What They’re Saying: What’s wrong with Syracuse Basketball?

At only 8-7 overall and 1-3 in conference, play, the Syracuse Orange’s 2019-2020 basketball season is unraveling before their very eyes. Just last year, the Orange were 20-14, 10-8 ACC with a first round exit from the NCAA Tournament as an eight seed. Now, coming off back-to-back conference losses to Notre Dame (88-87) and Virginia Tech (67-63), Syracuse fans—and Syracuse media—are wondering whether this season is still salvageable.

Fansided’s Inside the Loud House poses the question of whether the season is quickly starting to slip away, pointing to a lack of consistency (sound familiar?) and warning that the worst is yet to come on their schedule.

Our sister SB Nation site Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician says that the Cuse are in full on panic mode, but following Tuesday night’s loss to the Hokies, it looks like freshman forward Quincy Guerrier is close to putting the pieces together and taking on a larger role. They tout Syracuse’s transition game, but are worried that the Orange’s recent rebounding woes and depleted bench will keep them from creating opportunities. And Virginia is not a team willing to give up a lot of transition points.

Nunes Magician calls this year’s zone “a disaster” and gives you the in-depth breakdown you’ve always wanted.

In an attempt to increase intensity in practice, assistant coach Gerry McNamara jumps in on shooting drills, sometimes shooting “96 percent or some crazy numbers.”

Fans aren’t taking it well either. One fan wrote into the mailbag for Syracuse.com’s Mike Water, asking when the last time the Cuse went unranked for an entire season. (The answer is 2017-2018, but before that, it goes all the way back to 1981-1982.)

Syracuse is No. 71 on KenPom as of this writing, just one spot behind North Carolina. Virginia’s at 35 but heading in the wrong direction after this week’s loss to Boston College. This will be a matchup between two teams that are both desperate for wins. Tickets are still available on StubHub (affiliate link).

Tipoff is at 4:00 p.m., and you should definitely be there in person.