
In a one point game early on, Syracuse freshman Donte' Green sparked a 7-0 run himself to extend the Orange lead to 15-7 over the Bulls. But the game's most anticipated match up was of the big men. Arinze Onuaku (6-foot-9, 258 pounds) took on South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry (6-9, 270) in a battle in the post. While Onuaku had not faced anyone with the size of his USF counterpart, Onuaku more than held his own. The Orange sophomore scored 11 points while holding Gransberry to only eight and allowed the Bulls' big man to only shoot five times from the field during the first 20 minutes of play.
The Orange continued to dominate in the opening minutes of the second half. After South Florida cut the deficit to nine points, they went cold from the field. Syracuse's defensive effort held USF scoreless for more than five minutes, holding USF to 23.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc, and helped create easy scoring opportunities. Whether it was off missed shots or steals, the Orange defense sparked a number of fast breaks where the Orange are at their best. They certainly showed that as they outscored the Bulls in transition 31-14. Syracuse stretched its lead to 19 points, the run capped off by a Donte Green rim-rocker off a no-look pass from Scoop Jardine.
Speaking of Scoop, the freshman had another outstanding game in only his fifth start. Jardine scored 14 points, dished out a team-high eight assists while only committing one turnover. After being thrown into the starters roll due to Eric Devendorf's injury (scheduled to have surgery on Monday), the Philadelphia guard has shown he's ready for the Big East. Anyone can see the confidence he has gained over the past few games, and he does not seemed phased playing under the bright lights. With Scoop playing along with Jonny Flynn, the Orange are in good hands even with a young back court. The two combined to score 26 points, recorded 14 assists, grabbed 9 rebounds, and only turned the ball over four times. Flynn has already shown he can be counted on, but the addition of Jardine is like having two point guards on the floor at the same time. Their ability to penetrate puts the defense on its heels and creates a number of chances for others.

Onuaku brought in 12 of those caroms and recorded his second straight double-double as he put in 16 points. For much of the second half, the Bulls abandoned the post and did not give the ball to Gransberry who finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds. I think Onuaku clearly out-played Gransberry and should be considered the second best center behind only Georgetown's Roy Hibbert. There are not many people that are going to be able to hold down A.O. this year.

Once again, the Syracuse offense puts on a show as it shoots fifty percent from the field for the eighth time this season. Also, all five Orange starters posted double figure scoring marks for the sixth time, three of them reaching that feat in the first half. Syracuse (12-3 overall, 2-0 Big East) takes on the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-8, 1-1) on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. It is the first road game for the Orange since it defeated Virginia on December 5.