Can they play a full 40?
The Syracuse Orange head into tomorrow’s game against the Florida State Seminoles looking for an opportunity to make a miracle run to the ACC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament auto-bid.
If Syracuse has any chance of advancing in Charlotte, they have to reverse their second-half performance history. Commenter myorange asked how many times Syracuse lost the 2nd half of games this season. Unfortunately the answer is Syracuse was 10-19-2 when we look at 2nd half scoring.
Included in the ten “wins” are three games that the Orange ended up losing, so the strong second half did little but make the final score better than it could have been.
In the last five games, Syracuse has held a double-digit lead at some point in each game. Somehow, they are only 3-2 in this stretch, but the glass half-full view is that it indicates Syracuse is playing better as we head into the post-season. The glass is half-empty view says that still the Orange can’t close the deal.
As the season turns to Charlotte, the Orange have to play as close to a full 40 minute game as possible. If they get a sizable lead, they can’t afford to let up or lose focus as has been the case too many times this season. There’s nothing cliché about it, there isn’t another opportunity for this group of players. The next Syracuse loss ends the season and let’s hope the Orange play with that level of urgency.