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Syracuse's Tournament hopes take a hit with loss to Georgia Tech

Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Syracuse's chances of making the NCAA Tournament took a hit Sunday evening, as it lost to Georgia Tech 71-65 - the Oranges' third straight defeat. On the flip side, Georgia Tech received a boost for earning its own berth.

A multitude of little errors or poor play cost the Orange a shot of winning.

Where is he going?

With Syracuse looking to stage its comeback past the midway point of the second half, senior guard John Gillon grabbed a loose ball and made a bee-line towards the Yellowjackets' hoop on a fast break.

However, instead of driving to the hoop with a 3-on-2 advantage, Gillion made a sharp left turn to the outside.

The decision clearly threw everyone off, as Georgia Tech's Josh Okogie was called for a foul for running into an Orange player. Okogie made up for it though, as after Syracuse missed on its next shot after the foul, Okogie was fouled and made both free throws to push the lead to 53-40. It was the Yellowjackets' biggest lead of the game.

Shooting Woes

Syracuse is not one of the highest scoring teams in the country, but it does almost everything well enough to get by. However, against Georgia Tech, Jim Boeheim's crew could not make the shots it needed to make, with an 8-for-30 performance from three sticking out like a sore thumb.

Field Goal% 3PT% FT% PPG
Season AVG 46.0 38.2 71.9 76.5
vs. GT 35.7 26.7 58.3 65

Self-Inflicted Wounds

Battling back to be down two with under a minute to go, Syracuse got a stop off of a Tadric Jackson missed layup.

Going the other way with a chance to tie the game, Tyler Roberson was called for an illegal screen, ending any chance of Syracuse completing the comeback, as Georgia Tech made four free throws to ice the game.

Like Gillon's decision earlier, those little mistakes added up to one big one, and one that could cost Syracuse a spot in March Madness.

Final Three

Syracuse was already a team treading on the bubble heading into its game against unranked Georgia Tech and needed to bounce back after previously losing to Pitt and Louisville.

Now the Orange will have to try and beat streaking Duke, along with Louisville again in their next two games, before ending the season against the Yellowjackets.

If Boeheim and Co. don't want to leave their Tournament hopes to chance, then winning out may be the only thing saving the Orange's season.

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