Dec. 20: Syracuse punter Rob Long announces that cancer cells — once thought to be benign — were found to be malignant upon further examination. Long is currently undergoing treatment for the brain tumor. He made the trip with the rest of the team to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl 10 days later.

Dec. 21: The Syracuse women’s basketball team loses its first game of the season, a nonconference clash with current-No. 1 Baylor in the Bahamas. The Bears used a 10-2 run in the second half to pull away for a 77-43 victory. Odyssey Sims had a career night, scoring 25, and center Brittney Griner added 15.

Dec. 22: Syracuse head coach Doug Marrone suspends two players, including starting defensive tackle Andrew Lewis, for the Pinstripe Bowl. Lewis and linebacker Brice Hawkes were suspended for violating team rules, Marrone said. They were the fifth and sixth players SU lost between the end of the regular season and the bowl.

Dec. 22: The Syracuse men’s basketball team completes its second consecutive perfect nonconference portion of its schedule after beating Drexel 93-65 inside the Carrier Dome. Kris Joseph scored 25 points, and Scoop Jardine added 21 to lead the Orange to victory.

Dec. 28: After nearly a week off, the Syracuse men’s basketball team picked up where it left off, beating Providence 81-74 in its first Big East game of the season. Again, Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine carried SU with 27 and 21 points, respectively.

Dec. 30: The Syracuse football team caps a turnaround season with a thrilling 36-34 victory over Kansas State in the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York City. The win was SU’s first in a bowl since 2001. Wide receiver Marcus Sales helped the Orange keep up in a shootout, catching five passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Jan. 1: The Syracuse men’s basketball team begins 2011 with a win over current No. 16 Notre Dame, 70-58. Kris Joseph led the Orange with 18 points and eight rebounds, as SU started a season 15-0 for the third time under head coach Jim Boeheim.

Jan. 4: After winning 12 of 13 games on its nonconference slate, the Syracuse women’s basketball team loses its Big East opener at Georgetown, 80-62. The Hoyas went up 15 at halftime, as the Orange lost its conference opener for the third straight year.

Jan. 7-8: The Syracuse ice hockey team is swept in a two-game weekend series at Mercyhurst. The Orange was outscored by a combined score of 11-2 in the two games, and SU’s winless streak crept to five.

Jan. 8: The Syracuse men’s and women’s basketball teams defeat their Seton Hall counterparts, with the SU men winning 61-56 at SHU and the SU women beating the Pirates 75-50 in the Carrier Dome. Kris Joseph and Brandon Triche led the men with 15 points apiece, while Elashier Hall scored 16 for the women.

Jan. 12: The Syracuse men’s basketball team improves to 2-0 this year inside Madison Square Garden, rolling past St. John’s 76-59. Kris Joseph led the Orange with 18 points, and Rick Jackson added 12 points and 10 rebounds, surpassing 1,000 points for his career. It was also the 1,800th win in Syracuse program history.

Jan. 13: Former SU football head coach Paul Pasqualoni is hired as the head coach of Connecticut. Pasqualoni, 61, coached SU from 1991-2004, compiling a 107-59-1 record and leading the Orange to nine bowls before being fired at the end of the 2004 season. Pasqualoni was most recently the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator before taking the job with the Huskies.

Jan. 13: The annual men’s lacrosse media day was sandwiched between the first two official practices of the season inside the Manley Field House arena. Head coach John Desko and the players all expressed their disappointment with the end of the 2010 season after the team bowed out in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against Army.

Jan. 14: The nation’s No. 29 overall prospect and sixth-rated defensive end Ishaq Williams commits to Notre Dame over Syracuse and Penn State. Williams was a four-star recruit out of Lincoln High School in New York and would have been the highest ranked player to commit to Syracuse in the Doug Marrone era.

Jan. 14: The Syracuse ice hockey team snaps a five-game winless streak with a 5-2 win over Robert Morris. Since Dec. 10, the Orange went just 0-4-1 and only scored eight goals. The win on the 14th was followed up with a second victory over Robert Morris the next day. The team currently sits at 10-11-3 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.

Jan. 15: The Syracuse women’s basketball team loses a hard-fought game 70-61 on the road to then-No. 6 West Virginia. After a 12-1 start to the season, the Orange was humbled with the start of Big East play. Through its first four conference games, SU has won only once. Syracuse is tied for 10th in the Big East.

Jan. 15: Syracuse forward Kris Joseph leaves the game against Cincinnati with 6:37 left in the first half after hitting his head on the floor. The Orange went on to beat the Bearcats, though Joseph did not return to the game. Joseph also missed Monday’s 74-66 loss at No. 4 Pittsburgh. He currently leads the Orange in scoring at 14.6 points per game.

— Compiled by sports editor Brett LoGiurato, asst. sports editor Michael Cohen and asst. sports editor Mark Cooper

Published on January 17, 2011 at 12:00 pm