EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In the midst of a mostly chipper Syracuse locker room, Hakim Warrick slumped in his chair and spoke in only hushed tones.

Though Syracuse had taken its Big East opener from Seton Hall, 70-66, Warrick played undoubtedly his worst game of the season. The sophomore forward finished with just seven points on 2-of-7 shooting. Defensively, along with centers Jeremy McNeil and Craig Forth, he was unable to contain Pirates center Kelly Whitney.

‘We got caught standing around,’ Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘Our centers did a horrendous job. Everyone in the stands knew where the ball was going. There’s no excuse for it.

‘Our centers were bad, but Hakim Warrick didn’t help. He just watched the game on both sides of the court. He was a non-factor.’

Whitney, however, was a tremendous factor. He found every soft spot in the Syracuse zone and finished with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting. During the Pirates’ 16-2 first-half run, Whitney notched eight points and collected four rebounds.

Forward Andre Sweet also soured SU throughout the game, hitting 4 of 10 shots for 11 points. He and Whitney combined for 14 rebounds. By comparison, Warrick, Forth and McNeil totaled 13 points and 13 rebounds.

‘We just kept getting caught in the zone,’ Warrick said. ‘We just had to start rotating. This is sort of frustrating.’

[b]IN THE ZONE[/b]Although Syracuse struggled with its transitional defense, the Orangemen succeeded in slowing down the Pirates in half-court situations.

Seton Hall had an uncharacteristically poor performance from the perimeter, hitting just 2 of 16 three-pointers.

Star guard Andre Barrett, who Gerry McNamara admirably defended, shot 3 of 10 for 10 points, and shooting guard John Allen was 5 of 13 for 16 points.

‘We were most effective when we got the ball inside,’ Seton Hall head coach Louis Orr said. ‘We got away from that a little bit in the second half. In that zone, unless you shoot lights out on the perimeter.’

[b]THIS AND THAT[/b]Before the game, Seton Hall honored Barrett, who scored his 1,000th point against St. John’s on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Seton Hall lost its Big East Opener to the Red Storm, 74-66. … Syracuse used just seven players. Matt Gorman did not play. … McNeil, who entered the game tied for third in the Big East in blocked shots, swatted three Seton Hall attempts. The Pirates did not block any shots. … Playing more than 250 miles from home, the Orangemen enjoyed several favorable ovations from the Continental Airlines Arena crowd. There appeared to be at least as many Syracuse fans as Seton Hall fans, and the crowd was loudest during Syracuse’s game-saving second-half run.

Published on January 8, 2003 at 12:00 pm