1. Put the game out of reach early

That’s what Syracuse did in its 78-58 victory over Cornell Tuesday, and so a second half during which the Orange was outscored didn’t matter. North Carolina State’s offense has struggled, as evidenced by its loss Wednesday to Wisconsin in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Wolfpack went more than 10 minutes without scoring a point, as the Badgers went on a 23-0 run that spanned the end of the first and beginning of the second halves. NC State went scoreless for 10:12 total, going 0-for-11 from the field and committing seven turnovers. Syracuse needs to avoid another close first half against a team it should beat.

2. Scoop Jardine needs to get out of his funk

Jardine is 9-of-42 (21.4 percent) from the field since he posted a career-high 27 points against Detroit on Nov. 16. SU head coach Jim Boeheim went off on Jardine’s performance after Cornell, a game in which he shot 0-for-5 — including 0-for-4 from beyond the arc — and was held scoreless. Boeheim said Jardine was ‘horrible.’ He is doing a good job of staying involved — as evidenced by his seven assists against Cornell — but he needs to start scoring again.

3. Rick Jackson needs to continue his strong play

When Jardine and SU’s other veterans — Brandon Triche and Kris Joseph — have thus far played rather inconsistently, Jackson has been the Orange’s rock all season. At this point, he’s almost a guaranteed lock to put up a double-double. He has led the Orange with his scoring in certain games — against Canisius — and with his rebounding, like in his 22-board performance in the next contest against Detroit. He continued his strong play with 17 points and 13 rebounds Tuesday against Cornell. With so much uncertainty surrounding the Orange in most areas, Jackson needs to keep playing the role of that rock.

— Compiled by Brett LoGiurato, asst. sports editor, bplogiur@syr.edu

Published on December 2, 2010 at 12:00 pm