The Syracuse basketball team’s latest setback is stunning and sad. For a team that was heralded as one of the best ever has fallen mightily.
As I watched the St. John’s players run down the court in the second half and make thunderous dunks, time and time again, an unfortunate – but realistic – thought crept into my head.
This Syracuse basketball squad is, to put it bluntly, not good. Not one bit.
No matter what, I’ll always love my beloved Orange. However, on Wednesday night SU got embarrassed on its home floor, losing to a bad Red Storm team by 33 points.
St. John’s improves to 6-7. Syracuse falls to 7-5. It is the first time in head coach Jim Boeheim’s 40-plus years at the helm that he has suffered five defeats in the non-conference slate.
That pretty much says it all. For an outfit with so many new faces, yet so much perceived talent, I’m speechless as to what has transpired through the first 12 games. And, particularly, what happened – or failed to happened – against the Johnnies.
Honestly, if we aren’t going to sugarcoat things, this amounted to a truly pathetic performance. In fact, the 93-60 outcome is the worst defeat at the Carrier Dome under Boeheim.
Our boys flat-out quit in this contest. They don’t have much synergy on offense. They look clueless on defense. Way too many wide-open 3-pointers, as well as offensive boards, which lead to countless second-chance opportunities.
They don’t hustle. They don’t gel as a cohesive unit. There’s a clear lack of energy, enthusiasm and grit. They aren’t doing the little things, the intangibles.
Inconsistent play had seemed to occur against stiffer competition. Now, it’s happening versus less-than-stellar competition.
I got my hopes up after the scoring explosion on Monday night in crushing Eastern Michigan. Syracuse proceeded to fervently dash those hopes.
It’s not like St. John’s is a juggernaut. Regardless, the Red Storm dominated the Orange in virtually every facet of the game. In humiliating fashion.
They shredded the 2-3 zone. Drained shots from downtown. They secured loose balls. Forced tons of turnovers. They got out in transition and, especially in the second half, threw down numerous high-flying jams with ease.
Eventually, the score got so lopsided that fans began to boo. With 90 seconds to go, Boeheim sent in the walk-ons. Not because Syracuse led by 30. Because it trailed by 30.
Astonishing.
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The SU players had such poor body language toward the end. I can understand their frustration, but it’s like they stopped trying. No heart. Inexcusable.
The beautiful ball movement from two nights ago turned into a non-existent offense, in which shots just got chucked up from wherever, without any thought whatsoever. The Orange finished with five more turnovers than assists. Ugh.
Graduate transfer Andrew White III, our leading and most consistent scorer, collected two points in 37 minutes. Sums it up.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but ‘Cuse has lost three consecutive times to St. John’s. And all three
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games in this season’s non-conference schedule against former Big East rivals (Georgetown and UConn are the other two).
Maybe we are spoiled. Syracuse has had a terrific run of late, making two Final Fours and an Elite Eight. However, its regular-season record has deteriorated the past three years, and that’s a cause for concern.
Boeheim praised his squad’s depth and potential before we kicked off the 2016-17 campaign, something he rarely does. Expectations elevated. Now, after a home game versus Cornell on Tuesday, Dec. 27, the Orange will begin ACC play with its most losses ever – at that juncture – during Boeheim’s tenure.
If ‘Cuse doesn’t turn it around, and fast, I have no idea how SU even comes close to reaching .500 in its conference clashes. We’re staring down the likelihood of missing the Big Dance. Almost unthinkable.
Boeheim had this to say in his post-game press conference:
"“This game is all on me. I didn’t get them ready to do what we needed to do. But this is on me, not the players. … Our defense was horrible, bottom line. We didn’t execute our defense at all. … And, offensively, we’re not very good. … I have to coach better, we have to play a lot better.”"
The silver lining is that hope remains. And here’s how I know why: as the 2013 regular season came to a close, Syracuse suffered a stinging losing streak, getting blown out by Georgetown in the finale.
Everyone viewed the sky as falling.
Players then picked themselves up, and got back to work. SU won a few games in the Big East Tournament that year, regained their momentum, and eventually made it to the Final Four.
Things appear bleak at the moment, and for good reason. However, with the talent we have, and with Boeheim in charge, all is not entirely lost. At least, not yet.