Syracuse basketball was desperate for a win and got it, but that doesn’t mean all of its problems are fixed, but it’s a good start. Here are the details.
Syracuse basketball got its second conference win of the season when they upset No. 18 Virginia on Saturday afternoon at the John Paul Jones Arena.
It was a thrilling 63-55 overtime victory and instantly became the best win on the season for the Orange.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
A lot of things went wrong vs the Cavaliers and it nearly cost Syracuse the game.
The Orange lost the rebounding battle (47-to-44), Syracuse was abysmal offensively (32.8 percent from the field), and for 99 percent of the game, Buddy Boeheim couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat.
Fortunately, they were bailed out by some late-game heroics from Buddy who finally put it together and ended up scoring 14 points, three triples, and a desperation heave that found the bottom of the net.
https://twitter.com/Cuse_MBB/status/1216139268667723777
This win won’t put Syracuse basketball in the NCAA tournament, it simply makes them 9-7 (2-3 in the ACC) with a chance to turn this into something special.
It was a quadrant one victory (on the road vs a top-25 team) and might mean something come Selection Sunday or it might not. Syracuse basketball will determine that based on how they play in between those two moments.
Three of the next five are on the road for the Orange and to kick off the month of February the team will get another opportunity against a top-25 squad at home vs the Duke Blue Devils.
The Virginia win was a good start and something this team and specifically this locker room desperately needed. Now the team has something to build on and rally around.