Well, there’s certainly no sugarcoating it. Saturday’s loss to Clemson was an ugly one.
The Orange lost 78-61, shooting 30 percent from the field, but it only seems to get worse from there. Perhaps most disappointingly, Saturday’s blowout loss will carry negative postseason implications form along with it.
Now falling to 10-6 overall (4-5 in the ACC), Syracuse was likely on the outside looking in, heading into this one. That being said, with less than a month (seven games) left in the regular season, Saturday’s loss certainly did not do Jim Boeheim’s team any favors.
SU was outworked, outhustled and thoroughly outplayed in its 17-point loss to Clemson. The Orange was outrebounded 42 to 25 by the Tigers and seemed to lose the battle of 50-50s, from the start. Making matters worse, Syracuse was also completely outshot from three-point range – 43.5% to 25%.
Overall, there’s really nothing good that can be taken out of this game. Syracuse kept up with Clemson in the second half – actually outscoring the Tigers 42-39. However, the Orange went into the first half already down 20 points. This, after making just three field goals.
Leading the way in scoring during Saturday’s crushing defeat was Joe Girard, with 19 points. Coming in behind Girard was Alan Griffin with 12. However, Griffin only shot a mere 2-of-13 from the field (1-of-4 from three).
For Clemson, the Tigers were led by Aamir Simms, who spent most of his 31 minutes played dominating down low – en route to 18 points and 11 rebounds. Junior Nick Honor pitched in with 15 points after sinking five three-pointers on the Orange.
Up next for SU will be a trip to Raleigh to face NC State. The Wolfpack are 8-7 (4-6 in the ACC), but will enter Tuesday’s matchup fresh off an 81-65 beat-down of Boston College. Syracuse just squeezed by the last time these two sides met, but don’t expect a repeat result if SU shows any lasting semblance of today. 
