Jim Boeheim has given up. One day Syracuse is in. Then out. Then in and now out again. It’s just not even worth analyzing the Orange’s NCAA Tournament prospects with three regular-season games to play.

‘I have no idea. I’ve given up trying to figure that out,’ the SU head coach said on a teleconference call yesterday.

‘As you look around the country, it’s very difficult to tell what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of teams that are right in there. How you play the last few games is going to make a big difference. Things could change dramatically if you play well.’

That time is now for the Orange. Six Big East teams are in the middle of the pack separated by merely two conference wins. Syracuse has seven. Pittsburgh, Saturday’s opponent, has eight.

And in the Big East, where home court is such a decisive advantage, the Orange cannot afford to drop Saturday’s game vs. the Panthers (noon, ESPN). In fact, Syracuse (17-11, 7-8) may not be able to sustain another loss in the regular season if it wants to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

‘It’s a must for us to win these next three games, or our tournament chances are looking slim,’ freshman guard Jonny Flynn said after last Sunday’s defeat at Notre Dame. ‘But we have a lot of time to prepare for this next game.’

True, considering Syracuse has had all week to practice and take in Bubble Watch ’08 from watching games on TV. While SU rested, West Virginia picked up its ninth conference win. Pitt (20-8, 8-7) snapped a three-game losing streak. And Seton Hall evened its record with the Orange’s.

Of course, last week SU had six days between games and couldn’t find a way to stop the Fighting Irish’s offense.

Boeheim, who sounded under the weather on the conference call (‘The usual sore throats that you get during the course of the season.’), should theoretically have a grasp on how this time of year shakes out.

The last two seasons, Syracuse has spent late February and March on the Tournament bubble. Two years ago, a miraculous run through the Big East tournament earned the Orange the conference’s automatic bid. And last year, despite 10 conference victories, SU was kept out of the NCAAs.

Saturday’s game against the Panthers begins a stretch of three games in seven days to finish the Syracuse season. A trip to Seton Hall on Wednesday and the season finale at home against No. 21 Marquette next Saturday is all that’s left.

But again and again, the Syracuse players have said how pleased they are with the way the schedule ends. Most teams on the bubble won’t have the opportunities to improve their resumes like the Orange will.

After a three-game losing streak, Pittsburgh isn’t in nearly as dire straits as Syracuse is, but still in need of wins to bolster its resume. The Panthers picked up their first victory since guard Levance Fields returned to the lineup, defeating Cincinnati, 73-67, on Wednesday.

Pittsburgh has endured injury problems all season, much like Syracuse has. Starter Mike Cook tore his ACL during a big win against Duke at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20. Then, Fields, the heart and soul of the team, broke his foot in a 25-point loss to Dayton on Dec. 29. He missed 12 games before returning two weeks ago.

‘Obviously that slowed them down a little bit to lose players of that quality,’ Boeheim said. ‘They also had a couple seniors, (Ronald) Ramon, particularly who stepped up really big. Their veteran guys stepped up, and now with Fields back, they’re back closer to full strength.’

The last time Syracuse beat Pitt inside the Carrier Dome was five years ago, during the 2002-03 national championship season. SU has lost four regular-season meetings in a row, but did beat Pittsburgh to clinch the Big East tournament championship in 2006.

Panthers head coach Jamie Dixon can see some similarities between the two schools this season.

‘I think we’ve both played a lot of freshmen and seen their maturity and development throughout the year,’ Dixon said. ‘And we’ve both overcome a lot of unheard of type injuries.’

And while Boeheim can’t predict the future, he knows what his team is up against.

‘We’re just going to have to finish as strongly as we can.’

magelb@syr.edu

Published on February 29, 2008 at 12:00 pm