Syracuse missed the NCAA Tournament cut and Twitter blew up with a few helpful suggestions directed toward NIT-bound Cuse’s coach Jim Boeheim.
Jim Boeheim is having a bad week. Not only did he manage to insult an entire city, but Syracuse slid off the NCAA Tournament bubble and is now bound for the NIT.
Syracuse landing a spot in the NCAA Tournament was a stretch no matter how you looked at it. Between an 18-14 record and a RPI of 84, along with several losses to teams outside the RPI Top 100, they didn’t have the kind of season that would motivate the NCAA Selection Committee to choose them over another [arguably] more deserving team.
RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket
The timing couldn’t be worse for Jim Boeheim. His team lost in the second round of the ACC Tournament, losing 62-57 to Miami. So far Syracuse hasn’t won a conference tournament since joining the ACC, and this led to some harsh words about the ACC from Boeheim, not to mention some pretty interesting fallout.
"I think there’s a huge value to playing the tournament in (New York, Atlanta, and Washington). There’s no value in playing Greensboro, none. It’s there because the league’s been there and the office is there, and they have 150 people the ACC needs. That’s why it’s there. It should not be there."
Chalk it up to the heat of the moment, but Boeheim’s inflammatory comments led to a few fires, most notably from the Mayor of Greensboro.
Just want to show our friends in Syracuse a little southern hospitality 🙃https://t.co/z6yxGmIOwu pic.twitter.com/WeBTnuomKk
— Greensboro Grasshoppers (@GSOHoppers) March 9, 2017
That tweet from @greensborocity about coach Boeheim is now up on a billboard on Battleground @TWCNewsTriad pic.twitter.com/q2Hcm6NNwR
— Rilwan Balogun (@RilwanReports) March 10, 2017
The ultimate irony of this situation is that while Syracuse lost early in the ACC Tournament and is out of the NCAA Tournament, 9 teams from the ACC made the cut. That has to sting a little bit, too.
Now that Syracuse has missed the cut for the NCAA Tournament, they’re very likely heading to the NIT, and there are calls on Twitter for the NIT regionals to be played in Greensboro. Because why not?
Here are a few of the comments from the Twitterverse about coach Jim Boeheim and Syracuse missing the NCAA Tournament:
Official. Syracuse is out of the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
— Brent Axe (@BrentAxeMedia) March 12, 2017
Can Syracuse please play all of their NIT games in Greensboro? @NCAA
— POPCORN MIKE (@BUZZKETBALL_) March 12, 2017
If the NIT had any sense of humor at all they'd pair Syracuse with UNC Greensboro
— Jason Jordan (@jjordan28) March 12, 2017
I hear Syracuse's Boeheim moaning about no NCAA. Maybe he can get a 1st round NIT game at Greensboro Coliseum.
— Bill Spiers (@BillSpiers21) March 12, 2017
No Syracuse? The good people of Greensboro give one collective derisive laugh.
— Jim Young (@RealJimYoung) March 12, 2017
The NIT bracket will be announced on Sunday night following the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.