Of all the adjectives you could use to describe Syracuse’s loss to Boston College Tuesday night, disheartening is probably the one that fits best. The Orange had not lost to the Eagles since 2018 (God’s Plan by Drake was topping the charts), and it felt like a game you couldn’t afford to lose in the grand scheme of things. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what happened. It brought SU’s chances to make March Madness after missing it the last two years slim at best.
When you analyze Syracuse’s first five losses of the season based on the opponent/location alone, none of them were any that would make you lose your mind. SU lost two ranked games to Tennessee and Gonzaga in Hawaii, then fell to three ACC titans on the road in Virginia, Duke, and North Carolina. That is nothing to be ashamed of.
The last week-plus has been a different story. Florida State is a good team but the game was played in Central New York, yet the Seminoles still outworked and outhustled the Orange en route to a convincing victory. And then you have last night. An extremely demoralizing defeat.
Social media has been asking how Syracuse keeps getting disrespected in the NET/KenPom rankings this season compared to other ACC teams this year. The answer is pretty simple. Whether you like it or not, the lingering effects from preseason rankings have carried into the latter stages of the season. Sure there was plenty of talent, but based on what we saw on the court was there any reason besides blind faith to think that SU was going to make the Big Dance? Even if the Orange’s resume is similar to that of other conference foes, that’s why they’re lingering behind.
But hope somehow springs eternal, so tournament talk will of course remain at the forefront over the last month+ of the season. If Syracuse is to make it, well there isn’t exactly room for error. The only contests you can afford to lose without it absolutely killing you are Wake on the road this weekend, North Carolina on the 13th, and the regular season finale at Clemson. That gets you to 21-10. Unlikely as even that is, that still probably won’t be enough. Losing those games would kill any possibility of a signature resume booster. So not only can you not afford to lose a lot, you desperately need a game-changing victory.
Expecting a first year Head Coach to make March Madness is a big ask, but that’s what the expectations are in Syracuse. At this point, it might take a wing and a prayer for it to come true.
