Syracuse basketball is more than halfway through its 2021-22 regular season, and I think we can all agree that the Orange’s record to date is pretty bad.
But is the ‘Cuse as bad as its record would indicate? It’s an interesting question, one that I started thinking about in-depth after hearing some of the comments from Orange head coach Jim Boeheim at his post-game press conference after Syracuse basketball was crushed by Duke on the road this past Saturday afternoon.
The ‘Cuse (9-10, 3-5), which was preparing to play at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, clearly has a sub-par zone defense in 2021-22, although the team usually can score in droves.
In recent Atlantic Coast Conference contests, Syracuse basketball had been faring quite well in the rebounding department, but a top-10 Blue Devils squad manhandled the Orange on the boards.
Syracuse basketball boss Jim Boeheim seems optimistic about the team’s stretch run.
Prior to its encounter at Pitt, the Orange had suffered five setbacks in ACC competition. Putting the Duke debacle to the side, the other four losses for the ‘Cuse were really tight games.
Syracuse basketball fell to Virginia and Florida State at home by five points. The Orange was tied with the Cavaliers at half-time, and the ‘Cuse could have knocked off the Seminoles.
Syracuse basketball squandered an 18-point lead at Miami and lost by one point. The Orange fell by three points in overtime at Wake Forest and really should have conquered the Demon Deacons.
I get that there’s no such thing as a moral victory, however, Syracuse basketball is hanging tough with the majority of its foes of late.
To that end, Boeheim said in part during his post-game presser following the Duke setback, according to a transcript from SyracuseOnSI publisher Mike McAllister, “This team’s played pretty well together, especially in the league. I think we’re still good. I think we’ll finish strongly.”
Now, the vast majority of my fellow ‘Cuse fans would probably say that the Orange, at present, isn’t very good. In fact, most Orange fans, understandably frustrated by the 2021-22 stanza at this juncture, would opine that Syracuse basketball isn’t any good at all.
Wins are wins, and losses are losses. If the ‘Cuse is falling by small margins, maybe that’s something to feel slightly positive about, but does that suggest Syracuse basketball is better than its current 9-10 mark?
I guess it really just depends on your own personal perspective, and whether you’re generally optimistic or generally pessimistic. For me personally, I get a kick out of seeing Boeheim coach his sons, even if the team is losing more than it’s winning.
I hope that the Orange head coach is spot on when he says that he thinks the ‘Cuse will finish strongly. Of course, we’ll have to wait and see how the rest of this campaign plays out.