Syracuse men’s basketball falls short in its regular season finale, 90-75 to Clemson Tuesday

Basketball is a game of runs. In Syracuse men’s basketball’s (20-11, 11-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) game versus Clemson (21-9, 11-8 ACC) that couldn't have been more true. The Tigers went on an 11-0 run early to gain a double-digit lead. Then Orange clawed back to within 2 but a 9-1 run late in the second half gave Clemson a series sweep over SU.

Two and a half minutes into the game and it was tied at just five a piece. Then Clemson Center PJ Hall scored 8 unanswered points. The senior scored 21 of his game-high 25 in the first half on 58% shooting.

“He made some tough ones,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said about Hall's performance. “We battled but he just made some tough ones. It was definitely difficult handling PJ inside.”

The Orange responded with a 9-0 run of their own. They cut the deficit to just 2 with 8 minutes to go in the first half. However to close out the frame, the Tigers said anything you can do, I can do better. Clemson went on a 12-2 run to end the first 20 minutes and held a 12 point lead heading to the locker rooms.

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The second half was not like the first. Neither team put together a run of more than 5 unanswered points the entire remaining 20 minutes. A large piece of that was former SU guard and current Clemson guard Joe Girard III. The senior tallied 16 of his 21 points in the second half. Girard’s three triples all halted runs for Syracuse and kept the Orange at bay.

“He did a really good job, again,” said Autry on his former player's performance. “Efficient. He made the shots when they needed him."

While the regular season is over, that means the ACC tournament is right around the corner. The Orange currently sit at 6th in the ACC standings. With a Wake Forest win at home over Clemson on Saturday, Syracuse would fall to the 7 seed.

However, if the Tigers beat the Demon Deacons and Pittsburgh losses at home to NC State the Orange would jump to the 5 seed in the ACC. Either way, the Orange will be playing on Wednesday, March 15 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

When the Orange look big picture, their chances at making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021 have slimmed to nothing. Syracuse dropped a spot in the NET rankings after beating Louisville by 6 on the road last week and is set to drop a lot this week. The Orange are 4-2 in Quad II, 9-1 in Quad III, and 4-0 in Quad IV, but are just 2-8 in Quad I games.

Syracuse’s next game will be Wednesday at either 2:30, 7, or 9:30 but WAER will have coverage starting with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff half an hour before game time.