subject: Ncaa Basketball Tickets - No. 7 Syracuse Knocks Off No. 10 Florida 85-73 [print this page] Rick Jackson scored a career-high 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Andy Rautins added 19 points and the seventh-ranked Orange remained undefeated with an 85-73 victory over No. 10 Florida. Get NCAA basketball tickets and see Jackson lead Syracuse to victory.
Wes Johnson finished the game with 17 points and had 10 rebounds, while reserve Kris Joseph contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds for Syracuse (9-0). The Orange have played excellent ball early in the season, beating Cal by 22 points, defeating national champion North Carolina by 16 and securing a victory in the waning minutes against a Florida team that looks like it's capable of making some noise in the Southeastern Conference this season. The Orange led most of the game, but the Gators made it a contest by swishing 12 3-pointers in 30 attempts.
Kenny Boynton made five 3s and led the Gators with 20 points and seven assists. Florida's Chandler Parsons scored 19 points and Erving Walker added 14. The Gators (8-1) were unbeaten before they took on the pesky Orange. Florida coach Billy Donovan said, "I think these early games like this, when you play really good teams, the things you don't do well in a particular game generally get really, really exposed." The coach continued to say they struggled with transition defense and rebounding. Donovan gave Syracuse a lot of credit and thinks they are capable of winning a national championship. The coach liked the Orange's low post presence, and noted that Syracuse can rebound and shoot 3s efficiently.
Neither team was ranked when the season began, but both quickly worked their way into the Top 10. After Syracuse knocked off Cal and North Carolina in the Coaches vs. Cancer game at Madison Square Garden, basketball observers noticed that the Orange might be better than anticipated. The Gators raised eyebrows when they defeated Florida State and Michigan State to only the third 8-0 start in school history.
Jackson scored 16 points and had seven offensive rebounds in the first half. The 6-foot-9 junior continued to assert himself offensively in the second half, registering 13 points. After Florida wiped out a 10-point deficit, Rautins hit a 3-pointer which helped the Orange pull away for good. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told the press, "When we needed to make plays, when they came back at us, we made those big plays and got some space."
The Orange twice built leads of 10 points, only to have Florida battle back. The Gators made five 3-pointers in a 15-3 scoring burst that turned a 54-44 deficit into a 59-57 lead. Walker recorded three consecutive 3s during the run, while Boynton and Parsons had one each. However, the Orange answered with Rautins and Johnson making 3-pointers, which started a 16-4 surge.
At that point, Syracuse took over the game and led 73-63. Although the Gators pulled within 73-69 on two free throws by Parsons with 3:24 remaining, the Orange closed the game on a 12-4 run. The 12-point margin of victory was the smallest for Syracuse this season. Boeheim admitted that Cal, North Carolina and Florida were challenging opponents, but had confidence that his team would win each of those contests.
