As Herb Pope goes, so goes Seton Hall.
Against top-ranked Syracuse on Wednesday night, the Pirates' big man went nowhere as the Orange stymied him nearly every time he had the ball in a 75-49 victory in the Big East opener for both teams.
Pope had only failed to reach double figures once in Seton Hall's first 12 games. On Wednesday he had four points on 2-of-9 shooting and committed six of Seton Hall's 23 turnovers as the Pirates saw their eight-game winning streak end.
''I contributed too many turnovers,'' said Pope, who was averaging 20.3 points per game. ''I didn't execute the game plan as far as getting the big kid (Syracuse center Fab Melo) off his feet, going into him. I helped him have a stellar game.''
Melo had a career-high 12 points and a school-record 10 blocks as the Syracuse defense continued to shine.
Syracuse (14-0, 1-0) gained control with a staunch defensive performance in the opening half in building a 34-15 lead as Melo finished with his first career double-double, also pulling in seven rebounds. The Orange finished with 17 steals and 15 blocks.
''They executed their game plan, came in and did what they needed to do, the same style they've been playing all year, and they continue to roll,'' Pope said.
Dion Waiters had 15 points and Brandon Triche 11 for Syracuse, which won easily despite a subpar performance from leading scorer Kris Joseph, who missed all six of his shots and did not score but did have four steals and four assists.
Jordan Theodore had 14 points but only two assists and Fuquan Edwin finished with three points - all on free throws - on 0-of-11 shooting for Seton Hall (11-2, 0-1).
''We looked great in practice. Guys were ready, but it's not easy,'' said Theodore, who entered the game tied for fourth nationally, averaging 7.4 assists. ''It's not easy playing against any team that's No. 1 in the country in your first Big East game on the road. You throw their 25,000 fans into it and the young guys' nerves, it's a tough game.
''We didn't quit. But I tip my hat to Syracuse. They just played like the best team.''
Last January, Seton Hall played like the best team as Jeremy Hazell led a long-range barrage with 28 points and the hot-shooting Pirates stunned then-No. 9 Syracuse 90-68. Seton Hall had seven 3s in the first half in building a 13-point halftime lead.
The tables were turned this time.
With Hazell gone this year, Pope is the focus of the Pirates' attack and has eight double-doubles, tops in the nation. With a handful of freshmen on the roster and playing in an imposing building, Seton Hall never clicked.
Syracuse leads the nation with 11.2 steals per game and a turnover margin of 8.6, and the Orange's penchant for creating mistakes was on full display in the first half. Seton Hall committed 15 turnovers and Pope led the way with five, scoring just two points on a driving dunk and missing the other five shots he attempted.
''We haven't had a home game in a while,'' Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said with a pained smile. ''Maybe we thought we were wearing white jerseys. We kept throwing it to them.''
Melo closed the first half with a stunning block of Pope under the basket at the buzzer. It was his eighth stuff of the period and he did it to Pope again early in the second half after scoring two straight baskets. Melo converted a follow off a miss by Triche and scored off a nice feed underneath from Joseph to boost the Syracuse lead to 42-20 with 16:19 left.
A 3-pointer by Scoop Jardine boosted the Syracuse lead to 50-26 at 13:35.
The Pirates missed their first six shots and Syracuse gained a 6-1 lead when Triche followed his own miss and fed Melo for a dunk.
Consecutive baskets by Waiters, the second a steal and dunk, boosted the lead to 12-3 as the Orange began to steadily pull away. When Theodore hit a 3 from the left wing at 8:05, he had 10 of Seton Hall's 12 points.
Syracuse finished just five blocks shy of the school record set Jan. 11, 1992, against Miami, and Willard was more than happy to get out of the Carrier Dome.
''It's tough. You can't really prepare for this type of game, especially when they're at home,'' Willard said. ''You can't sit there and say, `What could we have done if we had made passes?' We could have made a lot of passes. We're still going to get our butt kicked tonight.''
