Syracuse (12-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) suffered its first losing streak of the season by dropping its second straight-game, this one to Notre Dame (13-3, 3-0), 51-49, on Saturday in the Carrier Dome.

The Orange led for nearly the entire game against the Fighting Irish. In the previous game — a 73-67 loss at Wake Forest — SU held a five-point lead with seven minutes to play.

The team is now more than halfway through the regular season. After Saturday’s game, junior point guard Frank Howard attributed the losses to a weak mindset for the entire team, including himself. And he was candid in saying the team needs to change in order to save the season.

“We’ve just got to take a step back, reevaluate what we want to do with this season,” he said. “And I’m making it that serious because that’s what it has to be. We don’t want to get too far ahead of us or too far away from us. It’s that serious. We’ve got to look at it as like, the season’s on the line. That’s how we’ve got to play every game.”

Coming off an NIT tournament and losing four-of-five starters from the previous year, preseason expectations weren’t as high as they’ve been previously for Syracuse. The Orange, though, took off and finished the nonconference portion of the schedule at 11-2, its best start since the 2013-2014 season.

Howard has noticed the team not be as active since then, though.

“You gotta have that chip on your shoulder every play,” he said. “Not five plays and then take two or three off cause we play 40 minutes. There’s plenty of guys playing 40 minutes.”

Syracuse failed to defend its home court against the Fighting Irish despite the fact that Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell, UND’s two best players, missed the game. The next two matchups for the Orange are on the road, on Tuesday against No. 8 Virginia and next Saturday against No. 24 Florida State. Both teams’ most recent game was a win over the defending national champion, No. 12 North Carolina.

Howard is hopeful that this stretch ignites his team moving forward. He said that he’s not alone in thinking that this is a pivotal point in the season for Syracuse.

“I think the best thing about today is that’s what (my teammates) are telling me,” Howard said. “They’re coming up to my locker telling me that. I’m confident in this team. We’ve had two tough losses that in my opinion we should have won, even with poor play. But we’ll get better.”

Published on January 6, 2018 at 6:44 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer