Turnovers, Missed Chances, and a Painful Overtime Loss: Syracuse Falls to Boston College
For a Syracuse team that had been building momentum, Saturday’s trip to Chestnut Hill was supposed to be another step forward. Instead, it turned into a costly stumble.
The Orange dropped a frustrating 81-73 overtime decision to Boston College, a game they led late in regulation but let slip away thanks to self-inflicted wounds - namely, a staggering 18 turnovers. That number alone tells a big part of the story. Those giveaways directly led to 22 points for the Eagles, a margin Syracuse simply couldn’t afford to hand over.
“You can’t win and beat anybody with 18 turnovers,” head coach Adrian Autry said postgame. “The turnovers led to points.
I thought that was the difference. We’re better than that.
We have to take care of the ball. Eighteen turnovers is insane.”
He’s not wrong. In a game that was there for the taking, Syracuse kept giving it away - literally.
A Missed Opportunity in Every Sense
This wasn’t just a loss in the standings. It was a hit to Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament résumé.
Boston College came into the game with a NET ranking of 182, which drops this one into the dreaded Quad 3 loss category. For a team trying to build a case for March, that’s the kind of blemish that can linger.
The Orange had won six of their last seven and were riding a three-game win streak. Everything was trending in the right direction.
But this was a game they had to bank before the schedule starts tightening and the margin for error shrinks to almost nothing. Teams with March aspirations don’t let these games get away.
Turnovers Tell the Tale
Freshman forward Donnie Freeman, who has been a steadying force for Syracuse, posted a strong double-double - 19 points and 14 rebounds - but also coughed up the ball seven times. That’s a tough number to swallow, even with the production.
But the bigger concern came at the point guard spot. Naithan George, who had been coming off an impressive two-game stretch with 24 assists to just 10 turnovers, struggled mightily.
He matched Freeman’s seven turnovers but managed only two assists. That’s not the kind of ratio you want from the guy running your offense.
To his credit, George didn’t duck the blame.
“I’m trying my hardest not to turn the ball over,” he said. “And you know, when you put it in your head too much, it actually becomes a thing. So I gotta just let my mind free and play free.”
That’s easier said than done in the ACC, where every possession matters and every mistake gets magnified.
Coaching Decisions Under the Microscope
Autry’s in-game decisions didn’t exactly inspire confidence either. His frequent line changes - essentially hockey-style shifts - seemed to disrupt any rhythm Syracuse tried to build.
The bench contributed just two points, compared to 20 from Boston College’s reserves. That’s a major discrepancy in a game that went to overtime.
And then there was the end of regulation. Syracuse held a 64-61 lead with seconds left.
Conventional wisdom - and analytics - often say to foul in that situation to prevent a tying three. Autry chose not to.
BC’s Donald Hand Jr. made him pay, drilling the game-tying triple to send it to overtime. From there, the Eagles took control, and Syracuse never recovered.
It’s moments like that which raise fair questions about Autry’s tactical approach. In a season where every game carries weight, those are the decisions that get remembered - and scrutinized.
What Comes Next
The road ahead doesn’t get easier. Syracuse hosts Virginia Tech next, a team with a NET ranking of 54.
That’s a Quad 2 opportunity. After that, things ramp up quickly: Miami (NET 31), N.C.
State (29), and Notre Dame (73) round out January. If Miami climbs just one spot, that becomes a Quad 1 game.
N.C. State already qualifies as one.
Notre Dame is another Quad 2.
Looking further into February, the Orange face a gauntlet of high-level opponents: North Carolina (twice), Virginia, Duke, SMU, Wake Forest, and Cal. That’s seven potential Quad 1 games still on the board. In other words, the opportunities are there - but so is the pressure.
To make a real run at March, Syracuse will need to clean up the turnovers, find an offensive identity that sticks, and get more out of its bench. And yes, they’ll need Autry to make the right calls when the game is on the line.
“We got a lot of great opportunities, and that’s the thing that I told our guys,” Autry said.
He’s right. But Saturday was a reminder: opportunities only matter if you take care of business. And in Chestnut Hill, Syracuse let one slip - and it might come back to haunt them.