Big Dance or not, I’m so proud of Syracuse Basketball

The Syracuse basketball squad got crushed by North Carolina, but it doesn’t change one iota how I feel about this team.

And now, we wait.

The SU hoops outfit couldn’t keep up with No. 12 North Carolina on Wednesday night in the ACC Tournament’s second round at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Despite these two programs playing a four-point game at the Carrier Dome last month, the Orange just fell flat this go-round versus the Tar Heels, which carved up the 2-3 zone like a turkey on Thanksgiving.

Let’s give credit where credit is due. UNC, the No. 6 seed in the ACC tourney, is simply a better, deeper group. I imagine that the Tar Heels will likely go on a formidable run in this tournament, and they should have a terrific seed line in March Madness.

For the ‘Cuse, the No. 11 seed in the ACC Tournament, it’s going to prove a few long days until

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Selection Sunday.

With the setback to North Carolina (23-9, 11-7), the bevy of prognosticators view Syracuse (20-13, 8-10) as destined for the NIT. Okay, I have no issue with that.

In my humble opinion, it’s a super close call, and much of it depends on how other bubble bunches fare in their respective post-season conference tourneys.

SU has positives and negatives on its resume. It has a strong strength of schedule, both overall and in the non-conference slate. Its RPI is average, as is its record outside of Central New York. There are several marquee successes, like home versus Clemson and Virginia Tech, as well as on the road at Louisville and Miami. There’s also only a small number of “bad” defeats, such as to Georgia Tech and Wake Forest on their turfs.

All in all, I view the ‘Cuse as one of the final crews in the field of 68, or one of the first rosters left behind. Similar story as a stanza ago.

Ultimately, my gut tells me that the Orange isn’t going to go dancing in March. A total bummer, obviously. However, should that occur, my admiration and respect for Syracuse in the 2017-18 campaign will not waver.

I love these guys.

No one believed that they would do much during this term. Sophomore Taurean Thompson and graduate transfer Geno Thorpe surprisingly fled. Freshman Howard Washington suffered a devastating injury. Multiple other players have proven hobbled in one way or another throughout this journey.

We are young. We have no depth. Dudes are logging 38-40 minutes per contest. We are frequently challenged on offense. We compete in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference.

Yet, this squad attained 20 victories. If a handful of possessions in various encounters go our way, we easily could have secured 22-26 wins, with an at-large invite to the NCAA Tournament a certainty.

Frustrating, yes.

But those SU fans out there who are calling this the worst unit ever, or want head coach Jim Boeheim fired, they need to chill.

With the cards that we got dealt, I think we vastly exceeded expectations.

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I, for one, am quite fond of our boys. They displayed grit and heart all season long, and we should salute them.

Whether Syracuse hears its named called on Sunday or not.

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