Coach: Jim Boeheim

The 2020-21 basketball season would be a frustrating one for the Orange. Four starters from the previous season were gone, including star scorer Tyus Battle, and leading rebounder Oshae Brissett. Elijah Hughes would be the lone returning starter. Buddy Boeheim, Marek Dolezaj and Bourama Sidibe would move into the starting rotation, and Jalen Carey was tabbed as the starting point guard. A group of talented freshman joined the team, and there was curiosity on whether they could fill well the vacancies from the departed players.

The first game of the season was against defending national champion and ACC foe Virginia. The game did not go well as both teams struggled to score, with Virginia eventually winning 48-34. The Orange would beat Colgate 70-54 in the next game, but coach Jim Boeheim was not happy with the ball distribution nor the turnovers of the team. Highly rated freshman Joe Girard would replace Carey at point guard. Girard looked good in that first start, leading the team in scoring with 24 points and making five of six three point shots. Carey would announce he had a thumb injury, and would miss the rest of the season.

The Orange would struggle once they started playing major conference opponents. The Orange defense struggled as the team lost three straight to Oklahoma State, Penn State and Iowa. The team would play well against Georgia Tech, with Elijah Hughes scoring 33 and Buddy Boeheim 26. The Orange would lose their next game to Georgetown, despite another big day from Boeheim (25 points) and Hughes (21 points). Quincy Guerrier was showing that he had the talent to be a big contributor, but was inconsistent game after game.

The team would struggle defensively all season. The guards at the top of the key had problems preventing players from getting into the paint, and the centers did not do a good job of shutting down the middle.

Syracuse would suffer a one point loss to Notre Dame in early January. Prentiss Hubb would make two free throws to put Notre Dame up by four points with 18 seconds to play. Girard would hit a three point basket at the buzzer, and appeared to be fouled, but the officials did not make the call.

Syracuse would face #18 Virginia in another classic low scoring match up between the two squads. The score was tied 43 a piece with 1:20 left in regulation. Both teams failed to score sending the team into overtime. The overtime would be all Orange, with Boeheim leading the way with 3 three-point baskets and 9 points, including a 30+ foot shot clock beater. The Orange would outscore Virginia 20-12 in overtime. That win would start off a string of five consecutive wins for Syracuse, including three wins on the road.

The team would then lose five of their next six games, three of which were to ranked teams. The lone win in the stretch was a 75-73 win over Wake Forest, where freshman Brycen Goodine tipped in the winning basket with 1.5 seconds remaining.

Syracuse would continue to do well on the road, and had an impressive 72-49 win over Pitt. Sidibe had a big night on both ends of the court with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. The Orange would get outclassed by North Carolina at the Dome, before beating Boston College on the road, and losing to Miami to finish the regular season.

Syracuse was matched up against North Carolina in their first game in the ACC tournament, and the Orange were heavy underdogs. The Orange put together their best game of the season and easily beat the Tar Heels 81-53, after jumping out to a 43-22 first half lead. Sidibe had another double double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Hughes led all scorers with 27 points. The Orange forced 18 turnovers in the game, and held North Carolina to 33% shooting.

Unfortunately the NCAA season ended the next day as the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all postseason games for the remainder of the year.

© RLYoung 2019, 2020