NEW YORK — Tucked away in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, desolate Syracuse players filled the lavish home locker room typically occupied by the New York Knicks. As reporters hurled questions about the team’s third loss in four games, SU scrounged for any possible explanation to how Monday night unfolded the way it did.

Andrew White honed in on the number of open shots that didn’t fall through. Frank Howard noted how tricky it was to navigate UConn’s zone. Taurean Thompson agreed with head coach Jim Boeheim that Tyler Lydon needs to shoot more.

The common thread was clear: Syracuse’s offense isn’t where it needs to be.

“Our offense is horrendous,” Boeheim said. “… (It) has not been good enough to win any games. Literally any games.”

The veteran head coach discounted his team’s harrowing six-point win over North Florida on Saturday, but his sentiment still held true. Plagued by a dismal 25.9 percent shooting night, Syracuse (5-3) fell to Connecticut (4-4), 52-50, in a game it nearly squeaked out. The Orange has done it before this season against teams perceived much weaker than itself. But on Monday night, despite only eight Huskies healthy enough to dress, Syracuse didn’t pick up any of the wake-up calls it received.

The loudest came with more than 6:18 left in the game, when UConn’s Rodney Purvis sunk a go-ahead 3 to cap off his team’s furious second-half comeback. After SU led by as many as 11 in the second stanza, Connecticut trimmed the entirety of that lead in about six minutes. And once it was gone, the Orange never got it back. SU made just two field goals after Purvis sent Madison Square Garden into delirium as UConn went ahead, 45-44.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• What we learned from Syracuse’s loss to Connecticut
• Tyler Lydon’s offensive struggles continue in two-point loss
• Gallery: The best photos from SU’s matchup at Madison Square Garden

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“If we were at least average on offense,” White said, “we would’ve had a chance.”

But from the start of the game, Syracuse never was. It couldn’t have looked much worse in a 20-minute stretch than it did in the first half Monday night. The Orange shot 6-of-26 (23 percent) from the field and made only one of its 12 3-point attempts, a Tyus Battle 3 for his team’s first points of the game. The narrative never really flipped in the second half, when Syracuse shot 28.6 percent but managed to make 5-of-13 3-point attempts.

The last 3 to go in was the one that gave Syracuse its last fibers of life. With nine seconds left and SU staring at a 3-point deficit, the ball was in the hands of the team’s best — and arguably only — deep threat. White found a brief window behind the arc to throw up a shot, and the fifth-year transfer converted on the biggest moment of his fleeting career with the Orange.

But it took no more than seven seconds to negate White’s heroics. Battle fouled UConn’s Christian Vital with 2.2 seconds left to leave the game hanging in the balance on the free-throw line. With the Connecticut student section rumbling behind the basket, the freshman guard hit both foul shots to seal the final script. UConn’s comeback was done, Syracuse’s freefall was complete.

Jessica Sheldon | Photo Editor

“You don’t want to go in and have a loss like this,” Howard said. “It hurts.”

White said after the game that he yearned badly not for a win, but just another chance in overtime. It would be a fresh start, he said, one that could possibly recalibrate his teammates. But SU was out of opportunities.

It was left to wonder how the offense essentially shut down in the game’s most crucial minutes. How its best scorer came up with one big shot, but missed a handful more. How after going down with 6:18 to go, it proceeded to miss a layup, get dinged on a 3-second violation and miss an open 3 in successive possessions.

How this team, one ranked No. 19 before the season started, is staring at three losses before encroaching on conference play.

It’s still trying to find the answer.

Published on December 5, 2016 at 11:49 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @connorgrossman