Dion Waiters' 20 bench points paced another balanced effort as top-ranked Syracuse remained unbeaten with an 79-66 victory over host Villanova on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center.

The Orange (18-0, 5-0 Big East) took command with a 20-2 first-half run, in which seven players contributed points, to match last season's start.

They can equal the school-best 19-0 mark of 1999-2000 with a win over Providence on Saturday.

Mouphtaou Yarou's 15 points and 13 rebounds led the Wildcats (8-9, 1-4).

All 10 Syracuse players who saw court time found the scoring column in the first half, which ended as Scoop Jardine banked in a half-court 3-pointer that upped the margin to 43-24.

Jardine finished with eight points and five assists, and James Southerland scored 13 off the bench for Syracuse.

Villanova, which shot a season-best 56 percent in Sunday's 87-71 victory over DePaul, began 5-for-21 and hit just 27 percent in the first half.

The Wildcats tried to scratch back into it, pulling within 52-41 following four straight JayVaughn Pinkston free throws. The Orange quickly halted the rally with nine unanswered points.

Pinkston and Dominic Cheek had 12 points, but leading scorer Maalik Wayns added just three for the Wildcats on 0-for-7 shooting.

It marked Syracuse's second straight triumph at Villanova's off-campus home court. The teams split last year's games, each winning on the road.