The Downside - U of Miami II | Syracusefan.com

The Downside - U of Miami II

SWC75

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- I got home and went to Cuse.com to print out the box score so I could do this report and do the figuring for Net Point, etc. I clicked on ‘Box Score’ and get a page with this message: “Something went wrong, Please send details of the events leading up to this error to support@sidearmsports.com
Yeah, something went wrong alright. I’m not sure what Sidearm sports is going to do about it.

- The game was another chapter of gut-punch theater. We had 9 games this year decided by 5 points or less or in overtime and we were 2-7, beating Florida State 63-60 and Georgia Tech 74-73. We lost toa terrible Georgetown team 75-79, to a down Virginia team 69-74, to U of Miami after having an 18 point lead 87-88 and 72-75, to Wake Forest when we had a 2 point lead and the ball with 10 seconds left, 74-77 in overtime, 71-76 to FSU in the rematch in our place and, 79-88 in OT to North Carolina with another inbounds play being a problem. You’re not going to win all those games but if we did, we’d be 22-9 right now.

- A familiar story: a big man killed us. Jordan Miller, (actually not all that big at 6-7) scored 25 points, (including their last 6) and pulled down 13 rebounds. On our side Bourama Sidibe played well but went out with 13:28 left and never returned. He was wearing an orange shirt on the bench down the stretch of the game. I assume his knees were hurting too much to use him. I was disappointed that nobody asked Jim about that in the presser. Frank Anselem played 25 minutes without getting a shot off. He’s played 78 minutes in the last four games and gotten 1 shot off. He’s definitely the 5th option but the defense gets to go 5 on 4 with Frank in there. And John Bol Ajak gave us a performance that harkened back to Tony Scott’s legendary heading-down-the-mountain-with-no-breaks debacle against Minnesota in the NCAAs all those years ago. JBA seemed to have his own game plan which had nothing to do with what anybody else was doing. He attempted a 15 foot jump shot, committed 2 fouls and made a bad turnover. But the biggest failure was to allow Miller to get the rebound on Moore’s miss at the end and put it in the basket to give Miami the lead with 13 seconds left.

- Both Miami games featured not only an 18 point lead but specifically an 44-26 lead. But they were different games. The Canes erased our lead early in the second half, (at the 14:07 mark), of the first game and led most the way from that point on. In this game we got our 44-26 lead early in the second half, (at the 17:32 mark). Mia hit a couple of shots to make it 44-30 and Jimmy Satalin said “The nice thing about an 18 point lead is that you can give up a couple of buckets and you’re still ahead by 14 points.” Ugh. It became an 0-13 run to make it 44-39. Eventually, Miami got to within three points at 49-46 at the 10:30 mark. We were going to have to gut this one out. But we pushed it to 53-46, then 56-48, the 62-52 and led 70-60 at the 2:29 mark. I was thinking that we’d held them off this time.

- But I was worried even before the game that we had only one point guard and he was Joe Girard, who makes 2-3 bad turnovers a game and I knew Miami would use constant defensive pressure to wear him down. Practically whole team was going to be playing 40 minutes due to the injuries. The possibility of a late melt-down was always there and it happened. It didn’t help that we play an offensive game based on spacing and like to milk a lead. It meant that when an SU player got the ball, he was widely separated from hit teammates and his first instinct once he got the ball was to hold onto it and no make a risky pass. I allowed the defense to close on the man with the ball and trap him with a thicket of arms and legs like a venus fly-trap closing around a hapless insect.


They also knew who to go after. Cole Swider has had some big games down the stretch but his ball skills aren’t good enough to handle pressure yet, (which is why he needs another year at this level). Trap him and the ball is yours.) He had 4 turnovers.) He and Joe on the sideline play made the two huge turnovers that really let the game get away.

- The game was also a classic demonstration of how protective defensive pressure can delay the offensive team from getting into their offense and force them to hurry things when they do. Swider, in particular, also has trouble getting his shot off under defensive pressure. He was 14 for 21 against North Carolina but 1 for 4 against Duke and 2 for 9 in this game. They but off Jimmy Boeheim’s drives to the basset and he missed 10 of his last 11 shots. Joe Girard scored 17 points but was 4 for 14 from the field. He missed all 5 of his two point shots including one that could have given us the lead at the end.

- Our defense was great at the beginning of the game. We kept great contact with the shooters and Miami was 1 for 11 from three point range. In the second half they eschewed the trey, going 2 for 7 and focused on getting the ball into the high post, which they did with ease and scored almost at will. They shot 26 for 38 on two point shots (68%) for the game and 17 for 23 in the second half (74%). We were an abysmal 9 for 35 on two pointers (26%) and were 4 of 19 in the second half (21%). That is ridiculous. And, statistically, this what decided the game. We were +2 in rebounds, -1 in turnovers, hit 8 more three pointers and 7 more free throws. Two point field goal percentage has been the best predictor of victory over the years in my numbers and that was totally decisive today.

- And yet we still could have won if we’d handled the pressure at the end of the game. It was 70-60 with 2:29 left. McGusty made a two pointer, Girard missed one, Moore made a trey, Buddy made a couple of free throws, McGusty another two pointer, Moore missed a trey but Miller layed it in, Swider got his pocket picked by Moore, Buudy fouled him, Moore missed but Miller tipped it in, Joe missed his jumper , Miller made two free throws and Jimmy missed they tying trey and we lost 72-75, a 2-15 run to close the game.

- And with that the dream of somehow pulling out the 52nd straight winning record and someday catching UCLA for the all-time record, (54), likely dies. We would have to beat Florida State to go 16-16, then upset Duke to go 17-16 and win another game to go 18-16 so we could absorb a loss and still had a winning record. That would put us in the finals with a chance to go to the NCAA tournament. If we lost that, we’d likely be invited to the NIT and if we went there with an 18-17 record, we’d have to win two games to clinch a winning record. Or we could turn the NIT down and keep the 18-17 record. But what are the odds of this team winning three games in three nights in Brooklyn, with the second one being Duke, who beat us by 20 and 25 points this year? If we’d won this game we could have beaten Florida State, lost to Duke and been 17-16.

- It will all be over soon. Maybe that should be on the Upside.
 
And with that the dream of somehow pulling out the 52nd straight winning record and someday catching UCLA for the all-time record, (54), likely dies. W
I understanding our winning (over .5) record is 51, and the non-losing (not less than .5) record is 52.

Both of these are "active" records. If we have a losing season then the active streak ends. Once that happens, another school will claim the longest active streak (I think it's Kansas but not sure) and UCLA will have the longest all time at 54.

We have no hope of keeping an active streak without beating Duke.
 
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Thank you for your work on putting this together. We all on this board struggled to accept what we are seeing this year. We are all fans of the BBall Program and bashing the team will not make them better. Lets make some noise in Brooklyn. Would be something if Cuse can continue to have a shot at the most winning seasons in a row. It that occurs, as you said we Beat Duke. Would be nice. Go CUSE.
 
I understanding our winning (over .5) record is 51, and the non-losing (not less than .5) record is 52.

Both of these are "active" records. If we have a losing season then the active streak ends. Once that happens, another school will claim the longest active streak (I think it's Kansas but not sure) and UCLA will have the longest all time at 54.

We have no hope of keeping an active streak without beating Duke.

This is an update of a post I did in 2016:

Syracuse’s basketball program has had 51 consecutive winning seasons, the longest streak in the country. Syracuse’s streak runs from 1970-1971 through 2014-2015 (for the purposes of this study I shall refer to seasons by the second year, in which most of the games are played and the championship is decided, so let’s call that 1971-2015). The all-time record is 54 in a row by UCLA from 1949-2002.

If we keep having winning seasons, we would top the Bruins in 2024-25. Normally that we seem relatively simply, especially with all the homes games we have in the pre-conference season, the “guarantee” games against schools that come here to play for the money they can make and don’t expect a return game and the continuing excellence of our teams. But the NCAA punishments of reduced scholarships and vacated wins threaten to terminate that streak. Hopefully we can get at least enough of the vacated wins back to keep it alive.

I decided to do some research on consecutive winning seasons. I thought I could just google that and get a list but I was unable to win one. It may not be an official record, (in which case the NCAA’s action doesn’t actually threaten it). I scanned the yearly records of schools as listed in ESPN’s College Basketball Encyclopedia and also Basketball reference.com to try and come up with a list of every streak of at least 20 consecutive winning seasons to see just how good our streak looks by comparison. I’m limiting this to years where teams were considered major college. If their major college streak was part of a longer streak dating from when they were a major college, I’ll note that in the “Notes” section at the end. I’m also going to list consecutive seasons. If a school did not field a team for at least one seasons, that ends the streak, even if their program resumed and more winning seasons afterward, (also see the “notes” section for some examples). ‘+’ means the streak is still active.

(Updated through 2021 without adding teams that might now make the bottom of the list.)

54 UCLA 1949-2002
51 Syracuse 1971-2021+ (see notes)
42 Louisville 1949-1990 (see notes)
38 Kansas 1984-2021+
37 Arizona 1985-2021+
37 North Carolina 1965-2001
33 Indiana 1971-2003
31 St. John’s 1923-1953
30 Fordham 1903-1932
30 Kentucky 1991-2020
30 Notre Dame 1926-1955
30 St. John’s 1964-1993 (quite a history)
29 Connecticut 1988-2016
29 Murray State 1988-2016
28 Maryland 1994-2021
28 Oklahoma 1982-2009
27 California 1908-1934
27 Rhode Island 1927-1953
26 North Dakota State 1901-1926
26 Toledo 1960-1985
25 Cincinnati 1954-1978
25 Kentucky 1928-1952 (see notes)
25 Montana 1974-1998
24 Dartmouth 1921-1944
24 DePaul 1972-1995
24 Georgetown 1975-1998
23 Dayton 1949-1971
23 Oklahoma State 1989-2011
23 Princeton 1957-1979
23 Purdue 1920-1942
23 Temple 1984-2006
23 Utah State 1994-2016
23 Western Michigan 1915-1937
22 Marquette 1966-1987
22 Penn State 1904-1925
21 Duke 1951-1972
21 UNLV 1974-1994
20 Duke 1996-2015
20 Houston 1960-1979
20 Illinois 1979-1998
20 Navy 1909-1928
20 North Carolina State 1972-1991
20 West Virginia 1945-1964

NOTES:

Alcon State had 21 consecutive winning seasons from 1966-1986 but didn’t become a major college team until 1978.

College of Charleston had 28 consecutive winning seasons from 1980-2007 but didn’t’ become a major college until 1992.

Jackson State had 29 consecutive winning seasons from 1950-1978 but only became a major college in the final year of the streak.

Kentucky had 25 consecutive winning seasons from 1928-1952, winning the NIT in 1947 and the NCAA championship in 1948, 1949 and 1951. They got caught up in the point-shaving scandals and the investigation into that revealed many recruiting improprieties. The NCAA and the SEC, (which was sick of losing to them) game them the first “death penalty” for the 1952-53 season. They went 25-0 the next season and beat eventual NCAA champions LaSalle by 73-60. But just before the NCAA tournament, the NCAA insisted that Kentucky could not use three players who had actually graduated during the “death penalty” year and Kentucky decided not to participate. They went on to another 13 winning seasons in a row, including another NCAA title in 1966 and that famous loss to Texas Western in t final year of the streak. That one “death penalty” year cost them a 39 year streak.

Louisville had a streak of 46 consecutive winning seasons from 1945-1990 Basketball Reference.com says it lists only major college seasons and lists those years in Louisville’s record, (they have the Cardinals a major college team since 1912). ESPN’s College Basketball Encyclopedia lists their records from 1911 on as well. It does have information for years when teams were regarded as small colleges, (which is where I got much of the information about small college periods in this section). But they usually note when a team became a major college team. They say nothing about Louisville being a small college team at any time. Yet the Cardinals won the 1948 NAIB championship. That’s the “National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball”, which in 1952 became the NAIA. Wikipedia: “The goal of the tournament was to establish a forum for small colleges and universities to determine a national basketball champion.”. So it appears Louisville was considered a small college in 1948.They joined the Ohio Valley Conference, which was considered major college for basketball, the next year and appeared in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 1951. I’m going to count those first four season of their streak (1945-48) as a period when they were a small college and credit them with a major college streak of 42 in a row from 1949-1990.

Norfolk State had a dandy streak of 35 winning seasons in a row as a small college team from 1963-1997, then turned major college and had losing seasons, the first of 11 in 13 years. Why do these schools ruin a good thing?

North Carolina A&T had 21 consecutive winning seasons from 1956-1976 but didn’t become a major college team until 1974.

The NCAA issued sanctions against Syracuse University on March 6, 2015 that included an order that “the institution will vacate all wins from the academic years 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2010-11 and
2011-12 in men's basketball”. This would end Syracuse’s steak with the 2003 season and reduce it to a 33 year streak. This University has announced an appeal of this decision so it’s possible the penalty might be reduced and some of those victories reinstated. Beyond that the consecutive winning season streak is not an official NCAA record, (it doesn’t appear in the NCAA Basketball Record Book). If the record is itself unofficial, Syracuse could still reasonably claim that their now “unofficial” wins still count toward it.
 
Thank you for the update on the streak.

So after this season ends, barring a miracle,

the longest active streak will go to Kansas (ours will end)

the longest all time is still UCLA (we are second).
 
Thank you for the update on the streak.

So after this season ends, barring a miracle,

the longest active streak will go to Kansas (ours will end)

the longest all time is still UCLA (we are second).


Our streak isn't gone. It just seems likely to end. (Cue Yogi.) It's still a half century that unites players, coaches and fans who built it and watched it happen.

Bill Smith...Kid Kohls...Mike Lee...Dennis DuVal...Rudy Hackett...Jimmy Lee...Jimmy Williams...Dale Shackelford...Marty Byrnes...Rosey Bouie...Louie Orr...Eric Santifer...Red Bruin...Danny Schayes...Leo Rautins...Raf Addison...Wendel Alexis...Pearl Washington...Rony Seikaly...Sherman Douglas...Derrick Coleman...Stevie Thompson...Billy Owens...Dave Johnson...Lawrence Moten...Adrian Autry...Mike Hopkins...Conrad McRae...John Wallace...Otis Hill...Michael Lloyd...Z Sims...Todd Burgan...Jason Hart...Etan Thomas...Ryan Blackwell...Damone Brown...Preston Shumpert...Allen Griffin...DeShaun Williams...Kueth Duany...Hakim Warrick,...Craig Forth...Carmelo Anthony...Gerry McNamara...Josh Pace...Billy Edelin...Demetris Nichols...Eric Devendorf...Paul Harris...Jonny Flynn...Andy Rautins...Kristoff Ongenaet...Dante Greene...Arinze Onuaku...Rick Jackson...Scoop Jardine...Brandon Triche...Dion Waiters...Kris Joseph...CJ Fair...Wes Johnson...James Southerland...Fab Melo...Baye Keita...Rakeem Christmas...MCW...Jerami Grant...Trevor Cooney...Tyler Ennis...Michael Gbinije...Tyler Roberson...Chris McCullough...Malachi Richardson...Tyler Lydon...Andrew White...John Gillon...Tyus Battle...Oshae Brissett...Elijah Hughes...Marek Dolezaj...Buddy Boeheim...Quincy Guerrier...Joe Girard...Jesse Edwards...Jimmy Boeheim...Cole Swider...

It's been fun and there's more fun to come, even if it's not much fun right now.
 

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