After another loss, time is ticking on Syracuse’s season
SU’s 72-59 road defeat to Virginia was its sixth loss in its last seven games. Such a stretch never occurred during Jim Boeheim’s tenure. Tara Deluca | Asst. Photo Editor
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Wearing a Syracuse sweatsuit and black glasses while holding a pizza box, J.J. Starling painfully stood in the hallway.
As reporters walked toward SU’s senior captain, it was clear he didn’t want to say much. Seconds later, he was asked what Adrian Autry’s message was in the locker room.
“Keep our heads up,” Starling said with his head peeled down to his iPhone. “We fought, so just keep competing.”
To this point in the season, “fight” and “competing” haven’t been enough. That was reinforced after Syracuse (13-11, 4-7 ACC) suffered its sixth loss in its last seven games with a 72-59 defeat to No. 18 Virginia (20-3, 9-2 ACC).
Throughout Autry’s three seasons at the helm, the program has reached uncharted waters. Previously, under Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim — who served as the Orange’s head coach for 47 years before retiring — Syracuse never lost six games within a seven-game stretch.
As the defeats continue to pile, it’s looking more and more likely SU will miss the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season — one shy of its longest drought since missing six straight from 1967-72.
“The games we’ve played are great opportunities,” head coach Adrian Autry said postgame. “We ask the same question every time. Obviously, these losses are difficult, and everyone’s frustrated.”
Now sitting two games above .500 with seven games left, the Orange would need a late-season resurgence akin to a beat-up boxer rallying for a 12th-round knockout to reach the NCAA Tournament.
After SU registered its worst season since the 1968-69 campaign under Autry last year, Year 3 for him is potentially make-or-break when also factoring in the program’s March Madness drought.
Entering Saturday, EvanMiya ranked the Orange with the 76th-best March Madness resume while being “Not Close” to earning a bid. That’s in comparison to “Lots Of Work To Do,” “Some Work To Do” and “Just Outside The Field.”
Typically, at this point in the season, the “Orange Standard” would be to at least be in the thick of building a strong NCAA Tournament resume. Instead, SU is much closer to the 15-team cutline for the ACC Tournament than March Madness.
“It’s obviously disappointing with games we’ve been dropping, but it’s like you got to keep moving forward at the end of the day, try and figure something out,” Nate Kingz said. “Stay positive and look for any type of positivity you can.”
Among Syracuse’s final stretch of games are two Quad 2 games (both at home), four Quad 1 games (three on the road and one at home) and a Quad 3 home game.
But if recent Quad 1 losses to NC State, North Carolina and now Virginia are any indication, finding positives might be nearly impossible down the stretch. The Orange are now 4-23 in Quad 1 opportunities since Autry became their head coach.
Throughout the season, Syracuse has often struggled to put together a complete game. Against the Cavaliers, Autry felt SU played strong defense but thought surrendering offensive rebounds and 3-pointers led to its loss.
First-year UVA head coach Ryan Odom won his 20th game — a season after Virginia went 15-17 — behind his squad corralling 17 offensive rebounds, scoring 17 second-chance points and making 10 3-pointers. For comparison, Syracuse had six offensive rebounds, seven second-chance points and made three triples.
While Naithan George (19), Starling (13) and Kingz (13) all scored in double-figures, Donnie Freeman was silenced. The Orange’s leading scorer was held to five points while shooting 2-of-11 from the field.
Meanwhile, a game after registering a tied-for-season-low seven assists, SU’s ball movement didn’t look much improved with nine assists on 25 made field goals against the Cavaliers. It’s Syracuse’s sixth time this season being held under 10 assists, despite acquiring George — who led the ACC with 6.5 assists per game at Georgia Tech last year — out of the transfer portal.
Though Virginia has among the best defensive metrics in the country, it’s also important to note this was the Orange’s first time being held under 60 points this season.
It came during a game in which Kiyan Anthony, who leads SU reserves in scoring, did not play because of a coach’s decision. Anthony said he was “super OK” with his role after SU lost to UNC, during which his father, Carmelo Anthony, commented “SMFH” on a Syracuse men’s basketball Instagram post.
With Anthony, the Orange’s worst player with -0.74 EvanMiya Bayesian Performance Rating, on the bench, Bryce Zephir played nine minutes. Postgame, Autry lauded Zephir’s toughness and defensive capabilities as to why he played.
While Autry tried something new, the result was another loss. Even with less than a month remaining in the regular season, he’s taking it day by day.
“Today is Saturday. Tomorrow, we gotta reset and get ready for our next opponent,” Autry said. “You know, that’s the schedule. We still have games left on schedule, so they have to reset. This is a resilient group, a tough group, and I’m sure that we’ll respond.”
The response Autry needs must happen immediately. Time is already ticking on the Orange’s season and Autry’s potential job status.
With each loss, the clock’s only going to start ticking even faster.
