Syracuse basketball went 0-2 in Brooklyn; 'Cuse also hung tough with two quality foes

Syracuse basketball took a trip to the Big Apple and left with an 0-2 mark.

We all wanted the Orange to go 2-0 or at least 1-1, but it didn't happen. The 'Cuse, last Thursday and Friday nights, fell by a combined nine points to Southeastern Conference member Texas and Big 12 Conference school Texas Tech in the 2024 Legends Classic at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Orange (3-2 overall), in both non-conference encounters, found itself down by double-digits to the Longhorns and the Red Raiders. But the 'Cuse never threw in the towel, and Syracuse basketball players kept fighting, making each affair a close contest down the stretch.

Without question, as the Orange looks ahead to the rest of its non-conference docket and Atlantic Coast Conference competition, the 'Cuse has much work to do. The defense is a work in progress, including in transition. So is the team's shooting from the charity stripe and beyond the arc.

Rebounding, often an issue for Syracuse basketball in recent years, has proven a bright spot. And while a loss is a loss, I was encouraged by the Orange's grit and toughness in New York City, as the 'Cuse hung tough against two high-quality foes.

Syracuse basketball showed some character and spunk in Brooklyn.

Ahead of the team's games versus Texas and Texas Tech, some of my fellow Orange fans opined on social media that they thought the 'Cuse would get blown out in either or both of those contests. To that end, I had written a column that stated Syracuse basketball was an 11.5-point betting underdog versus the Red Raiders last Friday evening.

Ultimately, the Orange went 0-2 in this early season tournament, but neither game was a blowout. And that's a key point to note. In the 2023-24 stanza, Syracuse basketball went 20-12 overall, capturing 20 regular-season wins for the first time in a decade.

Yet in many of the squad's setbacks a term ago, the 'Cuse would ultimately fall by wide margins. To iterate, in Brooklyn, Syracuse basketball lost by a combined nine points to two foes that are expected to hear their respective names called on Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA Tournament, according to bracketologists.

Yes, there are no moral victories here, per se. At the same time, when the Orange raced out to a 3-0 start in 2024-25, the 'Cuse beat Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State by a combined 15 points, and one of those triumphs occurred in double overtime.

No disrespect to Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State, but they are mid-major programs. Syracuse basketball coming close to beating Texas or Texas Tech, or dare I say both of them, to me was more encouraging, in some respects, than the Orange's 3-0 beginning to the current campaign.

The 'Cuse has to improve its long-range and free-throw shooting, although the Orange was strong from the charity stripe versus Texas Tech. The defense has to mightily improve.

And guys on the 2024-25 roster need to step up. It merely can't be junior guard J.J. Starling and, to some extent, junior small forward Chris Bell doing the bulk of the scoring. Other players have to produce on a more consistent basis.

Up next, Syracuse basketball will host Central New York neighbor Cornell, followed by road trips to top-10 Tennessee and then Notre Dame to open Atlantic Coast Conference competition.

Despite an 0-2 record at the Legends Classic, I feel that the 'Cuse is showing some signs of improvement in various facets. But to realistically contend for a bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament, following a three-year absence from March Madness, Syracuse basketball has a lot of work to do.