Syracuse basketball lets a key quadrant-one win slip away at No. 17 Miami

A year ago, Syracuse basketball let 18-point leads wither away against Miami in the 2021-22 regular season, with the Hurricanes emerging with two close victories. And a similar scenario occurred on Monday night in the Sunshine State.

The Orange fell behind 11-2 early on to the No. 17 Hurricanes on Monday evening, but then the ‘Cuse righted the ship and went up by four points at halftime. Then, in the second half, Syracuse basketball built up another double-digit lead over Miami, this time by 11 points.

However, down the stretch, the Hurricanes chipped away at their deficit, buoyed by some 3-point shooting, second-chance opportunities via the offensive glass, getting to the free-throw line, and forcing the Orange into costly turnovers.

The result, on Monday night at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., was an 82-78 triumph for Miami (15-3, 6-2 in the ACC). By extension, Syracuse basketball missed out on a golden opportunity to pick up a much-needed quadrant-one victory in the present 2022-23 campaign.

I’m not going to lie. This loss really stings. Entering this Atlantic Coast Conference clash, the ‘Cuse had won two straight and nine of its past 11 affairs.

Now the Orange (12-7, 5-3) will have to regroup and get ready for another road date at Georgia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 21, with the tip-off scheduled for 12 pm and television coverage on ACC regional sports networks.

Syracuse basketball got huge performances from its two senior starters.

Both Miami and the ‘Cuse shot so-so from the field in this entertaining, back-and-forth contest. They were each sub-par from beyond the arc. To me, the pivotal difference was at the charity stripe.

Syracuse basketball hit on 82 percent from the free-throw line, and the Hurricanes connected on 89 percent. However, Miami collected an 11-point point edge at the stripe, and that to me was the ballgame.

Overall, the Hurricanes won the battle on the boards, but not by a huge margin. Yet Miami grabbing numerous offensive boards late in this affair to keep possessions alive proved really damaging to the Orange.

Undeniably, freshman point guard Judah Mintz struggled in this setback. Freshman forward Chris Bell also didn’t do much after catching fire in the team’s comeback victory on the Hill this past Saturday night versus Notre Dame.

Conversely, senior center Jesse Edwards was a monster, producing 25 points and 11 rebounds. Senior shooting guard Joe Girard III was not good from 3-point land, but in total, he had 21 points and five assists.

Additionally in an encouraging sign, sophomore forward Benny Williams was solid, netting 12 points and five boards.

Hey, there’s no shame in losing on the road by four points to a top-20 opponent. It’s just frustrating that Syracuse basketball could have taken out a foe that was No. 39 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, and the Orange let a double-digit lead slip away.

Then again, the Fighting Irish had a 12-point, second-half advantage over the ‘Cuse at the JMA Wireless Dome over the weekend, and Syracuse basketball came roaring back to prevail.

College basketball. Fun, exciting and heart-breaking, all blended in together. I hope that Syracuse basketball can bounce back in Atlanta against the Yellow Jackets this coming Saturday afternoon.