‘We got to compete’: Why Autry wanted SU in Vegas’ Players Era Championship
At Syracuse’s preseason media day, Adrian Autry revealed why he wanted the Orange in Las Vegas’ Players Era Championship. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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Adrian Autry is well aware no one believes Syracuse can win a Quad 1 game in Las Vegas at the Players Era Championship, where the Orange will compete in a field that includes No. 2 Houston, No. 11 Alabama, No. 13 Gonzaga, No. 14 St. John’s and No. 24 Kansas, among other top-tier programs.
He says that’s fine. Because, if Autry’s squad wasn’t venturing west to face star-studded opponents, the third-year head coach doesn’t think that’d go over well with SU’s hungry fanbase.
“If we weren’t in that tournament, then it’s like, ‘Oh, Syracuse can’t get into that tournament,’” Autry said on Oct. 15. “When we stop being in those tournaments, then it’s a problem, alright?”
Back at Syracuse’s (4-0, Atlantic Coast) preseason media day, Autry spoke to reporters at length about his reasons for putting the Orange into the Players Era Championship. He believes it’s an opportunity for SU to not only reestablish its national presence, but earn multiple Quad 1 victories — an essential requirement to make the NCAA Tournament.
Though he recognized Syracuse’s entire nonconference slate banks on an eight-day span from Nov. 23 through Dec. 2, starting with a matchup versus No. 2 Houston and ending against No. 20 Tennessee at the JMA Wireless Dome, Autry said many other teams have the same issue.
He feels there’s no extra pressure on the Orange this Thanksgiving week in Sin City. Nonconference play is about stacking as many Quad 1 or 2 victories as possible. And Autry wants Syracuse to at least have that opportunity.
“I think in the nonconference schedule, everybody has a lot of pressure,” Autry said.
However, he thinks the “pressure” that SU is facing is being mistaken for something else.
“Pressure is just doubt,” Autry philosophied. “People don’t think we can go win those games. That’s what it is. That’s fine.”
The realities of modern NCAA basketball are simple: it’s all about the NET. This is the eighth season where the NCAA Tournament field has been decided by NET Rankings, a system that rates teams based on game results, strength of schedule, quality of opponents and offensive and defensive efficiency metrics.
Win quality is a massive indicator when comparing one team versus another, though. NET Rankings are split into Quad 1, 2, 3 and 4 wins, with a lower number meaning a more-impressive victory.
SU didn’t have a Quad 1 win last year and, in turn, missed its fourth straight NCAA Tournament.
But going to Las Vegas potentially gives the Orange a litany of chances to secure that elusive Quad 1 win. If they win one of their first two pool play games against No. 2 Houston and No. 24 Kansas, they’ll likely compete in the tournament’s playoff bracket, where they could take on anyone from No. 7 Michigan to No. 16 Iowa State or even Rick Pitino’s No. 14 St. John’s.
There are nine AP Top 25 teams among the 18 schools in the Players Era Championship field.
“You want to be in those games. And that’s where we want to be right now,” Autry said.
Sure, Autry knows the Orange are no overwhelming favorites to win anything in Las Vegas. But he knows that, to earn a spot in March Madness, you have to pay some dues in November.
“We got to go there, we got to compete, we got to play well, we got to win also,” Autry said of competing against elite programs in Las Vegas. “That doesn’t change.”
