Loss May Jeopardize Syracuse's Top-Seed Hopes

NEW YORK -- Monday, Syracuse lost its No. 1 ranking. Did the Orange also lose a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament Thursday?

"I don't think so, I don't," Syracuse sophomore guard Scoop Jardine said after the Orange's 91-84 loss to Georgetown in the Big East quarterfinals. "I think we're still one of the most consistent teams in the country where we can get a No. 1 seed.

"It doesn't matter. But I think we should."

Before the season, Syracuse was unranked nationally and would have been absolutely thrilled to be in the running for a No. 1 seed. But now after a second consecutive loss -- and the potential loss of senior center Arinze Onuaku to a right knee strain -- the Orange are trying to shake out of the doldrums.

The Orange have lost four games all season. They've won 28 games, including seven of eight against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Yet, the question being asked in their Madison Square Garden locker room afterward was about ... team dissension?

"No dissension? No dissension yet on this team?" a Syracuse newspaper columnist asked junior forward Wes Johnson.

"No," Johnson said. "You see everyone smiling. No one looks mad. Everyone's smiling."

Jardine was asked how the town of Syracuse would react to this loss.

"We just want to get back and get to work," Jardine said. "We don't like the feeling of losing. We have to more forward. We lose again and we're done.

"I hope they'll still be with us. We've been consistent all year. We have to get six wins [to win the NCAA tournament]. We had a 13-game winning streak [earlier this year]. I think we're capable of getting six wins. Hopefully 'Cuse Nation' is still with us."

Syracuse senior guard Andy Rautins said the Orange have to "remain positive and come together."

"We can't let these losses get us down," Rautins said. "Come April, I don't think anyone will remember this."

To get to April, the Orange will need a healthy Onuaku. Syracuse's 6-foot-9 center suffered a strained right knee with 5:07 remaining against Georgetown and will undergo an MRI on Friday, Coach Jim Boeheim said.

The Orange are only seven deep, so if Onuaku isn't ready for the NCAA tournament it would be devastating to Syracuse's national title hopes.

Whether that national title run is as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed doesn't matter to Rautins.

"Either way you have to beat teams," Rautins said. "Everyone will bring their 'A' game [in the NCAA tournament]. There are no bad teams in that tournament. We'll be satisfied wherever we're at."

Added Johnson: "It's hard to lose. We lost, but the Big Dance is coming next week. That's what we're looking to."

Jardine said he's eager to get to the NCAA tournament so Syracuse can face some non-Big East teams that aren't so familiar with the Orange's 2-3 matchup zone. Facing it for the third time this season, Georgetown shot 58 percent for the game and made 27 of 39 two-point field goal attempts, including a blistering 15-for-19 in the second half.

"Teams like Louisville and Pittsburgh, they know how to slow it down on our zone," Jardine said. "When they slow it down and get to the dead spots in our zone, it really hurts us. Teams that really don't play against us [in the regular season] we do a better job."

Added Boeheim: "Teams in our league at this stage of the year know how to attack us. We're looking forward to get out and play somebody that hasn't seen us."

Georgetown coach John Thompson III has seen plenty of Syracuse. And despite the immediate concerns about the suddenly vulnerable Orange, Thompson is convinced Syracuse will be a tough out -- maybe the toughest out -- in the NCAA tournament.

"A dangerous team? That's an understatement," Thompson said. "That team is still one of the best, if not the best, team in the country in spite of today's outcome. Do I expect them to be a dangerous team in the tournament? Absolutely."

Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com