The last two weeks have been quite a rollercoaster for the Syracuse men’s basketball team.

From its 18-point comeback win over Rutgers on Jan. 24 up until Monday’s 74-66 loss to Connecticut on Monday, the Orange has been inconsistent.

If every championships-caliber team hits a slump, the No. 8 Orange may be in the midst of one. SU has lost two of its last three and has trailed by double-digits its last four games. Syracuse looks to establish some consistency when it visits No. 22 Villanova on Saturday at noon.

‘A lot of teams don’t play their best every game,’ guard Gerry McNamara said. ‘The best team in the country can lose. You go out with the mindset that it’s not realistic to win every game. You can’t expect to finish the season undefeated.’

The Wildcats certainly won’t make SU’s tough stretch any easier. The Orange troubles began against Rutgers. An SU team that had faced few challenges since suffering its first loss to Oklahoma State on Dec. 7, suddenly looked vulnerable.

It continued later in the week, when the Orange dropped its first Big East game of the season to Pittsburgh, 76-69. On Feb. 5 against Notre Dame, SU trailed by 11 with six minutes remaining, before coming back for a 60-57 win. And on Monday, SU again fell.

During the rough stretch, SU’s biggest problem has been lack of offensive consistency. In all four games, Syracuse has one strong half and one weak half. The worst of which came when the Orange scored just 20 points in the first half against Notre Dame.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Monday’s effort was the Orange’s recent best. SU (21-3, 8-2 Big East) led for much of the second half before its offense failed late in the game. Syracuse repeatedly tried to find forward Hakim Warrick rather than run its motion offense.

‘We need to be more effective in our half-court set,’ McNamara said. ‘When we’re active, we do a better job.’

Against the Huskies, for the first time, SU faltered late in the game. While Syracuse excelled in close, late-game situations against Rutgers and Notre Dame, the offense sputtered against the Huskies.

Warrick said Syracuse had the loss coming to it with its recent close calls.

After the loss, Boeheim said all the games so far have served as learning experiences. With six games remaining before the Big East tournament, now is the time for Syracuse to begin peaking.

It’s next three games – at Villanova (14-5, 5-4) on Saturday, home against No. 18 Pittsburgh on Monday and at No. 4 Boston College next Saturday – come against ranked opponents.

While Syracuse hasn’t hit a long losing streak yet, Saturday could serve as a potential danger game that could lead the Orange into a long rut.

‘It’s a long season and they’re going to ups and downs,’ said Syracuse assistant coach Mike Hopkins. ‘We’ve been squeaking by, but we don’t want to feel burnt out at the end of the season. A lot of teams go through tough stretches.’

Published on February 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm