The Daily Orange

When Syracuse last hosted Villanova, it was senior day at the Carrier Dome. When the Orange hosted the Wildcats Saturday, it was an honorary senior day. SU seniors Demetris Nichols and Terrence Roberts played perhaps their best games of the season against Villanova, leading the Orange to a 75-64 win - its third straight Big East victory.

STORRS, Conn. - For the first two minutes of Saturday's game against No. 7 Connecticut, Syracuse was in control. The rest was all UConn. Syracuse was held scoreless for almost nine minutes after taking an initial 4-2 lead, giving way to a 17-0 Connecticut run helped by seven SU turnovers.

Mike Jones left the Syracuse men's basketball program, SU Athletics announced Wednesday. The freshman forward leaves less than half way into his Orange career. He was averaging 1.9 points in 6.2 minutes in 11 games. He scored seven points in the Nov. 10 season opener against St.

Mike Jones, a freshman forward on the Syracuse men's basketball team, left the Orange on Wednesday because of homesickness and a lack of playing time. The Syracuse athletics department alerted the media of Jones' departure by e-mail on Wednesday afternoon after Jones was not present at Wednesday's team practice at the Carrier Dome.

Without Matt Gorman, Mike Jones and a banged-up Terrence Roberts, it was Pittsburgh preseason All-American center Aaron Gray that had Syracuse most worried about going into Thursday night's Big East opener vs. the No. 10 Panthers. Afterwards, a hot shooting performance by Levance Fields and the rest of the Pittsburgh perimeter shooters had Jim Boeheim and the Orange shaking their heads.

By Jackie Friedman Before the last six games, Eric Devendorf's name has not been included in the starting lineups. But the last three, he's played like a starter. Starter-like minutes. Starter-like points. Devendorf, a sophomore guard on the Syracuse men's basketball team, netted a team-high 17 points in 29 minutes during his team's Thursday night loss to Pittsburgh, 74-66.

MILWAUKEE, Wis.-Both Syracuse and No. 15 Marquette played Sunday night's game as if they each wanted to drop to 0-2 in the Big East. The Orange committed 20 turnovers, shot 60 percent from the free throw line and hit a season-low three 3-pointers. The Golden Eagles gave the ball away 23 times, shot 40 percent from the stripe and connected on only four from the arc.

PISCATAWAY, N.J.--Paul Harris knows Syracuse should have beaten Rutgers by more than 10 points Wednesday night. But he also knows he and the rest of the Orange learned a lesson on how to finish off an opponent from head coach Jim Boeheim. "People, like myself, didn't listen to coach Boeheim," Harris said.

DEC. 30 -- Rebounding troubles coupled with poor outside shooting hampered the Syracuse men's basketball team as the squad gutted out an 82-70 win over St. Bonaventure in the Carrier Dome Saturday night. With the win, Syracuse improves to 11-3 on the season and finished non-conference play.

Demetris Nichols must have sent out casting calls after his team's sour Tuesday night loss to Drexel-because his supporting cast showed up against Hofstra. The Syracuse men's basketball team drowned the Pride, 85-60, Friday night in front of 18,103 at the Carrier Dome.

Most of Syracuse's 84-79 loss to Drexel on Tuesday night wasn't much different than any of the other recent SU games. The slow start-after its lead in the first minutes of the game the Orange played from behind until just over three minutes remained in the half, a habit that has become commonplace in the team's non-conference play.

DEC. 16 -- Demetris Nichols lowered his head and walked slowly to the Syracuse bench. The Carrier Dome crowd exploded in cheers and gave him a standing ovation, but he hardly seemed to notice. Still, the normally stoic senior forward grinned in the locker room after the game.

DEC. 9 -- Jim Boeheim gave Matt Gorman and Darryl Watkins a razor-beam glare. The Syracuse head coach couldn't believe it. He was hoping Gorman and Watkins could at least contain the paint. But that appeared to be asking too much. After three Colgate misses, center Peter Minchella snuck in between Gorman and Watkins for the putback.

Paul Harris made his first collegiate start Saturday night, but afterwards he thought it should have gone to someone else. "I know there are a lot of people who want to see me do real good and a lot of people think I should be starting, but it seems today I shouldn't be starting the way I played," Harris said.

After a sensational week featuring a road conference victory and a weekend tournament championship, Syracuse looked to build upon a four-game winning streak at home against Central Michigan. The Chippewas had other ideas. A small first half lead gave way to a large second half deficit for the Syracuse women's basketball team Saturday, as the Orange fell to Central Michigan, 74-68, in front of 320 in the Carrier Dome, dropping back to .

Ashley McMillen drove hard to the hoop and laid the ball in as time expired. The basket was inconsequential because the Orange had lost 74-68, but it was noteworthy because it was only the second field goal made by a Syracuse bench player. When four SU players have scored ten or more points, the Orange has won every time this season - except on Saturday.

Hofstra Dec. 22, Carrier Dome, 7 p.m. Current record: 5-3 Three key players: Loren Stokes, G, 6-3, Sr.: Carlos Rivera, G, 6-2 Sr.; Antoine Auguido, G. 6-3, Jr. Head coach: Tom Pecora Anyone who enjoyed watching Villanova's four-guard offense should make sure not to miss Hofstra this season.

He kept telling himself to fall asleep already. The biggest interview of his career awaited the following afternoon - James Arthur Boeheim, mano-a-mano, for the basketball guide's cover story - and he hadn't finished preparing questions. But no, there he was, eyes glazed over at his laptop at 5:19 a.

Bill Glavin made a dubious career move when he accepted a teaching position at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Journalism was all he knew after attending Columbia's graduate school of journalism, working at The Boston Globe and at a CBS television affiliate in Boston.

Freshman Cassondra Covington came to Syracuse not planning to play on the women's basketball team. Covington came to campus expecting to be a regular freshman, balancing time between classes and Kimmel. In the middle of December, though, Covington has come to expect something else: valuable minutes off the bench for the injury-depleted Orange.

Typically it takes athletes a few weeks to warm up before they reach their peak performance levels - not track and field sprinter Aulton Kohn. The two-time defending Big East champion Kohn opened the inaugural meet of the 2006-2007 indoor track season better than he ever has in his prolific career, setting a IC4A-qualifying time of 6.