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Syracuse Football, Basketball On Pace for One of Worst Combined Seasons in 40 Years

You probably don't want to hear this right now, but...

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

I hate losing. I hate when my teams lose. And I especially hate when Syracuse teams lose. As you may have guessed, that means I've hated a lot about the last six months of Orange sports. It make all of this (college fandom, writing, etc.) less fun, as I'm sure you'd all agree. But just how historically bad have things been for Orange football and basketball for 2014-15?

Historically, so, actually.

Going back on when Jim Boeheim started in 1976-77, and running through now, this would be the first time neither program made it to any sort of postseason. It's among just five instances where there wasn't a bowl game or NCAA Tournament appearance. And the current combined winning percentage of the two teams (.514) is currently third-to-last in the examined timeframe. With eight games left, we can sink as low as last for this year, or as high as high as seventh-to-last. That's... bad.

The rundown of the 10 worst seasons (with this year's included based on current basketball W-L). I promise I'll get to the positive end of this spectrum shortly.

Year Total Ws Total Ls Win Pct. FB Postseason BB Postseason
2007-08 23 24 0.489 None NIT
1981-82 20 19 0.513 None NIT
2014-15 18 17 0.514 None None
2005-06 24 22 0.522 None First Round
1982-83 23 19 0.548 None Second Round
2006-07 28 19 0.596 None NIT
1980-81 27 18 0.600 None NIT
2008-09 31 19 0.620 None Sweet 16
1996-97 28 16 0.636 Liberty (W) NIT
1998-99 29 16 0.644 Orange (L) First Round

Due to simply having more games, the basketball team is always going to have a larger effect on the overall winning percentage, which was the main impetus behind including postseason results as well. Every NIT season but one (2001-02) is included above, and the 1992-93 basketball team's postseason ban season actually had plenty of wins, so it's much higher up on the list. Also, for a further glimpse into how your humble #disloyalidiot became the cynic he is, you'll notice two of the six worst seasons occurred while he was on campus (2007-08 and 2006-07). The 2008-09 season (which I was around for as well) is also on there. Things were rough from 2006-10, as most of know.

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Not to be all gloom-and-doom, however, we can take a look at the top 10 seasons too. There are some of the expected ones in there for sure, and perhaps some less-than-expected ones as well.

Year Total Ws Total Ls Win Pct. FB Postseason BB Postseason
1988-89 40 10 0.800 Hall of Fame (W) Elite 8
1987-88 37 9 0.798 Sugar (T) Second Round
2011-12 39 10 0.796 None Elite 8
1979-80 33 9 0.786 Independence (W) Sweet 16
1995-96 38 12 0.760 Gator (W) National Final
1989-90 34 11 0.756 Peach (W) Sweet 16
1990-91 33 10 0.756 Aloha (W) First Round
1999-00 33 11 0.750 Music City (W) Sweet 16
1985-86 33 11 0.750 Cherry (L) Second Round
2013-14 35 12 0.745 Texas (W) Second Round

Something we've never really considered when it comes to Syracuse sports is that many of the most successful football seasons seem to coincide with the most successful basketball seasons -- there's only one season in the top 10 that doesn't have a bowl game, and even then -- it wasn't all that far away (SU went 5-7 in 2011). Also of note, just one Final Four season is above, which seems weird until you (regrettably) remember that a lot of the Orange's most successful regular seasons did not end the way they were "supposed to."

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Since there are more than 20 seasons in the Jim Boeheim era, you probably want to see the entire list, sorted by winning percentage too. I've included that below:

Year Total Ws Total Ls Win Pct. FB Postseason BB Postseason
1988-89 40 10 0.800 Hall of Fame (W) Elite 8
1987-88 37 9 0.798 Sugar (T) Second Round
2011-12 39 10 0.796 None Elite 8
1979-80 33 9 0.786 Independence (W) Sweet 16
1995-96 38 12 0.760 Gator (W) National Final
1989-90 34 11 0.756 Peach (W) Sweet 16
1990-91 33 10 0.756 Aloha (W) First Round
1999-00 33 11 0.750 Music City (W) Sweet 16
1985-86 33 11 0.750 Cherry (L) Second Round
2013-14 35 12 0.745 Texas (W) Second Round
1986-87 36 13 0.735 None National Final
1992-93 30 11 0.732 Fiesta (W) None
2010-11 35 13 0.729 Pinstripe (W) Second Round
1997-98 35 13 0.729 Fiesta (L) Sweet 16
1991-92 32 12 0.727 Hall of Fame (W) Second Round
2009-10 34 13 0.723 None Sweet 16
2002-03 34 13 0.723 None National Champs
1993-94 29 11 0.720 None Sweet 16
1977-78 28 11 0.718 None First Round
2004-05 33 13 0.717 Champs Sports (L) First Round
2012-13 38 15 0.717 Pinstripe (W) Final Four
1978-79 29 12 0.707 None Sweet 16
1976-77 29 12 0.707 None Sweet 16
2000-01 31 14 0.689 None Second Round
2003-04 29 14 0.674 None Sweet 16
1983-84 29 14 0.674 None Sweet 16
2001-02 33 16 0.673 Insight (W) NIT
1984-85 28 14 0.667 None Second Round
1994-95 27 14 0.659 None Second Round
1998-99 29 16 0.644 Orange (L) First Round
1996-97 28 16 0.636 Liberty (W) NIT
2008-09 31 19 0.620 None Sweet 16
1980-81 27 18 0.600 None NIT
2006-07 28 19 0.596 None NIT
1982-83 23 19 0.548 None Second Round
2005-06 24 22 0.522 None First Round
2014-15 18 17 0.514 None None
1981-82 20 19 0.513 None NIT
2007-08 23 24 0.489 None NIT

(*note that in several seasons, win percentage may not appear to match up to the numbers -- these seasons featured ties in football, which count as .05 toward the overall win percentage).

So there it is. We're already pre-destined for this season to be a disaster, historically, and it could very well be the worst one when it's all said and done. And to avoid ending on a super-negative note: the National Championship season being so middle-of-the-road just seems strange to me.

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But what do you think? Obviously there are few trends to grab onto here -- the best seasons are followed up by the worst ones, and vice versa (see, in particular, last year vs. this one). But anything else folks would like to glean from all of this, have at it.