Frustration has become an ongoing theme amid Syracuse’s mini slump of late, something they’ll try to move past when they host Miami on Saturday.
As the Orange’s late first half double-digit lead evaporated and became a two-point home loss against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, a smattering of boos could be heard from the crowd at the JMA Wireless Dome.
After winning three of their first four Atlantic Coast Conference games, the Orange lost their second straight following an 81-73 overtime defeat at Boston College on Saturday. Syracuse led by seven at the break against Virginia Tech before the Hokies rallied for a 76-74 victory.
“I understand their frustration. Everyone is frustrated,” Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. “We’ll get refocused and we’ll go out there and we’ll fight. That’s one thing — these guys are going to fight.”
Syracuse (12-7, 3-3 ACC) now must turn its focus to giving the fans something to cheer about at a second straight home game, this time against Miami (15-4, 4-2).
“We’ve got to bounce back,” Autry said. “We’ve got to live this, learn from it and move forward.”
One player Autry expects to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss is leading scorer Donnie Freeman (19.2 points per game). After scoring 18 points or more in his first five conference games, Freeman shot 3 of 14 from the field Wednesday and finished with a season-low 10 points.
Like Syracuse, the Hurricanes are experiencing their own skid following a strong start under first-year coach Jai Lucas. The Hurricanes won their first four conference games before a 69-59 loss at then-No. 22 Clemson and a 65-63 home loss against Florida State on Tuesday. Miami has lost 15 of 16 to its in-state rival.
“I’ve got to get the team where we have been,” Lucas said. “We had a little bit of a run going. Seasons are long. They come in waves. We had a 10-game winning streak and now we’re in a little funk. And now we have to get out of it.”
Freshman forward Shelton Henderson kept the Hurricanes within striking distance against Florida State with a team-high 18 points. Henderson also made his two 3-point attempts as he seeks to expand his perimeter game.
“I work on it every single day,” Henderson said. “I just have to shoot them and they’re going to fall when I shoot the right shots at the right time.”
–Field Level Media
