Syracuse finally loses a cliffhanger

[pjohns]

I had just about concluded that Syracuse University was divinely ordained--or, at least, that it was the Team of Destiny in 2014--prior to tonight's faceoff with lowly Boston College.

Here is a brief synopsis of what Syracuse had done earlier in the month of February:

February 1:  Syracuse 91; Duke 89 (OT).  Duke's Quinn Cook missed a shot as time expired, that could have made the difference.  This, following a (successful) desperation 3-pointer by Duke's Rasheed Sulaimon, at the end of regulation, that had forced the overtime session.   

February 12:  Syracuse 58; Pittsburgh 56.  Tyler Ennis (a freshman) hit a 35-footer at the buzzer to give Syracuse a last-second reprieve, in a game played in Pittsburgh--where it is exceedingly difficult to win.

February 15:  Syracuse 56; North Carolina State 55.  Tyler Ennis (again a hero!) stole an inbounds pass with just 14 seconds remaining, then fed the ball to teammate C.J. Fair, whose layup gave Syracuse the lead--just when it looked as if the Orange were finished.  North Carolina State's Kyle Washington then missed a shot from the top of the circle that could have won the game for the Wolfpack. 

Does anyone notice a pattern here?

Still, as Syracuse's coach, Jim Boeheim, noted after the upset, "When you get in enough of these games, there's going to be one you're not going to make a play. That's what happens.  At the end of games, you get into enough of these games, you're not going to win."     

[mountaineer]

Pitt came close to beating the Orange earlier, as well, on Jan. 18, so it was fair to say Syracuse was vulnerable. Congrats to BC for the upset, though.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- To a man, the Boston College Eagles were convinced of one thing: DK was looking down on them.

Olivier Hanlan and Patrick Heckmann hit 3-pointers in overtime, Lonnie Jackson made four straight free throws in the final 26.2 seconds, and lowly BC stunned top-ranked Syracuse 62-59 on Wednesday night, ending the Orange's unbeaten season.

"It was an emotional game for us," BC coach Steve Donahue said after his first Carrier Dome win in eight tries against the Orange. "It's been incredible for these guys to persevere. We've played well in a lot of games."

The Eagles came to town with heavy hearts and a good dose of determination. Longtime basketball media contact and sports information assistant Dick Kelley died last week after a two-year battle with ALS. His funeral was Tuesday, and the Eagles, who often visited his apartment, were wearing "DK" patches on their uniforms.

"The patch on our chests, toward the end of the game, it was like, 'We can't be denied. DK is looking down on us. He's got us,'" forward Ryan Anderson said. "It's real emotional. It's really going to set in in a couple of hours."

Boston College (7-19, 3-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had lost five straight, rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to pull off the improbable upset. The Eagles had dropped six games by four points or fewer, including 74-71 at Georgia Tech and 73-69 to Notre Dame in the past week.

"We've been in a lot of close games this year, lost a lot of heartbreakers," said Jackson, who was just 9-of-16 from the free throw line in conference play entering the game. "We've been in this before, so we just had to rely on that. Finally, the ball bounced our way."

Syracuse (25-1, 12-1) travels to No. 5 Duke on Saturday night for a rematch of their overtime instant classic Feb. 1.

The loss leaves No. 3 Wichita State (28-0), which beat Loyola of Chicago 88-74 on Wednesday night, as the lone unbeaten team in Division I. ...

ESPN