Whether his team needs a miracle or not, Syracuse coach Scott Shafer knows his squad has its work cut out for it if it wants to be eligible for a post-season bowl following a 24-17 loss to North Carolina State on Saturday.
Another game. Another thrilling win. Syracuse had just defeated Pittsburgh on Wednesday night after a buzzer-beating 3-point heave from Tyler Ennis at the buzzer, so it shouldn’t have been surprising that the Orange needed another dramatic sequence to pull out the win.
Friday night, Syracuse’s first ACC Tournament appearance ended in disappointment, as their offensive issues surfaced again and they dropped a 66-63 decision to North Carolina State in the quarterfinals.
Does anyone want the one seed in the east? Up until a few weeks ago, everyone just presumed that Syracuse wouldn’t have to leave New York State on its way to the Final Four.
Following Syracuse’s narrow escapes over Pittsburgh and North Carolina State last week, a new narrative has emerged to describe the Orange’s best start in school history. SU has been lucky. The Orange shouldn’t be undefeated. Perhaps Florida is the nation’s best team.
On this President’s Day holiday with rapidly only six regular season games left for No. 1 ranked Syracuse basketball to navigate in ACC play, Jim Boeheim’s 38th team has dazzled Orange Nation in unprecedented fashion.
Rakeem Christmas had a key steal to set up C.J. Fair’s winning layup with 6.7 seconds left, helping No. 1 Syracuse edge North Carolina State 56-55 on Saturday night to remain unbeaten.