That probably wasn't what Big East Conference basketball followers expected.
Not saying, fans thought the No. 4-ranked Syracuse Orange were not good; but many probably thought the St. John's Red Storm were better than their awful effort Wednesday, which led to a 76-59 thumbing at Madison Square Garden.
Behind a game-best 18 points from junior forward Kris Joseph, Syracuse (17-0, 4-0) remained unbeaten and cemented it's claim of being New York's college team.
"Believe me, I have no secret," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said about his teams success at the Garden. "We have good players. They know how to play."
The Orange started the game much like it did Saturday against the Seton Hall Pirates, very slow.
In the games first 11 minutes, SU went 3-for-12 from the floor and trailed 17-9.
Syracuse then kicked it into gear and finished the half outscoring the Johnnies 26-7 to take a 35-24 lead at halftime.
During the run, which ended with SU scoring 10-unanswered points in the final two minutes of the half, sophomore guard Brandon Triche scored seven of his 15 points. Point guard Scoop Jardine added five points and an assist during the span.
"Tonight, we started a little slow and out of sync," said Boeheim. "Then they (the SU players) saw what needed to be done against their defense."
In the second half, Syracuse continued its solid offensive play and extended its lead to 22-points, 61-39, with 8:02 remaining to go.
Late in the game, the Red Storm (10-5, 3-2) closed the scoring margin after SU emptied it's bench.
St. John's started the game 6-for-16 from the floor but finished just 21 of 56 (37.5 percent). From 3-point land, the Johnnies shot a pitiful 2-for-12 (16.7) against SU's 2-3 zone.
St. John's leading scorer, senior guard Dwight Hardy, netted just 12 points and went 4-for-16 on field goals. Forward Justin Brownlee added a team-best 13 points.
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