Syracuse, N.Y. ― I usually like to boast about how many questions I receive each week. Well, not so much this time around.
Maybe a lot of Syracuse fans have made up their minds about this year’s team. I still get emails, but these days the opinions out-number the questions.
Still, there were a couple of really good questions this week. Here are a few.
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Q: I saw on Twitter a list that showed Syracuse has had 22 double-digit losses since Adrian Autry became head coach. How does that compare to Jim Boeheim? – Keith T.
Mike: I saw that same list after Syracuse’s 87-77 loss to North Carolina on Monday.
First, it’s a pretty arbitrary number as the final score isn’t always reflective of how the game went.
I’ve seen games with one team ahead by four points with a minute to go end up with an 11-point margin. Conversely, I’ve seen games where one team was ahead by 20 with a few minutes left and the final score was nine points.
We saw both sides this in the latter stages of Monday’s game. The Tar Heels led by as many as 32 points. Syracuse narrowed the margin to six points in the final minute before finally losing by 10.
So was it a total blowout, a 10-point loss or a game that could’ve easily been decided by fewer than 10 points?
I guess that may all even out over time.
But Keith asks an interesting question: How do the 22 double-digits losses in Autry’s tenure compare to the Hall of Famer? The answer surprised me.
In Boeheim’s last three seasons, Syracuse lost 21 games by 10 points or more.
That list includes a 29-point loss at Illinois, a 20-point home loss to Georgia Tech, a 25-point loss to Duke and a 23-point loss at Virginia. And let’s not forget a 12-point loss to Colgate.
I decided to take the question one step further. What about real blowouts? Games decided by 20 or more points.
In Autry’s tenure, Syracuse has suffered 11 such losses. In Boeheim’s last three seasons, there were eight games that the Orange lost by 20 or more.
Rather than serving as a referendum on Autry, I think the comparison tells us more about where the Syracuse program is these days.
Q: Why didn’t (Kiyan) Anthony play more vs. Notre Dame? Is Red trying to get everyone to transfer next year? – Goldenollie on Twitter
Mike: After playing 9 minutes in the first half, Kiyan Anthony didn’t play in the second half of Syracuse’s win over Notre Dame on Saturday. And I think it’s pretty obvious why.
Anthony is a skilled offensive player, but he’s still learning how to play defense.
Autry’s emphasis coming into the Notre Dame game seemed to be getting the team to play the kind of defense that it exhibited earlier in the season.
Let’s face it, Syracuse absolutely had to win that game. Autry went with his best defenders.
There’s another reason that dovetails with this. Notre Dame’s top two offensive players are Braeden Shrewsberry and Jalen Haralson. Anthony would have been tasked with guarding one of those two. That’s a tough defensive assignment for a player who has struggled defensively.
Anthony came back with 10 points in 15 minutes in Monday’s loss to North Carolina. He went 3-for-10 from the field but did make all four of his free throws.
Q: Is Syracuse going to get any high school recruits this year? Or are the recruits waiting to see what happens with Adrian Autry? – Bryce K.
Mike: Syracuse has yet to receive a commitment from any player in the 2026 recruiting class.
Syracuse is reportedly still in the mix for Jordan Smith Jr., a top-5 player in the 2026 class out of Paul VI High School in Virginia. However, the other schools among the finalists for Smith are Arkansas, Duke, Georgetown, Indiana and Kentucky.
That’s some pretty stiff competition.
At this point, I think there’s little chance for Syracuse to get any recruits until the season ends and the university makes a decision to bring Adrian Autry back or not.
