Syracuse suffered another big ACC loss, their fourth in a row, on Saturday to Miami.
At one point, the Orange led by 18 points, but eventually lost 75–72 to the Hurricanes. Even with a minute left, Syracuse led 72–67, but gave up eight points in that last minute due to three turnovers.
With the win, Miami improves their chances of making the NCAA tournament without having to pad its résumé at the ACC tournament in Brooklyn. In his Friday bracketology update, Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney had Miami in the field as a No. 10 seed.
Syracuse’s chances, on the other hand, are very slim.
Syracuse lost to Notre Dame, Duke and UNC in their three games prior to Saturday. Their last game against UNC went into overtime before the Orange ultimately lost 88–79. Jim Boeheim and his team ended their regular season on a rough note heading into the ACC tournament.
Right now, the Orange have a 15–16 record. If Syracuse doesn’t win two more games in the ACC tournament, then Boeheim will have his first losing season in his 46-year long career as head coach.
With Saturday’s loss, Syracuse moved to ninth place in the ACC standings with a 9–11 conference record. Miami moved to the fourth spot in the ACC with a 14–6 record in league play.
The ACC tournament begins on Tuesday. With Syracuse’s seeding, they will play No. 8 Florida State on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the tournament. If Miami keeps its fourth seed, the Hurricanes won’t play until Thursday, against either the No. 5, 12 or 13-seeded team in the bracket.
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