This was another chance for Syracuse basketball to prove itself.
The Orange have had an up-and-down start to the season, and Sunday’s tough 71-75 loss to Georgetown was the latest disappointment. Sure, Syracuse is without top scorer JJ Starling for the foreseeable future because of a broken hand, so it deserves some slack, but this was a winnable game that the Orange let slip through their fingers.
The Hoyas came into this game as the slight favorite with a 7-2 record, but Syracuse stayed with Georgetown through the entire game. There were 16 lead changes and 11 ties, and with 4:12 remaining, point guard JaQuan Carlos hit a huge three-pointer to put the Orange up 69-67. It looked like Syracuse had the momentum and would be enough to win the game.
And then it all fell apart.
Syracuse didn’t score a single field goal in the final four minutes, letting the Hoyas escape with the comeback win. As a Syracuse basketball fan, there was almost nothing positive to take away from this game. In the 100th matchup between the two schools, Georgetown earned its first win at the JMA Wireless Dome since 2016, and it was the first loss at home for the Orange this season.
The same issues that have plagued head coach Adrian Autry’s team all season were on full display. The head coach can’t be blamed for his team struggling to shoot the ball down the stretch, but Autry’s rotations were questionable again, as freshman Donnie Freeman logged just 19 minutes. Regardless of the reason for that, it snapped a four-game double-digit scoring streak for Freeman and was the first time he didn’t play at least 20 minutes since Nov. 21 against Texas.
Outside of Autry’s rotations, Syracuse failed to contain Georgetown in transition and was outmuscled in the paint. The Orange gave up 19 fast break points while collecting five and gave up 48 points in the paint while scoring only 34 in the restricted area. Syracuse was outrebounded 33-26, well off its season average of 34.
The three-point shooting is also still a problem, as the Orange shot made just four of its 16 attempts from beyond the arc. Free throws weren’t any better, as Syracuse shot 72% from the charity stripe and left points on the table down the stretch.
The bright spot from today’s game was Carlos’ play, as he scored 15 points on 50% shooting from the field. Carlos dished out a team-high 5 assists and made all 8 free throw attempts. Despite his performance, the loss drops the team to 5-5, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier.
The Orange play 8-2 Maryland in their next game, and after an easier matchup against 4-7 Bucknell it has to face 8-3 Wake Forest to close out the calendar year. In addition to the stakes of the rivalry game, this was a chance for Syracuse to get ahead in the win column, but now it will have to face the real possibility of going into 2025 with a losing record after a 20-win season last year.
