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PITTSBURGH — Two weeks ago, ahead of Syracuse’s first matchup with Pittsburgh, head coach Jim Boeheim was asked how concerned he was that SU may not make the NCAA Tournament. He gave the coach-speak response: “I’m concerned about playing Pittsburgh right now.”

After Syracuse’s double-digit defeat to Pitt on Tuesday, one that can be reasonably characterized as humiliating for the Orange, Boeheim was asked a similar question. This time, his response was more telling of the bleak future for this season. 

“I’m concerned about winning a game,” Boeheim said. “Are you kidding me? Do you see anything that looks like a tournament team out there? Do you? … We’re concerned about trying to win a game. Period.”

Boeheim didn’t explicitly say it, but the odds of Syracuse making the NCAA Tournament following Tuesday’s loss dwindled to almost zero. Like he said, SU’s having serious issues winning singular games. There’s still the possibility of a miracle where Syracuse plays like a completely different team over its last 11 games, or goes on a run and wins the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

But the harsh reality is that the Pittsburgh loss pushed SU to an overall record of 9-11, the first time that Syracuse has ever been two games under .500 in Boeheim’s 46 years as head coach. SU could very likely finish the season below .500 for the first time since 1968 (pre-Boeheim era), too — KenPom projects Syracuse to lose six of its remaining 11 games. 

Somehow, amid a season that included a loss to Colgate where the Orange gave up 100 points, another defeat to an underperforming rival in Georgetown and countless blown double-digit leads, the Orange managed to stoop even lower. This loss to Pitt was the curtain call. This loss signaled the end of Syracuse’s season.

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After the defeat against Pittsburgh, which entered the contest with the fewest wins in the conference, Buddy Boeheim was at a loss for words. He’s been around Syracuse’s program for his entire life and is playing in it for his fourth season. When asked if he could wrap his head around being 9-11, he said, “It sucks, it really sucks. I guess I just really don’t have any words to say, I mean besides it’s really tough.”

Buddy said this loss in particular would sting for a while. Jesse Edwards said it’s becoming harder and harder to envision Syracuse’s path back to the Tournament “when we drop ones like these.” “We just got to take it one game at a time. I don’t think we can even think about (the Tournament),” Buddy said. “Just trying to get back to over .500 is the biggest thing.”

The Orange were supposed to be an offense driven by excellent shooters. All five Syracuse starters are averaging double-digit points. But on Tuesday, against Pitt’s 153rd-ranked defense, Syracuse tied a season low with 53 points, and shot 30.2% from the field – its second lowest mark of the season. And despite starting strong, it couldn’t consistently produce on offense.

In fact, Syracuse has struggled to put together a consistent offensive performance all season. It’ll build a lead and then lose it just as quickly. SU’s one of the streakiest teams in the country, meaning it’s very likely to score but also allow double-digit runs. It can’t seem to string together a complete 20 minutes on offense, let alone a complete 40 minutes. 

On the defensive end, the Orange have slipped further in the rankings, currently sitting at 217th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Boeheim identified the defense as a pressing issue this season, and he has continuously said that SU is working to fix it. He even morphed his patented 2-3 zone into 1-1-3 one at times to try and repair the defense.

Yet, besides in spurts, the adjustments haven’t worked consistently, either. Perhaps it’s possible that the Hall of Fame coach doesn’t have the answers for how to improve the unit. Perhaps it can’t be done with this group of players.

When Boeheim blamed SU’s “horrendous” defense after its loss to Virginia on Jan. 1, he added, “We’ve done, at most, everything I know to fix it.” He said effort wasn’t the issue; it was positioning-related. Boeheim did take ownership, saying, “Our defense was a disgrace and that’s on me. I’m the coach, I’m responsible for that.” But the bottom line is that the defensive issues have persisted.

Of course, this is Syracuse, so writing them off before February and March isn’t something to be taken lightly. Last year, the Orange made the Tournament, winning five of their last seven games after spending most of the regular season outside the NCAA Tournament bubble.

But scraping together a run like that isn’t as feasible this year. SU’s lost 11 games already, more than all of last season, and it’s really only looked comfortable in one conference game — its first matchup with Pittsburgh. 

In the second game against Pitt, one of SU’s most winnable games, the Orange were embarrassed. It’s not November, or December or early January anymore — the calendar has almost flipped to February, but the lack of consistency persists, so it’s too late for a once-Tournament hopeful team. 

Roshan Fernandez is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at rferna04@syr.edu or on Twitter @Roshan_f16.

Published on January 27, 2022 at 1:20 am

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16