PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Andy Rautins sliced through Providence’s flimsy defense down the right side, threw down a vicious dunk and somewhere Scoop Jardine sighed.

For Syracuse, the rout was on. But for Jardine, a friendly wager tilted in Rautins’ favor. The two are battling to see who’ll finish with more dunks this season. Jardine has missed his share in practices and games.

Sitting inside the visiting team’s locker room afterward, Jardine shook his head. Andy 1, Scoop 0.

‘I’m going to be hearing about that forever,’ Jardine said.

So just like that, No. 4 Syracuse (26-2, 13-2 Big East) can relax after sidestepping another potential pitfall on the road. In front of 12,410 fans at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, the Orange rode an untouchable offense to beat Providence, 99-85. The outlook appeared dim for a while, though. Firing away with nothing-to-lose abandon, Providence (12-15, 4-11) drained 10 first-half 3-pointers.

Everything was falling. SU’s renowned 2-3 zone appeared flat-footed. And a Big East doormat held a 52-47 lead at halftime.

Problem was, target practice only lasted 30 minutes. The Friars cooled down. Suddenly, their wide-open shots disappeared. Behind Rautins (28 points, 8-of-12 from 3) and Rick Jackson (28 points, nine rebounds), Syracuse’s offense operated at full blast.

Players didn’t think Providence could maintain its torrid shooting outside. Sure, the Friars had all the momentum. After each dagger, Syracuse players trudged back to the other end dazed and confused. Some shook their heads, others sighed. Rabid Providence students inched closer and closer to the baseline, anticipating a court-storming upset.

But SU convinced itself Providence couldn’t possibly hit another 10 treys.

‘When a team is making a lot of shots like that, they have to cool down at some point,’ Jardine said. ‘They weren’t getting any shots. We knew if we got some stops that we could score on them.’

So Syracuse adjusted. SU stopped worrying about the high post. Typically the starting point for every zone defense, the Orange ignored Providence’s forwards flashing to the foul line. They weren’t threats. They were merely place-holding passers. Spotting up around the perimeter, the four other players were the issue.

The Orange defied the Cardinal Rule, instantly jumping out at the likes of Marshon Brooks and Brian McKenzie.

‘We didn’t attack the high post,’ head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘We went right to the shooters. Andy cheated a little and we got a couple deflections, a couple steals. We didn’t guard the high post. They used him as a passer.’

So after shooting 52.6 percent from 3 in the first half, Providence was 28.6 percent in the second. Meanwhile, Rautins and Jackson heated up, and Syracuse’s offense rolled. While Jackson continuously cleaned up the offensive glass for putbacks, Rautins went for the jugular.

Rautins’ one-handed slam made the game 70-57, and the next possession he nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The senior quickly turned to the far end of the compact arena and pointed toward the fans that had been heckling him all game.

After losing to the Friars 100-94 in Providence last year, Rautins had a feeling this game would speed into a shootout. And he had more bullets than the Friars.

‘We knew it was going to be a high-scoring game,’ Rautins said. ‘They shot the hell out of it in the first half.’

As for that dunk? Nothing out of the ordinary.

‘I’m capable,’ Rautins smiled. ‘If I get more opportunities like that, I’ll put more down for sure.’

Jardine laughed that he still has time to dunk, too. There are many games ahead. Rautins struck first, but he’ll get the last laugh – even if Boeheim ‘is going to kill me.’

Most importantly, he’s thrilled Tuesday wasn’t a trap game. Losing to inferior teams with a showdown looming has been a recurring theme for so many teams in the Big East.

The first half was leaning in that direction. Jardine admitted he was embarrassed to give up more than 50 points. The defense eventually settled down. And now, discussing the Villanova game isn’t taboo. Since the game sold out on Feb. 3, students have been badgering Jardine about the Wildcats.

He wanted to answer, wanted to talk about how surreal the environment will be. But he couldn’t. Now, he can.

‘It’s going to be a great game and a great atmosphere,’ Jardine said. ‘That’s what Syracuse is for. That’s one of the reasons I picked Syracuse over ‘Nova.’

thdunne@syr.edu

Published on February 23, 2010 at 12:00 pm