Big East Hoops, 2 P.M.: Cincinnati Tests No. 3 Syracuse

For more, check out our excellent Syracuse blog, Nunes Magician.

Cincinnati, OH (Sports Network) - Andy Rautins had 20 points, as third-ranked Syracuse downed Cincinnati, 71-54, at Fifth Third Arena.

Kris Joseph had 17 points, while Scoop Jardine and Arinze Onuaku each chipped in with 11 points for the Orange (23-1, 10-1 Big East), who have won 10 straight games.

Ibrahima Thomas had 13 points and seven rebounds, while Yancy Gates added 11 points and five boards for the Bearcats (14-9, 5-6), who have dropped three of four.

Early in the second half, six straight points from Syracuse allowed for a 38-32 lead on a Rick Jackson layup just under three minutes in.

Cincinnati later came back with a 7-0 run to take a 49-43 lead on a Cashmere Wright three-ball with 12 1/2 minutes to play.

The Orange then used a 10-1 burst to gain a 53-50 lead on a pair of free throws from Jardine with 8:40 left in the contest.

After a Cincinnati bucket, Syracuse scored the next six points and held a 59-52 lead with 6 1/2 minutes to play on a Joseph layup.

Two free throws from Thomas was followed by a layup from Rautins and a three- pointer off the hands of Joseph to give Syracuse a 10-point lead with 4:42 to play.

That proved to break the back of Cincinnati as it didn’t score a single point for the remainder of the game.

The Bearcats held an 11-2 lead about five minutes in after Lance Stephenson put in a pair of free throws.

The Orange, though, later scored 11 straight points and took a 17-15 lead on an Onuaku layup with a bit over eight minutes to play in the first half.

From there the score stayed tight with neither side building a lead of more than four points, and Syracuse closed the half with a jumper from Joseph and a free throw from Jardine to take a 32-30 lead into the break.

Cincinnati plays at Connecticut on Saturday...Syracuse hosts Connecticut on Wednesday...The Orange hold a 5-2 lead over Cincinnati in the all-time series.