Golden opportunity slips in SU’s loss to No. 3 Houston: ‘No moral victories’
Syracuse took No. 3 Houston to overtime Monday, staying in the game from wire to wire. However, the Orange still wasted a chance to snag a signature win and build their March Madness resume early. Courtesy of @joeyyarchives on Instagram
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LAS VEGAS — Adrian Autry sat in his chair and fielded questions after a loss. It’s not something the third-year head coach isn’t used to at this point.
But this time was different.
His team went toe-to-toe with one of the best programs in the country, taking No. 3 Houston to overtime. It didn’t matter that the Orange were without leading scorer Donnie Freeman or that they trailed by 11 with less than three minutes remaining.
Autry’s team fought through the adversity and nearly came out stunningly victorious. But in the end, the final buzzer sounded and they disappointingly headed back to the locker room.
It would’ve been a golden opportunity for SU to show the world that it’s back. That the Syracuse of old — which ranks within the top 10 all-time in wins, top 15 in Final Four appearances and won the 2003 national championship — has re-arrived.
But a crushing 78-74 overtime loss to the reigning National Championship runner-ups doesn’t quite do that. It does, however, inject a confidence that the Orange’s (4-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) new-look team can end their four-year NCAA Tournament drought, the program’s longest spell in over five decades.
But for now, Autry can’t look that far. At least not until he wins in this scenario, which he’ll have a chance to accomplish with two more Quad 1 games likely looming in the Players Era Festival.
“No moral victories here,” Autry said postgame. “I understand Houston is a good team, but I just really believe in my team and what we can do. It’s no disrespect, but it’s just really about us.”
In the waning seconds of regulation, Syracuse had a chance to win the game. After erasing a 67-56 deficit with 3:06 remaining, the Orange had the ball with no timeouts, the score tied 67-67 and 22 seconds left.
Prized Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George had the ball at the top of the key before dishing down low to William Kyle III as the clock wound down. George, the reigning ACC leader in assists, said postgame that he thought Kyle had an opportunity to slam home a game-winning dunk.
Instead, Joseph Tugler, the best defender in the country by EvanMiya’s defensive BPR metric, rejected the shot and sent the game to overtime. In the extra period, the Cougars were carried by Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, who each scored 26 points, en route to a narrow victory.
“Credit to Adrian Autry. Credit to Syracuse. They played hard. They played good enough to win,” Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson said.
It’s a vast difference from where the Orange were last season, when they posted their worst campaign since 1968-69. As SU won just 14 games, it didn’t win — let alone look competent in — any Quad 1 games.
So, for Syracuse to do this against the Cougars after mostly plowing through four mid-major teams? It’s an encouraging sign.
At the same time, it’s agonizing. Besides having the opportunity to win it at the end of regulation or pull ahead in overtime, the Orange shot 12-of-29 from the free-throw line.
There are only so many times when college basketball teams find themselves in a scenario where they could’ve, should’ve, would’ve dethroned one of the best teams in the country. But at SU — although hard to see over the recent fall from grace, beginning during Jim Boeheim’s final two seasons as head coach — that’s an expectation in said games.
“I know I came to Syracuse to win,” Kyle said. “I know all the guys in the locker room came to Syracuse to win. And that’s what the standard is at Syracuse. Like coach said, there’s no moral victories.”
An essential part of the Orange’s key to success is supposed to be Freeman, who was one of the best recruits in program history before arriving on campus last year. Four games into his sophomore year, the potential was widely apparent as the 6-foot-9 forward averaged a team-high 17.8 points per game.
But the injury bug hit again. After playing just 14 games as a freshman due to a right toe injury, Freeman was sporting a boot on his right foot while watching Monday’s game from the sidelines.
An SU Athletics spokesperson said Freeman suffered the injury against Monmouth and that it’s not related to his injury from last year. Postgame, Autry said he anticipates having Freeman back soon and that his injury isn’t season-ending.
With Freeman sidelined, it wouldn’t have been outlandish if Houston blew Syracuse out. After all, that’s what a bona fide national contender — nonetheless one with the top defense in the country, per EvanMiya and KenPom — usually does against teams without arguably their best player.
Without Freeman, Autry said Syracuse’s game plan didn’t change. However, Sampson said the Cougars scrapped their defensive plan.
Whatever Sampson dialed, it mostly worked, as SU shot 42.9% from the field and 25.8% from 3 on a season-high 31 attempts. While Tyler Betsey stepped up by draining four 3-pointers and Kyle added 12 points, J.J. Starling, Nate Kingz and George combined to shoot 13-of-36 from the field.
“We just probably saw the best defense in the country,” said George, who scored 11 points while shooting 4-of-13. “Now every other team is just gonna be like, not a cakewalk, but we experienced the best defense, so we’ll be able to be prepared for it.”
Come Tuesday versus Kansas, SU’s third Players Era game, next week versus Tennessee, in ACC play or sometime in March, this loss versus Houston can be a vital stepping stone or learning experience.
Without a doubt, it was encouraging that Autry brought SU to the brink of being the closest it’s been to the “Orange Standard” since he took over as its head coach.
But at the same time, it’s a tough pill to swallow because Syracuse was so close to getting an early start on stacking its March Madness résumé.
