Orange you glad it's basketball season

The Orange (9-0) limited Dartmouth (2-5), the defending Ivy League champion, to 28 percent shooting in a 56-42 victory Sunday afternoon in the Carrier Dome for its 19^th consecutive non-conference victory.

SLICES:

Ash is, Ash is, All Fall Down – Orange freshman Tyler Ash, listed as a 6-foot-2 inch guard, has mostly seen time in the post this season. But as he promised in the pre-season, Orange head coach Quentin Hillsman is expanding the role of the Liverpool, N.Y. native: Ash played at shooting guard, point guard and her normal forward spot versus Dartmouth Sunday, and was disruptive at the top of the zone, tipping a pair of passes that led to Orange fast breaks (too bad the box score did not reflect Ash’s efforts in the steal column).

Juan in A Million!: Temple brought inner-city rival Villanova back to Earth Sunday afternoon, as guard Juan Fernandez drilled seven 3-pointers to lead the Owls to a 74-65 upset of the No. 3 Wildcats. ‘Nova had lost just one Big Five game (the city rivalry between the five Division I basketball programs) the last five years – a streak of 23 games -- ironically its last loss was also to Temple. Fernandez, an Argentine, shot an air ball on his first attempt before reeling off 17 points in the first half. Read the account filed by Joe Juliano of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Power Play: Possibly the three most influential people on the Hill sat on the baseline for Sunday’s game with Dartmouth, amongst barely 300 fans. SU Athletic Director Daryl Gross, men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim, and university chancellor Nancy Cantor sprinkled among family and colleagues. A pecking order follie nearly occurred as Boeheim trips over the ropes set up to keep fans away from media row. Gross sees Boeheim stumble, the coach points back at Gross to get it fixed and after Gross alerts Cantor, the coach switches up and waves a hearty goodbye. All is good with both basketball teams unblemished heading into finals week.

GOOD GAMBLE?: The SU department of athletics has dropped the curtain that divides the basketball court setup from the rest of the expansive Carrier Dome. The reason: Three massive advertisements cover the seating at the far end of the facility, enticing fans to think about planning their next trip to the Turning Stone Casino and Resort. The NCAA is so confusing. Don’t Bet On It, but we can make money off of it. Read the column by Mike Waters of the Post-Standard, it's got some great quotes.

THEY SAID IT:

"I'd like to say I told (his Temple squad) something really profound but it was just dropping a couple of [obscenities] and saying, 'What are we doing? What are we thinking about here?’” –Temple head coach Fran Dunphy divulged his timeout speech after beating No. 3 Villanova Sunday afternoon

“Here’s a bit of good news for Dallas: by the time (the season finale with Philadelphia) arrives, it will be January.” --Bob Costas, when lamenting on the December woes of the Cowboys