SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Back in late summer, when football was in full swing and Syracuse’s C.J. Fair was getting set for his senior season in basketball, he figured the Orange would field a pretty decent team despite the loss of three stars.

“I knew we’d have a good team at the end of the year, but in the summertime I didn’t think we’d be the No. 1 team in the country,” Fair said.

That’s exactly what the unbeaten Orange are — the unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week. Syracuse is on a school-record-tying 23-game winning streak atop the Atlantic Coast Conference at 10-0, but that perch seems a bit precarious with a daunting schedule looming.

Next up is a game at No. 25 Pittsburgh (20-4, 8-3) inside the rowdy Petersen Events Center on Wednesday night.

The venue and a thin roster make it likely the biggest challenge so far for Syracuse, which barely held off the Panthers 59-54 at home in mid-January before a Carrier Dome crowd of more than 30,000.