North Carolina State’s resolve didn’t surprise Dion Waiters.

Syracuse was in NC State’s house, in the Orange’s first game as the No. 1 team in the nation. Until SU falls from its perch above the rest of college basketball, every team’s going to want a shot at the Orange.

‘They came out on fire, hitting a lot of shots, a lot of great shots,’ the Syracuse guard said. ‘And what really turned the momentum around is we did a better job of settling down on the defensive end then letting the offense click.’

Syracuse dealt well with its first test as the No. 1 Orange (11-0) finally disposed of NC State in a 16-point win on Saturday. But as SU returns home for its final three games of 2011, the hunger of its opponents to shock the college basketball world won’t let up at all. Both teams who held the No. 1 spot before Syracuse this season — North Carolina and Kentucky — lost to then-unranked teams. Syracuse will try to avoid being the next to fall when the Orange plays Bucknell (7-4) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Carrier Dome.

The Bison made the NCAA Tournament last season and upset Syracuse in 2005 in the two teams’ last meeting.

‘You’re the No. 1 team in the country,’ Waiters said, ‘everyone is coming for you. And you just got to be ready, mentally and physically prepared.’

Fortunately for SU, it won’t have to go back on the road until Jan. 1. Multiple signs in the crowd read lines referring to Syracuse’s status as the No. 1 team. The Wolfpack players displayed emotions that gave the sense the stakes were higher than just a regular December nonconference game.

Every successful shot by NC State early in Saturday’s game accelerated an avalanche of adulation by both the players and fans. Off an SU basket, the Wolfpack pushed ahead of the Orange defense before it set up the 2-3 zone. Forward Richard Howell received a pass while running down the lane for a dunk, putting NC State up 23-15.

The Wolfpack players hustled back on defense, talking and bouncing with some ostentation.

The same thing occurred in the second half, when the Wolfpack charged back into the contest and matched the Orange’s effort until late.

‘We played well,’ SU forward Kris Joseph said after the game. ‘That’s how we need to play. The one thing I can take from this game is that when we’re up we’ve got to keep our foot on the pedal.

‘We can’t, although it’s not like we do it purposely — we just got to stay sharp, as we were in the first half.’

Bucknell is no stranger to the upset. The Bison were a No. 14 seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament when they upended third-seeded Kansas, the first-ever tournament win for a team from the Patriot League.

Four starters are back from Bucknell’s 25-win team from a season ago. After the Orange’s win over George Washington on Dec. 10, SU guard Scoop Jardine said there can be a little lag against opponents that appear to be inferior.

Syracuse retained its No. 1 ranking for the second straight week when the new polls came out on Monday, something SU wasn’t able to do the last time it was No. 1 in March 2010. But after the GW game, Jardine wasn’t making comparisons yet.

‘We can be better,’ he said. ‘I’m not going to rank where we’re at but we can be better. We got the ability to be the best but right now we can be better on defense and especially our offense can be better so that’s what we’re working on.’

The Orange showed an ability to respond well to the adversity of trailing on the road against a tough opponent. Syracuse has two games left before it opens Big East play against Seton Hall on Dec. 28.

Presumably, SU should still be undefeated and No. 1 by then. But UNC and Kentucky weren’t expected to lose when they were upset.

‘A lot of teams are going to go out there harder,’ Waiters said after the GW game, ‘and we just got to go out there and play Syracuse basketball and don’t try and do a lot of things that we usually don’t try to do.’

mcooperj@syr.edu

Published on December 19, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr