Following last Thursday’s win over Notre Dame, Jim Boeheim called out the ACC and their scheduling. Many may have thought it was just a coach looking for an excuse during a stretch of unknown games. But is there a legitimate claim here?
Short answer: Yes. Long answer: Probably not.
Why the difference? Well, let’s jump into this.
Short answer: Jim Boeheim has a legitimate complaint. The Orange wraps up a 3 game in 6 day stretch. After today, February 2nd, the SU does not play again until February 11th. Surely there is a way to spread out the games that have taken place this weekend and shortening the break that follows. Roy Williams agreed, and said the same thing as Boeheim just one day later. With more than one coach independently calling out the same issue in a matter of about 15 hours, it sure seems like there is a legitimate cause to be heard.
Long answer: There is no problem here. First, taking a look at the SU schedule, this is not the first time the Orange has played 3 games in 6 days. In fact, the ACC schedule started with 3 games in 6 days. Then there was another stretch where the Orange played 3 in 6 days that encompassed the Wake Forest/Duke road trip. And, when the Orange gets back in action on the 11th, that will start a stretch of 3 games in 6 days. It really just seems that is the way the ACC schedules, and it just happens that there are these odd breaks every once in a while between the 3-in-6 stretches.
Second, Syracuse is obviously not the only program playing this type of schedule as Roy Williams complained of the same issue at UNC– and in doing so also said that he spoke to other coaches who were upset with the scheduling. So when taking that into account, it isn’t like the Orange is at a disadvantage due to the way the schedule lays out.
Nobody is ever going to have a perfect schedule, and some coach is always going to think they are getting screwed over. Whether it is a lot of games with just a few off days in between, a schedule stacked with the top half of the ACC at the beginning of the schedule. Which would lead a team to a slow start. Or the schedule could be back heavy, leading a team to fall off towards the end of the year and miss out on the postseason after a great start.
Nobody likes their schedule, its just how sports work.
POSTED BY: Seth Goldberg
