COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Syracuse reaches 15-0

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Like an orange swarm, No. 1 Syracuse seemed to be everywhere Sunday.

Coach Jim Boeheim's long-armed and deep team used its lockdown defense and balanced scoring to rout DePaul 87-68 for a 15-0 start.

With 7-foot Fab Melo altering numerous shots and blocking six others, the Orange took control in the first half, built a 19-point lead and then coasted.

"Our defense was really good in the first half, and that was the game," Boeheim said. "The second half was just trading baskets."

Kris Joseph, scoreless in his previous game, a victory over Seton Hall to open Big East play, had 22 points as the Orange (15-0, 2-0 Big East) got their fast break going and consistently drove for layups.

C.J. Fair added 16 points, Dion Waiters had 13 and Melo scored 12.

"The reason we shot 58 percent means we got a lot of layups," Boeheim said. "We got a lot of easy baskets."

Syracuse opened 18-0 last season, and the Orange's best start under Boeheim was 19-0 to begin the 1999-2000 season.

"We've got a lot of difficult games ahead, particularly at the end of the year, and those are the teams you have to beat," Boeheim said. "We haven't proven anything yet. We've beaten people we probably should have beaten."

Orange opponents will have to contend with a team that loses little when it substitutes, one that shares the ball and plays a confining 2-3 defense.

DePaul (9-4, 0-1) had its five-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 3-18 all time facing No. 1-ranked teams. Cleveland Melvin led the Blue Demons with 23 points.

"They're as good defensively as any Syracuse team I've seen," DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said. "Every time we tried to make a move, it was a turnover that led to a layup."

Syracuse held DePaul to 30.8 percent shooting in the first half -- 0-for-8 on 3-pointers -- and blocked five shots, three by Melo. The Orange shot 65.5 percent in opening a 45-26 lead.

DePaul chopped the lead to 16 midway through the second half, but could never make a serious run. Melo's block led to a runout on which Syracuse pushed the lead to 85-57 with four minutes left.

"(Melo) blocked some and he altered some," Boeheim said. "He's very good in the paint, he's gotten better, obviously one of the most improved players I've seen in a long time. And he affects the game."