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Men's Basketball

What we learned after Syracuse’s 76-72 overtime loss to No. 8 Louisville

Jessica Sheldon | Staff Photographer

Point guard John Gillon drove to the hoop as time wound down to give Syracuse a regulation victory, but he lost the handle and the ball rolled o

By Connor Grossman, Matt SchneidmanThe Daily Orange

With a golden opportunity to score another marquee win at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse (16-11, 8-6 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t complete a final comeback against No. 8 Louisville (21-5, 9-4) in a 76-72 loss in overtime.

Here are three things we learned from the game.

Even Jim Boeheim thinks SU should have lost some recent close games

It’s no surprise at this point to see the Orange stage a comeback. Syracuse overcame double-digit deficits three times during its five-game winning streak.  The most notable comebacks came against then-No. 6 Florida State and then-No. 9 Virginia. Monday night seemed like it could be the topper to that list.

Syracuse overcame a 14-point deficit in regulation, and nearly overcame an eight-point deficit in the final minute of overtime. It’s unfair to expect any team to win a game like that, but SU has proven it can. Perhaps even more often than even Boeheim expected.



“We’ve been down in four or five situations and we won them all until tonight,” Boeheim said. “That’s not easy to do. We probably should have lost two or three of the games that we won, at least.”

Jim Boeheim has no confidence in Tyler Roberson from the line

Roberson brought an unflattering 50-percent clip to the foul line as he prepared to take two free throws with Syracuse trailing by two and 2.7 seconds left in overtime.

He missed the first, then the second, and so faded the Orange’s chance at a third straight home win against a top 10 opponent.

“We got the rebound, wrong guy got it,” Boeheim said of Roberson corralling Andrew White’s missed 3. “I didn’t think he was gonna make them.”

Roberson has now made only 25 of 52 foul shots on the season. When asked about Boeheim’s comments after the game, he responded, “I think it just shows that…,” before trailing off. He declined to finish his answer.

Tyus Battle still isn’t healthy

Going back to last week’s game in Clemson, we’ve known Battle has been under the weather. After the freshman hit a buzzer-beating 3, his father, Gary Battle, tweeted that his son told him before the game that he had a fever. The freshman guard still appeared dogged by sickness in a loss to Pittsburgh, and he didn’t look any better against the Cardinals.

Battle scored only two points Monday and shot 1-of-7. Pile that stat line on top of his against the Tigers and Panthers, the Battle has shot 4-for-19 (21 percent) from the field and combined for 11 points.

Assistant coach Mike Hopkins told ESPN Syracuse before Monday’s game that Battle was a “full go,” and the freshman said he felt “fine” after the game, but his teammates seem to think he’s still under the weather.

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“I think we’ll be better once Tyus starts feeling better,” Gillon said. “People don’t take that into consideration, having a starter sick.

“Regardless, we have to make plays without him, because he hasn’t been as available.”





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