UPDATED: December 18, 2018 at 11:11 p.m.

Tyus Battle wouldn’t admit that Syracuse’s next game matters more than its last. Sitting with his head slumped after SU’s loss to Old Dominion on Saturday, Battle was asked whether the Orange would have to win against undefeated Buffalo in their next game, and whether it was more important considering the upset SU had just allowed.

“It’s always extremely important. We have to just be ready to play,” Battle said.

When Syracuse (7-3) takes on Buffalo (10-0) Tuesday night, the Orange will do so with three nonconference losses already, a total they’ve reached the NCAA Tournament with only once. A fourth nonconference loss puts pressure on Syracuse to come close to winning the Atlantic Coast Conference, and that’s a tall order. But a win against the Bulls gives the Orange a second ranked win in nonconference play. All of that adds up to one thing: Tuesday’s game is a must-win for Syracuse.

“They’re ranked so we should be ready to play,” Battle said, “and it’ll be a good win for us.”

In mid-November, when Syracuse lost to UConn at Madison Square Garden for its first loss, multiple Orange players expressed relief that SU could take the floor the next day for a chance to make up for the defeat. They didn’t bounce back the next day, though, and lost by 15 to then-No. 13 Oregon. But that wasn’t a must-win game.

Sure, Syracuse was off to its first 2-2 start since 1987-88. But SU has made the NCAA Tournament with three nonconference losses, including last season and in 2015-2016 when it made the Final Four. There was an opportunity on Nov. 28 to upset a ranked Ohio State team and bolster the resume. The Orange took that. All that was left to do was win out against unranked opponents and a streaking Buffalo team, in nothing but home games.

But that all changed Saturday. SU’s loss wasn’t against a high-major team like UConn, or a then-ranked team with a freshman phenom like Oregon. This was Old Dominion, which, before Saturday, hadn’t beaten a team ranked in KenPom’s pregame Top 25 since 2011.

That’s not just another loss. That’s a huge red mark on Syracuse’s postseason resume.

“This is one we’ll have to sit with all year,” SU senior Frank Howard said. “We’ll get better. This is a bad loss.”

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Syracuse seemingly hasn’t put together a full 40-minute effort all season, players said. On one hand, that could be cause for optimism: A team that’s shone in spurts has upside when it performs for a whole game. But on the other, it’s cause for concern: After 10 games, Syracuse can’t afford to be streaky much longer.

Enter Buffalo. The Bulls played Syracuse tight in the Dome a year ago, with 6-foot-8 returner Nick Perkins scoring 18 with seven rebounds, eventually losing by seven in a game that came down to the closing minutes. They held Tyus Battle to 13 points, and he acknowledged Saturday that he didn’t play one of his “best games” against them. Battle is the only SU player providing consistent offense right now, and Buffalo showed it could slow him down. That doesn’t bode well for the Orange, who can’t afford to drop two-straight games for the second time this season.

And that’s before even looking at what the Bulls have done this season. They pulled off an overtime win at then-No. 13 West Virginia behind 43 points from guard CJ Massinburg. They handed San Francisco — which has received votes in the AP poll and ranks No. 20 in NET rating — its only loss so far. Buffalo’s off to its best start since 1931 and highest ranking in program history. At No. 14 in last week’s poll, it’s sure to rise come Monday.

“They’re, I think, a top-10 team in the country,” SU head coach Jim Boeheim said Saturday. “So we’re gonna have to play a lot better than this.”

A loss to Buffalo would mean the Orange have to shine in ACC play, but Syracuse hasn’t won more than 10 of its 18 conference games in any of the last four seasons. Twice, SU has gone 9-9, and last season went 8-10. The Orange managed to sneak in as the last at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, even with a sub-.500 conference mark.

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Even with the potential for resume-boosting wins in ACC play that Battle pointed out Saturday, the Orange won’t sneak in to the Tournament with a loss Tuesday.

To beat Buffalo, the Orange will need to play a full game. They’ll have to handle the high-pressure defensive system that the Bulls run. They’ll be forced to contain standout guards — namely Massinburg, Jeremy Harris and Jayvon Graves — better than the ones Old Dominion just used to pull off its upset.

“If we’re not ready to play against Buffalo, they’ll beat us a little bit worse,” Howard said.

That’s an understatement. If Syracuse doesn’t show up to play against Buffalo, the Bulls will run the Orange off their home floor and stomp all over SU’s NCAA Tournament chances.

Syracuse can’t let that happen.

Billy Heyen is a senior staff writer for The Daily Orange where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at wmheyen@syr.edu or @Wheyen3.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, SU’s nonconference losses were misstated for the 2015-2016 year. The Orange has three losses. Also, Syracuse has made an NCAA Tournament with three losses once before. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on December 16, 2018 at 7:45 pm