CINCINNATI — The setup indicated less of a sequel and more of a shot-for-shot remake.

The protagonist was the same: an undefeated Syracuse team with perhaps a hint of overconfidence. The plot was the same, too: losing a star and having an unproven role player attempt to fill in.

Hell, the first act was even the same: lose on the road in a brutal environment where the home team rarely falters.

But the second act, that’s where things took a turn.

‘We just knew we had to get a win,’ SU forward Kris Joseph said following Monday’s win over Cincinnati. ‘Because if you remember last year, one loss turned into four straight.’

Last year’s Syracuse team rolled into Pittsburgh on an 18-game winning streak for a date with the No. 5 Panthers. But missing from the lineup that night, Jan. 17, 2011, was Joseph. He was out with a head injury and in his place was the trigger-happy, defense and rebound-lacking James Southerland.

The denouement: a 74-66 loss at the Petersen Events Center that set in motion a four-game losing landslide.

This year’s Syracuse team rolled into South Bend, Ind., for a date with Notre Dame on a school-record 20-game win streak. But missing from the lineup Saturday was Fab Melo. He was out due to an unresolved academic issue, according to ESPN, and in his place in the middle of SU’s 2-3 zone was the highly touted yet underachieving Rakeem Christmas.

The result: a 67-58 loss at the Joyce Center, where Notre Dame has now defeated the last six No. 1 teams to visit Purcell Pavilion.

Monday, though, presented a new twist. A different page in the pick-your-own-adventure books we read as kids.

Syracuse triumphed with a 60-53 win over Cincinnati in front of a packed house at Fifth Third Arena. The best bounce-back win Jim Boeheim can remember in his tenure at Syracuse.

‘We were just so woeful Saturday night that to come in here with that atmosphere and the way they started the game, to play the way we did I thought was tremendous,’ Boeheim said.

And with this win, there won’t be a cataclysmal two-week period in which a season potentially destined for greatness seems to go down the tubes. That’s because despite going 1-1 on a very difficult road trip, the Orange got better.

Most importantly, Syracuse learned to play without Melo. Take one was a blooper reel with Jack Cooley abusing the undersized Christmas, Baye Keita and C.J. Fair.

Take two, though, was a coming out party. Christmas was tough, he played with fire, he looked like a college basketball player. Four points, nine rebounds and three big blocks. And he did that guarding one of the best low-post players in the Big East in Yancy Gates. Not to mention fighting off a 38-pound weight disadvantage.

‘He was a presence, and that’s what he needs to be for us,’ SU assistant coach Gerry McNamara said.

The rising action of this two-game drama was the recertification of Syracuse’s veteran players as go-to players. The eight straight field goals in the second half from Joseph, Scoop Jardine and Brandon Triche to win the game against the Bearcats demonstrated who the true leaders are on a team entering a Big East stretch run.

It showed that without the heroics of sophomore guard Dion Waiters, who had a season-low two points against Cincinnati, Syracuse will be just fine.

And it showed that a 5-of-15 performance from the free-throw line can be offset with precision in the half-court offense.

‘This whole game we needed shots,’ Jardine said. ‘Brandon made some, Kris made some, I made some, Rak made great passes — this was a team-effort win. And that’s what we needed.’

Boeheim said he had to watch the tape of Saturday’s game twice because he couldn’t believe what he saw. The first game in his career in which not a single player played well. Nine guys took the floor, and nine guys stunk it up.

He watched seniors play out of position and guard the wrong men defensively. He saw Keita fumble passes and travel away an open layup. He gritted his teeth while Waiters played 1-on-5 — fine for a playground but not a Big East basketball court.

But Monday he watched resurgence in the form of a gritty performance in a hostile environment that cemented his team’s place as a Final Four contender.

So by the time the curtains came down on Fifth Third Arena, Boeheim was more than pleased with this play’s alternate ending.

‘We lose one game, we’re not going to be ready to shoot ourselves or something,’ he said. ‘It’s a good bounce-back.’

Michael Cohen is a staff writer for The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at mjcohe02@syr.edu or on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.  

Published on January 23, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13