The SU basketball team displayed their depth for one last time in non-conference play on Thursday night with a 81-60 win over Tulane, and now head into Big East play with a 13-0 record for the 3rd straight season. The # 1 Orange ended the first half with a 19-0 run and never looked back, shooting over 50 percent from the field for the second straight game. The SU bench outscored the Tulane bench 45-13 overall in a well balanced attack that saw 13 SU players on the scoresheet.
"I thought offensively we had a very, very good first half. Offensively and defensively, I thought Tulane really moved the ball. They did a lot of good things. We executed very well the first half and took control of the game. The second half was really just trading baskets, which sometimes happens when you get that kind of lead. We played very well in the first half. Now we get a break here. We need to come back and get ready for the Big East."
Dion Waiters led all Syracuse scorers off the bench with 15 points, while Kris Joseph was close behind with 13. The Orange now start their Big East Conference schedule next week when they take on Seton Hall, a team who beat them by 22 points last year at the Carrier Dome. Coach Boeheim says all of his players are now comfortable on the floor as the they head towards more challenging games.
"That is really the key in college basketball, to come in and play at a certain level and then get better. We have a lot of good players. Some nights some guys will play a little bit better than others but we have good players. When you play nine or ten guys, there is always going to be conflict over who plays when. That is just the way it works out some times."
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - James Southerland and Brandon Triche each hit a pair of 3-pointers to key a 19-point first-half surge, and top-ranked Syracuse beat Tulane 80-61 on Thursday night to remain unbeaten.
It's the third straight season Syracuse has won its first 13 games. The Orange have won three straight since reaching the top spot in the rankings 10 days ago, including victories over North Carolina State and Bucknell.
Tulane (11-2) had faced the No. 1 team in the nation twice before, losing to Cincinnati (72-59) in January 2000 and Memphis (97-71) in February 2008. The Green Wave has never defeated a top-five team and hasn't beaten a top-10 since a 49-47 victory over No. 9 Memphis in February 1983.
Dion Waiters had 15 points, Kris Joseph added 13, and Southerland 10 for the Orange.
Kendall Timmons led Tulane with 16 points, Ricky Tarrant had 15, and Jordan Callahan 10.
