The losses were affecting Terrence Roberts. The Syracuse forward said he was concentrating too much on his own poor offensive play. So hard as it was, he shifted his focus.

Defense became Roberts’ new concentration, which is why even after scoring only three points against Louisville on Saturday, his mom added to his wardrobe.

‘My mother said if I played better, I get a mink,’ Roberts said, sporting a white fur coat after his postgame shower on Monday night.

Then when he didn’t think about his offense, it all came together.

Roberts deserves even more outerwear after Monday night’s win over West Virginia. He scored SU’s final six points and hauled down 10 rebounds in the waning seconds of the Orange’s 60-58 victory.

The junior finished with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting for the seventh double-double of his career. It was his most effective game of the season considering the circumstances – SU’s first win over a ranked opponent – and it all came after three games in which he only scored a combined 11 points against St. John’s, Cincinnati and Louisville.

‘(West Virginia) is one of the few teams that played behind (Roberts),’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘He made several post moves we haven’t seen.’

Part of the reason Boeheim said Roberts was confident down low was because West Virginia center Kevin Pittsnogle plays primarily on the perimeter, giving the Mountaineers no inside presence. Roberts received the ball deeper in the post than most games and finished plays with baby hooks and lay-ups.

None were more important than his final three baskets – the only three for Syracuse in the last 6:13 of the game. First was a baby hook for a 56-51 lead. When the Mountaineers closed to within one, he slammed home a dunk after a miss on a short jumper by guard Gerry McNamara with 4:27 left. Then after Pittsnogle tied the game at 58 with a 3-pointer, Roberts laid in the ball with 2:28 remaining.

‘Saturday I needed to play defense and be active and get my team going,’ Roberts said of holding Louisville to 30.2 percent shooting. ‘(Monday) I needed to do a little more offensively, and I was able to do that.’

But his most important play of the night was on – not surprisingly for Roberts – defense. In the final sequence, Syracuse’s recently inspired 2-3 zone forced West Virginia guard Patrick Beilein, who had already made six from the 3-point line into his deepest attempt of the night. The ball clamored high of the rim, and Roberts out-jumped Pittsnogle for the defensive rebound that clinched the game with 5.1 seconds left.

‘I knew it was do or die,’ Roberts said. ‘I knew Pittsnogle was right behind me. He was coming and he had a height advantage.’

Much is made of Roberts’ emotional state during games, but it’s not an overstatement. Center Darryl Watkins, who scored eight points, said Roberts has difficulty dealing with falling short of his own and the team’s expectations.

‘Since he is so emotional, he can pull himself down even more with losses,’ Watkins said.

Roberts attributed his mental turnaround to assistant coach Rob Murphy. Roberts said the two talked about bouncing back from a poor performance or a loss. Roberts said Murphy showed Syracuse’s big men videotapes of Roberts’ strong defensive play and how that is the first step toward solid offensive play for the entire team.

‘I am so emotional and I can’t stand losing,’ Roberts said. ‘(Murphy) knows that feeling, and he’s helped me stay focused on my game and the next game and tell me what I need to do to make my team better.’

On Monday, that was playing offense. With McNamara playing what SU head coach Jim Boeheim called the worst game of his career, the Orange needed other players to fill the void. For a while it was Devendorf, who led SU with 17 points. But in the final six minutes, it was Roberts.

He made sure there was no mink jinx.

‘I’m glad it’s really warm,’ Roberts said. ‘It’s getting cold out here.’

Published on February 20, 2006 at 12:00 pm