Syracuse 87 - Blue Demons 68: Kris Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamnight

by Sean Keeley on Jan 2, 2012 8:01 AM EST

Kris Joseph scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds in a nice bounce-back from his scoreless effort against Seton Hall as the No.1 Syracuse Orange remained perfect with an 87-68 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons.

C.J. Fair added 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting for the Orange (15-0, 2-0 Big East), who have now won by double figures 12 times this year.

Fab Melo was a force in the middle again. A game removed from blocking ten shots, he swatted six more along with 12 points and five rebounds.

"He’s gotten better,’’ SU coach Jim Boeheim said. "He’s one of the most improved players I’ve seen in a long time.’’

Dion Waiters tallied 13 points while Brandon Triche added ten and Scoop Jardine scored six. Between the three, they also had eight turnovers. The Orange committed 12 in the first half as they tried to break the DePaul fullcourt press.

Holding a 24-18 lead with 8:20 left in the first half, Syracuse went on a 9-0 run to create some distance. James Southerland made a three-pointer and layup to spark the burst, which Waiters capped with a layup for a 33-18 edge with 5:52 to go. The Orange ripped off eight straight points later in the half to gain a 45-24 margin with over a minute left. Syracuse took a 45-26 edge into the half and cruised to victory in the second half.

Syracuse held DePaul to 8-for-26 shooting in the first half and the Demons were a mere 3-of-18 from three-point range.

Baye Moussa Keita suffered a left hip injury that required him to come out after six minutes of play. It also attributed to Rakeem Christmas garnered five fouls, something to keep an eye on. According to SU trainer Brad Pike, Keita will be fine.

Southerland also left the game with an injury, a sprained ankle. That was not considered serious as well.

SU moves to 15-0 for the fourth time in Jim Boeheim's career and now eye the best start in school history, a 19-0 start to the 1999-2000 season. The Providence Friars (11-4, 0-2) are up next on Wednesday.

People might say they're unimpressed with the Orange. That Syracuse hasn't played anyone good or that we keep blowing out teams that it should blow out. But we know better. We know that it's not every season that Syracuse wins every game it plays by 20. We know what it takes to do that every night, regardless of opponent. We know that Syracuse lacks a true superstar and has different heroes every night and doesn't fit the script that so many NCAA basketball experts wrote for this season.

We know better.

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Comments

Dion Waiters' game has progressed

but not as much as his speaking skills. He talks pretty real good now and stuff.

James Southerland is awesome.

Happy New Year, fellas. Go Orange.

by lemonysnicket9 on Jan 2, 2012 8:35 AM EST reply actions

SU isn't playing down to the competition

like they have in previous years. They’re actually putting teams away and not letting them back in the game as much.

Utahns for Orange

by coffeeshark on Jan 2, 2012 8:38 AM EST reply actions

agreed. noticed that too

but, our competition still hasn’t been much to write home about, and we certainly didnt put Florida, VTech or Stanford away early.

by Pinker on Jan 2, 2012 8:41 AM EST up reply actions

Do no let boxscores sully your memory

That Florida game was never in doubt.

by Mike I. on Jan 2, 2012 9:56 AM EST up reply actions

I'd say the same about VPI

at least after the 12-minute time out in the second half or so, Cuse stepped on the gas and they were done. Florida made a few garbage-time threes but it was a two/three possession game the last 8 minutes. NC State gave a run in the second half but Cuse dominated the fourth quarter. Honestly, Stanford was maybe only true naitbiter of the year so far.

It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.

by Girardi Party on Jan 2, 2012 10:18 AM EST up reply actions

I agree

Stanford never felt as “safe” as the NC state, VTech or Florida games.

We have done MUCH better this year against good competition. I am very interested to see how we fare against the big guns of the big east, Lllvvvlll, GTown, Marquette and Uconn. Pitt seems to be hitting the skids, but I have to feel like that is going to be corrected sooner rather than later.

by Pinker on Jan 2, 2012 10:39 AM EST up reply actions

I REALLY hope

we can beat the teams that have given us fits recently this year. Not so much UConn because we’ve evened things out after a half-decade of futility but THE ’VILLE and Pitt… man, it would feel good to beat those guys this year. Regardless of what happens in Kentucky a few weeks before, I have a hard time thinking Syracuse could lose in their final Dome game of the season before what would definitely be a 32k+ crowd, chanting “One more year!” at Dion.

It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.

by Girardi Party on Jan 2, 2012 3:00 PM EST up reply actions

Last year was brutal

in that regard. Very happy to see us curb-stomping bad teams.

It's the most bullshit thing I've seen in thirty years.

by Girardi Party on Jan 2, 2012 10:20 AM EST up reply actions

Defendse and Depth

That’s what’s carrying this team. We have options other than Scoop so if he starts throwing the ball all over the place, he gets a seat on the bench. JB didn’t play the entire starting lineup for any consistent length of time in the second half. He’s using these games to get guys like MCW and Rakeem valuable minutes. When Baye got hurt, he went to Rakeem instead of Fab which was a smart move. Fab obviously went back in when Rakeem fouled out, but it was a good learning experience for Rakeem. Same with MCW. He got to face some pressure defense with good college level athletes. The only reason Kris logged so many minutes in the second half was due to James’ ankle injury. There will be tougher games, but this team is so deep and talented, there won’t be as many as in years past. They have to keep their focus, and keep defending. They did better than I expected on the boards last night. Has Chicago been annexed yet?

by orangeskin on Jan 2, 2012 10:16 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

I actually meant DEFENSE and Depth

An example of why I need spell check at all times.

by orangeskin on Jan 2, 2012 12:36 PM EST up reply actions

Was this really a road game?

Because Chicago like Syracuse ends in a vowel. Thus, it has to count as a Syracuse home game. Providence on Wednesday is also technically a Syracuse home game

by kd bart on Jan 2, 2012 11:38 AM EST reply actions

Last Four Undefeateds

What made me laugh the other day was when ESPN listed the last 4 undefeated teams in the country this year. There is Baylor, Missouri, Murray State and us.Then they said how these teams starts rated against their all time best starts. This is Missouris best start since the Harding Adminstration, This is Baylors best start since prohibition, and this is the best start for Murray State since James Naismith went to aisle 5 at the local CivilWarMart and bought his first peach basket. Meanwhile,this is SUs best start since..ho hum..last year. Yes, the Orange are great.

by scoonman on Jan 3, 2012 8:26 AM EST reply actions