No doubt Syracuse’s freshmen heard about how hard it is to win on the road in the Big East these days.

Still, two straight lackluster losses served as a wakeup call to Donte Greene and company as to just how small the margin for error is in conference road games.

‘You can get away with things at home, but when you’re on the road the home team is definitely gonna come out in your face, at least for the first half,’ Greene said after Syracuse’s 81-61 loss on the road at West Virginia on Sunday.

Indeed, playing at home can be a priceless advantage for Big East squads. So far this season, Big East home teams are 24-7 (.774) in conference play this season. It’s a trend that has carried over from last season, when home teams in the conference went 83-45 (.648).

Syracuse will hope that home-court advantage provides a boost tonight when it hosts Rutgers (8-9, 0-4 Big East) at the Carrier Dome at 7 p.m. (ESPN Plus) in the first of a two-game homestand. SU will host No. 25 Villanova on Saturday before heading back on the road to face Georgetown on Monday.

There’s little doubt Syracuse (12-5, 2-2) will relish its return to the friendly confines of the Dome after its first Big East road swing. After winning two home games (albeit against St. John’s and South Florida), Syracuse staggered out of the conference gate in consecutive games at Cincinnati and West Virginia. In both cases it fell behind early and was unable to make up a double-digit halftime deficit.

It was the Syracuse offense- until this past week considered SU’s strength- that struggled to click. The Orange’s freshmen guards especially struggled. Jonny Flynn’s combined statline throughout the two games featured 20 total points on 6-of-25 shooting, five assists and nine turnovers in the two games. Meanwhile, Scoop Jardine contributed just 11 total points in the two contests.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim chalked up the offensive struggles to a young team adjusting to the road.

‘Offensively we’ve just got to be able to execute better,’ Boeheim said. ‘I think young guys just get into a situation on the road where the things the worked at home don’t work right away and they take some bad shots.’

‘I think when you go on the road it’s a different experience, obviously it’s very hard to win on the road.’

Boeheim and Syracuse will be hoping a return home coupled with a seemingly weaker opponent will be the tonic SU needs to get back on track. The struggling Scarlet Knights are one of only two Big East teams without a conference win (Seton Hall is the other at 0-3), and have lost their four Big East contest by an average of 19 points. Included in that skid is a 23-point loss at the hands of South Florida, who Syracuse dispatched, 89-77, on Jan. 5.

Rutgers ranks last in the Big East in a slew of offensive categories, including scoring offense (61.7 points per game), field goal percentage (38.8 percent), three-point field goal percentage (27.9 percent) and assists (8.47 per game).

SU forward Paul Harris said the homecoming might be all SU needs to get its act together.

‘We get the home crowd advantage, and the fans, and just get back on track,’ Harris said. ‘These are not an easy two games coming up, but at the same time we’re playing at home with our fans and our families.’

Syracuse will have to focus on defending that homecourt for the rest of the season. Home wins will be an especially important commodity in the closely contested Big East- after No. 6 Georgetown’s away defeat Monday night at No. 16 Pittsburgh, the Big East is now the only major conference without a team still undefeated in conference play.

A win tonight would stop the bleeding for Syracuse, but more than that, SU will hope to use the home stand to gain some confidence and find some rhythm on offense.

And after that, it’s back out on the road.

‘We’re a young team; we still have to spend some time on the road,’ Greene said. ‘Myself, Jonny, Scoop and Rick (Jackson), so I mean it’s just a learning experience for us.’

Published on January 15, 2008 at 12:00 pm