Syracuse collapses at home against Pittsburgh, tournament berth now in doubt

The game looked to be well in hand, Syracuse up 11 with three and a half minutes to play. Syracuse was in the comfort of the Carrier Dome, the home fans feverishly behind the Orange. Syracuse forced into a must-win situation, dominated Pittsburgh through the duration of the game. The Panthers only led once, just three minutes into the game. And then, the Orange collapsed.

If Syracuse taught us anything in this league, it’s that unless the clock is showing nothing but zeroes, you haven’t won anything. If you take your foot off the gas, and don’t close out games, rest assured you’re going to lose. Syracuse sat on their 11 point lead, giving this one away. Pittsburgh went on a 9-0 run over a 1:46 span, a span in which Syracuse missed two shots and committed a turnover. Pitt point guard Levance Fields hit four free throws, Ronald Ramon converted a lay-up and Gilbert Brown hit his first 3-pointer in two months to propel the comeback. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim burned a timeout to regroup his troops, but it didn’t help. A runner by Jonny Flynn put Syracuse up four, but Brown connected on another three, pulling the Panthers to within one, 77-76.

Flynn couldn’t hit on a 3-point attempt, but Brown got himself caught in no man’s land in the corner, and tried to draw a foul on his shot attempt, but the officials gave Brown no help, as his frantic shot ended up going out of bounds. 15 seconds left, Syracuse to inbound. All that was left to do was simply get the ball inbounds to a white and orange jersey, walk the length of the floor, make free throws and put the pressure on Pitt; a dream situation that resulted in a nightmare ending for the Orange.

Donte Greene gets the inbound pass into the hands of Paul Harris, who momentarily froze a bit, then stumbled with the ball. Sam Young came storming from behind, slaps the ball away, and as Young was falling out of bounds, he tossed a behind-the-back pass over his shoulder to a wide open Keith Benjamin. Benjamin deposits the easy, uncontested lay-up for Pitt’s first lead of the game since the three minute mark of the game. Syracuse came back at the other end, and clanked a jumper, with Fields securing the rebound. Boeheim was irate, just flat out livid over the non-call, and was hit with a technical. Fields drained all four free throws, and sunk the Syracuse 82-77. It wasn’t a memorable afternoon shooting for Fields, who was 2-of-9 from the field, but he came up large when called upon. Eight of 13 points came from the foul line in the final 3:30 of the game.

One baseline play, one inbound, may have very well cost Syracuse a berth into the NCAA Tournament. Simply a devastating loss for Syracuse to endure. The Orange couldn’t have played much better on offense, shooting 59 and 58 percent from the field in the first and second half. The big three were outstanding, namely Jonny Flynn.

Flynn once again played all 40 minutes, matching his season high with 28 points. Fellow freshman Donte Greene finished with 23 points, and Paul Harris added 18. The trio accounted for 69 of the 77 points. Harris also played the entire 40 minutes and Greene played 38 minutes. The kids were fantastic for Boeheim, as the Orange have lived and died on the backs of their big three.

But on this afternoon, as the dejected crowd filed out of the Carrier Dome, this was the one game that Syracuse needed a closer. As good as Flynn, Greene, and Harris are, and will be in the future, on this day Syracuse could have badly used injured guard Eric Devendorf. Syracuse had an 11-point lead, but no one, not even Flynn, could seal the deal for Syracuse. You can’t blame youth and inexperience, in due time Flynn and Greene have the potential to blossom into closers, but collectively, Syracuse left the puzzle half finished.

Down 11 on the road, Pittsburgh never quit. They stayed together and kept battling. We can debate all we want about the collapse of the Orange, but Pittsburgh saw the door was left open just a crack, and the Panthers stormed through. Pittsburgh finished the game on an 18-2 run over the final 3:30. Pittsburgh closed. Syracuse did not. The Panthers had a much more balanced scoring attack, with five players scoring at least 12 points (Sam Young led Pitt with 19). The Panthers took care of business at the free throw line, nailing 15-of-17 for the game, going 10-for-10 in the second half.

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After the game, the body language of Jim Boeheim told the whole story. He described the loss as the most disappointing loss he’s ever been involved with. Boeheim appeared emotionally spent, and after such a crushing loss, who could blame him. But Boeheim’s been around the block before, this isn’t his first rodeo. He knew what was at stake. He knew his squad would have to win at least two, if not their final three regular season games to even have a chance at a tournament berth. Boeheim looked as if he knows that Syracuse isn’t far off from those three gut-wrenching letters no coach wants to be associated with: N.I.T.

by Frank Minniti
BigEast-fans.com Director of Content

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