The continued lack of national relevance of Syracuse basketball remains maddening

No quote better capsulizes a coach's world than Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Parcell's famous, "You are what your record says you are," first uttered in his long coaching tenure with the New York Giants in the late 1980s.

Simple, to the point, and non-negotiable.

As Syracuse (9-5, 0-1) fully gets into its nine-week ACC schedule with a couple of road trips this week, first against the Yellow Jackets (10-5, 1-1) on Tuesday (7:00 p.m. ET / ACC Network) then at sub .500 Pitt, the 'Cuse record does indeed speak loudly.

A revitalized roster with an upgraded NIL budget, another off-season under their belts for the coaches and support staff, and a schedule designed to show if you grab a few quality out-of-conference Quad 1-2 wins, you have a chance to receive an invitation to The Dance.

However, as of the first full week of January the record says this is one of four ACC teams yet to win a conference game, and only three other league teams have worse overall W/L results.

The usual ups, downs, and turning points of a 31 game regular season.

The motivation for Adrian Autry's third squad to now win more than half of its remaining 17 league games, with an unexpected upset or two sprinkled in for good measure, just to earn a chance to be in the mix for an NCAA at-large bid (other than an unlikely historical showing in the ACC Tournament), has not changed.

But what has been different since the gritty two-point victory over Tennessee on December 2 became the best win on a potential NCAA resume, is that the effort was deflatingly wiped out by the Hofstra upset loss 11 days later.

And after a nine-day break and the return of the Donnie Freeman last week, the Orange staggered out of the ACC gate against a Clemson team that it would likely be jostling with for one of the conference's eventual multiple NCAA bids.

A selected list of "last times" shows how far the program's standards have fallen.

There's no time like the present for SU to begin winning, because it appears at least seven-eight ACC teams are headed to 20-win plus seasons, and if the league ended up receiving a similar number of NCAA bids, there would be a lot of happy folks at their Charlotte headquarters.

After Autry coaxed a 20-12 slate out of his first team in 2023-24, the Orange's 14-19 finish last year was the second losing mark in four seasons, something that had not occurred since the 1967-68 and '68-69 teams both finished with losing records.

As we watch the Orange's quest to move up in the ACC standings this month, keep in mind the last time Syracuse basketball:

Was ranked in the Top 25 - December, 2018 at No. 25, then lost at home to Old Dominion 68-62.

Won an NCAA Tournament game - 2021 vs. West Virginia 75-72, in the Sweet 16 at Indianapolis.

Had a consensus All-American selection - 2015 - Center Rakeem Christmas.

Won two consecutive games in an ACC Tournament - Never.

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