SYRACUSE -- Amid a tumultuous season the likes of which have never been witnessed by a college basketball team, the Syracuse Orange has been able to put aside the distractions and keep their focus on the court. That focus has enabled them to start the season with a perfect 10-0 record and now a spot at the top of the college hoops world with a #1 ranking in the Associated Press writers' poll.
ESPN.com reports that the Orange are also ranked #1 in the ESPN-USA Today coaches' poll.
After a wild weekend on the hardwood that saw former #1 Kentucky lose to Indiana 73-72 on a last second three-pointer, and former #2 Ohio State lose to Kansas 78-67 without All-American forward Jared Sullinger, the Orange ascended to the top spot after taking care of business at home and soundly defeating George Washington 85-50. Sophomore guard Dion Waiters led SU with a career high 19 points – on his birthday, no less – many coming off of an electric fast break sparked by his six steals and GW’s 19 turnovers overall.
"I just played hard and saw the floor well. On the defensive end, I just tried to make some steals" said Waiters after the game Saturday night.
Even though the new polls weren’t to be released for another two days, some Orangemen couldn’t help but look ahead to Monday and get excited about the prospect of being named the #1 team in the nation.
"It's cool. It's exciting to finally be number one," senior guard Scoop Jardine told CNY Central’s John Evenson. "We have a tough N.C. State team next. It's going to be a tough game, and if we play efficiently on offense and defense, we should be able to come out with the win. Our biggest thing is just getting better every day."
Even the SU student section got into the act, chanting “We’re Number One” late in the second half as the Orange expanded their lead to 30+ points.
This was the fourth game for SU since associate head coach Bernie Fine was fired after allegations by three men that he sexually molested them as minors. Two, Bobby Davis and Mike Lang, were former Orange ballboys. Fine has maintained his innocence and no charges have been filed. The investigation is expected to last several more weeks.
In the meantime, the Orange say they have been able to ignore the external distractions and keep basketball first and foremost in their minds.
"If we lose a game, it's not going to be because they're distracted," head coach Jim Boeheim said after Fine was fired November 27. "They have to be focused."
SU's next game is at North Carolina State on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
This is the first time the Orange have ascended to the #1 spot in the polls since March 2010. That season, the team fell to eventual national runner-up Butler in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen after losing starting center Arinze Onuaku to a season-ending knee injury in the Big East Tournament. Before that, it had been 20 years since SU had been at the top of any national rankings, dating back to the early 1990s heyday of Derrick Coleman, Stevie Thompson, and Billy Owens.
Here are the weekly AP Top 25 rankings as of Monday afternoon:
Record - Points - Previous Rank
1. Syracuse (51) 10-0 1,607 3
2. Ohio St. (7) 8-1 1,478 2
3. Kentucky (4) 8-1 1,468 1
4. Louisville (2) 9-0 1,374 5
5. North Carolina (1) 8-2 1,373 4
6. Baylor 7-0 1,284 6
7. Duke 9-1 1,273 7
8. Xavier 8-0 1,122 8
9. UConn 8-1 1,087 9
10. Missouri 9-0 1,030 10
11. Marquette 9-0 988 11
12. Kansas 7-2 945 13
13. Florida 7-2 891 12
14. Wisconsin 8-2 728 14
15. Pittsburgh 9-1 696 15
16. Georgetown 8-1 602 18
17. Mississippi St. 9-1 574 17
18. Indiana 9-0 462 -
19. Illinois 10-0 375 24
20. Michigan 7-2 354 20
21. Michigan St. 8-2 310 -
22. Texas A&M 8-1 270 22
23. Alabama 8-2 204 16
24. Murray St. 10-0 93 -
25. Creighton 7-1 88 19
25. Vanderbilt 6-3 88 -
Others receiving votes: Harvard 73, San Diego St. 59, Virginia 57, UNLV 41, Stanford 39, Saint Louis 26, Gonzaga 25, Memphis 13, Cleveland St. 7, N. Iowa 7, Arizona 5, California 3, Long Beach St. 3, Northwestern 2, Wichita St. 1.
(Information from CNY Central's John Evenson and the Associated Press was used in this report.)
