Boeheim's Army is out of the 2025 The Basketball Tournament ("TBT"), the annual $1 million, winner-take-all event.
On Monday night in the round of 32, No. 1 seed Boeheim's Army went toe to toe with the No. 4 seed, We Are D3, but our beloved boys in Orange fell in a heart-breaker, 81-78.
Boeheim's Army was the top seed in the Syracuse region, one of eight regional sites in this year's TBT. We Are D3 advances to the Sweet 16, where it will face No. 2 seed Stars of Storrs on Wednesday evening, with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line.
On Monday, at the SRC Arena on the campus of Onondaga Community College, the venue was packed with 'Cuse fans to support Boeheim's Army, the collection of former Syracuse basketball stars and other standouts that won the TBT back in 2021 and had a terrific roster this summer.
But alas, the more talented team doesn't always win.
So why did Boeheim's Army fall in the round of 32? My key takeaways.
First and foremost, We Are D3, a group made up of former NCAA Division III players, was resilient. Early on, Boeheim's Army raced out to a double-digit lead, the crowd was energized, and many figured this would prove a blow-out. That wasn't the case.
A key issue is that Boeheim's Army couldn't stop guard Ty Nichols, who finished with 36 points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals. He went 13-of-20 from the field and 6-of-10 from deep.
At the half, with Boeheim's Army up six points, head coach Allen Griffin said he wanted to see his players focus on getting the ball into the paint. To me, that didn't happen enough. Boeheim's Army went 10-of-31, or 32.3 percent, from beyond the arc, as compared to We Are D3 going 7-of-19, or 36.8 percent, from downtown.
Boeheim's Army's guards Jacob Gilyard and Buddy Boeheim each hit on 50 percent from 3-point land, but the rest of the roster struggled from long range.
We Are D3, in another pivotal department, dominated Boeheim's Army on the glass, 45-30, and the winning squad was also plus-eight rebounds on the offensive side. That led to key second-chance-points opportunities.
Boeheim's Army only committed one more turnover than its foe (15-14), but our boys seemed to commit a few costly turnovers late in this contest. Also, Boeheim's Army went just 16-of-23 at the free-throw line and missed a couple there during the "Elam Ending" that stung.
Gilyard led Boeheim's Army with 19 points, followed by Boeheim with 17 points and big man Chris McCullough with 12 points.
Credit We Are D3 here. Boeheim's Army had its share of chances to pull away, but wasn't able to, and while I'm bummed, I'm always proud of our Orange. I love summer basketball, and it was great to see SRC Arena full of 'Cuse fans. Hopefully, Boeheim's Army will be back at the TBT in 2026.