A glance around the Carrier Dome yesterday revealed a sea of blue and orange, as 21,935 fans packed SU’s home court.

But behind the south basket, the unoccupied steel benches of the student section stood out.

The lack of student support for the noon tip-off did not go unnoticed by the Orangemen.

“(The students section was) probably empty because it was Saturday night, and a lot of people probably went out and didn’t want to wake up,” guard James Thues said. “But, I mean, it’s okay. It makes us mad as a team.”

Craig Forth expressed his disappointment in last Monday night’s crowd when SU played West Virginia. Syracuse announced an attendance of 16,761, but the Dome appeared emptier than that.

“Oh God, I don’t even want to talk about it,” Forth said about that crowd before practice Thursday.

Monday, some fans probably stayed home because of the surprise snowstorm that made roads treacherous. But yesterday, Syracuse saw fair weather and above-average temperatures.

Forth seemed to understand the poor student attendance, attributing it to the Orangemen’s poor play.

“One thing about basketball and all sports in general,” he said, “is that if you aren’t playing well, people aren’t going to come watch you.”

McNeil returns — sort of

Center Jeremy McNeil returned to the SU bench yesterday and stayed there.

In his first game back since leaving the team almost two weeks ago, McNeil dressed for the game but didn’t play. He returned to practice Wednesday after a week away.

“Jeremy has to work his way back in,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “It is just a matter of working in practice and seeing if he can work his way back up. Craig (Forth) is playing well and doing a great job for us.”

Forth played 31 minutes, scored eight points and collected four rebounds. He also blocked four shots, something McNeil usually excels at.

As a group, Syracuse lost the rebounding battle by 10, which is still an improvement from when the two teams played Jan. 22. when Pitt outrebounded Syracuse by 25.

“Half the time they would have four guys on the boards,” Forth said. “I would go up for the rebound and there would be four guys in blue. We gotta do a better job of rebounding as a team.”

This and that

DeShaun Williams injured his wrist in practice this week, and Boeheim said it affected his shot. Williams shot 3 for 10 overall, but the junior guard managed to score his 1,000th-career point on a second-half free throw. … Pitt guard Brandin Knight injured his right wrist when he hit the ground hard following a lay-up late in the second half. Knight writhed in pain on the ground for a minute or two, but he did not leave the game. “I’m fine,” he said after the game. … Kueth Duany said he has tried to assume more of a leadership role this year. ”We got leaders,” Duany said, “but I am trying to be the person who is more vocal.” … Syracuse used just seven players. Freshman Hakim Warrick, who has watched his minutes plummet recently, was among those who did not play. … Syracuse shot just 2 of 13 from three-point range. … Preston Shumpert made all 11 free throws he attempted. He was shooting 85 percent from the line coming into the game. … After the game, a group of Pitt fans seated behind the Panthers’ bench shot confetti onto the court.

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Published on February 10, 2002 at 12:00 pm