Three takeaways from Syracuse's home loss to Pittsburgh

Naithan George’s last-second heave from half court did not land, sending a free-falling Syracuse team to their fifth straight loss, dropping a 71-69 overtime game to Pittsburgh.  Here are three takeaways from the latest defeat.

Offensive execution never improved over the course of the season

The Orange offense, which was expected to be the team’s strength coming into the season due to the roster’s talent on that end of the floor, never reached its peak unless it was bullying a much worse team.  The team shot 46.6 percent over the regular season, exceeding that mark in seven non-conference guarantee games, but only seven of 18 ACC games.

SU struggled to find good shots on that end of the floor, often leading to last-second “shots” that often failed to find their mark.  That result appeared in their latest loss to Pittsburgh often, including at the end of regulation, when Nate Kingz missed a deep 3-pointer, and their next-to-last possession of overtime when Donnie Freeman was forced to throw up a 3-pointer that also missed.

Last night's failures were not an isolated incident, either.

In the upset loss to Hofstra, Kiyan Anthony missed a potential game-winning shot on the last possession.  At Clemson, Freeman missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer and George turned the ball over after an offensive rebound.  Three George turnovers in the final minute helped Boston College force overtime in the Eagles’ win.

For all its talent, this Orange squad has never been able to consistently score on teams when that talent was not clearly superior to their opponent.

Will it be a quick trip to Charlotte?

The ACC Tournament is set and Syracuse has drawn a Tuesday matchup with SMU at 4:30pm Eastern.  While that seems like a positive, as the Mustangs were the last team the Orange were able to defeat, the bigger picture suggests otherwise.

SU trailed at home in that first meeting for almost all of the game.  The Orange (15-16, 6-12 ACC) are clearly reeling, having not won a game in the three-plus weeks since playing the Mustangs (19-12, 8-10).

SMU is also on a slide, having dropped four straight games, three of which were on the road.  That skid included a couple games against other NCAA bubble contenders, making those losses even more painful.

However, the Mustangs still have dreams of making the big dance, as their overall resume is better than just their record.  SMU is 4-8 in Quad 1 games and 4-4 in Quad 2 games, including wins over a fully-healthy North Carolina squad and Louisville.  A matchup with the Cardinals awaits the winner, so the Mustangs definitely have a lot riding on their game with SU, who seems like they are closer to playing out the string than anything else.

How much long-term trouble is Syracuse program in?

The Orange basketball program is staring at its third losing season in the last five years, a feat not seen in nearly 80 years.  The firing of Adrian Autry seems inevitable, which means a coaching search and almost certainly another massive overhaul of the roster are on the horizon.

The coaching hire has to be a win, of course, but it needs to be measured as more than a hot name from the mid-majors or an assistant from a powerhouse program.  It has to be more than a master strategist or a supreme motivator or a charming public face who wins in both press conferences and recruits’ houses.

It has to be someone who can inspire NIL donations in a less-than-ideal situation. Syracuse is a private school, meaning their alumni base is smaller than a lot of powerhouse programs (Duke is the exception, not the rule).  The geographic area is not as financially successful as other parts of the country, with lesser industry titans that are easy sources of donations.

While the Orange NIL budget has been speculated to be around the middle of the ACC, lots of experts note that college basketball conference standings generally mirror the NIL budgets of the programs.  While SU certainly was able to bring in competitive talent this season, it clearly was not good enough to get to the top of the conference.

Can Syracuse bring in a coach who will bring in talent that can outperform the expectations its NIL budget will set?  Will exceeding those expectations lead to greater NIL donations and partnerships, which will then result in better talent and outperforming those expectations to get back up to the top level of college basketball?

Or, is Syracuse looking at the opposite scenario, where another coach fails in the new world of college basketball and they remain in their new surroundings as an also-ran afterthought in the game, eventually losing any remaining shine on the program’s brand name?  It is a thought Orange fans should probably spend some time pondering.