Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Syracuse blowing its 16-point lead versus Pittsburgh was more of a formality than a question. In the past, it’s a lead SU would’ve used to guide a commanding win. But this isn’t the past. This is modern-day Syracuse basketball.

A decade ago, the Orange traveling to the Petersen Events Center to face Pitt meant something. NCAA Tournament seeding. Conference standings. Poll rankings. Even bragging rights. Tuesday’s matchup, though, had minimal stakes in college basketball’s landscape.

And if you only watched the first 10 minutes or never watched SU play basketball this year, the Orange cruising to a win backed by a 22-6 advantage seemed obvious. But Syracuse has continuously found ways to achieve new lows in head coach Adrian Autry’s second season. It’s why SU is as far as it’s ever been from the “Orange Standard.” And it’s why the Orange blowing a 16-point lead wasn’t surprising.

“This is life. This is how it is, right?” Autry said postgame. “You got to battle through this stuff. You can’t give in. You can’t quit. I don’t think they will. That’s not what we talk about.”

Autry is right: this is life. You win sometimes. You lose sometimes. But losing shouldn’t be an expectation, especially for a prestigious program like Syracuse. Yet, that’s its reality.

Pitt’s Zack Austin yells emphatically as he finishes a dunk in the Panthers’ comeback victory over Syracuse Tuesday. The senior scored 19 points on 80% shooting from the field in the win. Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

Early in the season, SU had a chance to set the tone for how Autry’s second campaign would go. Following three uninspiring nonconference wins to begin the season, the Orange headed to the Barclays Center to face Texas.

Despite trailing by double digits at halftime, SU fought back and led with just over three minutes remaining. Closing out those minutes would’ve given it a 4-0 record and an early Quad 1 win, which Syracuse still doesn’t have three months later. It would’ve shown progress toward ending its dreadful three-year March Madness drought. Instead, the Orange crumbled and fell 70-66.

“We don’t know how to win yet,” Autry said afterward.

Fast forward to now, and SU still doesn’t know how to win. In games decided by six or fewer points against Power Five teams, Syracuse is 0-6. In Quad 1 and 2 games, the Orange are 1-14. Simply put, if a game is close and/or Syracuse faces a good team, it is expected to lose.

So, before even facing the Panthers, which was considered a Quad 1 game, SU entered the Petersen Events Center with a losing target on its back. While that target became smaller as J.J. Starling scored a quick five points and Chris Bell — who notched a season-high 23 points on seven 3-pointers — unconsciously drained triples, it wasn’t invisible. Especially not to Pitt, which badly needed to beat a measly Quad 3 opponent at home so its March Madness hopes wouldn’t dwindle.

With what the Panthers had at stake, it felt like every time they chipped into SU’s once 16-point advantage was a turning point. It felt like a team trying to dance in March. And for the Orange, it was a feeling of, “Oh no, here we go again,” amid a season they might miss the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

While Syracuse mostly maintained a double-digit lead throughout the first half, Pitt shrunk its deficit to seven at the break. Still, it was an encouraging half. Bell looked like the player SU needed him to be heading into the year. Coming off arguably their two worst defensive performances of the season, the Orange surrendered just 34 points. Starling, their leading scorer, found a rhythm.

But at the same time, how sustainable was it for SU to put another high-quality half together? It’s something it hasn’t done all season — even against lowly teams like Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State that it should’ve dominated.

Sure enough, it wasn’t sustainable. Starling, undoubtedly Syracuse’s top option, faltered. And when that happens, it’s pretty much game over. Typically, the Orange’s only other outlet for scoring is feeding Eddie Lampkin Jr. inside. However, foul trouble limited him to a non-aggressive 22 minutes.

If not for Bell, who’s been inconsistent this year, this is probably another 20-point loss. Especially considering the defensive breakdown since the Orange led 22-6. Over the final 31 minutes, they were outscored 74-47.

Chris Bell puts up a 3 from the top of the arc as Pitt’s Guillermo Diaz Graham and Ishmael Leggett close in. Bell scored a season-high 23 points on seven 3s, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Panthers. Courtesy of SU Athletics

Initially, Syracuse’s season-best 14 3-pointers masked the defensive struggles. That stout shooting from the nation’s 235th-best 3-point shooting team slowed down what otherwise would’ve been a fervent comeback. But the best it did was take a three-point lead with 11 minutes remaining.

In such scenarios, the Orange’s best option is to get Starling the ball and hope he makes a play. Instead, the junior was subbed out and didn’t return until three minutes later, with Pitt leading 60-56.

When Starling returned, SU’s only form of offense was by two Bell triples, helping it trail just 68-62 with five minutes remaining. From that point, the game turned into Starling trying to become Superman. It’s a role, especially with how poor his supporting cast is, he’s earned. But he can’t always be Superman. And he wasn’t on Tuesday.

“We’ve been in those games, and then in comes a moment where you got to get a possession, and then we have too many empty possessions late in the second half,” Autry said.

From there, the Orange never stood a chance. Even trailing by just six points with plenty of time left, it’s a tiny deficit SU has shown over and over again it can’t overcome.

That’s just the reality. Right now, Syracuse isn’t regarded as anything in the college basketball world. It’s not because the program isn’t prestigious. It’s because it can’t win.

And teams that can’t win find new ways to lose, even when leading by 16 points.

Justin Girshon is the Sports Editor at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at justingirshon@gmail.com or on X @JustinGirshon.

Published on February 19, 2025 at 1:37 am