Syracuse Basketball, fighting for its post-season life, must beat BC

The Syracuse basketball squad, after two straight defeats to highly ranked foes, heads to Boston College for a vital ACC clash.

I’m not a big believer in blanket statements or universal declarations, especially as it pertains to Selection Sunday and which teams will likely hear their name called then.

The 2017-18 regular season is coming to a close, post-season conference tournaments are lurking in the horizon, and a lot can happen between now and March 11.

Still, if I’m honestly assessing the state of the SU hoops squad, I can say with a fairly good degree of confidence that the Orange’s road encounter with Boston College this Wednesday evening is a must-win for the ‘Cuse.

Assuming that Syracuse (18-11, 7-9) doesn’t go on a miraculous run and capture the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, our guys really need to secure 20 regular-season conquests.

With just the Eagles duel and a home tilt on March 3 against No. 18 Clemson left on the schedule, SU has to have this pair of showdowns, and it probably would want a minimum of one or two victories in the ACC tourney to feel somewhat solid about a March Madness bid.

Following a heart-breaking setback to then-No. 10 North Carolina a week ago, and a blowout trouncing to No. 5 Duke this past Saturday in which the Orange shot horribly, the ‘Cuse remains without a besting of a top-25 opponent.

Prior to the ACC Tournament, Syracuse possesses a mere one more chance, when it hosts the aforementioned Tigers.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, SU faces a daunting challenge in trying to knock off BC (16-

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13, 6-10) away from the Carrier Dome’s friendly confines. While the Orange pasted the Eagles in late January on our turf, Boston College is an exponentially stronger unit at its own venue, having fallen on just three occasions there.

Presently, the Eagles have lost three in a row, but they have also scored home successes versus the Blue Devils, Florida State and Miami.

BC is better on offense, and the ‘Cuse is more proficient on defense. Same old story. The Eagles, as a group, connect on roughly 36 percent from 3-point land, so the Syracuse 2-3 zone has to lock in on long-distance shooters, protect the boards, and force a sizable amount of turnovers.

And, for gosh sake, can we not repeat our dreadful offensive performance from the Duke battle? That proved difficult to watch.

I can’t stress how imperative this game is for SU. As of Monday night, the Bracket Matrix Web site slots the Orange as one of the first programs outside the projected field of 68.

Conquering Boston College, and then Clemson, is no easy task. But, as I noted earlier, these are must-win circumstances.

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Predictions for Orange vs. Boston College

While I detest using that sort of phrasing, this is where the ‘Cuse currently finds itself – on the wrong side of the bubble, yet with instances to reverse its trajectory.

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