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JANUARY 16, 2012

Reaching

Syracuse continues to

roll through Big East slate, is

win away from best start in

school history

newheights

cover photo: ryan maccammon | staff photographer

2 j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m

Sports Editor Mark CooperPresentation Director Ankur PatankarCopy Chief Laurence LeveilleAsst. Sports Editor Ryne GeryAsst. Sports Editor Chris IsemanAsst. Photo Editor Stacie FanelliAsst. Photo Editor Lauren MurphyAsst. Photo Editor Kristen ParkerAsst. Copy Editor Stephen BaileyAsst. Copy Editor Andrew Tredinnick

t h e i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d e n t n e w s p a p e r o f s y r a c u s e , n e w y o r k

Debbie Truong MANAGING EDITOR

Dara McBride EDITOR IN CHIEF

General Manager Peter WaackIT Director Mike EscalanteIT Manager Derek OstranderCirculation Manager Harold HeronAdvertising Designer Cecilia JayoAdvertising Designer Yoli WorthAdvertising Representative Bianca Rodriguez Advertising Representative Kelsey Rowland Advertising Representative Andrew Steinbach Advertising Representative Yiwei WuClassifieds Manager Michael KangCirculation Joyce PlacitoCirculation Olivia St. DenisMarketing Manager Assel BaitassovaStudent Business Manager Brooke WilliamsBusiness Intern Tim Bennett

W E AT H E R

TODAY TOMORROW WEDNESDAY

H36| L33 H26| L8H42| L24

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 3

ryan maccammon | staff photographerBRANDON TRICHE and Syracuse have gone on large scoring runs in the first half of each of their last three games, creating a cushion for the Orange going into halftime. In SU’s most recent game last Saturday, it outscored Providence 15-0 during one stretch and coasted to a blowout victory in the Carrier Dome.

By Mark CooperSPORTS EDITOR

B randon Triche figured a long run was coming. It has become the hallmark of Syracuse so far this season.

At some point, when the game is close, the Orange will run away from its oppo-nent.

“I think it might have been like two games this year we haven’t been on a big run,” Triche said after a 15-0 run helped SU blow out Providence 78-55 on Saturday. “So today was another game where we turned the guys over when we can play defense. We stuck to our game plan and it worked.”

SU’s stretch of holding the Friars with-out a made field goal for 10 minutes was just the latest example. Syracuse buried Villanova on Wednesday behind a 20-2 first-half run to take a 43-24 halftime lead.

The game before that, it was a 23-1 run in the first half against No. 25 Marquette in which SU held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for 11:13. The No. 1 Orange (19-0, 6-0 Big East) has been able to turn the switch on when needed to blow past most of its opponents.

And that dominance has Syracuse one win away from setting a record for the best start in school history. SU will shoot for its 20th consecutive victory when it hosts Pittsburgh (11-7, 0-5 Big East) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, at 875 career wins, is one win away from tying Adolph Rupp for fourth all-time among Division I head coaches.

The Panthers have lost six straight games and their last win was Dec. 20. But for Syracuse to set a school record, it has to figure out how to beat Pittsburgh for the

first time since 2006.“They’re a good team. I don’t care what

their record is,” Boeheim said. “They’re a good team, and they’ll come in here Mon-day night and play well.”

Pittsburgh has handed SU its first loss of the season each of the last two years. Last year, the Panthers withstood a 17-0 run from Syracuse to beat the Orange, 74-66, in Pittsburgh.

But those types of runs have been why SU ascended to the top ranking in the nation this year. Boeheim has said time after time that basketball has always been a game of runs.

This year, Syracuse has had the major-ity of them.

Triche had one reason for why it’s almost becoming an expectation for the Orange to have a dominant stretch every game.

“Our defense,” he said. “You can’t really say it’s one person because it’s a different person who starts it every time. I think we play off each other so much, we play off

GAME CHANGERSSyracuse has won its first 19 games of the season, using big runs to cruise to victory time and time again. The Orange has caught fire most often in the first half to build comfortable leads before the break. Here’s a look at some of SU’s biggest scoring runs this season:

DATE OPPONENT RUNNov. 25 Stanford 18-5, second halfDec. 17 NC State 23-0, first halfDec. 22 Tulane 19-0, first halfJan. 1 DePaul 15-2, first halfJan. 7 Marquette 19-0, first halfJan. 11 Villanova 20-2, first halfJan. 14 Providence 15-0, first half

Record pace Syracuse has gone on remarkable, dominant runs to remain undefeated

SEE PITTSBURGH PAGE 9

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m4 j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2

By Andrew TredinnickASST. COPY EDITOR

It was a start that Syracuse could not afford to have against its conference rival. Eight minutes in and the Orange had already thrown the game away.

Twelve consecutive missed field goal attempts and eight turn-overs allowed No. 18 George-town to build an insur-

mountable 15-point lead right out of the gate.The poor shooting and lack of ball security

that have plagued Syracuse throughout the sea-son reached new heights, as the Orange was dominated in nearly every facet of the game in a 69-42 loss to Georgetown in Washington, D.C., at McDonough Arena on Sunday. Syracuse coughed up the ball a season-high 30 times and the Hoyas benefited, scoring 38 points off those turnovers. SU also scored a season-low 42 points.

“We just threw the ball away and they shot the ball especially well,” Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman said. “They are the lowest shooting team in the conference, and they made some shots with some kids who don’t normally make shots. You’ve got to make shots.”

Georgetown entered the game shooting a measly 35.4 percent on the season, last in the Big East. But as SU turned the ball over more and

more throughout the game, the Hoyas got easy looks in transition and erased any offensive deficiencies.

GU shot the ball unexpectedly well, shooting 25-of-60 (41.7 percent) from the field and 50 per-

cent on 24 attempts from 3-point range. Sugar Rodgers led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

With the Orange already down by 15 with 7:40 left in the first half, the mistakes began to mount and snowball out of control.

After La’Shay Taft missed a 3-pointer, Shakeya Leary grabbed the offensive rebound, but the ball was stolen away. Rodgers, the Big East’s leading scorer, hit a 3 on the Hoyas’ ensu-ing possession, giving them their largest lead to that point. The Orange turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions following Leary’s turnover and the Hoyas’ lead grew to 31-10.

The Orange gave up the basketball 19 times in the opening stanza, and Georgetown led 41-13 at the break.

“When you turn the ball over, you don’t have very good court balance,” Hillsman said, “so we started turning the ball over and not getting our court balance and that hurt us some in the game.”

With the Orange struggling to keep posses-sion, SU made just four field goal attempts in the first half. As the Hoyas’ lead grew larger, Syracuse looked to get back in the game by shooting jump shots, which strayed far from the Hillsman’s philosophy to get the ball inside.

The switch to an unfamiliar game plan failed to produce positive results, and SU was never able to get back into the game in the second half.

Elashier Hall and Taft shot a combined 0-of-18 from the field for the Orange. Iasia Heming-way and Kayla Alexander paced SU with 14 and 13 points, respectively.

The Orange shot just 15-of-60 from the floor,

and despite outrebounding the Hoyas 45-35, SU yielded nearly just as many second-chance points as its opponent. Hillsman said it wasn’t as much what the Hoyas were doing defensively, but rather that the Orange struggled to make the most of its opportunities.

“We got some really good looks, we just didn’t make shots,” Hillsman said. “I thought that we got some good looks at the rim, and we weren’t able to make those shots.”

adtredin@syr.edu

OVERMATCHEDSyracuse was dominated from the start against No. 18 Georgetown on Saturday, falling behind 16-1 and never recover-ing. The Orange scored a season-low 42 points and trailed by 28 at halftime, shooting 0-of-13 from 3-point range for the game. Here’s a comparison of SU’s and Georgetown’s team statistics for the game:

STAT SYRACUSE GEORGETOWNFG% 25% 41.7%

3-PT% 0% 50%

REB 45 35

TO 30 22

PTS off TO 9 38

“We just threw the ball away and they shot the ball especially well. They are the lowest shooting team in the conference, and they made some shots with some kids who don’t normally make shots. You’ve got to make shots.”

Quentin HillsmanSU HEAD COACH

SU doomed by poor offensive performance in loss to Hoyas WO M E N ’ S B A S K E T B A L L

Daily Orange open houseSaturday, 2 p.m.

• Write for news, sports, feature and opinion• Shoot photos for a wide array of events on and off campus• Experience 40-degree weather - indoors!• Meet women’s basketball beat reporter Chris Iseman*

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GEORGETOWN 69SYRACUSE 42

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 5

LAST TIME THEY PLAYEDJan. 17, 2011

Pittsburgh 74, Syracuse 66

The thunderous Pittsburgh student section in the Petersen Events Center fell silent.

Syracuse shocked the 12,925 fans on hand — known as the Oakland Zoo — with a 17-0 run to pull back into contention the last time the Orange and Panthers met back on Jan. 17, 2011 in Pittsburgh.

“We made as good a comeback as you’re prob-ably going to make,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game.

The comeback wasn’t enough, though, and SU fell short.

The Panthers (18-1, 6-0 Big East) knocked the Orange (18-1, 5-1 Big East) back as soon as the game started, scoring the first 19 points of the game, and went on to win 74-66. And although SU battled back with a 17-0 run of its own, it was unable to complete its comeback without leading scorer Kris Joseph, who was out with a head injury.

Pittsburgh forward Nasir Robinson torched Boeheim’s trademark 2-3 zone for 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Sophomore James Southerland managed just eight points in 38 minutes, attempting to fill the glaring void left by Joseph.

But despite falling behind 19-0, and despite competing without its best player, point guard Scoop Jardine said he believed the Orange

were still tough. “We were right there,” Jardine said. “And

that is one thing — we are going to take credit from this loss.”

It was Jardine who scored SU’s first points, connecting on a 3-pointer just more than eight minutes into regulation. Freshmen Dion Wait-ers and C.J. Fair followed with layups, sopho-more guard Brandon Triche canned a jumper and the momentum shifted.

Although Jardine and senior center Rick Jackson recorded double figures in scoring, it was Fair and Waiters who keyed SU’s turn-around with a combined 24 first-half points.

As SU pulled to within two, assistant coach Mike Hopkins began dancing on the sidelines, imploring his team to maintain its defensive intensity.

“These kids showed a lot of heart,” Hopkins said. “Playing without our leading scorer, Kris, the way these guys battled.”

But when Ashton Gibbs hit a 3 to push the Pittsburgh lead back to nine with 6:33 left, Hopkins turned and spun. He followed with five two-footed stomps.

A desperation press and clutch 3 from Triche brought the Orange within five with 1:07 left, but a layup by Brad Wanamaker with a minute left was the proverbial nail in the coffin.

SU’s valiant comeback, Fair’s team-high 16 points and Jardine’s damage from long range were all for naught.

Although the Orange quieted the Zoo early, turning a seemingly lost game into a Big East battle, the near-historic comeback was never

completed.“Chalk this up as a great learning experi-

ence,” Hopkins said. “This place is as loud as it gets in college basketball.”

—Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu

courtesy of steve garfinkel | the pitt newsC.J. FAIR (LEFT), JAMES SOUTHERLAND (RIGHT) and the Orange came up short against Pittsburgh last season, losing 74-66 after the Panthers started the game on a 19-0 run.

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 76 j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2

The last time Syracuse beat Pittsburgh was March 11, 2006. The Orange defeated the No. 16 Panthers with a 65-61 win to complete its shocking run to win the Big East tournament behind Gerry McNamara, who earned MVP honors.

(19-0)

FAB MELO7-0, 244, SO.

7 PPG, 5.4 RPG

JIM BOEHEIM875-301

36th season

TALIB ZANNA6-8, 230, FR.

9.0 PPG, 5.2 RPG

JAMIE DIXON227-67

9th season

CENTER COACHES

Melo has been a force in the middle of Syracuse’s zone this season, leading

the Big East with 23 blocks in conference play. The

undersized Zanna has start-ed the last three games in place of Dante Taylor, scor-

ing 24 points.

Last year, Dixon set the NCAA record for wins

after eight seasons as a head coach with 216. He

has turned Pittsburgh into an elite program, but this season has arguably been his toughest, as the Pan-thers have started off 0-5

in the Big East.

BEAT WRITER PREDICTIONS

ZACH BROWN

MICHAEL COHEN

MARK COOPER

FREE THROWS Pittsburgh is currently on a six-game losing streak, which started with a surprising upset loss to Wagner at home Dec. 23. The Panthers have lost four games by five points or less during the stretch, but also suffered an embarrassing 62-39 defeat to Rutgers.

With a win, Syracuse would be off to its best start in program history. The Orange tied the record set by the 1999-2000 team after beating Providence 78-55 for its 19th consecutive win this season.

STAT TO KNOW

Syracuse 68, Pittsburgh 54SU will officially have the best start to an Orange season ever.

Syracuse 83, Pittsburgh 63Ashton Gibbs might make 21 3-pointers, but it still won’t be enough.

Syracuse 78, Pittsburgh 69The Panthers keep it close, but Jim Boeheim ties Adolph Rupp on the first try.

TODAY, 7:30 P.M., CARRIER DOME

SCOOP JARDINE6-2, 190, SR.

8.4 PPG, 4.5 APG

BRANDON TRICHE6-4 205, JR.

9.9 PPG, 3 APG

KRIS JOSEPH6-7 210, SR.

13.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG

RAKEEM CHRISTMAS6-9 222, FR.

3.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG

ISAIAH EPPS6-2, 185, RS FR.

0.2 PPG, 0.7 APG

ASHTON GIBBS6-2 190, SR.

16.9 PPG, 3.3 APG

LAMAR PATTERSON6-5 221, RS SO.

8.8 PPG, 3.1 APG

NASIR ROBINSON6-5 225, SR.

12.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG

STARTING LINEUPPOINT GUARD SHOOTING GUARD SMALL FORWARD POWER FORWARD

Jardine is coming off one of his finest performances

this season, dishing out nine assists and commit-ting no turnovers to lead

SU over Providence. Start-ing in place of the injured Tray Woodall, Epps made

his first career start against Marquette.

Once Isaiah Epps took over at the point, Gibbs moved

back to shooting guard and found his shooting stroke

against Marquette last Sat-urday, pouring in a career-

high 29 points. Triche continues to be a steady

contributor in the balanced Orange offense.

Joseph leads Syracuse in minutes played and scor-

ing this season. The senior will have the height advan-tage over his counterpart from the Panthers. Pat-

terson has been a constant in the Pittsburgh lineup, starting all 16 games he

has appeared in.

Though he has started every game, Christmas

hasn’t seen a ton of play-ing time. He played 16 minutes against Provi-

dence, finishing with eight points and five rebounds. Robinson has started all 18 games, and is second

on the team in scoring and is first in rebounding.

1. Syracuse (60)2. Kentucky (5)3. North Carolina4. Baylor5. Ohio State6. Michigan State7. Indiana8. Duke9. Missouri10. Kansas11. Georgetown12. UNLV13. Michigan14. Louisville15. Murray State16. Virginia17. Connecticut18. Kansas State19. Florida20. Mississippi State21. Gonzaga22. San Diego State23. Creighton24. Seton Hall25. Marquette

(11-7)

HALF-COURT SHOTS

1. Syracuse (30)2. Kentucky (1)3. North Carolina4. Baylor5. Ohio State6. Duke7. Michigan State8. Indiana9. Missouri10. Kansas11. Georgetown12. UNLV13. Michigan14. Murray State15. Louisville16. Connecticut17. Virginia18. Kansas State19. Florida20. Mississippi State21. Creighton22. San Diego State23. Gonzaga24. Marquette25. Harvard

AP TOP 25

USA TODAY/ESPN(First-place votes in parentheses)

PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE1(First-place votes in parentheses)

1 2 3 4

5

6

7

8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25ra

nk

RANKINGS TRACKERData based on AP Top 25 poll

After Syracuse wins a pair of tough games in Madison Square Garden against Virginia Tech and Stanford to take the NIT Season Tip-Off title, the Orange move up to No. 4 in the next poll.

As Syracuse is playing George Washington on Dec. 10, No. 1 Kentucky loses to Indiana on a buzz-er-beater. No. 2 Ohio State also loses, and the Orange ascends to the top spot in the rankings with an 85-50 victory over GW.

@CINCINNATIJAN. 23, 7 P.M.

@NOTRE DAMESATURDAY, 6 P.M.

Pre 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10week

Among the legendsSyracuse head coach Jim Boeheim is poised to climb past two legendary Division-I head coaches in the next

couple weeks. Boeheim, at 875 career wins, is one behind Adolph Rupp and four behind Dean Smith. Here’s a look at where Boeheim ranks among the

top five head coaches:JIM BOEHEIMSYRACUSE875 WINS

ADOLPH RUPPKENTUCKY876 WINS

DEAN SMITHNORTH CAROLINA

879 WINS

BOB KNIGHTARMY, INDIANA,

TEXAS TECH902 WINS

MIKE KRZYZEWSKIARMY, DUKE

915 WINS

PROVIDENCE12-7 (1-5)

DEPAUL10-7 (1-4)

LOUISVILLE14-4 (2-3)

WEST VIRGINIA13-5 (4-2)

CONNECTICUT14-3 (4-2)

CINCINNATI14-4 (4-1)

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m8 j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2

Around the Big East

courtesy of marquette media relations

NO. 14 LOUISVILLE (14-4, 2-3) AT NO. 25 MARQUETTE (14-4, 3-2)Today, 3:30 p.m., ESPN

Marquette started out its season on fire, knocking off its first 10 nonconference opponents. The Golden Eagles finally fell to Louisiana State, and that loss brought Marquette back down to earth. The Big East slate hasn’t allowed Marquette the chance to recover. The Golden Eagles gave Syracuse fits in the second half before even-tually falling by seven points. Marquette then went on to win its next two games against St. John’s and Pittsburgh. Though the Golden Eagles will be at home on Monday, it’ll have its hands full with Louisville.

Darius Johnson-Odom has been the leader of Mar-quette’s offense, averaging about 18 points per game. Jae Crowder adds 16.3 points per game. Other than those two, though, no other member of Marquette’s offense is averaging double-digits in scoring. With Johnson-Odom and Crowder leading the way, Marquette is second in the Big East with close to 77 points per game.

Although the Cardinals are ranked, they’re still searching for a signature win to defend their place in the Top 25. Louisville has beaten two unimpressive Big East teams in DePaul and St. John’s. There’s no question that Rick Pitino and the Cardinals would love to pick up a road win against MU, but that’s undoubtedly a daunting task. Kyle Kuric leads the team with 13 points per game, while Russ Smith is second with 11.4 — not exactly the gaudy numbers Marquette’s duo has put up. This should be a tough battle between two ranked Big East teams.

Games to watch

NOTRE DAME (11-7, 3-2) AT RUTGERS (10-8, 2-3)Today, 9 p.m., ESPNU

This will be the first of two games this season between these two teams, and both teams are coming off double-digit losses. The Scarlet Knights are a picture of inconsistency. Rutgers has two huge wins over ranked teams, Florida and Connecticut, but couldn’t manage to beat South Florida or West Virginia. Notre Dame was dealt a crushing blow early this season when Tim Abromaitis went down with an injury, stripping the Fighting Irish of one of its biggest scoring threats. With Abromaitis out for the season, Notre Dame has gotten its scoring from Jerian Grant, who leads the team with 13.2 points per game, and Eric Atkins, who averages close to 13.

The Scarlet Knights have been a dreadful scoring team, ranked third-to-last in the confer-ence with an average of 68.2 points per game. RU does have two players averaging double-digits in scoring, with Eli Carter leading the team with 13.7 points per game.

NO. 11 GEORGETOWN (14-3, 4-2) AT DEPAUL (10-7, 1-4)Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Under Oliver Purnell — known for his ability to turn around helpless programs — DePaul is taking small steps in the right direction. Having a winning record this far into the season, even if almost all of those wins came during the Blue Demons’ nonconference schedule, is a good sign for DePaul. Like so many of its conference foes are finding out, the Big East is a whole different animal, and DePaul hasn’t quite managed to find success in the conference. The Demons have just one Big East victory, which came in an 84-81 win over a hapless Pittsburgh team. Other than that, DePaul was blown out by teams like Villanova and Seton Hall. Cleveland Melvin is the team’s bright spot, scoring more than 18 points per game, while Brandon Young is adding about 17 of his own. Powered by those two consistent scorers, DePaul is actually third in the Big East in scoring offense with 75.8 points per game.

The Hoyas are staying afloat in Big East play and have two solid victories over Louisville and Marquette. But Georgetown hasn’t been able to distance itself from the pack in the conference, losing to West Virginia and Cincinnati. The Hoyas are third in the Big East in scoring defense, allowing less than 60 points per game, and are second in the conference in scoring margin, beat-ing opponents by an average of 13.2 points per game. Jason Clark leads the way with 15.4 points per game, Hollis Thompson averages 14.6 and Henry Sims has 11.6 per game.

—Compiled by Chris Iseman, asst. sports editor, cjiseman@syr.edu

SETON HALL15-3 (4-2)

RUTGERS10-8 (2-3)

ST. JOHN’S9-9 (2-4)

VILLANOVA8-10 (1-5)

GEORGETOWN14-3 (4-2)

NOTRE DAME11-7 (3-2)

PITTSBURGH11-7 (0-5)

SOUTH FLORIDA10-8 (3-2)

MARQUETTE14-4 (3-2)

STANDINGS

123333777

101012

13141416

SYRACUSE19-0 (6-0)

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2 9

Monday Pittsburgh 7:30 p.m.Saturday at Notre Dame 6 p.m.Jan. 23 at Cincinnati 7 p.m.Jan. 28 West Virginia 1 p.m.Feb. 4 at St. John’s noonFeb. 8 Georgetown 7 p.m.Feb. 11 Connecticut 1 p.m.Feb. 13 at Louisville 7 p.m.Feb. 19 at Rutgers 1 p.m.Feb. 22 South Florida 7 p.m.Feb. 25 at Connecticut 9 p.m.March 3 Louisville 4 p.m.

On the blockA position-by-position look at the game

POINT GUARDThe injury to Tray Woodall has been absolutely devas-tating for the Panthers this year. He’s missed 10 of the last 11 games with a groin injury and now an abdomi-nal tear, and the results for Pittsburgh haven’t been pretty: a 0-5 start to Big East play. Woodall played in eight games for Pitt, averaging 12.4 points per game and 7.5 assists per game. Freshmen John Johnson and Isaiah Epps have taken over in his place, but they’ve struggled to fill the void. By comparison, the point guard position has been a strength for Syracuse this season. Brandon Triche, Scoop Jardine and Michael Carter-Williams have all split time and combined for about 20 points per game.

Advantage: Syracuse

SHOOTING GUARDWith Woodall gone, the scoring burden has fallen on the shoulders of Big East Preseason Player of the Year Ashton Gibbs. The senior has also assumed some of the point guard duties for the Panthers, but it’s his shooting that has attempted to keep the Panthers afloat. He’s averaging 16.9 points per game and con-verting on nearly 35 percent of his 3-pointers. For the Orange, the most consistent shooting guard play has come from Dion Waiters. Arguably the best sixth man in the country, Waiters is second on the team in scor-ing at 12.9 points per game. He and Triche split most of the time at the two-guard position. And Triche is hit-ting 40.3 percent of his 3s.

Advantage: Even

BENCHSyracuse has the best bench in the country, plain and simple. SU’s second five came into the week averaging a monstrous 36.9 points per game. Waiters and Fair do most of the damage, but contributions from James Southerland have been key as well. For Pittsburgh, Dante Taylor (6.6 ppg) and J.J. Moore (6.4 ppg) are the only two players off the Panthers bench that average more than six points per game. Taylor chips in with nearly six rebounds per game as well.

Advantage: Syracuse

CENTERFab Melo’s weight loss and subsequent drastic improve-ment have made him one of the best centers in the Big East this season. He’s become a force defensively, aver-aging 2.8 blocks per game. An expanded offensive game benefits the Orange as well, and Melo now chips in 7 points per game to go along with his 5.4 rebounds per game. Pittsburgh’s Talib Zanna, also a sophomore, has started only three of 18 games this season. He averages 5.9 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game, but he’s 3 inches shorter than the 7-foot Melo.

Advantage: Syracuse

POWER FORWARDRakeem Christmas is in the same position Fab Melo was in a year ago. He plays at the beginning of each half, but not much after that. He averages 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12 minutes per game this season. Instead, it’s C.J. Fair who plays most of the game at the power forward spot. Fair is second on the team in minutes per game, chipping in 8.7 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. For the Panthers, Nasir Robinson is their only consistent low-post threat. He averages 12.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game despite being undersized at 6 feet 5 inches and 225 pounds.

Advantage: Pittsburgh

SMALL FORWARDSyracuse’s Kris Joseph has been a steady scoring option all season, leading SU with 13.7 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game. An improved jump shot has him hitting 39.5 percent from 3-point range as well. Lamar Patterson has started every game he’s played this season for the Panthers. His numbers are solid — 8.8 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game — but it’s clear he isn’t a go-to scoring option.

Advantage: Syracuse

—Compiled by Michael Cohen, staff writer, mjcohe02@syr.edu

STEALS PER GAMETURNOVERS PER GAME

ASSISTS PER GAMEREBOUNDS PER GAME

FREE-THROW PERCENTAGEOPPONENTS’ FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGE

FIELD-GOAL PERCENTAGEPOINTS ALLOWED PER GAME

POINTS PER GAME80.460.248.7%38.0%69.9% 37.117.311.310.7

71.666.046.243.968.8

39.616.113.14.5

Monday at Syracuse 7:30 p.m.Saturday Louisville 9 p.m.Jan. 25 Providence 7 p.m.Jan. 28 Georgetown 4 p.m.Jan. 30 at West Virginia 7 p.m.Feb. 5 Villanova 2 p.m.Feb. 8 at South Florida 7 p.m.Feb. 12 at Seton Hall noonFeb. 16 West Virginia 9 p.m.Feb. 19 South Florida 7 p.m.Feb. 26 at Louisville 2 p.m.Feb. 29 St. John’s 7 p.m.March 3 at Connecticut noon

Head to headSTATISTICS

REMAINING SCHEDULES

each other’s energy.”On Dec. 17, Kris Joseph and James Souther-

land got hot from long range to spark a 23-0 run in the first half against North Carolina State. Five days later, three players hit five 3-pointers as SU went on a 19-0 run to close the first half in a blowout win over Tulane.

Scoop Jardine and Dion Waiters were the

catalysts against Providence on Saturday. Wait-ers knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Orange ahead 28-16, and he and Jardine put immense pressure on the Friars’ guards in the backcourt to force seven consecutive turnovers.

Another long run, another double-digit halftime lead. Syracuse has led by more than 10 points at the half in five of its six conference games.

The Orange is playing a team going in the opposite direction on Monday, as Pittsburgh is the only Big East team without a conference win. But the SU players have said the opponent doesn’t really matter.

“It was about us going out there and playing well,” Jardine said after Saturday’s win. “And tonight we did that and now we got a Pitt team coming in here, a team that’s been beating us who is down this year, people would say.

“But they’ll come in here and beat us again if we’re not on our A-game, so we know that and the focus is going to stay the same.”

If the Orange wins Monday, the rest of its winning streak to start the season will just be extending a record. Boeheim is only four wins shy of Dean Smith for third on the all-time wins list, so he will presumably tie and pass another coaching legend in the near future.

And Syracuse has not displayed many signs of letting up recently. Triche and Waiters both said that the Marquette game, in which SU nearly blew an 18-point halftime lead, served as a reminder that any team can come back.

SU center Fab Melo said the team is staying focused and is trying not to think about the big picture of the records the Orange is setting.

“We just think about winning games,” Melo said. “We want to stay undefeated as long as we can. That’s all we’re focused on.”

mcooperj@syr.edu

PITTSBURGHF R O M P A G E 3

“Our defense. You can’t really say it’s one person because it’s a different person who starts it every time. I think we play off each other so much, we play off each other’s energy.”

Brandon TricheSU GUARD

For live tweets of the game, follow @DOsports

s p o r t s @ d a i l y o r a n g e . c o m10 j a n ua r y 1 6 , 2 0 1 2

NO. 4 BAYLOR (17-0) AT NO. 10 KANSAS (14-3)Today, 9:30 p.m., ESPNMonday night marks the biggest test of the season thus far for undefeated Baylor. The Bears are riding the longest winning streak in program history after narrowly escaping Kansas State with a two-point win Tuesday. Perry Jones III is the headline name on the BU roster, but with five players averag-ing double digits in scoring and 10 playing 10-plus minutes a game, Baylor’s depth has allowed for a consistent level of play this season. However, the Bears have yet to play a team with the caliber of conference rival Kansas. The Jayhawks, on the other hand, have shown flashes of excellence — defeat-ing then-No. 2 Ohio State 78-67 on Dec. 10 — but also moments of embarrassing failure, allowing 47 second-half points to unranked Davidson en route to an 80-74 loss. KU appears to be on the upswing now, reeling off seven straight wins by an average margin of 24.3 points. Key to the game: Thomas Robinson Widely regarded as one of the nation’s best, the KU junior forward averages 17.2 points on 53.8 percent shooting and 12.2 rebounds per game. With 12 double-doubles this sea-son, Robinson is one of the most complete players in the country. In the last five games, he’s averaged 16.4 points and 14 boards per contest. Baylor’s forwards will need to make a concerted effort to keep Robinson out of the paint and off the boards to extend their program-best winning streak.

TEXAS A&M (10-6) AT NO. 9 MISSOURI (16-1)Today, 5:30 p.m., ESPNMissouri struggled offensively for the first time in its lone blemish this season, scor-ing just 25 first-half points on 22.7 percent shooting in its loss to Kansas State on Jan. 7. With the fourth-best scoring average in the country, MU has chalked up 75-plus points in all 16 of its other games and looks to put its loss to KSU further in the past with an offen-sive thrashing Monday against the Aggies. But that may be easier said than done. Texas A&M brings the 15th-best scoring defense in the nation into Columbia, Mo. Despite just one win in conference play, the Aggies’ defense proved sturdy, holding both No. 4 Baylor and Texas to 61 points apiece.Keys to the game: Marcus Denmon and Kim EnglishSenior guards Marcus Denmon and Kim Eng-lish lead the Tigers with 17.9 and 15 points per game, respectively. Though Denmon takes more shots than his backcourt partner and makes an astounding 93.1 percent of his free throws, English is more efficient from the field. Shooting 53.5 percent from

the field and 52.3 percent from deep, he is one of the most potent sharpshooters in the nation. Combined, the MU starting backcourt also averages 9.9 rebounds per game. The Aggies will have to lean on their renowned defense to lock down the perimeter tandem.

ARKANSAS (13-4) AT NO. 2 KENTUCKY (17-1)Tuesday, 9 p.m., ESPNThe Wildcats haven’t allowed an opponent to score 65 points since their memorable, buzzer-beating loss to Christian Watford and No. 7 Indiana. But coming off a dismal shooting performance against Mississippi on Wednesday, the Razorbacks could chal-lenge the Kentucky defense. Just last week, Arkansas put up 98 points against then-No. 15 Mississippi State. And they did it without Marshawn Powell, last year’s leading return-ing scorer and rebounder who is out for the year with torn knee ligaments. Freshman guard BJ Young has picked up the slack, pacing the Razorbacks with a team-high 15 points per game. The 18-year-old will need to step up in Lexington, Ky., to give his team a chance at the upset. Key to the game: Anthony DavisKentucky’s 6-foot-10, 220-pound fresh-man forward is one of the most interesting players in the country. Averaging a double-

double, Davis puts up 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. And, with a 7-4 wing-span, he leads the nation with 4.6 blocked shots per game. Young and Arkansas may be better suited to fire away from the perimeter with Davis down low.

NO. 6 MICHIGAN STATE (15-3) AT NO. 13 MICHIGAN (14-4)Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPNThis in-state rivalry features two nationally ranked squads, each looking to avoid back-to-back defeats. Coming off a 75-59 loss to Iowa, the Wolverines are slumping. They’ve lost two of their last four games and nar-rowly escaped Northwestern in overtime Wednesday. MSU looked sharp starting conference play, recording wins over the sev-enth-ranked Hoosiers and defensive stalwart Wisconsin. But Northwestern upended Tom Izzo’s Spartans 81-74 Saturday.Key to the game: Draymond GreenThe MSU senior forward will arguably be the biggest playmaker on the court Tuesday. Entering the game with averages of 15.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game, he has recorded three straight doubles-doubles, including a 14-point, 14-rebound perfor-mance against the Wildcats. The Wolverines can seize the upper hand early by slowing MSU’s best player.

NATIONAL LEADERS (AS OF JAN. 14)ScoringPLAYER SCHOOL PPGDamian Lillard Weber State 25.5Doug McDermott Creighton 24.2Reggie Hamilton Oakland 23.6Gerardo Suero Albany 22.4Terrell Stoglin Maryland 21.3C.J. McCollum Lehigh 21.2Nate Wolters SD State 20.7Charles Hinkle American 20.5Mike Moore Hofstra 20.4Frank Gaines IPFW 20.4

ReboundingPLAYER SCHOOL RPGO.D. Anosike Siena 12.7Thomas Robinson Kansas 12.2Arsalan Kazemi Rice 12.0Jamelle Hagins Delaware 11.7Kevin Jones West Virginia 11.6Andre Roberson Colorado 11.4Mike Moser UNLV 11.2Chris Gaston Fordham 11.1Arnett Moultrie Mississippi State 10.9Dennis Tinnon Marshall 10.9

AssistsPLAYER SCHOOL APGScott Machado Iona 10.4Kendall Marshall North Carolina 9.6Jesse Sanders Liberty 7.9Jordan Theodore Seton Hall 7.4Vincent Council Providence 7.1Keegan Bell Chattanooga 7.1Lorenzo Brown NC State 6.7Tim Frazier Penn State 6.7Matthew Dellavedova Saint Mary’s 6.6Kaylon Williams Milwaukee 6.6

Around the nation

courtesy of matthew minard | baylor marketing & communicationsPERRY JONES III will lead Baylor into its biggest test of the season against conference rival Kansas on Monday. Jones is one of five BU players averaging double digits in scoring. Baylor is riding its longest winning streak in program history to open the season.

—Compiled by Stephen Bailey, asst. copy editor, sebail01@syr.edu

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