NEW YORK — On more than one occasion Jim Boeheim gushed about Brandon Triche. He called him a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. He said he loved him. He called him an incredibly hard worker.

But time and again the praise came without proof, the on-court performances failing to match the off-the-court comments.

For more than a month Triche crumbled, falling further and further away from the stellar play he demonstrated in a stretch of seven games where he reached 20 points four times to open Big East play.

On Wednesday, though, Triche finally came back. He scored 17 points in No 19 Syracuse’s 75-63 win over Seton Hall in the second round of the Big East tournament, shooting efficiently and without forcing and letting the game come to him.

“We’re going to need that from him,” Michael Carter-Williams said of his backcourt partner. “He’s a senior, and we need him to score to win. And we need him to play with confidence.”

From his very first shot against Seton Hall, Triche was dialed in. He swished home a 3-pointer from the left corner — he had made only eight of his previous 51 attempts — and let loose a scream of relief.

He played loose and uninhibited from that point on, adding a traditional 3-point play before halftime. And in the second half his aggression grew, aided by another made 3 from the top of the key.

Triche shot 6-for-9 from the field against the Pirates and made all three of his free throws. It was his highest shooting percentage since the upset of then-No. 1 Louisville back on Jan. 19.

“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team,” Triche said. “Just being confident out there and trying to make plays.”

When Triche plays well — as Boeheim says he should — Syracuse is a different team. And it backs up the words his coach continues to speak.

In the postgame press conference, Triche appeared more relaxed than he had in the last few weeks. The pressure had melted away.  He cracked a joke about his month-long shooting slump, which even forced Boeheim to smile.

Said C.J. Fair: “I think Brandon got over the hump.”

Published on March 13, 2013 at 8:28 pm

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