So I just got home from the easy win for the #5 Syracuse Orange (16-1) over my alma mater Rutgers -- I mean, Syracuse, yes Syracuse is my alma mater, but it was a pretty easy win throughout, ending 81-65 on the strength of 23 points from Andy Rautins. The RAC was packed -- as it is every year Syracuse invades the central New Jersey home of Rutgers, despite a new ticket scam put in place by Rutgers that required fans to buy tickets to two other Rutgers home games just to get a seat at the Syracuse game. The fans came out anyway for the only reason to watch the hapless Scarlet Knights, and that is to cheer on the opposing team. The Orange fans were loud and proud from pre-game through much of the first half, where deafening chants of "Let's Go Orange!" resounded through the arena. And the Orange took a comfortable 41-23 lead into halftime, mostly on the strength of Rautins' outside shooting and Rutgers inability to score. But things got a little loose in the 2nd half as some sloppy Syracuse guard play and some great shooting by Rutgers star Mike Rosario drove a furious comeback that cut a 21 point lead to 8 with just over 12 minutes remaining. By that time, the Rutgers fans in attendance (I'd say it was about a 50/50 split between Syracuse Orange and Rutgers Red) got very, very loud themselves and the Syracuse fans were trying to fight back but the players on the court seemed to get a little rattled and let the game get away a little bit. But Scoop Jardine took over with about three straight drives to the basket that either scored or got him to the free throw line and then Andy hit another three to bring the lead back to 15. Rutgers never got closer than 12 for the rest of the contest. It really wasn't an exciting game, and to be honest, the most exciting part was when Rutgers made its comeback and the crowd (on both sides) really got into it. But a win is a win and I'm more than happy to witness another win for my favorite team in any sport.
Jim Boeheim's rotation was unusual tonight and I don't know if it was because of injuries or ineffectiveness, but Rick Jackson, Brandon Triche, and Kris Joseph all played much less than they usually do. The beneficiaries of playing time were Rautins (who played all 40), Jardine, and redshirt freshman Mookie Jones, whose 22 minutes must have been a season high. And Mookie played well while he was in there, scoring 11 points on 3 of 6 shooting from 3-point range as well as bringing down 3 offensive rebounds (4 total) and gathering 2 steals and 1 assist. It was the best all-around game Mookie has played for the Cuse (by far) and whether or not this is a trend, that was a positive. Kris Joseph seemed to play well whenhe was in there, but perhaps he was still nursing a leg injury from Sunday's win over South Florida, because he had a black sleeve on his right calf and only played 14 minutes. In the end, Syracuse didn't really need a full effort from all its team members, as it was led mostly by Rautins (who had 9 asssists and 5 steals to go along with his 23 points) as well as Jardine (12 points, 6 assists) and another double-double for the double-double machine Wes Johnson, although without much scoring (11 points, 1o rebounds). A solid win, but an expected win, in preparation for the big Saturday battle at highly ranked West Virginia. That's enough playing around with the crappy schools that I got my degree from. Time to take on the real Big East.