For a moment let’s take a look at the not so recent past. The year is 2010, Jim Boeheim has just led Syracuse to another Sweet Sixteen appearance in a 30-win season. The Orange were upset in the Big Dance but were major players in the old Big East and are still just seven years removed from their first national championship led by Carmelo Anthony.
While Syracuse would actually return to the Final Four a few more times in the near future, things really changed for this program when they moved to the ACC in 2013. That major shift in conference alignment affected a number of schools but it’s seem to had major recurring effects for the Orange in particular. They truly belonged in that 16-team Big East with great matchups and rivalries, constantly playing familiar foes like Connecticut, Georgetown, and others.
In the last 10 seasons, Syracuse has only been ranked for a total of 10 weeks 😳
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 4, 2025
Syracuse hasn’t appeared in a single AP Top 25 poll in the 2020s yet 😬
You just hate to see such a proud program looking like this. pic.twitter.com/8SddLrIxPm
Since then, things have not been the same for this basketball program. The Orange made a shocking run to the Final Four as a 10-seed in 2016 and had two upset-laden runs to the Sweet Sixteen after that, but the results haven’t been there in the regular season. Over the last eleven seasons, Syracuse has been in the NCAA Tournament just four times, with an 8-seed in 2019 as their best positioning.
Syracuse went 14-4 in ACC play in their premiere back in 2014 but since then have not finished more than two games above .500 in the league. In fact, the Orange are headed for their worst season since joining the league perhaps in the ACC’s worst overall year in recent memory. Suffice to say things have not changed since Boeheim retired and Adrian Autry took the head coaching job in 2023.
Syracuse became known for their zone defense over the years, though the defensive numbers from this program just haven’t been impressive over the last half decade. A big reason for this 12-18 campaign is that the Orange sit just 173rd in the nation in defensive efficiency. They aren’t forcing turnovers, they’re not playing smart basketball, and they haven’t been a legitimate contender in the ACC in many years.
Two years is hardly enough to judge a head coach, especially one just beginning his head coaching career, but you have to wonder what the future holds for this program with Autry at the helm. It’s been more of the same for this program since he succeeded Boeheim. There’s some hope for the future with 4-star guard Kiyan Anthony (with a familiar father) coming to campus next season, but a lot is going to depend on the offseason and how Autry and his staff utilize the Transfer Portal.
Here’s where things stand with the Orange: they have a very inexperienced head coach trying to dig the program out of this hole. The talent just hasn’t been there as they’ve faltered in a league going through a rough season. The recent history is dreadful and their longtime rivals have all either found success or are in different leagues. All things considered, are we in the darkest days for Syracuse basketball?
A lot can change in a single season, especially if that staff can hit a home run or two utilizing NIL and the Portal. There are no guarantees that Autry is the man to fix things and it may take new leadership in the coming years, but not all hope is lost. Syracuse has the fanbase to support this program and sit in a very winnable league, they just need to show it on the court to rebuilt that support. Time will tell if that’ll be the case and if the Orange can built a good team around Anthony and what returns from this season.