Inside the Loud House
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Syracuse Basketball: Orange can change the history of Jim Boeheim

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

SYRACUSE, NY - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts to game action during the first half against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at the Carrier Dome on December 29, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
SYRACUSE, NY - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts to game action during the first half against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at the Carrier Dome on December 29, 2018 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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2016-17 season

Overall record: 19-15 (143rd of 351)

Conference: 10-8 (seventh in the ACC)

Home record: 17-4

Away record: 2-11

Record vs teams in top 25: 3-5

This was a crazy roller coaster season that saw the highest of the highs (three top-10 wins) and the lowest of the lows (a 33 point nonconference home loss to St. Johns, more on that in a moment).

You can’t say this season wasn’t exciting. Syracuse had four double digit scorers, nearly five with Taurean Thompson just missing the cut (9.2 points per game) sorry to bring up that sensitive subject in the salt city:

  • Andrew White III
    • A graduate transfer that ended up having the best three point shooting season in Syracuse history, let that simmer for a second. Averaged 18.5 points per game to lead the Orange.
  • Tyler Lydon
    • Future NBA first round pick Tyler Lydon was second on the team with 13.2 points per game and Jim Boeheim even called him one of the best center prospects he had ever coached.
  • Tyus Battle
    • Does anyone else remember when Tyus Battle was a third wheel offensively? I sure don’t. Averaged 11.3 points per game and had the Clemson buzzer beater (on the road) which was the first of many clutch shots for Battle throughout his Syracuse career.
  • John Gillon
    • Speaking of clutch shots, John Gillon will always be remembered for his buzzer beating shot to top No. 10 Duke! Gillon averaged 10.5 points per game on the season.

As the words flow from my fingers, it takes me back to that dark moment on Wednesday December 21st vs St. Johns. It felt like the team had given up halfway through the game and it felt disgusting to watch.

Obviously the committee couldn’t overlook that and I can’t blame them one iota. An interesting nugget to consider here is that Syracuse made a crazy run in the second half with some super high quality wins (No. 6 Florida State, No. 9 Virginia, and No. 10 Duke) and that still wasn’t enough.

But I’m sure another factor was the 2-11 road record, absolutely atrocious. So the moral of this story is don’t give the tournament reasons to not include you. The longer those discussions are, the worse it’s going to be for you.

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