What could this Syracuse men’s basketball season look like with Jim Boeheim jacket tosses?

Thanks for nothing, Mike Brey

If you’ve been a follower of The Official Jim Boeheim Jacket Toss Tracker™ then you know the impact of a perfectly-timed toss on the results of a Syracuse Orange men’s basketball game. In the three seasons that we followed the statistics Syracuse was 17-5 in games with a jacket toss and only suffered one loss when they were leading when the jacket toss occurred.

With the Orange sitting at a record of 5-5 heading into this weekend’s game with Lehigh we decided to look at the five losses to determine when a jacket toss could have changed the outcome of the game.

Colgate: 2:48 left in the first half

The Syracuse lead is cut to 38-36 when Ferguson hits a 3-pointer. This shot follows a possession where the Orange grab two offensive rebounds but turn the ball over after a Benny Williams offensive foul. That maddening sequence would certainly be enough to fuel an uncommon first-half toss.

VCU: 18:43 left in the second half

Syracuse came out of the half with a 27-23 lead but after two empty possessions and a 3-pointer from Keshawn Curry the jacket gets tossed like someone jumping into one of the many pools around the Atlantis property.

Auburn: 8:36 left in the first half

Frank Anselem hits two free throws to give the Orange a 22-19 lead and Jim realizes that Bruce Pearl is in shorts so it’s kind of ridiculous that he’s wearing a jacket over his polo. It’s a good thing he makes that quick decision because Auburn quickly ties and then takes the lead for good.

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Villanova: 12:05 left in the second half

You could pick a number of suitable moments from MSG. Maybe Jim punctuates the first half by tossing his coat to the courtside seats but we’ll go with this one. With the Orange holding a 45-43 lead Villanova is about to conclude a possession with two offensive rebounds leading to a Collin Gillespie 3-pointer to take the lead for good. An out-of-bounds call at this moment is the perfect time to capture a sideline outburst for national television.

Georgetown: 15:01 left in the second half

This game went back and forth in the second half but this is the moment the Hoyas cut the ten-point lead Syracuse had at halftime down to two. It was another offensive rebound leading to a basket which got Jim Boeheim up off the bench and his jacket up off his shoulders.

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

See look at how easily we could be talking about a 10-0 nationally-ranked Syracuse basketball team. The solution to what ails the Syracuse Orange can be solved by a visit to the tailor. Can we get a local couturier to take on the job of designing a jacket that is as comfortable to wear as a crewneck? This way we can all suffer less stress and anxiety from now until March.