The Syracuse players have not forgotten last year’s Seton Hall debacle. They haven’t forgotten the 22-point blowout the Pirates imposed on the Orange in the Carrier Dome and the ensuing embarrassment during a four-game losing streak.

And that humiliating memory still lingers in the mind of the SU players to this day.

‘What they did to us was horrible,’ sophomore guard Dion Waiters said. ‘It was a horrible day, horrible night. It messed me up for a couple weeks.’

The No. 1 Orange (13-0) gets its first chance at revenge Wednesday at 7 p.m. when Seton Hall (11-1) returns to the Dome for both teams’ Big East opener. Last season, after SU won a close first meeting at SHU, the Pirates lit up SU 90-68 behind 10 3-pointers and handed Syracuse its worst home loss since 1998. As the Orange prepares to welcome the Pirates back into the Dome for the first time since that loss, it has revenge on its mind.

‘We definitely owe them something,’ Waiters said. ‘I didn’t forget that game.’

Seton Hall did lose a key component from the game last year in shooting guard Jeremy Hazell, who poured in 28 points including five of the Pirates’ 10 3-pointers. But SHU does return senior guard Jordan Theodore, who went 7-of-10 from the field and scored 19 points against the Orange in the blowout.

Seton Hall does rank sixth in the Big East this season from 3-point range, shooting 35.6 percent. But unless the Pirates catch fire again tonight, the perimeter game likely won’t be the emphasis for SHU. The biggest issue for the Orange will be containing one of the best big men in the conference, senior Herb Pope.

He ranks second in the conference in scoring and rebounding with 20.3 points and 11.4 rebounds per game.

‘Herb Pope is having a great year,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He’s one of the leading big guys in the country right now. They’ve got good senior leadership with him and Theodore. They’ve got a really good team.’

Syracuse has struggled on the glass at times this year against smaller opponents who find space in the Orange’s 2-3 zone. That could mean a big night for Pope if he exploits the same areas.

But the Orange said it knows things change once Big East play begins. The Tulanes and Colgates of the schedule are in the past and the SU veterans know that means a distinct change in competition.

 ‘It’s what we’ve been prepping for,’ senior forward Kris Joseph said. ‘The young guys, they don’t really know what the Big East is like yet. But they’ll learn soon enough. As far as us leaders, we just have to prepare them mentally for what it’s going to be like. It’s going to be a dogfight for the whole 40 minutes. There are no easy games in the Big East.’

SU found that out the hard way last year when the 8-12 Pirates came into Syracuse and blew the Orange off its home court. But it seems to have learned from that mistake, at least based on the pregame discussions.

‘Any time you overlook a team like Seton Hall because of their record, it shows,’ Waiters said. ‘Last year they came in here and beat us by 20. I just can’t wait to get back and play. Just to get back at them.’

And that aspect could be the difference on Wednesday.

Pope could cause the Orange problems down low. But SU has something else to play for aside from just a win to start conference play and preserve its undefeated, No. 1 start to the season.

When asked if Syracuse owed the Pirates something, Joseph kept his response simple.

‘Yes. Point blank,’ the senior said. ‘Yes we do.’

zjbrown@syr.edu

Published on December 27, 2011 at 12:00 pm