Are the Syracuse Orange the best team in the country? With their ninth straight win of the season, and their third victory over a top 15 team this season, there is certainly an argument. Starting off what was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Syracuse, the Orange opened the year unranked.

It wasn’t until Syracuse routed both California, and North Carolina; ranked 13^th and 6^th respectively at the time that Syracuse was able to jump into the Top 25. The pollsters apparently understood that they had greatly underrated the Orange, as they didn’t enter the rankings at the 25^th or 24^th spot but rather jumped right into the 10^th spot in the rankings. Syracuse entered their game against the 11^th ranked Florida Gators with eight straight victories, and their win gives them more wins over teams that were ranked in the top 25 (three) than any other team in the country.

But Oliver, you’re saying, there are plenty of teams that are still undefeated, and while those three wins are nice who’s to say that other top 10 teams wouldn’t have as many wins if their schedule allowed? Valid points! I would say in response; however it’s not just that Syracuse is winning all their games, its how they’re winning them.

Coming into tonight, the first true road game against a top 25 team the Orange have played this year, Syracuse has won by at least 15 points. Their smallest margin of victory came against Cornell, which immediately followed their emotional 16 point win over North Carolina. Syracuse has won their games by 32, 40, 22, 16, 15, 25, 34 and 46 points. While tonight’s 12 point win marks a new low in win margin, it still keeps two streaks alive. Syracuse has now won every game by at least 10 points, and they’ve now scored 85 or more points in eight straight games. Their season opening 75-43 victory is the only game in which they haven’t hit the 80 point plateau.

Only one other team in the Top 25 can boast that all their wins came by at least 10 points, and the Texas Longhorns have had a much easier schedule, with no ranked teams on their slate so far.

Syracuse will certainly get more chances to prove they truly are the class of the nation when they start their conference schedule. Games against St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, and Oakland will close out the Orange’s non conference slate, and then the real fun begins.

Coming into tonight, the Big East featured six teams in the Top 25, and three in the Top 10. Villanova is atop the rankings for the Big East teams at the moment, and if things play out the way it looks right now, their showdown with the Orange in February should be for the regular season conference title.

Could Syracuse still falter? Of course they could. This is still a team that is seemingly put together with bubble gum and bailing wire, but with every outing, and with every win, the team gels that much more.

The Syracuse Orange certainly seem like the class of the conference, and if they skate through the conference the way they’ve skated through the rest of their season, Boeheim’s boys could be staring a number one seed, and the inside track towards a national title straight in the face.

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