GAME NOTES: The Syracuse Orange will try to put a poor road trip behind them tonight, as they return to the Carrier Dome to host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a Big East Conference tussle. After closing out a lengthy seven-game homestand with six straight wins, the Orange hit the road this past week and suffered back-to-back losses. The team was first upended at Cincinnati (74-66) before being pounded at West Virginia (81-61). With the pair of losses, Syracuse dropped to 12-5 overall and an even 2-2 in league play. On a positive note, the Orange are now back in the friendly confines of the Carrier Dome where it has posted a 10-2 ledger thus far. As for Rutgers, its recent struggles continued on Sunday when it dropped a 64-49 decision to Louisville. It was the fourth loss in a row for the Knights, who fell below .500 for the first time this season at 8-9. Still searching for its first league win (0-4), Rutgers now hits the road where it has gone just 1-5 to date. Syracuse owns a 32-9 advantage over Rutgers in all-time series, and it has won the last six encounters between the two.

The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over 16 times and shot a dismal 32.0 percent from the field in the 15-point loss to Louisville on Sunday. The team lost the battle on the boards, 39-34, and was also outscored in the paint, 28-6. Jaron Griffin guided Rutgers in the setback with 23 points and five rebounds, while J.R. Inman tallied 11 points and five boards. For the season, Inman leads the squad in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg), and he is connecting on 37.3 percent of his three-point attempts. Corey Chandler is second in line with 12.1 ppg and he is the team's top defender with 26 steals. Anthony Farmer chips in with 10.5 ppg for the Knights, who are shooting a subpar 38.8 percent from the field and an even worse 33.5 percent against Big East foes.

The Orange connected on just 3-of-13 shots from beyond the arc and committed 19 turnovers in a lopsided loss at West Virginia the last time out. Syracuse hit 41.5 percent of its field goal attempts, but allowed the Mountaineers to shoot 47.5 percent. Arinze Onuaku scored 15 points and snared seven caroms to lead Syracuse, while Paul Harris logged 12 points and eight boards. Freshman Jonny Flynn tallied 11 points and fellow rookie Donte Greene notched his second straight double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. For the season, Greene leads the squad in scoring at 18.9 ppg and he is also tearing down 8.2 rpg. Greene is more than just a paint player and he has shown that by knocking down 39.8 percent of his 118 three-point tries. Flynn has been responsible for getting Greene the ball with a team-high 5.5 apg and he also chips in 13.9 ppg. Onuaku and Harris have formed a solid frontcourt tandem for the Orange, combining for 27.1 ppg and 17.2 rpg. As a team, Syracuse has thrived at the offensive end, averaging a robust 83.3 ppg behind 50.6 percent shooting from the floor.

The Orange simply has too many weapons in its arsenal for Rutgers to deal with and it should have a relatively easy time capturing the win on its home floor tonight.