Syracuse vs. Carleton: Orange Face Toughest Test On Canada Trip

So far, the Syracuse Orange's exhibition tour in Canada has been a fun affair. The Orange are 2-0, having outscored their opponents 157-75 and took a 40-point lead in the locker room at the half against Bishop's University on Thursday.

Quebec. #Annexed

Tonight, however, they might actually have to break a sweat in the second half. The Orange meet the school known as "The UCLA of Canada," Carleton University, at 7:30 p.m.

The Ravens have won three straight and nine of the last 11 CIS championships. Carleton went 28-1 last season.

So far this summer, Carleton has notched wins over Towson, Texas Christian and Wisconsin by an average of 21.6 points. The Ravens' 13-point win over Wisconsin came on Wednesday night.

Uh, Wisconsin...WTF?

Carleton certainly proved worthy of its reputation as the top basketball program to the north. Using the internationally-mandated 24-second shot clock to their advantage in their own gym, the Ravens used a 12-0 run to seize control of the game midway through the first half and never looked back.

Guard Philip Scrubb, the two-time CIS player of the year, scored a game-high 30 points and added 12 assists to lead Carleton.

And here's the thing. Playing Syracuse is Carleton's Super Bowl. I know that's a bad analogy, but, if you thought they brought it against the Badgers, wait til they hit the court tonight.

6,000 fans are expected to jam the Canadian Tire Centre tonight and roughly 5,997 of them will be pulling for the upset. Yeah, it's an exhibition. Yeah, it doesn't matter. Yeah, it's more about experience than results.

But, and I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to hear about how we lost to a Canadian team for the next two months.