The sloppiness had finally come back to haunt Syracuse.

Game after game, the Orange was suspect to mediocre first halves. But thus far this season, it would always turn out OK. Once the second half rolled around, a momentum-shifting play would spark a run and Syracuse would coast to a double-digit victory.

But not Sunday.

Louisville wouldn’t disappear in the face of plays that normally sent SU’s opponents reeling ? back-to-back 3-pointers from Andy Rautins, forcing a timeout. Or a thunderous Wes Johnson dunk off a careless turnover.

On Sunday, the Cardinals showed Syracuse that being a second-half team isn’t always an option.

‘I thought for the last few games against DePaul – you look at that game, even stretches of the Providence game, Cincinnati and the Connecticut game, all four of those games – I thought we didn’t play at a high level,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘You can’t be in all these games and get down to the end and think you’re going to win. You have to play better for the entire game.’

Like the Pittsburgh loss earlier in the year, the defeat to Louisville exposed a serious problem in the way No. 5 Syracuse (24-2, 11-2 Big East) operates. Back then it was stepping up physical play in the frontcourt – a problem that was undoubtedly solved during the team’s 11-game winning streak. And now, it’s all about complete games. Using the team’s daunting attack to its advantage and living up to its 81 points per game average.

Unfortunately for Syracuse, the regrouping process starts on the road against No. 10 Georgetown (18-6, 8-5 Big East) at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Verizon Center.

‘We haven’t been playing Syracuse basketball for 40 minutes in the last couple games,’ sophomore forward Kris Joseph said.

At the beginning of the year, Syracuse’s daunting depth gave SU the ability to turn second halves into track meets. Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine would come off the bench ready to blaze past weary defenders. The Orange has seven players capable of starting, and some teams don’t even have five, stated a confident Boeheim after thumping rival Georgetown.

But now, the tide has turned as teams are finding ways around Syracuse’s seven-player rotation. Struggles from point guard Brandon Triche force Jardine into games earlier than expected. Lingering injuries suffered by Wes Johnson mean more minutes out of Joseph.

Of course, some of that will be solved in time. Johnson’s bruises will heal, and his swollen hand will return to form.

‘I’m getting better,’ Johnson said. ‘I think I’m still coming back.’

That will allow him to drive to the basket cleaner, open up the offense for Andy Rautins and the frontcourt, and rebuild SU’s scoring average.

There are some things, though, that Syracuse has to figure out on its own over the next few decisive games. Against Louisville, Triche and Jardine had chances to drill game-changing 3-pointers, but they rimmed out. Rautins had opportunities to push the fast break and rack up points, but errant passes sailed out of bounds.

Earlier in the year, this was all clockwork for the SU team that sprung out to the greatest start in program history. But now, it seems the Orange is in need of a refresher. If it doesn’t have the horses to separate from its opponents in the second half, or the composure from its backcourt to provide a much needed momentum boost, then something has to give.

And for Joseph, he’s not quite sure what that something is.

‘The same shots that were falling earlier on in the year are not falling now. I think that’s what it is. We’re getting a lot of great looks,’ Joseph said. ‘Maybe we’re not finishing inside the same way we were. Maybe we’re not connecting on the outside the same way we used to in the first half of the season. I don’t know what caused it, but we just have to keep working hard and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.’

ctorr@syr.edu

Published on February 19, 2010 at 12:00 pm