Sports Then and Now

With only five games left to play in the college basketball regular season, Syracuse has little room for error if they hope to make the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and/or the NCAA Tournament. While the later will be more difficult to attain, qualifying for the ACC Tournament is still attainable for the Orange. Syracuse currently stands in 11th place in the conference standings at 6-7 and is 15-11 overall. Only 15 of the 18 teams qualify for the ACC Tournament and the Orange will likely need to win two or three more games to assure they avoid a bottom-three finish in the ACC.

Their next opportunity at a conference win comes tonight as Syracuse is in Durham, NC to face No. 4 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. Both the Orange and the Blue Devils enter the game on two-game winning streaks and are looking to continue the momentum. Duke sits atop the ACC standings at 12-1 and is 23-2 overall for fourth-year head coach Jon Scheyer, who played on the Blue Devils’ 2010 national championship team.

While this matchup used to be more of a marquee attraction featuring the coaching brilliance of the now retired hall of fame head coaches in Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, it is still a matchup of legendary programs. In the case of the Orange, Syracuse seeks a return to the Orange Standard that saw them compete for conference championships and play in games of great significance deep into March annually. Third-year coach Adrian Autry has had his work cut out for him in trying to return a Syracuse program to its customary place of the NCAA Tournament. The Orange have not received an NCAA bid since 2021, a four-season drought which is the program’s longest absence since a six-year absence from 1967 through 1972.

A win over the Blue Devils tonight would be a feather in the cap for Autry and Syracuse and possibly put the Orange on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament with still more work to do. As of games played through Feb. 15, Syracuse stands 69th in the Pomeroy College Basketball ratings listed at kenpom.com while Duke is listed second. That disparity reflects a huge gap in the ratings of the Orange and the Blue Devils but anything can happen during a college basketball season. Consider that an unranked Syracuse team won 95-91 in overtime at No. 1 ranked Duke on Jan. 14, 2019 and that sparks belief for any team. Furthermore, it was just two years ago that a North Carolina State team finished 11th in the final ACC regular season standings and became the first double digit seed as a No. 10 seed to win the ACC Tournament. In doing so, the Wolfpack became just the second team ever (UConn in 2011) to win five games in five days. The five wins came over top tier schools (Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina) that had each won a national title in the 2000’s. The Wolfpack then went on a miraculous run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and reached The Final Four. There is inspiration from this that any team or coach can draw on and the Orange should keep this in mind.

To dethrone the Blue Devils on their home court tonight, it will take a monumental effort by Syracuse in several areas. Duke allows just 63.1 points per game, the third-best defensive mark in the nation while the Orange score an average of 13.4 more points per game at 76.5. Something will have to give there and in order for it to swing the way of Syracuse, the Orange will have to win the rebounding battle. That means 6-9 senior forward William Kyle III and 6-9 sophomore forward Donnie Freeman will have to outduel 6-9 freshman forward Cameron Boozer and 6-11 sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II on the glass. The Syracuse guards will also need to secure loose balls on deflections. Holding the Blue Devils off the offensive glass to prevent them from potential second chance points will also be critical for the Orange. Syracuse is 10-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC when they outrebound their opponent this season.

The Orange play their best when they push the ball ahead with players like 6-4 senior guard J.J. starling, 6-3 junior guard Naithan George, 6-5 redshirt senior guard Nate Kingz, and 6-5 freshman guard Kiyan Anthony getting to the basket or creating for others. Taking advantage of fast break opportunities when they are there will aid the cause of Syracuse and their half court offense will need to be productive. Freeman will need to be effective with his mid-range game and inside scoring while the Orange will need perimeter scoring from Kingz and 6-8 sophomore forward Tyler Betsey, their two main 3-point threats. Kingz shoots 36.7 percent from the three-point line and has a team-high 51 triples on the season while Betsey is the team’s most efficient shooter from behind the arc at 39.4 percent (39-for-99).

Freeman leads Syracuse with 17.6 points per game and pulls down 7.2 rebounds per game while Kyle scores 8.9 ppg and leads the team with 7.7 rpg. Starling adds 12.1 ppg and Kingz scores at a 11.7 ppg clip. George adds 10.5 ppg and leads the team with 5.6 assists per game.

Boozer, the son of Duke legend Carlos Boozer, is a national player of the year candidate for the Blue Devils. He leads Duke with 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game with his scoring average also topping the ACC. Duke also gets 14.4 ppg from sophomore guard Isaiah Evans while Ngongba II scores 10.5 ppg and pulls down 6.2 rpg.

Defensively, the Orange will have to limit Boozer’s all-around game. The talented freshman is capable of knocking down the 3-point shot or taking defenders off the dribble and converting shots in the lane. Boozer can also post up and score inside with a variety of moves including a fundamentally strong drop step allowing him to get to the rim and convert.

Should the game be close in the closing minutes and fouling becomes a strategy for either team, Duke has the advantage. The Blue Devils shoot 71.7 percent from the foul line while Syracuse struggles at only 63.8 percent.

Duke’s two losses this season are by a combined four points. The Blue Devils lost 82-81 to Texas Tech at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20 and fell 71-68 at North Carolina on Feb. 7. With this in mind, anyone’s chances to beat Duke rise in a very close finish.

As for the Orange, close games have brought mixed results this season. Syracuse is 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the ACC in games decided by one to five points. The Orange are on a bit more safer ground in games decided by 6-10 points where they are 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the ACC.

This game will likely be determined by the tempo of it. Halfcourt execution favors the Blue Devils while an up temp game with Syracuse pushing the ball and driving to the basket to score or draw fouls, favors the Orange. A margin of four to six points with three to four minutes left to play enhances the chances for Syracuse to pull off an upset whether they are down that much or ahead that much. As college basketball has shown us over decades, anything can happen.

Syracuse versus Duke.

Coaching legends, hall-of-famers, and close friends in Jim Boeheim of the Orange and Mike Krzyzewski of the Blue Devils. The duo are the two winningest coaches in college basketball history and are coaching royalty. Cameron Crazzies and record-setting Carrier Dome crowds. Plain and simple it is must see television.

For nearly a decade the matchup has been a featured attraction in the Atlantic Coast Conference and all of college basketball. The sport welcomed the annual clash of titans when Syracuse joined the ACC in 2013. Since then this matchup has been nothing short of brilliant.

Double-digit seeds usually have a short stay in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. In fact, only five double- digit seeds have ever reached the Final Four since 1979 when the selection committee began seeding teams. While the intrigue, drama, and excitement of this event is largely built on these lower seeds knocking off their favored counterparts, they typically have been eliminated during the first weekend of play after a win or two if you include the First Four which started in 2011. Not if you are Syracuse.

The Orange have defied the odds. Syracuse has advanced to the Sweet 16 in three of the last five NCAA tournaments as a double-digit seed. The Orange are there this year as a No. 11 seed and will meet No. 2 Houston in the Midwest regional semifinals tonight. Tip-off is set for 9:55 pm EST.

While this success is a credit to the coaching of hall-of-fame head coach Jim Boeheim and his heavily capable assistants, it is also Syracuse’s fabled 2-3 zone defense that is a major factor in befuddling opponents as they are not used to it. A proven winner and an elite coach, Boeheim and his assistants do a masterful job of getting the most out of their players and improving during the season. While the Orange have finished anywhere between sixth and 10^th in the final ACC regular season standings over the last six seasons, Syracuse is typically on the upswing the last week of the regular season as they head into March.

Syracuse reached The Final Four in men’s basketball in 2016. Since then, the Orange have lived on the bubble annually in determining their NCAA Tournament fate. This year was no different as Syracuse had to sweat it out again on selection sunday. A collective sigh of relief for the players, coaches, and all of Orange Nation was released on Sunday March 14 when Syracuse drew the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region where they will meet No. 6 seed San Diego State on Friday March 19 at 9:40 pm in Butler University’s Hinkle Fieldhouse. The Orange are 16-9 overall and 9-7 in the ACC where they finished eighth. San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship as the top seed and is 23-4 overall, 14-3 in the MWC.

Like recent seasons, Syracuse did just enough to garner an NCAA bid. This narrative was made more difficult in college basketball this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused games to be cancelled or shuffled around due to positive tests within programs. Not all the cancelled games were able to be rescheduled. Depending on who the cancelled games were against, some teams missed out on competing for quad one wins. Although Louisville did not make the NCAA field, the Orange missed two games against the Cardinals (13-7, 8-5) and its’ only game against Florida State (16-6, 11-4) this season. Both those schools stood above Syracuse in the ACC standings throughout the season and Florida State reached the ACC Tournament Championship game. That put pressure on the Orange late in the season. After losing at Georgia Tech on Feb. 27, Syracuse ended the regular season with two straight wins over North Carolina and Clemson, both of which made the field of 68 and finished ahead of the Orange in the final ACC standings. Syracuse added on a solid win over North Carolina State in the second round of the ACC Tournament before a 3-pointer at the buzzer ended their chance to upset top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals. The Orange had to wait it out over three days and ultimately got in.

The Syracuse University men’s basketball team is headed to the 2019 NCAA Tournament and will meet Baylor University in a first round game in the west region on Thursday March 21. Tip-off is set for approximately 9:57 pm EST from the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, UT. It is the second straight trip to the Big Dance for the Orange, marking the first time Syracuse has made back-to-back trips to the tournament since 2013 and 2014.

The Orange drew the No. 8 seed while the Bears are the No. 9 seed. Baylor finished 19-13 and placed fourth in the Big 12 at 10-8 while Syracuse is 20-13 and finished sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference at 10-8. By the time this game tips off, it will have been three weeks and a day since the Bears’ last victory which came on Feb. 27, an 84-83 home win over Texas. Baylor was one and done in the Big 12 Tournament last week in Kansas City, MO where it lost 83-66 to Iowa State in the quarterfinals, its’ fourth straight loss.

The Bears went 7-7 against teams that qualified for this year’s NCAA Tournament with wins over the likes of Oregon and Texas Tech. Baylor also swept Big 12 foes Iowa State and Oklahoma in Big 12 regular season play. After losing their season opener to Texas Southern the Bears won three straight before losing to Mississippi in the Emerald Coast Classic on Nov. 23. Baylor went 3-2 over its’ next five games before beating Oregon at home 57-47 on Dec. 21. After opening Big 12 play 1-2, the Bears won six in a row before suffering back-to-back losses to Texas and Kansas State. Baylor rebounded with four wins in its’ next five games before dropping its’ last three regular season games.

Meanwhile, the Orange have dropped two of their last three games. Syracuse went 1-1 in the ACC Tournament last week in Charlotte, NC where it beat Pittsburgh in the second round before falling in the quarterfinals to Duke which went on to win the tournament title. The Orange had a solid regular season in which they were highly challenged down the stretch. Syracuse faced four teams that finished in the top seven of the final regular season conference standings in their last six games, going only 2-4. The losses were to Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, and Clemson while the victories came over Louisville and Wake Forest. Despite losing to three teams that went on to secure No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament (Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina), the Orange were still competitive in all those games. The major victory for Syracuse this season was a 95-91 win in overtime at No. 1 Duke on Jan. 14. That victory was sorely needed as the Orange had come off a 73-59 home loss to Georgia Tech just two days prior.

Syracuse opened the season 2-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to Connecticut and Oregon in the 2K Classic on Nov. 15 and 16. The Orange rebounded with a five-game winning streak which included a 72-62 win at Ohio State in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge on Nov. 28. Home losses to Old Dominion and Buffalo made the postseason projection for Syracuse more difficult at the time before the later wins over Duke and Louisville put them on safe ground for an NCAA at large bid. The team from upstate New York was 5-8 against teams that made this year’s NCAA field of 68.

The Orange and Bears have met only twice before with Syracuse holding a 2-0 edge. They last met in the championship game of the Maui Invitational in 2013 when the Orange won 74-67. Syracuse also won 94-71 during the 2006-07 season.

The Orange will get a boost against Baylor with the return of junior shooting guard Tyus Battle who sat out the ACC Tournament due to a back injury he sustained in the regular season finale at Clemson on March 9. Battle, an All-ACC Third Team selection this season, leads Syracuse in scoring and ranks sixth in the ACC with 17.2 points per-game. Battle has scored in double figures 27 times this season which includes 14 20-point outings and a pair of 30-point games. Battle, who was also named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District II team on March 12, is second on the team with 77 assists and leads the team in minutes played per-game at 36.3. Senior point guard Frank Howard steadies the ship for the Orange with 8.9 ppg and dishes out a team best 2.9 assists per-game. However that production will not be available for Syracuse as it was reported late afternoon on March 20 via News Channel 9 in Syracuse, NY that Howard will not play against Baylor and has been ruled out of the NCAA Tournament for an indefinite period due to violation of an unspecified athletic department policy. Boeheim will likely replace Howard in the starting lineup.

Sophomore forward Oshae Brissett and junior forward Elijah Hughes are productive players on the wings for the Orange. Brissett grabs a team best 7.5 rebounds per-game while Hughes has converted a team-high 81 3-pointers and shoots 36.0 percent from behind the arc. Hughes and Brissett both average double figures in scoring with 13.4 and 12.4 ppg respectively. Senior center Paschal Chukwu grabs 5.4 rpg, chips in 4.3 ppg, and leads the team with 1.8 blocks per-game.

Orange head coach Jim Boeheim, in his 43^rd year at the helm of his alma mater, typically has played just seven to eight players meaning a mostly short bench during his career. This year he has a little more flexibility with four players he can bring off the bench. This includes his son, 6-5 freshman guard Jackson Thomas “Buddy” Boeheim who adds scoring punch as a 3-point threat. The younger Boeheim, who started the two ACC Tournament games in place of the injured Battle, has shot 47-for-129 on the season from the 3-point line, good for 36.4 percent. He averages 6.9 ppg. Freshman guard Jalen Carey, along with sophomore forwards Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe are the other reserves for coach Boeheim. Dolezaj is a smart and efficient player who contributes 4.1 ppg and 3.6 rpg.

Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3 zone defense is again a major factor this season with the length of their guards and forwards to go with the 7-2 Chukwu who is the tallest player ever in Orange history. Howard and Battle go 6-5 and 6-6 on top of the zone at the guard positions while Brissett and Hughes add length at 6-8 and 6-6 respectively on the wings. This height and reach allow the zone to be effective with a better chance for deflecting passes and shots. This can lead to turnovers enabling Syracuse to get out in transition and covert easy buckets. The Orange shoot 42.4 percent on the season and holds its’ opponents to just under 40 percent at 39.7. Syracuse also has a +3.2 turnover margin and force 1.7 more steals per game than their opponents.

The Bears counter with redshirt senior guard Makai Mason, a transfer from Yale of the Ivy League, who leads Baylor with 14.6 ppg. Redshirt sophomore Mario Kegler, who goes 6-7 and 230, is listed at guard and forward and averages 10.7 ppg along with 6.0 rpg. Mark Vital, a 6-5 redshirt sophomore guard/forward adds 7.0 ppg and leads the team with 7.2 rpg. Baylor also gets 10.1 ppg from freshman guard Jared Butler. Senior guard King McClure scores 8.7 ppg.

Both teams are similar in profile with their statistical production spread over several players giving them balance. They each went 10-8 in two of the top conferences in the country. They each had a rough ending to the regular season with multiple losses before short stays in their postseason conference tournaments. The Orange are a 20-game winner while the Bears have won 19, a sign of Syracuse getting the higher seed in this 8 vs. 9 matchup. A competitive game should be in store with the winner advancing to the second round on Saturday March 23 where the Gonzaga Bulldogs – the region’s No. 1 seed – will likely be awaiting.