Editor’s note: Beat writers Stephen Bailey and David Wilson were assigned to take a side on whether or not Syracuse will finish undefeated. Click here for David’s take.

PITTSBURGH — Lamar Patterson called it fate. Tyler Ennis’ heave. Syracuse’s escape from the Pete. The mass silencing of the Steel City.

It was meant to be.

Maybe it was lucky — SU head coach Jim Boeheim admitted there was an element of luck to the 35-foot buzzer-beater — but to say it was unfathomable would be wrong.

Sure, the Panthers outplayed the Orange. And sure, 4.4 seconds from the opposite baseline isn’t exactly the ideal setup.

But for the best late-game team in the country, and a freshman with as much poise as any player in the nation, it was plenty of time to get a decent shot.

“The more plays you make in late-game situations, the more confidence you have that you’re going to make those plays in late-game situations,” Boeheim said.

No. 1 Syracuse (24-0, 11-0 Atlantic Coast) seems to find a new way to win every close game it encounters. With a cast of clutch contributors, it’s hard to foresee any team beating the Orange in the regular season.

Ennis: the seemingly limitless rookie who committed his first turnover in the final five minutes of any game this season against Pitt. C.J. Fair: the stoic senior who somehow, someway always comes through from the baseline. Jerami Grant: the superhuman athlete who regularly soars through the lane and into SportsCenter’s Top 10. Rakeem Christmas: the resilient rim protector whose improvement this season rivals that of any player in the nation.

It’s an unflinching crew that’s survived a heart-stopping Rasheed Sulaimon buzzer-beater, a 25-7 game-opening run from then-No. 8 Villanova on Dec. 28 and a second-half barrage of Patterson 3-pointers when SU and Pitt met in the Carrier Dome on Jan. 18.

After all the Orange has been through, Grant’s sure this team can win out.

“I feel like we can win every game,” Grant said. “If we can go undefeated then we do. I don’t think it would be surprising at a point like this.”

Looking at it from a non-fate-based perspective, the Orange has two legitimate tests remaining in its final seven games: at No. 8 Duke on Feb. 22 and at No. 17 Virginia on March 1.

The Blue Devils will be out for revenge after a trio of Grant dunks brought SU back in overtime. In that period, Ennis made two free throws while Christmas blocked his sixth shot of the game, deflecting a violent Rodney Hood dunk attempt with 13 seconds left.

Virginia, however, is a new foe. The Cavaliers are the only one-loss team in the ACC, and one that’s won eight straight — also slipping by Pitt on a Malcolm Brogdon last-second 3-pointer on Feb. 2.

It’s hard to imagine either game being anything but two more grind-it-out affairs. But Fair said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That brings the best out of us,” Fair said. “We don’t want anything easy. We want to take everything.”

Players agreed they aren’t looking past any opponent. Not 16-8 North Carolina State on Saturday, and not 6-18 Boston College on Wednesday.

Some of the more inferior teams have given the Orange good fights this year.

But it’s not closeness of any games that matter. It’s the score in the final five minutes.

Syracuse is outscoring ACC opponents 109-82 at the end of games.

Starting with a comeback win over St. Francis on Nov. 18, the Orange has gritted out seven two-possession victories this season, including three against ranked opponents and two away from home.

“In all reality, if we just played pretty good at the end of games, we’d be 20-4 or 19-5, maybe,” Boeheim said.

But Ennis has been impeccable and Fair has been unstoppable. The duo combined for 10 points in the final 1:42 against Pittsburgh, cementing the team’s top ranking and thickening the aura of invincibility that surrounds the program.

Whether you believe it’s fate or not, Syracuse will finish the regular season undefeated.

Said Boeheim: “It’s just been that kind of a team. They’ve made plays when they’ve had to make plays on both ends.”

Stephen Bailey is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at sebail01@syr.edu and on Twitter at @Stephen_Bailey1

Published on February 14, 2014 at 1:11 am