Morning Dribble: No. 2 Syracuse And No. 4 Kansas Pull Out Tight Road Wins

Two of the best teams in the Big East met Monday night, the No. 2 Syracuse Orange and No 19 Louisville Cardinals. Though the Cardinals had a raucous home crowd behind them and a chance to win it with the clock ticking down, junior point guard Peyton Siva drove down the lane and forced a pass into too much traffic, leading to a steal by the Orange and a 52-51 road win.

It was the first win in seven tries against Louisville for the Orange (26-1, 13-1), and they were led in scoring by one of the best bench options in the country, C.J. Fair, with 13 points. It was one of the Orange's lowest scoring games of the year, but center Fab Melo, who isn't known for being a big scorer, put in 11 and grabbed six rebounds in the win.

The Cardinals by rights should have won this game. They did a decent job attacking against Syracuse's patented 2-3 zone, especially late and especially by freshman forward Chane Behanan, who was huge all game but came up even bigger in its waning moments and almost lifted the Cardinals for a win had Siva been able to finish his drive. Benahan only missed one shot from the field all game, and finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and zero turnovers.

For more on these two teams, visit Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and Louisville blog Card Chronicle. For news and updates on the Big East, visit Big East Coast Bias.

Though the Iowa State Cyclones have dynamite three-point shooters and one of the best players in the Big 12 in Royce White, they didn't have enough to contend with the overwhelming talent of the No. 9 Baylor Bears. Sophomore Perry Jones III scored 18 points and the Bears (22-4, 9-4) led by double digits the last 10 minutes of the game to win, 79-64.

Jones was joined in the game's superlatives by a pair teammates named Quincy: Quincy Miller and Quincy Acy combined for 27 points, six Bears scored at least eight and Baylor got a much-needed win. The Bears have lost only four games this season, against the same two teams — Kansas and Missouri — but two of those losses came last week. Jones scored less than 10 points combined in those two games, but he had 10 in this one's first half. His team shot 60 percent from the field and turned the ball over just eight time.

The Cyclones (18-8, 8-5) got another terrific all-around game from White, who scored 14 points, had five rebounds and four assists, but he committed seven turnovers, a severe mitigating factor in a game the Cyclones could ill afford any mistakes. Mevlin Ejim was the Cyclone's best player, scoring 17 points, grabbing seven rebounds, dishing out four assists without turning the ball over once in the loss.

For more on these two teams, visit Baylor blog Our Daily Bears and Iowa State blog Wide Right and Natty Light.