NCAA Basketball: 5 biggest disappointments during the non-conference
By Adam Childs
Syracuse Orange
Syracuse has been one of the best programs in the country for a long time, but they have started to slip in recent years. They barely slipped into the tournament last year and had to play in one of the play-in games. They would win that and then upset Michigan State to make it to the Sweet 16.
It was thought that their run in the tournament plus the addition of some good freshman would help the Orange get back on track. Well, so far this year that has not been the case. They do have a good win against Ohio State during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge but outside of that, they have only beaten mid-major teams.
They went to New York and were outmatched by a decent but not great UConn team before losing to another one of the seasons busts Oregon by 15. While that was not a good look that was not was not the worst stretch of basketball for the Orange this year. They lost to Old Dominion by 6 at home before getting blown out by Buffalo. The Bulls are a good team, but not one that Syracuse should be getting blown out by. ODU also has played well this year but again not a game they should be losing.
The ACC is about to start and while at the beginning of the year it looked like the Orange could compete with the top, they now must wonder if they are good enough to be in the top half.