No Let Down by the Cuse in Piscataway

       In a game in which the No.5 Syracuse Orange(16-1) could have easily overlooked the Rutgers Scarlet Knights(9-7), SU played well and kept the pressure on the Scarlet Knights to win in Piscataway, New Jersey, 81 to 65.  This was the first of 3 Big East road games for The Cuse and certainly the easiest of the three, as SU travels to No.9 West Virginia on Saturday and then travels to Notre Dame next week. 
       In tonight's game, Syracuse Senior Guard Andy Rautins led the way with 23 points on 50% shooting from the field and 4 of 10 from three point range.  Rautins had arguably the best pass of his life as he rifled a one handed pass to Brandon Triche for a fast break layup in the middle of the first half.  It was clear in this one that Rautins was not going to allow for a Cuse mid season let down to a far inferior opponent, as he did more that simply shoot well.  Rautins defense, emotion, and passing were just as strong as his shooting this night, as his confidence fed over to his teammates.  A man we don't talk about that often, Mookie Jones, showed his surprisingly sharp shooterlike skills as he hit 3 of 6 from downtown and ended up with 11 points, while Scooooooop Jardine scored 12 off the bench to put the Orange well ahead of the struggling Scarlet Knights.
      The local freshman forward for Rutgers from Henrietta, NY, Dane Miller, shot the ball very well from the floor for the Scarlet Knights, as he went 6 for 12 to score 15 points.  Playing the No.5 ranked team in the country and the storied program of Syracuse didn't intimidate the true freshman forward Miller, as he showed that he's a solid young player, and a force to be reckoned with in Piscataway for years to come. 

      Ultimately, the lack of leadership and the lack of a true scoring attack in Rutgers proved to be the difference in this game, as the long and strong SU defense completely razzled the Rutgers offense.  The Syracuse defense ended up with 18 steals and 5 blocks and turned those plays into SU points on the other end, as the Orange looked to run in this game.  Wesley Johnson had somewhat of a quiet game for his standards, with only 11 points, but still played consistent on both ends of the floor.  Any Cuse fan is counting the days to the top 10 battle Saturday in Morgantown, West Virginia, as that will be the toughest test SU has faced thus far.  I'm sure the Orange will show up ready to play, but they'll need to pick up their intensity to get the W on the road.