With four straight wins after Saturday's 66-62 victory over No. 9 Virginia, Jim Boeheim and Syracuse are riding a hot streak. Fans in the Carrier Dome celebrated by rushing the court, while Boeheim got to parade his 1,000th win -- the NCAA says 899, after the vacated wins -- during the postgame interviews.

The last time Syracuse won four straight against top-100 competition was last year's Final Four run. The Orange are more concerned with the NCAA Tournament bubble than Final Four dreams right now, but it's a big win for the profile if they are, again, one of those teams being debated by the selection committee in March.

Two straight Saturday games in the Carrier Dome against top-10 teams have ended in Syracuse victories, giving the Orange some padding in the middle of a challenging conference schedule. When the Orange opened up a 19-2 run in the second half against Virginia, they looked like a team capable of beating anyone in the conference. There's time left to prove that, with two games against Louisville on the schedule, a date with Duke and a two-game road trip (Clemson, Pittsburgh) coming up next week.

But man, they looked good Saturday. It's time to keep your eyes on this Syracuse team, because they're packed with potential and a just a few more wins away from looking like another dangerous NCAA Tournament team.

Virginia is one of the country's best teams at getting back in transition and limiting fast-break points, but Syracuse got out and running in the second half, like on his lob from John Gillon to Taurean Thompson.

Syracuse passing the baton on offense

One of the biggest questions for Syracuse has been the offensive responsibility, particularly in a lineup with several new faces (Andrew White and John Gillon by transfer, Taurean Thompson and Tyus Battle as freshmen) and none of its focal points from a year ago.

So far it's come in spurts, with several different players putting up season-high performances. Gillon lit up NC State for 43 points earlier this week but played a contributor role Saturday with just three field goals in 37 minutes. Battle had the big performance against Virginia (23 points), while White extended his run of 20-plus point performances to four games.

Virginia failed the contender test

Virginia has been one of the best ACC teams since the 2013-14 season, revitalizing a program that hasn't experienced sustained ACC dominance since Ralph Sampson's three-season Player of the Year run (1981-83).

Saturday was a big test. The Orange, backs against the wall for NCAA Tournament status, needed a win in the worst way and fans were fired up. Virginia held a 34-22 lead at halftime, but then recent history repeated itself and Syracuse got hot in the second half and rode a 19-2 run to take control.

Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey and the rest of the Virginia seniors whose careers ended against Syracuse in the Elite Eight last season weren't there to exact vengeance, and senior point guard London Perrantes stepped up with a couple huge 3-pointers to try and avoid another blown lead. But they never again recaptured their dominance from earlier in the game.

These blown leads against Syracuse and Villanova have not downgraded Virginia as a dangerous tournament team or tough out for anyone in the conference, but these results have made it tougher to think that this is the year it ends the Final Four drought. Virginia's defense is so good that it can squeeze its opposition into submission, but when contested jump shots start falling -- like they did for Battle and White on Saturday -- the Cavaliers struggle to go shot-for-shot with good ACC teams.