Philadelphia, for example, is known as a professional sports town with only a sprinkle of interest in Penn State and Rutgers football (Big Ten) and Big Five basketball, and as such creates a huge void in the northeast TV map.
At this point the expectations are so diminished for the Syracuse basketball squad, I’d be beyond cliché if this column simply harped on the Orange’s odds of missing the NCAA tournament.
With an unusually long eight day, mid-season layoff until Virginia Tech comes into the Dome Feb. 3, it will be back to the business at hand which for this gritty and determined, if not undermanned, team.
For 36 minutes and change, Syracuse played #13 North Carolina tightly, but wilted late as the Tar Heels closed the game by outscoring the Orange 19-11 in the final 3:29 to pull away for a 91-83 win in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Syracuse did not hold the lead in the final 38 minutes of the game and still had a chance to win in the end, but failed to, in large part because they once again could not make free throws.
But let’s assume that no one on the current team leaves, and Syracuse is unable to land Bryant. Kentucky, always a hot destination for recruits, has been giving Syracuse a run for Bryant recently, anyway. What then?
Freshman point guard Kaleb Joseph came into the season with high expectations. The two young men who played the point before him for Syracuse both left early after just one season of starting for the Orange and both were first round picks in the NBA draft.