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Before a huge pro-Orange crowd at Madison Square Garden that included former Syracuse great Derrick Coleman, the Orange dispatched No. 13 Cal, 95-73, to advance to the championship game of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

Scoop Jardine put up 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals and Wesley Johnson posted 17 points and 11 rebounds for Syracuse, which will meet either No. 6 North Carolina, the defending NCAA champion, or No. 16 Ohio State in Friday's final at 7 p.m.

"There's nothing like playing in the Garden," said Jardine, a Philadelphia native who said he could see his parents in the stands throughout the game. "We play here two days but I would just rather play every day."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has touted the 6-foot-7 Johnson, an Iowa State transfer who sat out last season, as a potential Big East Player of the Year.

"He played about half as good as he can play," the coach said. "He's got a ways to go."

Syracuse shot a blistering 57 percent to just 40 percent for Cal. The Orange zone forced 15 Cal turnovers and Syracuse scored 19 points as a result. Syracuse also had nine blocks.

"It all starts with our defense," Boeheim said. "When we're active on defense we're just a better team."

"I think we got very tentative," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "Turning the ball over as many times as we did forced us to be tentative."

Cal's 5-foot-10 senior guard Jerome Randle was his team's primary offensive weapon against the vaunted Syracuse zone, scoring a game-high 25 points while making 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. Jamal Boykin added 14 points and Patrick Christopher 12.

Cal senior forward Theo Robertson sat out because of a stress reaction in his right foot. Robertson, who averaged 18 points and four rebounds in Cal's first two games, wore a protective boot on his right foot as he sat on the bench.

It was an impressive victory for Syracuse (3-0) considering Cal (2-1) , which was making its first appearance at the Garden since winning the NIT crown in 1999, was picked to win the Pac-10 Conference.

About 45 minutes before tip-off and less than 10 blocks away from the Garden, Harris, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior forward from Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West High School, disappointed a room full of Syracuse fans at the ESPN Zone when he announced his commitment to Tennessee on ESPNU.

Syracuse had led early for Harris, the No. 5 prospect and No. 1 power forward in the Class of 2010 according to Rivals.

But Tennessee made a late push in the last week, culminating with Harris' visit Tuesday night to the SEC school that solidified his decision.

"We really liked Syracuse and all the other schools, but at the end of the day we liked Tennessee a little more....I'm ready to try to bring them to the Final Four," Harris said.

Torrel Harris, Tobias' dad, said he tried to call Boeheim from the ESPN Zone before the game, but got his voicemail. Boeheim had been aware of the decision for at least a day.

Still, the Orange pressed on.

After Cal jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, Syracuse rattled off a 17-4 run to go up 17-9 and the Orange never looked back.

The Orange led by as many as 14 points in the first half before taking a 44-33 halftime lead. Jardine had 13 at the break and Johnson scored 10.

Randle kept the Golden Bears in the game early with 14 first-half points, converting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.

Syracuse opened the second half on a 20-8 run, extending the lead to 64-41 on a three-point play by Triche.

"I think we still got a long way to go," Johnson said.