Exhaustion had set in. With two games in three days, three in eight and four in 10, Syracuse had entered one of the most grueling stretches of its schedule. The emotional win against Duke was in the rear view. All the Orange had to do was outlast Notre Dame and it would survive the taxing stretch.

C.J. Fair could feel it in his legs — or, rather, he couldn’t feel anything. Every time he left his feet for a jump shot, everything felt good, but nothing would fall.

“You might think, what’s wrong with my shot? Is it not jumping enough? Or is my legs tired?” the forward said. “Because sometimes when your body’s tired you don’t really feel it during the game, but like other people can see you don’t jump enough in your shot. But to yourself, it’s like you shot regularly.”

As Fair struggled against the Fighting Irish, so did SU. A game that No. 1 Syracuse should have been able to cruise through became yet another close contest in a season full of them. The Orange (22-0, 9-0 Atlantic Coast) will enter the Carrier Dome on Sunday for a 6 p.m. tipoff against Clemson (15-6, 6-3) after six days off, just enough time to gear up for another series of tests.

The Tigers come to the Carrier Dome, but road games against No. 25 Pittsburgh, No. 11 Duke, Maryland and Florida State fill the final month of the regular-season schedule. At this stage of the season, weariness is a real issue.

“I think it was fatigue,” SU guard Tyler Ennis said after the 61-55 win against the Fighting Irish on Monday.

He didn’t blame an emotional letdown, but just the regular challenge of two games in 48 hours.

“Mentally, we weren’t all there at some points, but we had enough to pull it out.”

This week became one to regroup and recover. Fair needs to get his legs — and his jump shot — back. Ennis and Jerami Grant need a few days off to gather themselves and return to the form they had against the Blue Devils.

Syracuse got Tuesday off and has made an effort to stay fresh even during the rapid-fire stretch of games.

“After each practice you try to get in the ice bath, try to get some ice — just to keep your body refreshed,” Fair said. “But still, it takes a toll on you when you play a lot of games in a short amount of time.”

The six days off brings more of the same.

“Definitely just ice baths — anything,” Grant said. “Stretching a lot. Just trying to stay in shape throughout everything.”

The style that Clemson plays, though, could make the days off obsolete. The Tigers slow the pace and clamp down on defense. It’s the same brand of basketball that so many lesser teams have used to scare the Orange this year.

Miami (Fla.) and Boston College — two .500 or worse teams — kept the score in the 50s or lower to stay competitive with Syracuse earlier this season.

Clemson ranks second in the nation in scoring defense and is another team that can batter SU and wear it down.

UND does similar things, too. Syracuse drove the lane effectively against Duke, but couldn’t do that against the Irish. With only one day off, another physical team gave the Orange fits.

“Notre Dame did what they do against us every year,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They take time off the clock and they move the ball.”

Of course, Notre Dame also benefited from one of the worst games of Fair’s career. If the issue was fatigue, as he guessed it might have been, that shouldn’t plague him again on Sunday.

The schedule only gets tougher from here, but with a full-strength Fair, Syracuse is in good shape.

“I wasn’t getting enough lift from my legs on my jump shot. Every time I shot I thought it was good and then it was off,” Fair said. “I’ve just got to keep confidence and not change anything because I’ve made those shots before.”

Published on February 7, 2014 at 12:38 am

Contact David: dbwilson@syr.edu | @DBWilson2