Following a season in which the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team ranked 345 out of 351 teams in tempo, SU has picked up its pace, ranking 267th nationally this season (as of last night). The true difference between this season and last is 3.2 possessions per game.
Syracuse fans can recall the slow, grind-it-out pace that the Orange imposed upon its opponents last March. It started with an ugly 55-52 win at home against Clemson in a game that SU had to have to make the NCAA Tournament. In the Big Dance, the team’s three wins were deliberate and gutty.