Kris Joseph scored 22 points and No. 1 Syracuse used its defense and depth to rout DePaul 87-68 Sunday, the unbeaten Orange's 15th straight victory. C.J. Fair added 16 points, Dion Waiters had 13 and Fab Melo scored 12 points to go with six blocks for the Orange (15-0, 2-0 Big East). Syracuse opened 18-0 last season and the Orange's best start under coach Jim Boeheim was 19 straight wins to kick off 1999-2000. No. 5 North Carolina 102, Monmouth 65: John Henson scored 21 points and No. 5 North Carolina beat Monmouth for its 26th straight victory at the Smith Center. Harrison Barnes added 18 points for the Tar Heels (13-2). They shot 54 percent, built a 55-26 rebounding advantage, used a 33-10 run late in the first half to take a 31-point halftime lead. They cruised from there to break the arena record established from 1992-94 — a mark two Monmouth assistants had a role in setting. Freshman Andrew Nicholas led the Hawks (2-12) with 22 points, including six 3-pointers. First-year coach King Rice played at North Carolina from 1988-91, and assistants Brian Reese and Derrick Phelps started on its 1993 national championship team. No. 7 Duke 85, Pennsylvania 55: Ryan Kelly had 18 points and 12 rebounds to help No. 7 Duke beat Pennsylvania. Seth Curry added 15 points for the Blue Devils (12-1), who scored 20 of the game's first 24 points to run out to a big early lead. Duke led by 18 points at halftime and by as many as 34 points after the break, sending the Blue Devils to their fifth straight victory overall and 43rd straight at Cameron Indoor Stadium. No. 18 Michigan 61, Minnesota 56: Freshman Trey Burke scored a season-high 27 points as No. 18 Michigan hung on to beat Minnesota for its seventh straight victory. The Wolverines (12-2, 2-0 Big Ten) haven't lost since falling to Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Classic. No. 14 Marquette 81, Villanova 77: Darius Johnson-Odom matched a season-high with 24 points and led No. 14 Marquette to a victory over Villanova. Reserve forward Davante Gardner had 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (12-2, 1-0 Big East), who responded from their worst performance of the season — a 17-point drubbing by Vanderbilt on Thursday — with a solid start to the conference season. Cincinnati 66, No. 22 Pittsburgh 63: JaQuon Parker scored a career-high 21 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 19 as streaking Cincinnati beat No. 22 Pittsburgh. The Bearcats (11-3, 1-0 Big East) have won six straight games since a brawl against crosstown rival Xavier last month led to the suspension of several players, including star forward Yancy Gates.
