BASKETBALL GAME CENTRAL

THIS WEEKEND
Sat., Nov. 19 - at Syracuse 4 p.m. EST (Carrier Dome)

The Colgate University men's basketball team will conclude its three game road trip to open the 2011-12 season when it visits No. 5/5 Syracuse on Saturday, Nov. 19. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. EST at the Carrier Dome and can be seen live on Time Warner Cable Sports.

THE SERIES WITH SYRACUSE
This will be the 164th meeting between Colgate and Syracuse, with the Orange leading the all-time series 118-45. Syracuse has won the last 45 meetings including a 100-43 rout last year. The last time Colgate beat the Orange was during the 1961-62 season 67-63 at Syracuse.

SCOUTING COLGATE (1-1)
Colgate fell to No. 13/14 Wisconsin 68-41 Wednesday night at the Kohl Center. The Raiders were led by John Brandenburg who scored a career-high 11 points, while grabbing a team-high six rebounds.

Senior guard Mike Venezia along with junior guard Mitch Rolls each scored six points, while sophomore Pat Moore pitched in five. Brandenburg and senior Nick Pascale each recorded two blocks, while senior Sterling Melville and freshman Matt McMullen each had one, as the Raiders recorded six blocks in the game. Pascale was also second on the team with five rebounds.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE (3-0)
Baye Keita and James Southerland each had career scoring nights to help No. 5/5 Syracuse (3-0) advance to the semifinals of the Dicks Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off with a 98-74 victory against Albany (1-2) on Tuesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Keita had 14 points and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor. He grabbed all five of his rebounds on the offensive glass. Southerland had 19 points on 8-12 shooting, 14 of which came in the first half. The Orange out-rebounded the Great Danes 47-29 on the evening and outscored Albany 60-20 in the paint. The SU bench had 49 points to Albany's 11.

VENEZIA NAMED PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK  
Colgate senior Mike Venezia was named the Patriot League Anaconda Player of the Week, following his season-opening performance against Binghamton. Venezia earned his first Player of the Week award after leading the Raiders to a 78-74 win at Binghamton on Saturday. He made 6-of-12 shots, including 4-of-8 from three-point range, and hit all six free-throw attempts for a game-high 22 points. It matched the highest total for a Patriot League player on the season's opening week. Venezia made his first three shots including a pair of three-pointers as Colgate jumped out to a 39-27 lead at the half.

COACH LANGEL'S DEBUT
Colgate head coach Matt Langel won his debut with the Raiders 78-74 over Binghamton. Langel was just the fifth head coach in program history to win his first game and the first since Howard Hartman led Colgate past St. Lawrence in 1949. The win over Binghamton was also the first for Colgate in the month of November since beating Central Connecticut 58-57 in 2008. The win snapped a streak of 13 straight losses in November.

BLOCK PARTY
Junior John Brandenburg has recorded six blocked shots over the first two games including a career-high four at Binghamton during the season opener. Brandenburg is averaging 3.0 blocks per game, which puts him on pace to finish with 90 or more this season. The last Raider to average three or more blocks per game was Adonal Foyle during the 1996-97 campaign.

1,000 POINTS AND COUNTING
Last season, senior forward Yaw Gyawu became the 28th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club. Gyawu led Colgate in scoring with 12.6 points per game and enters his final season with 1,102 points, which ranks 24th overall.

ROLLS SHARING THE ROCK
During the 2010-11 season point guard Mitch Rolls became the first Raider since the 2002-03 season to amass 100 or more assists in a season with 107. Rolls enters his junior campaign with 206 assists which ranks 15th all-time at Colgate.

VENEZIA KEEPS RAINING THREE'S  
Colgate senior Mike Venezia has made a total of 146 three-pointers in his career which ranks seventh all-time in the Colgate record books. Former teammate Kyle Roemer '10 holds the school record (267), while director of basketball operations Mark Linebaugh '04 ranks fifth with 173.

RAIDERS PICKED SIXTH PL PRESEASON POLL
The Colgate men's basketball team was picked sixth in the 2011-12 Patriot League preseason coaches and sports information directors poll, it was announced during media day at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pa.

Defending champion Bucknell emerged from the group as the top choice in the poll with 98 points and 14 first place votes. Lehigh followed with 82 points and two first place votes, while Holy Cross was third with 73 points. Lafayette (55), American (47) and Colgate (44) were closely bunched in the next three spots, while Navy (34) and Army (15) filled out the rankings.