No. 4 Syracuse failed to score more than 63 points for the ninth consecutive game in the 67-62 loss to Georgia Tech.
Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim’s message after the game was short and simple: “We have to score,” he said. “That’s the problem.”
Coming off a brutal 67-62 home loss to Georgia Tech (14-16, 5-12 ACC), No. 4 Syracuse (26-4, 13-4 ACC) has not scored more than 62 points since its dramatic 91-89 overtime victory over Duke on Feb. 1. That win was over a month ago, and the Orange only averaged 58.4 points-per-game since then.
The Cavaliers scored 48 second-half points to beat the Orange, 75-56.
Syracuse came into Charlottesville, Va., determined to prove that it was the best team in the ACC. Unfortunately for the Orange, they did not spoil the Cavalier’s Senior Day, falling 75-56. The loss extended the No. 12 Virginia (25-5, 16-1 ACC) win streak to 13 games and gave the Cavaliers their first outright ACC regular season championship since 1981.
“From what I’ve seen, Virginia has been the best team in the league so far this year,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “They proved that today.”
C.J. Fair scored with seconds left on the clock to push the Orange past the Wolfpack in one of Syracuse's worst games of the season.
Syracuse has shown a flair for the dramatic this week, finding the most exhilarating ways to close out games. After Tyler Ennis’ buzzer beater downed Pittsburgh Wednesday, the Orange pulled off a miraculous win again, this time winning 56-55 over North Carolina State (16-9, 6-6 ACC).
SU remains undefeated in the season with a 57-44 victory over Clemson Sunday.
The Syracuse Orange extended its best ever start to a season Sunday, defeating the Clemson Tigers 57-44. C.J. Fair bounced back after struggling in SU’s game against Notre Dame Monday, leading No. 1 Syracuse (23-0, 10-0) with 19 points over Clemson (15-7, 6-4).
In the Orange’s last game, Fair had just six points on 2-for-11 shooting. Tonight, though, he shot 8-for-13 to lead all scorers.
“It’s all about going to the next game,” Fair said. “You can’t dwell on a good or bad game.”
The Orange went on a 10-0 run in the final few minutes of Monday night's match-up with St. Francis to remained undefeated on the season.
A collective sigh of relief exhaled from the Carrier Dome when C.J. Fair knocked down the second of his two free throws to seal the 56-50 victory for No. 9/7 Syracuse (4-0) over St. Francis Brooklyn (2-2). The Orange offense struggled mightily throughout the game against the physical defense of the Terriers.
“You can still play physical defense and I thought they did a good job of that,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said.
Cooney made 7-of-8 from behind the arc to help the Orange win its first game of the season.
Syracuse defeated Cornell 82-60 in its season opener tonight behind a stellar shooting performance from Trevor Cooney. The redshirt sophomore led all scorers with a career-high 27 points, shooting 10-for-12 from the field, including 7-for-8 from three-point range.
“We did a good job of finding Trevor and he bailed us out when we really needed him in the first half when we had nothing,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said.
Two similar teams face off in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
The Syracuse Orange will take on a tough opponent in the California Golden Bears in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, after being handed a 48-point victory over the Montana Grizzlies Thursday night.
The Bears (20-11, 12-6 Pacific 12) have a very similar team to the Orange. California is similarly sized, has similar records, employs a successful zone defense and has an almost identical shooting percentage. Syracuse shoots slightly better from beyond the arc, but Cal shoots marginally better from the charity stripe.
In the final Big East tournament for No. 19 Syracuse, the Orange could not hold on to a halftime lead, eventually falling to the No. 4 Cardinals, 78-61.
The No. 4 Lousiville Cardinals (29-5) won the Big East Championship for the second straight year and third since 2009. This time, it was a 78-61 victory over No. 19 Syracuse. The Orange (26-9) came out swinging in the first half, coasting to a 35-22 lead at halftime. However, the second half was all Louisville, who outscored the Orange 56-26, including a 44-10 run.
“I thought that they were the best team in the league from the beginning of the year,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “They proved that today.”
The Orange dropped its second straight game, losing to Marquette, 74-71
Syracuse's best player is CJ Fair
Not Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche or James Southerland. CJ Fair. His 20 points against Marquette was the 12th time this season he has had 15 or more points. He has nine double-doubles on the season, including five in conference play.