December 30th, 1947. Bullet Billy Gabor and the Syracuse Orangemen are riding high on a five-game winning streak and 7-1 start to the season. Coming off a 19-6 campaign, there were high expectations that this Lew Andreas' boys were destined for big things to come.
The Orangemen headed out to California for the Los Angeles Invitational Tournament with the intention of cruising to victory, extending the winning streak and marching to greatness.Against Loyola (69-55) ad BYU (53-45), mission accomplished.
In the finals they met the Marshall Thundering Herd, a team they should have had no problem crushing, especially with The Bullet. However, tragedy struck and Gabor went down with an ankle sprain early and the wheels came off from there.
Marshall 46, Syracuse 44.
SU's season unraveled from there. The team would go on to lose 11 of their next 16 games and finish 11-13.
Ever since then, Syracuse fans have been seething, waiting for the chance to exact revenge against the Herd. Revenge in the name of Billy Gabor. Revenge for stealing our 1947 LAIT Title. Revenge for ruining what could have been.
Vengeance is a dish best served cold and it will be served December 6th in the Carrier Dome when the Thundering Herd thunder into town to play the Syracuse Orange.
Coach Tom Herrion guided the Herd to a 22-12 record and a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Herrion owned previous Division I head coaching experience at the College of Charleston. He was an assistant at Pittsburgh under Jamie Dixon when he accepted the position at Marshall.
Full 2011-2012 schedule to-date after the jump...
Tuesday, November 1 - CSULA (exb.)
Tuesday, November 8 - College of St. Rose (exb.)
Saturday, November 12 - Fordham
Monday, November 14 - Manhattan
Wednesday, November 16 - Albany/Brown
Saturday, November 19 - Colgate
Wednesday, November 23 - Season Tip-Off Semifinal (MSG)
Friday, November 25 - Season Tip-Off Championship/Consolation (MSG)
Tuesday, November 29 - Eastern Michigan
Friday, December 2 - Florida
Tuesday, December 6 - Marshall
Saturday, December 10 - George Washington
Tuesday, December 20 - Bucknell
Thursday, December 22 - Tulane
Saturday, February 25 - at UConn
Unscheduled - North Carolina State
Big East Home TBD: Connecticut, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall, USF, West Virginia
Big East Away TBD: Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Louisville, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Villanova