:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66466540/1205250329.jpg.0.jpg)
When the Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team lost to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday it did more than knock the Orange out of the 5th seed for this week’s ACC Tournament. It ended a three season streak that has tugged at the very fabric of the Syracuse fanbase. Saturday was the first time that Jim Boeheim tossed his jacket when the Orange was ahead and the game ended with Syracuse on the losing end.
It had been 17 times that Boeheim had secured his team’s victory by taking his tailored sports coat and tossing it angrily towards the Syracuse bench. We had seen eight such occasions this season alone so with the Orange holding a 39-36 lead after a Dejan Vasiljevic three-pointer the jacket was gone and many thought the lead was safe.
How did this happen? Could Jim have waited a little longer for the Orange to have a 44-39 lead? He held off at Boston College until Syracuse had hit the special score and that jacket toss lead to a win.
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 |
Or perhaps it was Boeheim doppelganger Jim Larrañaga who thwarted the haberdashery hocus-pocus?
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/19777687/1205876892.jpg.jpg)
We aren’t going to dwell on what’s gone though. We’ll look forward to these things- a jacket toss in the Dome with Syracuse ahead is still undefeated and more importantly, Syracuse is 1-0 in ACC Tournament play during jacket toss games.
Can Boehim summon his magic in Greensboro this week? With the way everyone feels about him in ACC’s hometown, playing the role of spoiler would be tailor-made for Jim.