Are We Seeing The (Steady) Decline Of Syracuse Basketball?

Then, to now:

"2015: 18-13, 9-9 in the ACC. Ineligible for post-season play. 2016: 23-14, 9-9 in the ACC. No. 10 seed, Final Four loss to No. 1 North Carolina. Note that ‘Cuse barely snuck in to the Big Dance before jet-setting on a surprising, remarkable run to the national semifinals."

Current Season: 7-5 in the out-of-conference schedule, with losses to South Carolina, Wisconsin, UConn, Georgetown and St. John’s.

"***Oh, by the way, I recognize that some of the above numbers aren’t official any longer, due to the 101 vacated wins. I’d tell the NCAA where to stick it, but I have an adorable infant son and must watch what I say.***"

Such a backdrop reflects what I consider six relatively strong campaigns, followed by two-and-a-half lackluster ones. I get that we made the Final Four this past March, but if we are assessing things honestly, Syracuse didn’t play well for the majority of the year. No doubt SU performed admirably in the tourney, but luck did factor in; if Michigan State doesn’t get bounced in the First Round, I don’t believe we advance past the Round of 32.