clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

The Official Jim Boeheim Jacket Toss Tracker™ - March Update

This started as a joke but we need to talk about the magic

NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament-Pittsburgh vs Syracuse Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Ok Syracuse Orange fans the time has come to have a frank discussion about The Official Jim Boeheim Jacket Toss Tracker™. We’ve been doing this for three seasons now and we can’t ignore the data. You don’t have to believe in analytics but if you don’t how exactly do you explain these numbers:

  • Since the 2016-17 season Syracuse is 17-4 in games where Boehiem tosses his jacket.
  • When Syracuse has the lead at the time of the jacket toss their record is 17-0
  • When Syracuse is trailing at the time of the jacket toss their record is 0-4

Forget “Ball don’t lie”, it’s “Jacket don’t lie!”. When we’re watching the Orange play and the jacket gets thrown we immediately check the score and know how it’s going to end up. Last night in Conte Forum the toss came after Deryck Thornton hit his third three-pointer of the second half bringing the Boston College Eagles within six points of the Orange. After the toss, Syracuse scored the next seven points to extend their lead to 51-38 and the game was under control.

So what was the difference? Was it Elijah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim or the under-handed flip of a sports coat in the direction of Brad Pike?

We’ve got twenty-one examples against good teams and bad teams. We’ve got mostly home games but some road games as well. We can’t quite explain what sorcery is woven into the stiching but it’s not a power to be underestimated according to this season’s statistics.

The Official Jim Boeheim Jacket Toss Tracker™

Date Opponent Result Score when Jacket gets tossed Final score Plus/Minus
Date Opponent Result Score when Jacket gets tossed Final score Plus/Minus
Nov. 13 Colgate Win 65-45 Syracuse 70-54 -4
Dec. 18 Oakland Win 63-58 Syracuse 74-62 7
Dec. 21 North Florida Win 38-33 Syracuse 82-70 7
Jan.11 @ Virginia Win 54-49 Syracuse (OT) 63-55 (OT) 3
Jan. 22 @Notre Dame Win 68-65 Syracuse 84-82 -1
Jan. 25 Pittsburgh Win 36-26 Syracuse 69-61 -2
Feb. 8 Wake Forest Win 62-61 Syracuse 75-73 1
Feb. 11 NC State Loss 44-37 NC State 79-74 2
March 3 @Boston College Win 44-38 Syracuse 84-71 7
March 7 @Miami Loss 39-36 Syracuse 69-65 (OT) -7
Record 8-2 4
March update

Do you have an exaplanation for what we’re seeing here? What power is unleashed when this happens? No matter what you think we wonder why isn’t it used more frequently?