LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- After needing overtime to beat Syracuse two weeks ago, No. 7 Louisville made quick work of the Orange on Sunday afternoon with an 88-68 victory at the KFC Yum! Center.

The Cardinals (23-6, 11-5) used a 23-4 first-half run to blow the game open and never looked back, holding a double-figure lead for the rest of the contest. It was Syracuse's worst loss in an ACC conference game since joining the league in 2013-14.

"It was another good win for us," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "Wins in this conference don't come easy."

The Orange fell to 17-13, 9-8 in ACC play.

"I thought the first half we weren't aggressive enough and we just dug ourselves a hole that we just couldn't climb out of it," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. "We were just too passive. We didn't attack the defense in the first half. ... I thought (Donovan) Mitchell shot the ball great all night. I thought Louisville played great tonight."

A trio of sophomores led the way for Louisville with Mitchell scoring 25 points, forward Ray Spalding recording a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds and Deng Adel adding 17 points. Mitchell was particularly effective, hitting 9 of 16 shots including 6 of 10 from 3-point range.

"(Mitchell) can really shoot it," Boeheim said. "He's good with the ball and he's really athletic, but he really shot the ball well tonight. that was the difference tonight is how well he shot it."

Of Mitchell, Pitino said, "I think he's playing like a star. I think he's a great basketball player who put a lot of time and effort into his game."

The Orange were led by freshman guard Tyus Battle's 20 points. Junior forward Tyler Lydon had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Louisville held Syracuse's leading scorer, Andrew White, to just seven points on 3 of 10 shooting.

"We get up on him. ... We play him as if he has no dribble," Pitino said. "We get up. We sit on his right hand, and that's what, probably, a lot of teams are doing to him right now."

Louisville built an early 11-2 lead, but then went ice cold from the field by missing nine of its next 10 shots. A 3-pointer by Quentin Snider with 8:53 left before the half put Louisville ahead 18-17 and was the team's first field goal in more than five minutes of game clock.

After trailing 17-13 with 10:06 left, Louisville went on a 24-4 run that included two 3-pointers by Mitchell and two more by Snider. Meanwhile Syracuse missed 6-of-8 field goals as Louisville built a 36-21 lead with 3:30 left before halftime.

Louisville played from the 2:57 mark until halftime without a starter on the court and still led 41-26. Syracuse only had three players score in the first half.

The Cardinals was hot to start the second half. A dunk by Mitchell, a jumper by Snider and a three by Mitchell put Louisville up 48-25. Syracuse's largest comeback in the Boeheim era was 20 points vs. Rutgers in 2005.

The Orange started pressing and cut Louisville's lead to 61-50 with just over nine minutes left, but a tip-in by Spalding, a free throw by Mitchell and an old-fashioned three-point play by Adel comprised a quick 6-2 run to halt Syracuse's run. The Cardinals led 73-54 with just under six minutes left.

"We were able to get some turnovers, but we can't press them for very long," Boeheim said. "We can press effectively for about three to four minutes. ... We were able to get some turnovers and get it to 10 or 11, but you have to make those shots when you are down 15 to 18."

Louisville held Syracuse to just 35.7 shooting including a paltry 8-of-29 from 3-point range. The Cardinals shot 56.9 percent and hit 9-of-20 of their-point attempts.

NOTES: Louisville has won five of its last six meetings with Syracuse, save for only a Feb. 18, 2015 Orange win at Syracuse. Louisville holds an 18-8 series advantage over Syracuse. ... Louisville led by as many as 23 points early in the second half. ... Louisville is 15-1 in the KFC Yum! Center this season. ... Sophomore G Donovan Mitchell has scored 20 or more points for three straight games. ... Louisville is 13-0 this season when hitting seven or more threes. The Cardinals hit 9 of 20 from 3-point range on Sunday.