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Syracuse Vs. Bucknell: No. 1 Orange Try To Avoid Letdown Against Visiting Bison

For the last three games, Syracuse Orange sophomore guard Dion Waiters has come off the bench to lead SU in scoring. Can he do it again Tuesday night when the Orange host the Bucknell Bison (7 p.m. on ESPNU)?

By Jared Smith

The nation's No. 1-ranked men's basketball program, Syracuse University, looks to avoid a letdown Tuesday night, as the Bucknell Bison visit the Carrier Dome in a non-conference contest (7 p.m. on ESPNU). For the third straight season, the Orange have started their season 11-0 and on Tuesday will try to become the eighth team in program history to go 12-0. Syracuse's best start to a season came in 2009-10 when SU started 19-0. Meanwhile, Bucknell (7-4) has earned victories in seven of its last nine games and is currently riding a two-game winning streak.

On Saturday, the Orange earned their first true road victory, 88-72, at North Carolina State University. Sophomore guard Dion Waiters came off the bench to net a collegiate-best 22 points, while senior forward Kris Joseph scored 21 points. Senior point guard Scoop Jardine tallied 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help the Orange remain unbeaten.

Statically, Joseph is SU's leading scorer (14.4 points per game) and rebounder (6.0 per game), while Waiters, who comes off the bench, is netting 12.8 ppg. Sophomore guard Brandon Triche is also scoring in double figures (10.8 ppg), while Jardine is averaging 9.0 ppg, four assists per game and almost two steals a game.

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Kris Joseph 11 29.0 5.0 11.3 44.4 1.7 4.4 39.6 2.6 3.4 78.4 1.9 4.1 6.0 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.4 1.5 14.4
Dion Waiters 11 22.4 5.0 9.6 51.9 0.9 2.8 32.3 1.9 2.7 70.0 0.2 1.5 1.7 3.1 1.5 2.3 0.4 1.5 12.8
Brandon Triche 11 22.4 3.5 8.5 41.9 1.3 3.6 35.0 1.8 2.2 83.3 1.1 1.0 2.1 3.2 1.6 1.1 0.3 1.5 10.2
Scoop Jardine 11 21.2 3.7 6.7 55.4 0.7 2.3 32.0 0.8 1.8 45.0 0.5 1.7 2.2 4.0 2.2 1.9 0.1 0.7 9.0
James Southerland 11 15.9 3.3 5.9 55.4 1.4 3.2 42.9 0.9 1.4 66.7 1.0 2.0 3.0 0.5 0.4 1.4 0.9 0.9 8.8
C.J. Fair 11 24.4 3.0 6.5 46.5 0.4 0.9 40.0 1.4 1.8 75.0 1.7 3.7 5.5 0.8 1.0 1.1 0.3 1.1 7.7
Fabricio Melo 11 22.6 2.8 5.5 50.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.8 45.0 3.0 2.1 5.1 0.5 1.4 0.5 2.4 2.6 6.5
Baye Moussa Keita 11 12.3 1.3 1.6 77.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.1 75.0 1.4 1.5 2.9 0.1 0.3 0.2 1.0 2.1 3.4
Rakeem Christmas 11 12.6 1.4 2.1 65.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.7 75.0 1.3 1.5 2.8 0.1 1.0 0.4 0.5 1.6 3.3
Michael Carter-Williams 10 12.5 0.9 3.2 28.1 0.2 0.8 25.0 0.4 0.9 44.4 0.4 1.5 1.9 2.8 0.8 1.0 0.6 0.7 2.4
Mookie Jones 5 5.2 0.6 3.2 18.8 0.6 2.8 21.4 0.2 0.6 33.3 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.8 0.0 0.2 2.0
Matt Tomaszewski 4 1.8 0.8 0.8 100.0 0.5 0.5 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.0
Albert Nassar 1 1.0 1.0 1.0 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0
Brandon Reese 6 1.5 0.2 0.8 20.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.3 0.5 66.7 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.3 0.0 0.2 0.7
Griffin Hoffmann 5 0.8 0.2 0.4 50.0 0.2 0.4 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.6
Matt Lyde-Cajuste 5 1.2 0.2 0.2 100.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.4
Nick Resavy 5 1.8 0.0 0.6 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Russ DeRemer 2 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0
Nolan Hart 1 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Sophomore guard Cameron Ayers paces Bucknell in scoring with 13.2 ppg, while junior forward Mike Muscala is averaging 13.0 ppg. The Bison are led by head coach Dave Paulsen, who last season helped Bucknell earn a 25-9 overall record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

FG 3PT FT Rebounds Misc
G M M A Pct M A Pct M A Pct Off Def Tot Ast TO Stl Blk PF PPG
Cameron Ayers 11 31.7 4.5 8.4 54.3 1.9 3.5 55.3 2.2 2.5 88.9 0.3 2.7 3.0 1.1 0.7 0.6 0.1 1.3 13.2
Mike Muscala 11 28.5 4.4 9.6 45.3 0.2 0.6 28.6 4.3 5.5 77.0 2.8 6.4 9.2 1.5 2.3 0.3 1.9 2.2 13.2
Joe Willman 11 25.6 5.0 8.5 58.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 1.1 75.0 1.5 2.6 4.2 1.6 1.4 0.6 0.4 2.6 10.8
Bryson Johnson 10 29.0 3.1 8.1 38.3 2.7 6.6 40.9 1.4 1.6 87.5 0.5 2.7 3.2 1.0 1.1 0.4 0.1 1.2 10.3
Bryan Cohen 11 27.5 1.6 6.6 24.7 0.6 2.7 23.3 1.4 2.0 68.2 0.3 2.8 3.1 3.1 1.9 0.5 0.1 2.2 5.3
Joshea Singleton 8 10.8 1.6 3.3 50.0 0.3 1.1 22.2 1.3 2.5 50.0 0.5 1.6 2.1 0.6 0.8 0.1 0.5 1.3 4.8
Brian Fitzpatrick 11 12.2 1.5 2.2 66.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.4 1.6 83.3 1.2 1.6 2.8 0.6 0.6 0.1 0.1 1.3 4.3
Ben Brackney 8 6.6 1.3 2.3 55.6 0.8 1.1 66.7 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.3 1.4 1.6 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.0 1.1 3.3
Steven Kaspar 11 18.5 1.2 2.9 40.6 0.2 1.1 16.7 0.5 1.5 31.3 0.2 2.6 2.8 3.3 1.9 1.3 0.0 2.2 3.0
Colin Klebon 3 4.3 1.0 1.7 60.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 100.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 2.3
Enoch Andoh 8 5.3 0.4 0.8 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.6 60.0 0.3 0.9 1.1 0.0 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.9 1.1
Cory Starkey 4 6.3 0.5 1.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 1.0 1.0
Ryan Hill 9 11.0 0.2 1.1 20.0 0.1 0.1 100.0 0.2 0.2 100.0 0.2 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.1 0.1 1.0 0.8
Probese Leo 3 3.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0

Bucknell, which beat Syracuse, 74-69, in 2005-06 and is 1-8 against the Orange all time, enters the contest as 19 1/2-point underdogs.

Next Game

Bucknell Bison
@ Syracuse Orange

Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011, 7:00 PM EST
Carrier Dome

Complete Coverage >

SB Nation New York will be sitting in press row at the Carrier Dome Tuesday night, as the Syracuse Orange host the Bucknell Bison. Be sure to check out, SB nation's Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician for everything SU. Follow along on Twitter at SBNationNY or JaredSmithCNY.

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