Picture this:
It’s the day after Thanksgiving. You’ve just snapped a tough two-game losing streak. You’re looking to pull a massive upset on the #19 team in the country. The clock reads 7:20 remaining in the first half. You’ve just retaken a one-point lead and are feeling confident.
That was the situation Syracuse (3-3) found itself in against Auburn (5-1). The Orange were on top 25-24 following a deep strike from Joe Girard III. JG3’s first three points of the afternoon looked as though they wouldn’t be his last.
Moments later, after Auburn’s Zep Jasper responded with a deep bankshot, Girard tried again from range. The junior’s floater bounced off the rim and into the waiting arms of K.D. Johnson. The 6’0” Georgia transfer, with a full head of steam, easily spun past Girard and Symir Torrence and then finished with a diving layup over Benny Williams.
Following that sequence, the Orange would never come within a score of the Tigers for the rest of the contest. According to Head Coach Jim Boeheim, the Battle 4 Atlantis had completely fatigued his team by then.
“This was the toughest tournament that I’ve played in since I’ve been coaching, top to bottom,” said Boeheim postgame. “Our team just isn’t quite ready for this. I think we can get there, but we’re not ready for it right now.”
Three days of nonstop basketball proved to be too much for SU to make a sufficient second-half push. After leading 43-33 at halftime, Auburn would only double its advantage by the final buzzer.
Joe Girard III failed to score a single point outside of his initial triple.
After missing another three early in the second and committing a costly turnover, Coach Boeheim pulled Girard for Symir Torrence. The starting point guard would remain on the sidelines for the next 12 minutes of play.
“Joe was congested and he was having trouble moving around out there tonight,” said the Hall of Famer.
Boeheim’s eldest son, Jimmy, was playing just as exhausted. The grad transfer from Cornell had scored the first points of every game for Syracuse leading into the Auburn slugfest. Like Girard, Jimmy Boeheim came away with a mere three points.
On the other side, Coach Bruce Pearl’s pack executed a complete performance. The Tigers dominated the Orange in nearly every stat category except free throw shooting.
To top it off, K.D. Johnson racked up as many steals (5) as Syracuse did as a unit. Ultimately, Coach Pearl agreed with Coach Boeheim as to why the game turned out so lopsided.
“I think a lot of it had to do with three games in three days,” said Pearl. “I’ll bet you Buddy Boeheim would love to have a shot at us fresh.”
Buddy looked fresh to begin the game, scoring eight of the Orange’s first ten points. From there, however, the senior was kept off the board for the ensuing 14 minutes. The youngest Boeheim still finished with a joint team high 17, a season low.
Jesse Edwards and Cole Swider added 17 points of their own, but those three alone accounted for 51 of SU’s 68 points. Do the math, and you’ve got 75% from Buddy, Edwards, and Swider.
Syracuse might have had its way back in the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis, but it’s safe to say by now that exhaustion got the better of the Orange this time around.
“The team that you see now is not going to be the team you see at the end of the year,” Swider said. “We’ve got to put the work in and we’ve got to take these lumps now.”
The Orange have three full days to recuperate before their next test. Syracuse hosts Indiana in the Dome on Tuesday, November 30th. WAER’s coverage begins with GZA Countdown to Tipoff at 6:30 p.m. that evening.
Before that, however, make sure to catch Syracuse football later today. SU looks to shock #17 Pittsburgh at 7:30 tonight, and secure automatic bowl eligibility with a sixth win. Tune into GZA Countdown to Kickoff at 7:00 on 88.3 FM, or right here on https://www.waer.org/.