The seat gets warmer for Autry after Syracuse's historic loss to Hofstra

And just like that, Syracuse has essentially erased all the goodwill and momentum built after a massive win over Tennessee. For the first time in program history, the Orange were upended by Hofstra in an embarrassing 70-69 defeat. It is a major setback, placing Red Autry right back on the hot seat.

Shocking upsets are part of the sport. The Orange opened as an 11.5-point favorite and closed around 9- or 9.5-point favorites at most sportsbooks. This game should not have even been close, but ‘Cuse lacked the offensive firepower to pull away and played an uncharacteristically poor game defensively.

It’s not hard to figure out where things went wrong. Hofstra shot 12-of-18 from behind the arc and 49 percent from the floor in total. Meanwhile, the Orange continue to struggle from the free-throw line, missing seven more shots from the charity stripe on Saturday. ‘Cuse likely could have survived one or the other, but the combination of the two did them in.

What went wrong in the loss?

The lack of a concrete offensive identity, coupled with the team’s inability to capitalize from the line, is an indictment of Autry and his staff. The roster is talented enough to compete in the upper tier of sport. Maybe they are not ready for an Elite Eight run, but they should be a tournament team without issue. That outlook is now in jeopardy.

Now, this is a bad loss, but it is not as bad as it might seem on the surface. Hofstra is currently 91st in the NET rankings, one spot ahead of 'Cuse, and 109th in KenPom. Barring an impressive run for the Pride to crack the Top 75, this will go down as a Quad 3 loss for the Orange. Certainly a blemish on the resume, but not as detrimental as losing a game to another Colonial opponent.

To Autry’s credit, this is the first time the Orange have dropped a game against a non-power conference opponent in his tenure. ‘Cuse nearly slipped a few times to open the 2024-25 campaign against Le Moyne, Colgate and Youngstown State, but escaped the potential indignation.

Consistently inconsistent

The loss to Hofstra underlines how inconsistent Syracuse has been. They are capable of competing with the top teams in the country, but also just susceptible to this type of performance against an inferior opponent. And that is a major problem for a coach facing increasing scrutiny for his team’s on-court performance.

Entering the season, it felt very much like it was tournament or bust for Autry. Failing to reach the Big Dance could easily spell the end of his tenure in Central New York. It would be the third straight season under Autry without an invitation to the NCAA tournament. On top of that, Syracuse went 14-19 a season ago, its first sub-500 campaign since Lyndon B. Johnson was president.

Beating Tennessee is an impressive result, but it does not completely wash away the struggles Autry has encountered in attempting to rebuild this program post Jim Boeheim. Losing at home to Hofstra should set off alarm bells throughout the athletic department and among boosters. Time is running out for Autry to prove he is up to the task.

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