Jim Boeheim, Jamie Dixon and Mike Brey shared an exchange while traveling together this summer.

The three Big East coaches who would lead their respective programs into the highly touted Atlantic Coast Conference — the same one Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said could be the best of all time — planned to send a message in their first season.

They were going to be competitive and consistent.

“There’s probably a little bit of pride getting in the league and kind of establishing yourself right away,” Brey said during the ACC coaches’ teleconference on Monday. “I know for us personally, that’s something we talked about all summer.”

So far, No. 2 Syracuse (17-0, 4-0 ACC) and No. 22 Pittsburgh (16-1, 4-0) have lived up to that pact, while Brey’s Notre Dame has been crippled by the loss of leading scorer Jerian Grant due to an academic issue. On Saturday at 4 p.m., the Orange will host the Panthers in a matchup of the ACC’s only two teams still unbeaten in conference play.

They’ve throttled their competition early, as the traditional ACC powers — No. 23 Duke and North Carolina — have fallen 10 times, including seven to unranked opponents. The Orange and Panthers have barely had any close calls, with none of their wins coming by fewer than five-point margins. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have combined for just one double-digit win in conference play.

“When the ACC went out to add teams, I think their mission was to get the best basketball teams they could,” Dixon said during the teleconference. “And Syracuse and us, I think we were one in the last 10 years by a pretty good margin and they were, too.”

Only two weeks into the ACC season, the two Big East transplants are doing all they can to save the group from being atrociously bad. Still, it’s just the fifth-best conference in the nation by Ratings Percentage Index, and is 11-21 against the Associated Press Top 25 teams this season.

If the Blue Devils weren’t the Blue Devils, they wouldn’t even be ranked. And a one-dimensional North Carolina team that came into the Carrier Dome last weekend will have trouble going anywhere shooting 30.6 percent from the 3.

“Over time, Duke and North Carolina have been pretty doggone good and have stood the test of time,” said UNC head coach Roy Williams during the teleconference. “Whether this is a bad year or a bad month or a bad week or two bad games, who knows?”

Syracuse has relied on a balanced offense and an increasingly stingy 2-3 zone. The strong backcourt play from Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney has exceeded expectations, and C.J. Fair has been as reliable as any player in the country in crunch time.

From Baylor to St. John’s to Miami to Boston College, every time an opponent has challenged the Orange, it’s protected the target on its back.

Even when it doesn’t come easily, Fair said, SU has found a way — like against the Eagles.

“You don’t want to force anything because your back’s against the wall, but you don’t want to play desperate,” Fair said after Monday’s game. “We found a way and we got stops when we needed it.”

Pittsburgh hasn’t dealt with quite as many nail-biters. The Panthers have not faced a ranked team, and their closest margin of victory came in their 81-74 win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday.

Still, despite a strong schedule outside the top 100, Pitt has leaned on uber-efficient forward Lamar Patterson. The senior has the highest raw offensive efficiency among players who are used in at least 24 percent of possessions, according to KenPom.com.

The senior has slimmed down and padded his patience, and is a large reason why Pitt leads the ACC with 48.8-percent shooting as a team.

“It’s been constant since his freshman year,” Dixon said. “The body wasn’t where it needed to be, and we finally reached it. You wish you could do it overnight and have a chance his freshman year, but he’s seeing the results, we’re seeing the results and he’s a good example for younger players.”

Together, the Orange and the Panthers are keeping the ACC afloat in a deep national landscape.

The start of the ACC schedule is comparable to Jim Halpert’s start in Stamford, Conn., on “The Office.”

After a heartbreaking departure from a long and valued relationship, Jim moves in to the new office, quickly gets the best looking girl there and casually becomes the boss’ favorite employee. Fellow salesman Andy Bernard watches as the new guy in town takes his non-squeaking chair. His rage gradually builds up to the point of unleashing an angry tantrum and punching a hole through a wall.

Syracuse and Pitt are Halpert. The rest of the ACC is Andy Bernard.

Published on January 17, 2014 at 4:34 am