March Madness hopes are gone. Syracuse lost 65-60 to Georgia Tech on the road on Saturday after the Orange played their best game of the season against No. 7 North Carolina on Tuesday. Embarrassing.
The inconsistency of SU continues to show game in and game out. Whatever the case may be, the Orange couldn’t get anything going offensively against the Yellow Jackets. And neither could they.
The game was a slugfest, one that Syracuse still had a chance to secure down the stretch, but couldn’t take advantage. Forward Chris Bell knocked down a three-pointer with six minutes left in the game to put the Orange up by one. That bucket was the last one that head coach Adrian Autry saw go in between the red circle. The Orange failed to make a basket and went 0-6 in the last six minutes of the game.
SU shot 37% from the floor in the game. How about Syracuse’s three-point shooting? It made just one three-pointer in the first half, and three in the second half. The Orange converted 16% from beyond the arc.
The funny thing is Georgia Tech didn’t shoot much better. GT made 39% of its shot attempts and 28% from downtown. Even though Syracuse shot poorly, it still had a chance down the stretch to win the game against a bad Georgia Tech squad.
SU posted its lowest point total Saturday night since the two losses against Tennessee and Gonzaga in the Maui Invitational. The Orange only scored 56 and 57 points, respectively, in those contests.
The defense kept Syracuse in this game, per usual. It recorded 12 steals and forced 17 turnovers. SU simply couldn’t execute on the other end of the floor.
So, now what? Syracuse has five games remaining. SU plays NC State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Louisville, and Clemson. The Orange sit in the bottom half of the ACC.
What positivity can SU provide heading into the offseason?
