21 points and Joe Girard chipped in 18 points and eight assists.
–Field Level Media