Imagine Syracuse leads a football game 24-3 heading into halftime. The Orange proceed to get shutout in the second half, but hang on to win 24-21. How do you feel leaving the Dome? SU won, but the elation is absent, because they almost blew it.
Comebacks are the opposite. You think it’s a loss, then suddenly it’s a win. Nothing compares with that celebration. There’s a reason for this: it’s a psychological theory called “loss aversion.” Cheers to brain chemistry, we’re counting down Syracuse’s top three comebacks.
3. Gillon, Press lead Miracle over NC State
A season removed from Syracuse’s famous comeback over Virginia in the Elite 8, Jim Boeheim walked into a press conference after a regular season game against NC State and said, “probably the best comeback we’ve ever had.”
The Orange were down 75-59 with 8:44 left. Syracuse had led after the first half. Their defense bled buckets in the second half, as the weight of an 0-7 road record snowballed.
SU initiated the desperate full-court press with over five minutes on the clock, and it worked. They got a steal and scattered NC State’s Dennis Smith-led offense. The comeback run was 17-2. John Gillon, en route to a career-high 43, sunk a game-tying three with 1.1 seconds left. Gillon’s total was the most since Gerry McNamara’s 43 in 2004. Syracuse didn’t miss a single shot in overtime, and won it 100-93.
