How bad is Syracuse? Really, really bad

The only aesthetically pleasing thing about Syracuse on Saturday was the sweet, orange jerseys draped over the men playing in them.

The Orangemen themselves looked pitiful in an 84-66 loss to Notre Dame, a result that sunk Jim Boeheim's club to a woeful 11-9 mark this season.

The nightmarish performance, which wasn't unlike several others Syracuse fans have been forced to sit through this year, began early. With the game still young enough for the scoreline to be competitive, Syracuse shot itself in the foot on three straight possessions.

First, a missed layup in transition; next, a missed uncontested dunk; and then, a brick from behind the arc. The Orange repeated the second part of that ugly trilogy in the second half.

Defensively, Syracuse's signature 2-3 zone defense was slashed apart all day. The Irish got whatever looks they wanted, whenever they wanted, evidenced by V.J. Beachem being left open on a 3-ball - right after he had drained one on the previous possession.

Those buckets came after Matt Farrell made the Orange look silly with a slick behind-the-back pass in the lane that set Beachem up for an easy flush. Notre Dame finished the contest with a 48.3 field-goal percentage, and shot 42.3 percent from deep.

Through 20 games in 2016-17, Syracuse looks like a shell of the incarnations that came before it, even the one that labored through most of last season before getting hot in the NCAA tournament.

The Orange appeared to hit rock bottom in December, when they conceded 93 points at home to St. John's and lost by 33. Evidently, it was just a pebble in this miserable campaign.

The moral of this story is this: if you're waiting for Syracuse to flick the switch and make another Cinderella run to the Final Four, it's time to let go of your breath.