SYRACUSE (AP) -- Syracuse recovered from a rare four-game losing streak by beating Connecticut and South Florida on the road last week.
The Orange (20-4, 7-4 Big East), up five spots to No. 12 in this week's rankings, figure they're back on track. It will be easy to tell Wednesday night when archrival Georgetown (18-5, 7-4) visits the Carrier Dome - the Hoyas are ranked 11th and have won six straight.
"I want to believe we're back," Orange sophomore guard Brandon Triche said Tuesday after practice. "Going against Georgetown is definitely a test. It's going to be a test of our focus. They really know our defense pretty well and figure it out, so as a team it'll be big for our confidence to get that win. It's definitely going to show that we're back."
Half of that four-game skid came at home in the dome, against Villanova and Seton Hall. Syracuse has only lost three straight home games once in Jim Boeheim's 35-year Hall of Fame career, but the team isn't focusing on the prospect of duplicating that.
"We didn't really think about that (losing two straight at home)," senior forward Rick Jackson said. "We won our last two. I can't wait to play at home."
Syracuse lost three straight at home in 1998-99 - to St. John's, Villanova, and Miami - and lost the last two home games of the 2001-02 season, to Georgetown and Villanova.
Syracuse swept the series against Georgetown last season, winning 73-56 at home and 75-71 on the road. But the Hoyas exacted a measure of revenge with a 91-84 triumph in the Big East quarterfinals, pulling away after Orange center Arinze Onuaku suffered a season-ending knee injury late in the game.
The Orange started this season with 18 straight wins before their zone defense was victimized inside and out in the four losses. In the first three, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Seton Hall combined to shoot 85 of 167 (nearly 51 percent), and the Wildcats and Pirates combined to make 18 of 30 (60 percent) from beyond the arc.
Syracuse began rebuilding momentum with a strong second half at Marquette and then beat then-No. 6 Connecticut last Wednesday night to stop the skid.
Boeheim's zone, aggressive again, held Connecticut to a season-low 58 points and limited Kemba Walker, the nation's third-leading scorer at 24.2 points per game, to a season-low eight on 3-for-14 shooting, including making one of six 3-point attempts. On Saturday, South Florida shot 35 percent from the field - 2 of 15 from 3-point range.
The Hoyas are in a different league, so to speak. Led by Big East preseason player of the year Austin Freeman, Georgetown is the most accurate shooting team in the conference, converting 50.5 percent of their shots. Syracuse ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 39 percent shooting.
"I think we're playing good," said Jackson, who has 16 double-doubles. "I feel like we're back at it."
Notes: Syracuse's win at South Florida was the 849th victory for Boeheim. With one more win, Boeheim will become just the fifth Division I coach to record 850, joining an elite group that includes Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp. Boeheim ranks second in wins among active Division I coaches, trailing only Duke's Krzyzewski.
(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
