Syracuse Basketball: Top 5 takeaways from Pitt win on the road

Where does that put Syracuse after 22 games of play?

Syracuse completed non-conference play and finished with an unappealing four losses. As we’ve discussed previously, any time that has happened previously under head coach Jim Boeheim, Syracuse hasn’t made the tournament (if you’d like to take a closer look at each of those seasons, we documented them here).

Understandably so the Orange were already behind the eight ball, so to make up for some of those questionable losses, Syracuse would have to do something pretty extraordinary in conference play.

Halfway through ACC play, the Orange are 7-2 in conference. Which is good enough for a share of third place in the ACC standings. Not too shabby at all.

But that wasn’t the only thing Syracuse did. Arguably a bigger factor is what the Orange have been able to do in true road games so far this season: 5-1. While the one loss was brutal, you have to consider context. Virginia Tech was a top-10 team in the country, hadn’t lost at home all season, and Syracuse had one day of preparation.

While in those five road conquests it includes the mother of all skins: a road win vs No. 1 Duke. Also they took out the “No. 1” Ohio State Buckeyes (according to the NET Basketball Rankings). LAUGH IF YOU DARE! The NET rankings will be the “primary factor” on whether a team makes the tournament this season, so it doesn’t matter what we think of the rankings, it matters what the committee thinks and they think it’s pretty important.

Syracuse is in a great position halfway through conference play, but the work isn’t over yet. The Orange are about to enter an incredibly tough stretch that features five top-25 opponents in the next six games. What some may look at as a major obstacle, I see opportunity. The Orange have a chance to increase the quality of their tournament resume. We’ll see if they take advantage of it.