Syracuse Rout St. Johns, 95-70
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Patrick McDermott/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim tied Dean Smith for third place on the victory list with win No. 879 on Saturday after his team took care of St. John’s, 95-70.
Fab Melo returned to the court as well after his three-game absence while resolving academic issues, scoring a career high of 14 points.
Syracuse (23-1) lead 41-27 at halftime at Madison Square Garden.
“I had fun. It felt good to be back on the court with my teammates,” Melo said. “I felt a little rusty and I wanted to do everything at once but Coach told me to slow down and I did.”
With No. 879 out of the way, Boeheim trails only Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski (919) and Bob Knight (902) on the career wins list.
“I can’t even see him,” Boeheim said when asked about Krzyzewski. “Dean Smith was an unbelievable coach, one of, I think, the four best ever in college basketball. But we have a long way to go this season.”
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