The perennially underrated Syracuse Orange Men’s Basketball Team once again busted brackets and broke hearts in the 2018 March Madness tournament, finishing in the Sweet 16 despite entering as a play-in team. Head Coach Jim Boeheim’s legendary zone defense allowed Syracuse to compete against and upset teams with significantly greater offensive firepower than the Orange, and looking forward, the Orange are poised for another tournament run in the 2019 tournament.
Syracuse’s regular season was full of ups and downs. The Orange finished with a disappointing 8–10 record in ACC conference play, and Syracuse was not expected to make March Madness after getting blown out by the University of North Carolina in the second round of the ACC tournament. Thus, it came as a shock that Syracuse was chosen by the selection committee to play in March Madness, although they had to face Arizona State in a play-in game to make the Round of 64. After Syracuse won this game, they defeated TCU and Michigan State as significant underdogs before finally bowing out of the tournament at the hands of a ridiculously talented Duke team.
By far, Syracuse’s best player this season was Tyus Battle. Battle, a sophomore, averaged 19.2 points per game, carrying the scoring burden for an otherwise offensively-challenged squad. Syracuse’s offense shot the ball at a horrendously low 41.7 percent from the field, and although Battle’s field goal percentage was just below 40 percent, his ability to get to the free-throw line and perform in clutch moments helped the Orange win several close games against good opponents, including Clemson and Louisville during the regular season, and their incredible upset against Michigan State, the third seeded team in the Midwest side of the March Madness bracket.
Syracuse also relied on the contributions of freshman Oshae Brissett, a player who found success on the defensive end despite struggling mightily on offense, and Frank Howard, a junior who has come into his own as a well-rounded player with offensive capabilities. Additionally, while not a major contributor during the regular season, Slovakian freshman Marek Dolezaj was huge for the Orange in the NCAA tournament, scoring a team-high 17 points to lead Syracuse in its upset win over TCU in the Round of 64.
Syracuse’s future looks to be good despite several roster changes, both expected and unexpected. Most importantly, Syracuse may lose star Tyus Battle as he seeks to enter the NBA. He has entered the 2018 Draft without an agent, allowing him to test the waters and make a decision about his college eligibility after the NBA draft combine. Although he is projected to be a second-round pick, Battle could earn an NBA roster spot if he plays well in the NBA’s Summer League, and he could hone his skills in the NBA G-League in the 2018–19 season. With that in mind, if Battle is not on the team next year, his offensive responsibilities will have to be carried by Oshae Brissett, who will remain on the Orange and look to improve his abysmal 35 percent shooting from the field, and Frank Howard, who will also need to take more shots while maintaining his efficiency.
The outlook for Syracuse’s 2018–19 season looked even brighter before late March. Five-star recruit Darius Bazley, a tall, volume shooting forward who had previously committed to Syracuse, made the bold decision to decommit from Syracuse and instead enter the NBA G-League draft to better prepare himself for the NBA draft. This shocking decision meant that Syracuse had lost its best recruit since Carmelo Anthony, and the Orange fanbase was devastated. Nevertheless, Syracuse will still add four-star guard Jalen Carey, three-star guard Buddy Boeheim, and is actively pursuing several other three- and four-star Class of 2018 prospects.
The Orange will have a big need to fill at the big-man positions. Marek Dolezaj, an extremely underweight forward, is too small to be inserted into the starting lineup, and current center Paschal Chukwu is underwhelming as a rebounder and inside scorer. Several prospects remain who could fill this void, including Jordan Brown, a five-star power-forward, and Lukas Kisunas, an underrated center from Lithuania, and Jim Boeheim could entice these prospects with the promise of becoming excellent defensive players and being the targets of many alley-oop passes against other zone defenses. While Chukwu is a serviceable option, if Syracuse wants to make a deeper tournament run, Boeheim must recruit a better big man.
Overall, despite the disappointment of the Darius Bazley decommitment, the success of this past year’s underdog Syracuse team in March Madness bodes well for the future. With minimal roster turnover, and with at least two new recruits joining the team, the Orange can continue to be a dominant defensive team, and can hopefully figure out the offensive end next year.