Syracuse men’s basketball aims for first ACC Tournament win in Greensboro

The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team heads to the ACC Tournament once again this week — as the sixth seed, as you’re already aware.

We know which two teams the Orange could face (North Carolina or Virginia Tech) and what needs to happen for SU to make the NCAA Tournament (winning the whole thing). But a subplot to that is something that hasn’t yet happened for Syracuse since joining the ACC: winning a game in Greesnboro.

Now, Syracuse has won a game AGAINST Greensboro (hi, 2017 NIT). And they’ve won an ACC Tournament game in the state of North Carolina (last year in Charlotte vs. Pitt). They’ve been shut out at Greensboro Coliseum so far, though — something you’ll certainly hear about as games get underway this week. Granted, SU’s only had one chance at getting one given the 2015 postseason ban. Still...

You may recall that Jim Boeheim once said that Greensboro “had no value” and the Hall of Fame coach and the city have sort of kissed and made up since. That’s unlikely to be water under the bridge as Wednesday draws close here, though. And honestly, if Syracuse can go on some sort of run, Orange fans (self included) are going to make those previous remarks a key part of the narrative.

We’re obviously rooting for a run. And even if it falls short of winning a title, going a few rounds and getting the proverbial monkey off Syracuse’s back would be a decent consolation prize. Since joining the conference, the Orange are 2-5 in the event with a win in each of the last two years (vs. Wake Forest and Pittsburgh, respectively). SU has only made the quarterfinals once, and that was only because they had a double bye in 2014.

This is far from the last conversation we’re having about Greenbsoro or the ACC Tournament this week. Just figured we’d get the ball rolling with this unfortunate “fun” fact...