• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Maine-Syracuse Preview

Dec 5, 2009 - 2:20 AM By MIKE LIPKA STATS Writer

Maine (3-3) at Syracuse (7-0), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Ever since Syracuse was shocked by a Division II opponent during the preseason, the eighth-ranked Orange have had no problem taking care of business against weaker competition at home.

Coach Jim Boeheim's team will try to cap a perfect homestand and extend its unbeaten start when Maine visits the Carrier Dome on Saturday night.

The memory of a surprising 82-79 home loss to Le Moyne in an exhibition game on Nov. 3 has stayed with the Orange, who quickly avoided any talk of an upset Monday night during a 92-58 victory over Colgate.

Syracuse (7-0) led 47-16 at halftime and improved to 5-0 at home, with the victories coming by an average of nearly 30 points.

"We let them know that we mean business," leading scorer Wes Johnson said. "We couldn't come out sluggish because of what happened in the Le Moyne game. We have a lot of confidence, but we're still staying humble with the fact that we're doing good."

Johnson continued his efficient play, scoring 19 points in 23 minutes against Colgate while shooting 8 of 10 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He's shooting 59.8 percent from the field this season while ranking among the top 25 nationally from beyond the arc (55.2 percent).

The junior forward also added nine rebounds and five assists.

"He can do it all. He can rebound, he can shoot and he is good at attacking the basket and taking the 3-point shot," freshman guard Brandon Triche said. "He actually is shooting it better than I expected."

But Syracuse's early success has hardly been a one-man show. As a team, the Orange had 35 assists on 39 field goals Monday, the first time they had totaled so many assists since they had 36 in a 106-51 win over Winthrop on Nov. 22, 1996.

"Everybody was unselfish," said Boeheim, whose team leads the nation with 23.0 assists per game. Syracuse had 14 different players see action during the lopsided win, with 11 recording at least two points.

"We want to get those guys in there - that's the value of these early games," Boeheim said. "We want them to show what they can do and what they can't do."

The Orange opened this homestand with double-digit victories over Ivy League opponents Cornell and Columbia, and Maine also doesn't figure to present a major problem.

The Black Bears (3-3) were picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the America East Conference by the league's coaches. Although they're also coming off a win over Colgate, beating the Raiders 76-66 on the road on Thursday, Maine has already suffered losses against Quinnipiac, Brown and Norfolk State.

Junior guard Terrance Mitchell led the Black Bears with 24 points in Thursday's victory, coming off the bench after he had started the team's first five games. Mitchell was 6 of 8 from 3-point range, and Maine may need a boost from beyond the arc considering its size disadvantage against Syracuse.

The Orange have won all three previous meetings between the programs, most recently claiming an 85-65 win on Nov. 26, 1996.