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Defending national champion Syracuse looks to continue building confidence as it shoots for its seventh straight win against North Carolina-Asheville on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.
The 17th-ranked Orangemen beat Colgate 101-63 on Monday in one of their easiest wins of the season.
``It was just a
good offensive game for us,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. ``When you look
at our season, this was the first game we've had that we really got control
of the game and there wasn't any doubt. Every other game was tooth and nail.
There wasn't any kind of light at all. So this was a good game for us at this
stage.''
Five Syracuse players scored in double figures, led by Hakim Warrick's 17 points
and guards Billy Edelin and Gerry McNamara, who added 14 apiece.
The Orangemen haven't lost since dropping their season opener 96-92 to Charlotte on Nov. 26. Syracuse's 6-1 record is identical to their mark through seven games last season, when they won their first-ever national title after dropping their season-opener to Memphis.
``When you look at where we are now and where we were last year at this point, I see a lot of similarities,'' McNamara said. ``I don't think we were playing very good basketball at this point last year. I think it's just a matter of time before we start to bring it together.''
Syracuse continues to adjust to life without superstar forward Carmelo Anthony, who left for the NBA after his freshman year.
The Orangemen's four freshman combined for 30 points in 62 minutes Monday, but were 0-for-10 from 3-point range, leaving McNamara as the team's only perimeter threat. Last season, Anthony and Kueth Duany were able to attract defensive attention to the outside.
``It's tough to shoot in the Carrier Dome,'' said freshman Louie McCroskey, who had eight points but missed three 3s. ``It's kind of like in the summertime when me and (freshman) Demetris (Nichols) came over here. We were like, 'Wow, there's no background!' Everything was coming out.
``It just took time for us to shoot well in practice. Now, we've just got to transfer it over to the games.''
North Carolina-Asheville (2-7) is coming off an 85-52 win over Montreat on Dec. 20, snapping a five-game losing streak.
Bryan McCullough, who leads the team with 11.1 points per game, had a career-high 21 points and 10 assists. Oliver Holmes added a career-best 16 points for the Bulldogs, whose two wins have come against non-Division I opponents.
``We had good balance today in our scoring,'' said UNC-Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach. ``You always like to see everybody contributing, and today we did that. We had four players in double figures.''
Syracuse has won both previous matchups between the schools.