The mood around Jim Boeheim Court was a playful one yesterday. Forward Hakim Warrick joked with Josh Pace about who was the better free-throw shooter. Assistant coach Mike Hopkins kidded Terrence Roberts, asking the freshman when he last hit six straight jumpers. Even center Craig Forth, a serious competitor even in practice, managed a smile after missing the garbage can with his empty water bottle.

Why shouldn’t the Syracuse men’s basketball team be smiling? After all, the Orangemen are in the midst of a 12-game winning streak.

As it is, Syracuse may have some unseen trouble approaching. Sure, Syracuse is undefeated since coming off a season-opening, 96-92 loss to Charlotte. But come Saturday, when Syracuse travels to South Bend, Ind., to face Notre Dame at the Joyce Center, the Orangemen will find themselves in the same position they were in last year when another long winning streak ended – coming off a defining victory over Missouri and playing their first Big East road game.

The Orangemen started last year exactly the same, losing their opening game to a Conference USA team and following it with a double-digit winning streak.

Last year, SU (12-1, 2-0 Big East) snapped an 11-game win streak with a 70-63 loss at Pittsburgh after the court-rushing win versus the Tigers.

Now that Syracuse is coming off another big win against the same team, have the Orangemen set themselves up for a letdown against the Fighting Irish (8-4, 2-1)?

‘Hell no, we haven’t,’ senior Jeremy McNeil said. ‘We don’t get set up for a loss. I can see the similarities, but we’re just getting better and better and better and better.’

‘That was last year and this is this year,’ said guard Gerry McNamara, who has tried since the preseason to distinguish Syracuse from the championship team of a season ago.

One way to do that is beat a Notre Dame team coming off a heartbreaking 74-71 loss to No. 13 Pitt and continue to gain quality wins.

Syracuse has few of those after a non-conference schedule that included Binghamton, Canisius and Colgate.

Syracuse has raised eyebrows about how much it had fallen after close wins over Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure and St. Johns, which fired former coach Mike Jarvis earlier this year after a 2-4 start, one of the worst in school history.

But with recent blowout wins over 11-3 Boston College, 96-73, and preseason No. 5 Missouri, 82-68, pessimism has turned to optimism.

The reasons resonate from Forth’s breakout performance against Mizzou – a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting – to Boeheim’s postgame assertion about how Monday was the best he’s seen SU’s 2-3 zone all season.

Now, as Syracuse enters Big East play, Syracuse is poised to expand its unofficial seven-man rotation of Billy Edelin, Warrick, Pace, Forth, McNamara, Louie McCroskey and McNeil.

‘You’ll have to ask Coach Boeheim about that,’ assistant coach Troy Weaver said of playing time, before adding, ‘but I’d expect a few more guys to get in there.’

Though Weaver wouldn’t drop any hints, freshman McCroskey got a preview of what should be a continued increase in playing time. The freshman played 15 minutes and hit a big 3 early in the second half against Missouri, drawing Boeheim’s praise, to put SU up six when the Tigers were rolling early in the second half. He also practiced with the starters at yesterday’s practice.

Still, a Syracuse win would further define this team that people still question.

‘We were just a different team in a different state last year,’ Weaver said. ‘We were relying on a lot of youth. This year we’re still young, but at least the young guys are experienced. Going into Missouri we showed a lot of poise. Hopefully we can do that again on Saturday.’

Published on January 14, 2004 at 12:00 pm