Iona

This was an average performance for the Orange. It wasn’t the Michigan State game and it wasn’t the William and Mary game. This one was somewhere right in between. It was a comfortable win despite Iona never letting up and always closing the gap after a Syracuse run. But Syracuse led wire-to-wire and won, 83-77.

Sloppy 83-77 win for Syracuse. The Orange looked good on offense and built a double-digit lead each half, but once they built that lead, Iona responded quickly.

Kris Joseph scored 21 points and Brandon Triche added 14 points and seven assists as No. 5 Syracuse improved to 11-0 with an 83-77 win over Iona.

After losing his first three games at Iona, the Gaels have reeled off seven straight victories, including their most recent 87-66 trouncing of Fordam on Dec. 11. They will head into the Carrier Dome on Saturday for their first meeting with the Orange (10-0) since 1998.