Traveling to Cincinnati and beating the Bearcats is a tough enough task on its own but then to get nothing out of your best player and it seems near impossible. The Bearcats were 11-1 at home before facing Syracuse on Sunday and the Orange would get next to nothing from Mr. Everything, Wesley Johnson. Johnson was still reeling from his spill against Providence and played limited minutes, finishing with a season-low five points while playing just 26 minutes. But the Orange managed to not only beat the Bearcats but win easily, 71-54.

From looking at the final score it would seem like a blowout but that wasn't the case until the final 12 minutes of the game. In the first half, Syracuse stayed in this game because of the hot shooting by Andy Rautins. Every time the Bearcats would look to extend their lead, Rautins would hit a deep three with a hand in his face to keep it close. Rautins finished with a team-high 20 points including four of eight from deep.
Syracuse held a 32-30 lead at halftime but found themselves down 49-43 with just over 12 minutes to play. But Syracuse doesn't get rattled. They stay patient knowing that their time will come to make a run.

It was time for them to stay true to this year's motto and "Shut It Down." Over the final 12 minutes they completely overwhelmed Cincy. They outscored them 28-5 and held them to a single field goal. The 2-3 zone became more active and they caused turnovers that created buckets in transition. Once that zone gets rolling it's tough to stop and it was lights out in Cincinnati. The win moves Syracuse into first place in the Big East following Villanova's loss to Georgetown. Syracuse is 10-1 in the Big East and Nova is 9-1 and faces a tough test traveling to Morgantown to play the Mountaineers on Monday.

It's Rivalry Week and while that should mean Georgetown, instead they will face UConn on Wednesday at home. The Huskies are just 14-9 but they're still the Huskies and it should be a physical game.

Game Notes:
-Kris Joseph continued his hot-hand, hitting six of nine for 17 points.
-Scoop Jardine handled the point guard responsibilities for most of the night as Brandon Triche played just 10 minutes. Jardine was playing well and Boeheim stuck with him.