Syracuse lost their first game of the season Monday night, 74-66, against Pittsburgh. The Orange were able to keep the game close in spite of Pitt’s 19-0 run to open the action. They also kept it relatively close without their leading scorer, Kris Joseph, available. And they did so in one of the most hostile environments in all of a college basketball.
Syracuse Vs. Pitt: If There’s Such A Thing As Good Loss, This Was One For Orange
For those reasons, Cuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician says Orange fans shouldn’t get too worried after this loss.
I don’t much care for “good losses” but perhaps that’s exactly what this was. The Orange will be hard-pressed to find a more hostile environment and a better opponent during the regular season. Without their leading scorer and relying heavily on contribution from freshmen, the Orange held their own and dug their way out of a ridiculously-deep hole.
The good news is, without Kris Joseph, the team held its own for the most part on the road. The bad news is, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we are REALLY missing DaShonte Riley down low. It’s clear that while Fab and Baye have had their moments, they’re just not there yet in competing with the kind of blunt force trauma inflicted by a team like Pitt. Whether they can get better during the season remains to be seen. I think we’re probably looking to Baye more than Fab at this point.
The sky is not falling, Syracuse fans. The end is not nigh. It’s a loss to one of the best teams in the nation on the road. Better it happen now in January than later on in March.
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