Syracuse Basketball: Orange season will be defined by perseverance

The Syracuse basketball squad ran into a defensive-minded Virginia crew that proved too much for the Orange to handle in the 2019-20 season opener.

The Syracuse basketball team couldn’t buy a basket in its 48-34 setback to No. 11 Virginia on Wednesday night in Central New York, and now a contingent of Orange fanatics are ready to declare the 2019-20 campaign as a disaster.

I can’t tell you the number of so-called fans who absolutely ripped the ‘Cuse to shreds after this dreadful shooting performance by Syracuse (0-1, 0-1), which amounted to the fewest points that the Orange has produced since before the Carrier Dome commenced operations in 1980.

Look, I get that some folks in ‘Cuse Nation are disappointed and frustrated. Prior to the current stanza beginning, excitement had developed for a Syracuse unit that we all anticipated would fare much better on offense in 2019-20 as compared to a term ago.

That narrative didn’t transpire on Wednesday, when more than 22,000 people, including Orange legend Carmelo Anthony, took a trip to the Hill to watch the ‘Cuse suit up against the Cavaliers, a group that witnessed its top-three guys flee to the pros after claiming the NCAA title this past April. Despite those massive losses, Virginia’s premier defense under head coach Tony Bennett remains in full force, as evidenced by Syracuse’s putrid offensive box score.

So, yes, the Orange put up a stinker versus the Cavaliers (1-0, 1-0) and fell to 5-8 overall in the programs’ series. On offense, a lack of fluidity and rhythm ensued, and that resulted in poor shot selection on an abundance of possessions. The ‘Cuse got crushed on the boards, and in the assists department.

On the positive side, Syracuse took care of the ball pretty well, forced Virginia into 16 turnovers and allowed a mere 48 points – with this latter figure usually enabling you to come away with a conquest.

Remember that the Orange returned just one starter from 2018-19, and the ‘Cuse roster includes no seniors and five freshmen. Syracuse needs time to gel, because several players are getting way more minutes than they did six to 12 months ago, and the newbies are deciphering what it’s like to compete in the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference.

While battling with cupcakes isn’t ideal for the Orange, in my humble opinion, going toe to toe with a squad such as the Cavaliers is an extremely tall task for the inaugural affair of 2019-20. Head coach Jim Boeheim echoed this sentiment in his post-contest remarks.

"“We just are not ready to play against that defense. I thought we were going to be a little better, but we just didn’t do the things we needed to offensively. They are very difficult to play against. They’re in the top two or three defensive teams every year. You don’t want to play them in the first game. Offenses take a little bit more time. … I thought we did okay defensively. We did a lot of the things that we needed to do. But offensively, we just really never got movement and when we got it, we really didn’t get positive actions off the movement. So, tough game. They’re a tough team to play in the first game, but we learned from it and we won’t play anybody better defensively this year except for when we have to play them again. So, we learned some from it. We have all new guys and new positions and I think that showed out there.”"

As usual, Boeheim is candid and spot-on in his assessment. What’s critical for this relatively inexperienced and young ‘Cuse line-up is to stay confident, clean up its mistakes, keep working hard, and prepare for a formidable opponent in Colgate that travels to the Dome on Nov. 13. Let’s collectively slow our roll as it pertains to hitting the panic button. It’s a long season ahead.