What We Learned in Syracuse's Win over North Carolina State

Despite off-the-court issues that would rattle most teams, Jim Boeheim's Syracuse Orange squad managed to play though all the distractions and play their way into a No. 1 ranking in the country. 

On Saturday, Syracuse played its first true road game of the season as they took on North Carolina State.

While the Wolfpack may not be a ranked team, Syracuse's future conference foe showed that they certainly hold their own on their home court, giving the Orange all they could handle.

In the end, however, it was the Orange who would walk out victorious and still undefeated after a hard-earned 88-72 win.

Here are some things we all learned after Cuse's victory. 

Syracuse Can Win on the Road

This was the first and foremost question going into this game: Could Syracuse win a road game against a quality opponent?

The answer is...yes.

Like I stated, NC State may not be cutting any nets down this season, but Mark Gottfried's club played smart offensive basketball, and their electrifying crowd was on their feet all game long. 

NC State came out of the gates hot in both the first and second half. But Syracuse played calm and composed and  did not let the fact that they had let their big lead slip away get into their heads. 

Many people like to hammer Jim Boeheim for his lack of road games that he schedules, but Syracuse did win two neutral site games as well this season and passed their first road test with flying colors. 

Syracuse Can Handle Being No. 1

North Carolina and Kentucky have both fallen while being top ranked this season, and it's almost certain that in time, Syracuse will fall as well and likely drop back down a couple spots in the rankings.

However, for a group of players, (most of them sophomores) who haven't had the experience of being No. 1 before, getting that top ranking can easily become a distraction. Not only does it get into the minds of the players on your own team, but it also gives that added motivation to your opponents (see UNLV and Indiana).

Both UNC and Kentucky lost their games on the road when they were No. 1. Both lost them to teams that were unranked. In fact, the last five teams to obtain the No. 1 ranking dating back to last season, lost their first true road game after obtaining that position.

Syracuse, however, managed to stop the trend and ensure they will remain in the top spot for at least another week. 

Syracuse Has the Best Bench in the Country

While it's true that Syracuse was averaging the most bench points in the country going into today, they proved today that not only do they score the most bench points, but they in fact have the best bench in the entire country. 

Syracuse starts on a usual basis, Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Kris Joseph, Rakeem Christmas and Fab Melo.

Their second five off the bench? Michael Carter-Williams, Dion Waiters, James Southerland, CJ Fair and Baye Moussa Keita.

There is a reason Jim Boeheim feels comfortable enough playing 10 deep, and it's because every one of those bench players could start on almost every team in the country. 

The Orange scored 46 bench points in their game today, including 22 from Dion waiters. The two freshman in the group Christmas and Carter-Williams are having time even finding minutes in the rotation. Not necessarily because they aren't playing well enough, but because the other players are playing so well. 

CJ Fair Is Syracuse's Most Complete Inside Player

While all the talk going into the season was about Fab Melo's improvement and Rakeem Christmas's impact. It has been CJ Fair who has done the most damage on the inside for Syracuse so far this season.

Fair picked up 11 big points in tonight's win, as well as three rebounds. 

At only 6'8" Fair may not have the height or girth to bang on the inside as much as those other players, but he's crafty, is great at drawing contact, and knows how to finish. 

Fair is averaging over seven points a game and expect that number to go up as the season progresses, and he gets more playing time.

Fair has also increased his shooting dramatically, going from 42 percent last season, to 54 percent this season—a testament to his better shot selection. 

Dion Waiters Is Syracuse's Best Scorer

I was tempted to write the word "player" at the end of that sentence after the performance I saw out of Dion Waiters tonight, but I thought that might be a bit premature, so I held it to scorer. 

Still, on a team loaded with talent, and veterans such as Kris Jospeh, Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine, this was not a feat Dion Waiters earned without merit.

Joseph still might be the most complete player, but as he showed today, Waiters is becoming more and more Syracuse's go to player when they need a basket. 

He can shoot it from anywhere on the court and has the ability to make difficult and contested jumps shots, and Waiters showed that he brings his best when the Orange need it the most. 

For someone who wasn't even sure that he'd be on the team over the summer, Waiters is quickly turning into a main reason of why Syracuse is the top team in the country.