"In what's likely a dismaying development for the rest of the ACC, Syracuse has turned into one of the best defensive teams in the country in the past two weeks," ESPN wrote in its preview of tonight's matchup against Boston College (5-11).

In no game was that statement more apparent than versus #6 Villanova (15-1), when, down by 17 points early, Syracuse held the then undefeated Wildcats to long threes and little else. Syracuse's historical 2-3 zone defense is aided this year by superior athleticism, even relative to the Orange's usual batch of long-limbed recruits. The combination of uber athletes C.J. Fair (6-foot-8), Jeremi Grant (6-foot-8), and Rakeem Christmas (6-foot-9) restrict most teams to long three pointers.

Lately, it's been the defense that's kept the Orange undefeated and the #2 ranked team in the country. The offense hasn't been quite as good after the Villanova game, with totals of 70, 49, 72, and 57 in their last four games.

That means if Boston College gets hot, maybe they'll have a chance at the upset. The Eagles are easily the best 5-11 team in the country, which is probably little consolation for them at this point. They've lost more than their share of close games, but have one respectable win, against Washington (11-6), and one conference win, at Virginia Tech (8-7).

Hopefully for fans more inclined to the sport of college basketball than the city of Syracuse, Boston College keeps the game interesting. If not, at least Syracuse's trio of NBA-ready players will, including Jeremi Grant (#10), Tyler Ennis (#12) and C.J. Fair (#34). For purist of the scoring method known as outside shooting, second-leading scorer Tyler Cooney is also a joy to watch.

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