WASHINGTON, D.C. – Syracuse proved two points Saturday afternoon. First, the Orangemen showed they can come from behind, as they did in their buzzer-beater win over Georgetown. They’ll try to feed off that in their last four games. More importantly though, they indicated their mediocrity in the Big East. That’s what they’ll try to disprove over their next four games. Yes, the win was exciting. But the dramatic ending clouded a disconcerting reality.Syracuse beat Georgetown by three points. The Hoyas are 12th in the Big East. They’ve lost eight conference games, including games against St. John’s and Virginia Tech. Georgetown was in shambles early in the season, having lost two of its best guards to other colleges and its most dominating big man since Alonzo Mourning to the NBA. The Hoyas are a mess. If not for McNamara’s bulls-eye at the buzzer, the Orangemen might have been, too. Is Syracuse a mediocre team? After it squeaked out a win at Georgetown, the Orangemen looked like one. Ditto for their losses to Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Providence and Seton Hall. The inconsistent play is becoming habitual. One NBA scout at Saturday’s game even went as far as to say SU’s inconsistent play is a matter of talent. Take the top six players from last year’s NCAA championship team: Carmelo Anthony, McNamara, Kueth Duany, Hakim Warrick, Craig Forth and Billy Edelin. Of those, only half are playing now. One of them, McNamara, is playing out of position at point guard.True, McNamara started at the point last year. But then, he wasn’t a focal point of the offense. Golden Boy could bring the ball up and have Duany and Anthony on the wings and Warrick waiting for the ball in the paint. Now, he has to create his own shot while running the offense. And, oh yeah, he’s counted on to score at least 20 points – if not, SU likely loses.And the Orangemen almost did it again Saturday. McNamara started off 1 for 8 before nailing his last three 3s, including the final one at the buzzer that sent SU fans into hysteria. Meanwhile, he turned the ball over six times. If he hadn’t hit that last shot, McNamara, now the hero, probably would have become one in a locker room of goats. ‘(Coach Jim Boeheim) shouldn’t be happy,’ McNamara said. ‘We shouldn’t be happy. We should be happy we came out of here with a win, but we shouldn’t be happy with the way we played.’With its classic sloppiness, the game certainly looked like a traditional Big East matchup, circa the late-80s. The Hoyas played their part by wearing the throwback jerseys. It was dirty and hard-nosed, and everything you’d expect from a Syracuse-Georgetown game.The only thing missing was Patrick Ewing throwing elbows. But against the Orangemen on Saturday, current GU center Courtland Freeman almost sank SU. As did 5-foot-11 freshman point guard Matt Causey, who was only a thin strip of iron away from giving Georgetown the lead with nine seconds to play.Most of the Orangemen said they expected a close game. After years of playing the Hoyas close, why would today’s game be any different? Even last year on this same court, Georgetown took Syracuse to overtime.Syracuse has played Georgetown so closely in the past in part because of the intense rivalry. This game still means something to both sides. For a Hoya team without the talent to make the NCAA Tournament, this regular season game meant a little more. Gerald Riley is a good perimeter player, but gone are the tremendous Hoya centers who forged the rivalry. This is a rebuilding year for the Hoyas, maybe a rebuilding decade. They aren’t supposed to beat Syracuse. On paper, the Orangemen should defeat the Hoyas every time. ‘This is the Big East Conference,’ McCroskey said. ‘This is no teacake conference. Every game is a fight.’Though it shouldn’t have been, the Orangemen made it look like a fair one.

Michael Becker is the assistant sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at mibecker@syr.edu.