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As soon as the whistle sounded on Marek Dolezaj’s foul on Moses Wright, the Syracuse senior jogged off the court. He sat in a chair on the bench, wiped his face off with a white Gatorade towel and rubbed the scruff of his facial hair as he stared off in the distance. Dolezaj fouled out, and all he could do now was watch.

Watch as the Orange, who went from the Sweet 16 during his freshman year to an opening round NCAA Tournament loss during his sophomore year, experience what’s likely to become the second consecutive year they miss the Tournament. Dolezaj looked on at Jesse Edwards playing center, a position that Dolezaj was never supposed to play until Bourama Sidibe’s injury.

“Marek’s been great for us. He just had a bad night,” Jim Boeheim said postgame on Saturday. “Simple as that.” 

All season, Boeheim has asked the 6-foot-10, 201-pound forward to play against guys taller than him. Bigger than him. To defend the middle of a 2-3 zone as a shot blocker and rebounder, when Dolezaj’s strength as a basketball player has never been either. On Saturday against Georgia Tech, he had to handle Wright, who’s at least 30 pounds heavier. Dolezaj had three first-half fouls, picked up his fourth moments into the second half and couldn’t play most of the second half. In the most important 20 minutes of the season thus far, Syracuse’s collapse against Georgia Tech ruined its last scheduled chance for a Quadrant 1 win. The Orange rode a 23-5 run to retake the lead at half, but Georgia Tech (13-8, 9-6 Atlantic Coast) handled Syracuse (13-8, 7-7) 84-77 on Saturday afternoon. 

The Orange entered the season with one proven center ready to play on the roster in Sidibe, who has a lengthy injury history. Dolezaj isn’t a center, but he’s doing his best, Boeheim said. SU’s backup centers — Edwards, John Bol Ajak and Frank Anselem — aren’t ready, Boeheim repeatedly says. Yet on Saturday, Boeheim had no choice but to try Ajak, then Edwards. 

“We have centers. They’re just not ready,” Boeheim said. “They haven’t gotten to the point where they’re ready to play. I think Jesse from the beginning, we thought he’d be two years (until he was ready).”

Ajak was recruited as a forward and struggled there, Boeheim said. After the game, Boeheim said he didn’t think Ajak had a future in the middle, either. Boeheim doesn’t think it’s the fault of the coaches or players, though, that the Orange entered the season with one prepared center with an injury history who was hurt minutes into the season. 

“Our center was ready this year. Bourama was ready,” Boeheim said. “And unfortunately he got hurt and has missed the season. It’s no fault of anybody’s. Whether it’s Jesse or the coaches or anybody, Jesse’s just not quite ready yet.”

Syracuse’s recent games have been defined by slow starts and sometimes, comebacks. When the Orange fell behind by double digits to Duke, Clemson and Virginia, the comebacks never came. Against Notre Dame, Buffalo and North Carolina State, SU turned halftime deficits into necessary home wins. Saturday at GT, Syracuse had both the slow start and the comeback after converting a 13-point first-half deficit into a five-point lead at the break.

The warning signs of the damage Georgia Tech could do to the Syracuse zone came long before the second half, though. It took less than a minute into the game for GT to show its explosiveness and interior dominance.

Boeheim ran onto the court 42 seconds into the game and shouted at an official for what he thought was a Wright charge on Dolezaj underneath the basket.

Boeheim yelled and gestured his hands, and within seconds of entering the court of play, the referee called him for a technical foul. GT senior guard Jose Alvarado sank both free throws, and within a minute, Syracuse had started its two most important games of the season in succession by spotting the opponent’s early leads. GT scored the first eight points, six of them in the paint.

“The forwards just weren’t good defensively tonight,” Boeheim said. “They got beat backdoor a couple times, kind of standing and watching the play.”

Syracuse lost against Georgia Tech, its last scheduled chance at a Quadrant 1 win. Courtesy of Hyosub Shin | Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Minutes later, Syracuse’s deficit ballooned to 10. For the sixth time in eight games, SU trailed by double digits. This time, Dolezaj had two early fouls. Boeheim tried mixing and matching lineups. He subbed out Joe Girard III for Kadary Richmond, Robert Braswell for Quincy Guerrier and Ajak for Dolezaj. But that didn’t work, either. He turned to Edwards for Ajak, and Edwards pulled in eight rebounds off the bench. He offered some glimpses of potential in year two at Syracuse but also showed why Boeheim said postgame that he considered redshirting Edwards until the NCAA gave everyone a free year of eligibility. 

Through the lineup shuffling of the first half, Syracuse’s one constant was enigmatic forward Alan Griffin. Five days after one of his worst games of the year in a blowout loss at Duke, Griffin turned in his best all-around half of the season. Because of his 20 first-half points, the Orange turned a 13-point deficit into a five-point lead by halftime.

When Syracuse’s offense turned it over five times in the opening five minutes, Griffin’s two 3s provided six of the Orange’s first eight points. As SU sputtered on offense and Alvarado face-guarded Buddy Boeheim, Griffin hit back-to-back 3s from the top of the key. He drained a short mid-range jumper after an offensive rebound. After filling the lane in transition, Griffin sprinted to the corner to receive a pass from Richmond, then drained a 3 without hesitation.

“Alan kind of kept us in there early, made some shots,” Boeheim said. “Some tough shots, but good shots. And then, once we got everybody moving, we started to get our offense on track.”

The Orange had managed to overcome another slow first half, but with 20 minutes to play, Syracuse was far from victory. It had one glaring defensive issue, one that bigger opponents have exploited all season: guarding the interior. 

GT tightened up its defensive pressure by moving Alvarado onto Griffin. Griffin cooled off. The Yellow Jackets traded Wright dunks on the interior with Syracuse turnovers and contested jump shots at the other end. It took less than four minutes in the second half for the Yellow Jackets to recapture the lead, and GT broke the Orange’s press with ease in the second half. Wright had four second-half dunks, and Michael Devoe added one himself.

“(Wright) got dunks, and anytime anybody gets dunks, it’s bad news for us under the basket,” Edwards said postgame.

On the ensuing two possessions after Dolezaj fouled out of the game, Georgia Tech turned over Syracuse and ran out to get back-to-back dunks in transition. The Yellow Jackets had a few hiccups and turnovers down the stretch, but whenever GT needed a basket, it knew exactly where it could go to get one. 

While Dolezaj sat on the bench, there was no one protecting the rim. And with Griffin cooled off, there was no one to save Syracuse’s season.

Published on February 27, 2021 at 2:28 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @AnthonyDabbundo