In the hallway about a half-hour before the opening tip, Sacre was overheard calling Syracuse “soft” and a bunch of “pretty boys,” encouraging the Zags to take the game to the Orange.

The Zags needed more than words on this day, though.

Syracuse danced around Onuaku before the opening tip, all of them smiling widely as the partisan crowd roared “Let’s Go Orange!” and then dominated the first half behind Johnson and Triche, who combined for 28 points, hitting 5 of 8 from beyond the arc as Syracuse built a 15-point halftime lead.

Even when the 6-9 Jackson, the key to the Orange defense inside without Onuaku, went to the bench with his third foul with 8:58 left in the opening half, the Orange barely missed a beat with 7-foot freshman DaShonte Riley on the court.

“This team has had such great cohesiveness all year no matter what five guys are on the floor,” Rautins said. “We’re all on the same page.”

Syracuse went on a 9-0 run to take a double-digit lead. Kris Joseph, a fierce driver, streaked along the baseline and was fouled by the 7-foot Sacre, his second. That sent him to the bench and Syracuse continued to attack. Triche bounced in a 3 and converted a pretty left-handed layup off the glass and Johnson hit a pullup jumper from just inside the foul line to give the Orange a 31-21 lead at 6:45.

The Zags regrouped after a timeout and closed to 32-28 on two free throws by Harris with 3:59 left.

Undaunted, the Orange hit their next five shots and closed the half with a 15-4 run. Rautins scored the first five points and Triche fed Johnson for a 3 from the wing to boost the lead to 41-28 with 1:49 remaining.

The Zags were clearly frustrated, and it showed. When Steven Gray whistled a pass that sailed out of bounds along the baseline, his shoulders were slumped and his head was down as he slowly made his way back down the court.

“This team has come to play every game,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after his 829th career victory. “I’ve never had a team that’s come to play every game.”

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Jae C. Hong / AP

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