Things are getting dire for Syracuse men’s basketball. After its 90-74 loss at Florida State on Saturday, the Orange (6-8, 0-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are off to their worst start since 1968. In that season, the Orange were 4-10 through 14 games and finished the year at 9-16. So, what’s next for the squad that’s being talked about for all the wrong reasons?
On Tuesday, SU returns home to host Georgia Tech (8-7, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). While the Orange are just 1-4 in their last five matchups, the Yellow Jackets are riding a three-game winning streak.
“We’re making progress,” GT head coach Damon Stoudamire said. “I’m not satisfied, but we’re making progress.”
In his first season, Stoudamire’s team went 14-18 and finished 13th in the ACC standings. Now in his second year, although the season is far from over, Georgia Tech sits at 8th in the conference with two ACC wins already under its belt. And now, they have a chance at a third.
“We need to be greedy,” Stoudamire said. “We’re going on the road against an ACC team for the first time, and it’s gonna be a different game. We’re playing in a dome, we’re playing against a team that hasn’t won an ACC game, and they want to turn their season around.”
Coach Stoudamire hit it right on the nose when it comes to coach Adrian Autry’s wishes for his team this season. While Stoudamire has steadily improved upon his first season, Autry has been the polar opposite.
This time last year, SU was 11-4 and was 2-2 in conference play. This season, the team is 6-8 with an 0-3 record in the ACC. Lately, there has been a glaring weakness in the Orange offense.
“We just have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball,” Autry said. “In these last four games, it’s hard for us to do anything if we keep turning the ball over like this.”
Specifically, ‘Cuse averages 19 turnovers a game in their last four contests, third most in the entire country.
Guard JJ Starling may have returned for @Cuse_MBB tonight but it made no difference in the end.@TylerJAitken and @BurgessLuke03 explain how the only thing to rely on with this Orange team is inconsistency.
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However, there is one point of optimism for SU as it looks ahead to its matchup with GT as well as the rest of the season. Star guard JJ Starling returned to the lineup in Saturday’s game for the first time since his hand injury over a month ago.
“Having JJ back, that was probably the best news we had,” Autry said. “After him not playing for a couple weeks, I thought he gave us an injection of energy, getting to the basket, creating for others, and we just gotta keep building on that.”
Starling led the Orange with 18 points in last year’s loss to the Yellow Jackets. Before his injury this season, the junior led SU with 19 points per game, fourth most in the ACC.
‘Cuse will need all the scoring they can get from Starling in its matchup against GT. The Orange average just 67 points per game in their power five matchups without the guard.
Gametime on Tuesday is set for 7 p.m. in the Dome. WAER’s pregame coverage gets going at 6:30 with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff.