Syracuse Basketball: Top things to know about new foe, Jacksonville State
By Neil Adler
Syracuse basketball, with Jacksonville State on board, has two new opponents to the program in 2020-21.
Syracuse basketball will host Jacksonville State on Thursday, Dec. 10, from the Carrier Dome in the inaugural meeting between these two groups. While the Gamecocks struggled a tad last season, don’t sleep on this crew.
For one, Ray Harper, the Jacksonville State head coach, has amassed more than 500 victories throughout his 20-term career. Previously, over 12 years at Kentucky Wesleyan and Oklahoma City University, Harper tallied four national titles and five national coach of the year honors, according to his bio on the Gamecocks athletics department’s Web site.
Per a cuse.com announcement, in 2019-20 Jacksonville State finished at 13-19 overall, including an 8-10 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Gamecocks fell to Eastern Illinois in the first round of their league’s post-season tournament.
Hired to lead Jacksonville State on April 6, 2016, Harper in the 2018-19 campaign guided the Gamecocks to a single-stanza record for conquests, as Jacksonville State went 24-9. The squad also compiled its best outcome ever in conference competition during that term, going 15-3.
In his four seasons roaming the sidelines for the Gamecocks, Harper is an impressive 80-56, according to cuse.com. He can flat-out coach, and the Orange better not take him – and his roster – lightly.
Jacksonville State, whose campus is located in Jacksonville, Ala., certainly didn’t load up on cupcakes in the team’s 2019-20 non-conference slate. The Gamecocks traveled to SMU, VCU, Purdue, George Mason and Tennessee.
Yes, Jacksonville State got beat in all five of these match-ups, but you can’t fault the Gamecocks for playing a bunch of tough squads away from their own turf.
Here are some relevant statistics on the latest opponent for Syracuse basketball, Jacksonville State.
For the entirety of 2019-20, Jacksonville State averaged 71.7 points per contest and allowed 69.3 points. The Gamecocks connected on 44.6 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from 3-point land, and 69.1 percent from the free-throw line. Jacksonville State did manage to out-rebound its foes by nearly four a game.
The cuse.com statement notes that the Gamecocks’ top returning scorer and rebounder is Kayne Henry. The 6-foot-7 Henry, a senior guard/forward, produced 10.9 points and 6.9 boards per encounter in 2019-20, while hitting on 49.6 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from downtown, and 75.3 percent from the charity stripe.
In addition to Jacksonville State, the ‘Cuse will suit up for the first occasion versus Mercer in 2020-21. Other non-conference opponents on Syracuse’s upcoming calendar to date include Green Bay, Georgetown, UMBC, and LSU as part of the 2020 Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.