Terrence Roberts turned on his TV Sunday night and saw Creighton upset then-No. 11 Southern Illinois. ‘Oh God,’ the Syracuse forward thought out loud. He worried that teams with automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament, such as Creighton with its victory, could hurt Syracuse’s chances for a Tourney seed.

Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim disagrees. He argues 10 wins in the Big East, including key victories over Marquette and Georgetown, should be sufficient enough to earn a spot in the Tournament.

But all are mindful of Connecticut’s position, which plays Syracuse today in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden at 2 p.m. The Huskies (17-13, 6-10) are the No. 12 seed and will likely need a Big East tournament run similar to what the Orange pulled in 2006 to have a chance for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

After SU lost its last three games in the regular season last year, including a 39-point letdown to DePaul, the Orange strung together four-straight victories for its second Big East title and a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

‘They’re fighting for a Tournament bid. They’re probably out right now if you look at their record,’ Roberts said of UConn. ‘I just think we have to go in there and play hard. That’s what I think we have to be aware of that a lot of teams that we are playing earlier will be fighting for a Tournament berth. So they’re going to play extremely hard.’

Syracuse players beamed with pride when they talked about the extra incentive to play well this week in New York, besides to secure a seed and improve its placement. That motivation is to try to win three straight Big East tournament titles. Every player, with exception to freshmen Paul Harris and Devin Brennan-McBride, was a part of that memorable Big East run last year in which players admit they felt overshadowed because of Gerry McNamara’s clutch shooting.

Roberts jokes Harris was just as much a part of the run last year, since he sat courtside in New York that week and witnessed the Orange camaraderie off the court.

On the court, Harris should fare well against the Huskies. UConn’s pressure on the perimeter allowed Harris to play more his style by driving to the basket. He had two double-doubles in SU’s two games against the Huskies. Against a team that consists of 7-foot-3 Hasheem Thabeet and 6-foot-7 Jeff Adrien, Harris could be a significant factor in cleaning the glass.

‘That is a key to all of our big games,’ SU forward Demetris Nichols said. ‘As long as we get on the boards, I don’t think anyone can play with us. They can get every shot they want. As long as we do the little things, we should be fine.’

Boeheim knows about the unpredictability the Big East tournament entails. Syracuse experienced it last year. West Virginia made a run to the championship finals in 2005 when it won three games in the tournament as the No. 8 seed before losing to SU. Boeheim can only imagine what will happen this time.

‘Any of the top-12 teams can conceivably win the tournament in New York,’ Boeheim said. ‘I wouldn’t put it past anybody. We did it and we went into New York playing horribly.’

Published on March 6, 2007 at 12:00 pm