SU-NC State Reaction

I don't think I have any surprising thoughts on tonight's disappointing exit from the ACC Tournament. The Orange still look pretty bad these days. They're not much fun to watch when they're playing like this. Each offensive possession is agonizing. The defense is solid, but not really clicking like you'd hope.

A couple things stand out to me from that final futile barrage.
1. Cooney passing up the open three off Grant's missed dunk. I'm afraid that is Trevor Cooney in a nutshell. Ultimately, his confidence is not quite what you'd want from your shooter. He's streaky and he'll always be streaky.
2. CJ Fair missing the open three from the corner. Last year and even as recently as the beginning of this season a CJ Fair corner three felt like a layup. That's no longer true. As amazing as his midrange game has become (this game being an exception), his huge drop in three point shooting percentage really hurts the Syracuse offense. He's down to .286 from .469 from long range last year.

Speaking of CJ's weaknesses, he went 1 for 2 from the free throw line with 3:41 left. Late in games his free throw shooting has been extremely shaky all season.

I still believe that if the Orange get hot, they will make a deep run in the tournament. Right now though, they feel like a Sweet 16 and out team. As for seed, they might get a 4 but that would be unjust. Five losses in the ACC is nothing to be ashamed of. A 3-seed is deserved, and that's what I think they will get on Sunday.