SYRACUSE – Jim Boeheim has his 20-win season and a guaranteed at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament if the Orange don’t win the Big East Conference Tournament.
He has a great post player in Hakim Warrick and a dead-eye sharpshooter in Gerry McNamara. He has some quality depth off the bench in center Terrence Roberts and forward Louis McCroskey of The Bronx.
It’s what Boeheim doesn’t have that concerns the veteran coach and should scare the living daylights out of Syracuse fans as they head toward March. The Orange don’t have a signature win this season and they haven’t found a proven third option behind Hak and G-Mac.
“We go as two guys go,” Boeheim acknowledged after the Orange lost their second straight game for the first time this season, a 65-60 setback at Boston College. “They have to be there for us every night.”
This is a different story line than the one Boeheim was reciting at the start of the season. After a 74-60 loss to Oklahoma State in Madison Square Garden, Syracuse’s first setback of the season, Boeheim made his first appeal for help for his two stars. Warrick and McNamara scored 31 of Syracuse’s 60 points.
“Offensively, we have to get some help for our three veterans who are playing really well,” Boeheim said. “If we don’t get some help we’re going to struggle against good teams, and Oklahoma State is as good as anybody in the country.”
Boeheim made a similar plea after the Orange lost their first conference game. In a 76-69 loss at Pittsburgh, Warrick and McNamara combined for 51 points.
“We can’t win with only two guys scoring – we need better balance,” Boeheim said. “People are going to do what they can to take Gerry and Hakim away, and we need our other guys in those situations. Two guys are not going to win a game in this league.”
As talented as the duo is, they’re not good enough to carry Syracuse past the top teams. The Orange went into last night’s game against St. John’s with a 22-5 record (9-4 Big East). The five losses have come against Oklahoma State, Pittsburgh twice, Connecticut and BC.
St. John’s (9-14, 3-10) of course, has its own problems. The Red Storm are not a good offensive team, especially against the zone. Syracuse plays the 2-3 almost exclusively.
Before the season started, St. John’s coach Norm Roberts showed his players a highlight film of past St. John’s-Syracuse games. He pointed out how hard the teams went at each other and the level of play.
The Orange beat St. John’s earlier this season, their fourth win in five meetings. Syracuse has won 22 of 33 in the dome.
“We have to get St. John’s back to the level where teams like Syracuse and Georgetown and Connecticut respect us,” said forward Ryan Williams. “I think they respect that we play hard, but we have to prove we can beat them.”
