The Syracuse Orange season has not gone as hoped. They entered the ACC Tournament likely needing to win the whole thing in order to earn a place in the NCAA Tournament next week. Jim Boeheim's Syracuse squad finished the regular season 9-11 in the ACC, good enough for ninth place. On Wednesday, they faced Florida State in the opening round of the ACC Tournament and got a surprising blowout victory. However, the news is not all good as coach Boeheim's son, Buddy Boeheim, has been suspended for Thursday's game against Duke for punching a Seminoles player.

The ACC revealed a press release with the following statement. “The Atlantic Coast Conference today announced a one-game suspension for Syracuse men's basketball student-athlete Buddy Boeheim as a result of a flagrant act committed during the first half of the Syracuse-Florida State game. Boeheim will miss Thursday's ACC Men's Basketball Tournament game versus Duke.”

That is a massive blow to Syracuse's hopes of making the required deep run.

In the first half with Syracuse leading 25-10, Boeheim is seen throwing what appears to be a punch to the gut of Florida State's Wyatt Wilkes.

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Syracuse is only 16-16 overall this season. So, coach Boeheim is surely aware that they need to win this tournament to get into the dance. But knowing how Syracuse plays basketball, with the extended 2-3 zone defense, they have been known for doing exactly that. They go deep in tournaments. They win tournaments.

Breaking down Boeheim's zone defense has been one of the hardest things for opposing coaches to deal with over the last forty plus years. But without Buddy on the floor, a game against Duke is not ideal in a must-win scenario.