Syracuse's basketball season has gone from bad to worse in a hurry.
Only four days after falling to Georgetown, the Orange hit rock bottom with a 93-60 loss to St. John's on their home court Wednesday.
This is now the fifth loss in the past eight games.
"This game is all on me," head coach Jim Boeheim said after the game. "I didn't get them ready to do what we needed to do. We just didn't execute on defense or offense -- and St. John's did. That was the difference in the game."
St. John's handily defeated Syracuse in what turned out to be not only the worst loss for Jim Boeheim this season, but the most lopsided loss for Syracuse under Jim Boeheim. More than 40 years worth of games!
Is Syracuse in jeopardy now of missing the NCAA tournament?
At this point, that answer might be trending toward yes. It seems the troublesome results against UConn and Georgetown are more than merely a fluke.
Before today, St. John's had notched only one victory against a team with a winning record. Losing in this manner -- at this juncture -- at this location! -- is just inexplicable, really.
Syracuse (7-5), has only one nonconference game remaining before ACC play ramps up on Jan. 1 against Boston College.
If we know anything about Boeheim-coached teams, we know they consistently get better as the season progresses. Last season, the Orange opened ACC play with four consecutive losses before finishing conference play with a 9-9 record, which earned them a No. 10 seed in the NCAA tournament. They parlayed that with a Cinderella run that landed them in the Final Four.
If Syracuse is to even think about making a similar turnaround, it needs to do so quickly. Should we see a few more clunkers like we did on Tuesday night, the possibility of reaching the NCAA tournament could turn into whether they can reach the NIT this season.
