Columbia comes calling on 10th-ranked Syracuse

Syracuse, NY (Sports Network) - Recognized as one of the hottest teams in the nation early on, the 10th-ranked Syracuse Orange take on their second straight Ancient Eight opponent tonight as they entertain the Columbia Lions in the Carrier Dome.

After beating nationally-ranked foes California and North Carolina during the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden on back-to-back days last week, the Orange not only entered the AP Top-25, the squad made the huge jump to 10th in the rankings and put the rest of the Big East Conference on notice in the process.

On Tuesday night, Syracuse returned home to the Carrier Dome and easily took care of the Cornell Big Red in an 88-73 final to remain undefeated over the course of five outings.

As for the Lions, they began 2009-10 with a six-point loss to DePaul on the road 10 days ago, but since then has put a pair of tallies in the win column with triumphs over Longwood (72-61) and Bucknell (73-59).

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, Syracuse holds a 9-3 advantage over the Lions. In a relationship that dates back to the 1920-21 campaign, the most recent meeting took place in 2000 when the Orange claimed a 61-47 victory.

Against the Bucknell in their most recent game, the Lions trailed by eight points with 10 minutes remaining in regulation, but from there Columbia ripped off a 30-8 run to grab the 14-point victory. Noruwa Agho made good on a stellar 7-of-8 behind the three-point line on his way to a game-high 23 points for the hosts, while Patrick Foley checked in with 13 points and seven assists and Niko Scott another 12 points in the triumph. Columbia shot a staggering 13-of-18 beyond the arc (.722), which was far better than the team's overall accuracy from the floor (.455). Agho, the leading scorer for the program in the early going with his 20.0 ppg, has been beyond hot from downtown, shooting an incredible 77.8 percent (14-of-18) on three-pointers. Because of his efforts, the team is making an unbelievable 56.4 percent out on the perimeter, dwarfing the squad's overall mark of 45.3 percent from the floor. While Agho handles the action on the outside, Brian Grimes (11.0 ppg) stands ready to clean up in the paint with his 10.3 rpg, should that ever be the case.

Steady shooting from all over the floor allowed the Orange to take down yet another victim on Tuesday by 15 points in the Carrier Dome. Filling up his stat line was Wes Johnson with 15 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots, while Brandon Triche led all scorers with 21 points in 31 minutes. Shooting 5-of-7 behind the three-point line, Andy Rautins posted 18 points, followed by Kris Joseph with 13 points and five steals off the bench. Syracuse, which shot 9-of-18 behind the three-point line and 23-of-28 at the charity stripe, forced 17 turnovers in the outing. The Orange have had substantial success shooting the ball from the field in the early going this season, converting 53.9 percent of its chances, compared to only 36.8 percent for the competition. That huge difference has been a major factor in Syracuse beating those foes by an average of 25 ppg. Johnson leads five players in double figures with his 16.8 ppg and is also first with 8.0 rpg and a total of 13 blocked shots. In addition to being beaten slightly on the glass on the average, the other area of concern for Syracuse has to be free-throw shooting where the team is only 61.9 percent successful.