Syracuse basketball in midst of a historic losing streak heading into ACC Tourney

The defeat to Pitt Saturday was the team's fifth consecutive setback, something that had not occurred in nearly 60 years.

Mar 7, 2026; Syracuse, New York, USA; Hall of fame member Carmelo Anthony looks on during overtime of the game between the Pittsburgh Panthers and the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images | Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - We have wondered for 51 seasons of covering Syracuse basketball as a student or professionally, when we would finally be writing about any Orange hoop team suffering through a five-game losing streak. Following Saturday's bewildering 71-69 OT loss to a Pitt team it beat by 11-points on its homecourt January 10, we are now writing those words at the tail end of what will be the program's third non-winning season over the last five seasons (and two of three under Autry).

From 1970 forward, amazingly, sustained losing was simply something that never happened at the end of any 'Cuse season, first under Roy Danforth for seven seasons up to 1976, then under Jim Boeheim's Hall of Fame watch over 47 seasons through 2023, although four times Boeheim's squads snapped a losing skid one loss away from reaching five consecutive games.

As SU (15-15, 6-12) trudges down south to Uptown Charlotte for a walk-through at the Spectrum Center Monday, before facing SMU (19-12, 8-10) in the tourney's first-round Tuesday afternoon (4:30 p.m. ET / ACC Network), the Orange are trending down with their current five-game losing streak, something that last occurred (twice) in the 1968-69 season.

In Adrian Autry's third season his team almost lost five straight games, twice

If not for defeating Notre Dame convincingly 86-62 in the Dome on January 31, SU would have dropped five straight games at that halfway point in the ACC portion of the schedule, and as it was lost six of seven games in that stretch, including a defeat at North Carolina where the 'Cuse is now 0-8 all-time against the Tar Heels.

The '68-'69 team lost its first five games of the season, all played on the road (including a 30 point loss at Kansas), then dropped six-straight contests over a four-week stretch in January-February finishing with a record of 9-16 in Danforth's first season as coach.

After scratching out 20 wins in his first season, Autry needs something unexpected to happen in Charlotte this week to avoid finishing 15-16 with a loss to an SMU team Tuesday, a team it edged 79-78 on February 14 in the Dome. That would follow last year's 14-19 campaign and put Autry at 49-47 over three seasons, a non-NCAA streak reaching five years, and a fan base that has lost its collective patience.

"There's been some progress, obviously not from a record standpoint, but with the new dynamic of college basketball," Autry insisted after the Pitt loss when asked to assess what will be the second losing season of his three running the program.

"This is college athletics, this is sports, speculation, rumors, that's all part of it," Autry added when speaking about his seemingly perilous job status entering postseason play. "I can only focus on the team, that's all I have been focusing on (nothing else)."

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