Standing in the visitors’ locker room at the Wells Fargo Center, Brandon Triche answered each question with unwavering confidence. Syracuse’s loss to Villanova was tough, but it was just one game.

There was no cause for concern or need to worry. His team still sat atop the Big East standings.

“At this point, we’ve only lost one game, still No. 1 in the Big East and that puts us in a great position,” Triche said. “You don’t like to lose games where you think you should win, but maybe the last two games, we probably shouldn’t have won one of those games.

“Sometimes it’s going to work out for you, sometimes it won’t.”

Syracuse (18-2, 6-1 Big East) will look to bounce back when it takes on Pittsburgh (17-5, 5-4) at the Petersen Events Center on Saturday at noon. Conference play hasn’t been easy for the No. 6 Orange despite its spot in first place alongside Marquette. SU has had to battle in every game since its rout of Rutgers in the conference opener, with the last three games coming down to the final buzzer.

Triche and his teammates came out on the wrong side of a close contest Saturday in a 75-71 overtime loss to the Wildcats. But they all echoed the senior guard’s words on the team’s mindset moving forward.

“We’re a great team and everybody takes their losses,” SU forward Jerami Grant said. “We just got to come back stronger the next one.”

That goal got a little tougher without center DaJuan Coleman, who underwent knee surgery and is expected to miss four weeks recovering. Coleman started all 20 games this season, so SU head coach Jim Boeheim will have to shuffle his rotation, which is down to seven players, as James Southerland remains ineligible.

Syracuse’s offense has sputtered at times without the 6-foot-8 Southerland and his ability to knock down jump shots and 3-pointers. The scoring load has fallen on the shoulders of Triche, Michael Carter-Williams and C.J. Fair, and they’ve all had trouble finding consistent rhythm in Big East play.

The Orange has also seen few opportunities to get out on the fast break in conference play, something Triche said highlights the struggles to make shots in its half-court sets. Against Villanova, SU scored two fast-break points and shot 33 percent from the field.

The Wildcats’ 18 offensive rebounds limited the Orange’s chances, too.

“The times they did miss, they were doing a good job getting offensive rebounds,” Fair said, “so it was hard to get fast breaks because we had everybody crashing the boards.”

The rebounding battle will be crucial against Pittsburgh, as Syracuse must overcome the loss of the 6-foot-9, 288-pound Coleman in the frontcourt. Rakeem Christmas and Baye Moussa Keita have rotated with Coleman all season, and all three have seen their minutes fluctuate due to inconsistent performances.

With SU’s rotation reduced to seven players, contributions from the role players could be the difference between a win and another loss on the road.

Christmas and Keita have only shown limited ability offensively, but they’ll need to be reliable inside on Saturday. Grant has been stellar since his increase in minutes to 29.8 per game in the last four games, and guard Trevor Cooney has been up and down in his freshman season.

No matter what rotation Boeheim puts on the floor, Syracuse is in for a test to score on the Big East’s top defensive team. The Panthers are allowing just 54.9 points per game.

“Pretty much anybody who plays against us, even Pittsburgh, they’re going to play pretty strong defense with a lot of help,” Triche said.

Though it won’t be easy in Pittsburgh, Triche and his teammates said they were ready to get back on the floor right after the loss Saturday. They’ve had a week off to prepare for another challenging matchup, allowing their bodies to recover from the physical game in Philadelphia.

Even with the list of contributors down to seven going into Saturday, Syracuse remains one of the top teams in the conference and nation. The confidence of the players who will take the court is still there.

“We’re a great team as far as the definition of team and the chemistry,” Triche said. “We play for each other. That’s the most important thing.”

Published on January 31, 2013 at 12:16 am

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