No. 1 Syracuse opens Big East play with big win over Seton Hall

The No. 1 Syracuse men’s basketball team (14-0, 1-0 Big East) began conference play with a bang on Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome, defeating Seton Hall (11-2, 0-1 Big East) 75-49. The win extends Syracuse’s current winning streak to 14, snaps Seton Hall’s eight-game winning streak and marks the third straight year in which the Orange have began a season with 14 straight wins.

Sophomore center Fab Melo had his strongest outing of the season. Melo scored 12 points, blocked 10 shots and was three boards shy of recording his first career triple-double. Sophomore guard Dion Waiters led the Orange in scoring with 15 points off the bench and junior guard Brandon Triche also scored 11 points. Senior forward Kris Joseph had his worst outing of the year with zero points on 0-of-6 shooting.

The Pirates were led by senior guard Jordan Theodore who scored 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

The Orange started the game off slow, but closed the first half with a 12-3 run and took a 34-15 lead into halftime. The second half saw more Orange domination, as Syracuse scored 41 points on its way to securing another victory.

The Syracuse defense shut down the Pirates offense by holding it to 31.7 percent shooting from the floor and 33 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Syracuse’s defense also forced Seton Hall to commit 23 turnovers. Syracuse also recorded 17 steals in the game and currently leads the nation in steals.

The Orange offense, despite shooting only 2-of-13 from beyond the arc, recorded 20 assists and also reached the 75-point mark for the tenth time this season. Syracuse also shot 46.3 percent from the floor and managed to keep turnovers to a minimum, with only six in the game.

Syracuse will look to extend its current 14-game winning streak on New Year’s Day at DePaul on its first Big East road game of the year.