SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A lone proselytizer stood at the foot of the Syracuse campus, offering up his biblical interpretations and occasional rants.

As two women walked by, one looked at the other and started to ask a question.

"Is he here because of "

Besides the presence of some media trucks, the SU campus didn't seem all that different Tuesday. AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli

Before she could finish, her friend cut her off.

"Nah, he's here all the time."

That's the way it is these days in Syracuse, where everything is viewed through the prism of scandal. Since the news broke that now-former associate head coach Bernie Fine was being investigated for alleged child molestation -- and more, since an incendiary audio tape of a conversation between Fine's accuser and Fine's wife aired -- Syracuse has become the new ground zero in a moving target of dishonor.

The news vans have relocated, driving from central Pennsylvania to central New York, now taking up spaces on Marshall Street instead of College Avenue.

But this, people in town are quick to tell you, is not Penn State.

Fine's alleged crime is no less heinous, but the reaction, at least for now, is nowhere near as nuclear.

"I don't know that it's anxiety so much as people just don't want this to be like Penn State," said Michael Cohen, a junior at SU and sports editor at The Daily Orange. "They want to wait and reserve judgment."

Reserved. That's probably the best word to describe Syracuse this week. Muted, even.

There were no protestors or students amassing on campus, no hastily staged news conferences -- or canceled ones, for that matter. Students shuffled to class or grabbed a bite to eat at Varsity Pizza. Save for a few television crews grabbing interviews, it was an ordinary weekday.

Similarly, the Orange's game against Eastern Michigan, a predictable 84-48 rout Tuesday night, was a basketball game, no more and no less.

Fans didn't wear special colors in support of victims of abuse, nor did the public address announcer ask for a moment of silence. The players played. The coaches coached, and the students spent the endgame cheering for the 75th point and subsequent free taco.

Aside from a prolonged standing ovation when Jim Boeheim took the court, this was business as usual, at least until the postgame.

There, a packed assemblage of print and television reporters greeted Boeheim. The coach initially read from a statement he said he prepared with a friend, but then surprisingly went off the cuff at length to answer questions.

Typically defensive, Boeheim was more philosophical and conversational. At one point, when Pete Moore, the director of athletic communications, tried for the second time to insist that the news conference be limited to basketball-only questions, Boeheim even joked, "Give it up, Pete."

He was, however, adamant in his insistence that he had no knowledge of nor was he in any way complicit in covering up Fine's alleged actions.

It was not exactly a routine postgame news conference at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night. AP Photo/Kevin Rivoli

"I do my job," Boeheim said. "What happened on my watch, we will see. When the investigation is done, we'll find out what happened on my watch. Right now there are no charges, no indictment, no grand jury and no action has been taken. When that's done, we'll see what happened on my watch."

That, right now, is the burning question around these parts.

What, if anything, happened with his knowledge?

Boeheim is adored in Syracuse, a coaching legend who might not be viewed as the architect of the city quite like Joe Paterno is in State College, but one nonetheless universally revered.

Faith in the coach has not been greatly shaken, but people do want assurance that Boeheim knew nothing about Bobby Davis' initial accusations nine years ago.

"What will happen with Boeheim and what did he know? Those are the questions," SU senior Annabelle Hine said.

On Tuesday, Syracuse chancellor Nancy Cantor offered her vote of confidence. Following an unrelated meeting in Albany, Cantor said, "He is our coach," and while she didn't offer a qualifier for the future, most people around town seem to believe it will remain that way.

"I don't think Jim Boeheim should be fired, not if he didn't know about it," Syracuse sophomore Dylan Vitali said. "I think that's what most people believe right now. What he said [about the accusers] was wrong, but he was being emotional."

Indeed, most people in the city have forgiven Boeheim his initial attack, in which he labeled Davis a liar and worse, a man out merely for money. Fans argue exactly what Boeheim said in his postgame news conference Tuesday -- that he was supporting a friend.

But a few miles from campus, in a small building set amid other offices, at least one woman has a different opinion.

Randi Bregman has been working with victims of sexual abuse for 20 years. Now the executive director of Vera's House, an outreach and advocacy center, she listened to what Boeheim said initially and then read the statement he issued Sunday.