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Left out in the cold, Syracuse denied NCAA Tournament bid

Posted at 9:34 PM, Mar 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-12 21:34:07-04

There were questions a year ago when Syracuse snuck into the NCAA Tournament.

The Orange justified the committee's decision and made a magical run to the Final Four as a 10-seed in 2016.

This year, despite another rough season, there was the belief they'd be included again.

However, their 18-14 record and resume didn't stack up to the selection committee and they were left out.

Had they been included, their 84th ranked RPI would have been the worst to earn a bid in NCAA Tournament history.

"We had a terrible start to our season. We put ourselves in a tremendous hole and then after, I thought we played as well as we could," Head Coach Jim Boeheim said following Selection Sunday.

"It comes down to we won just two road games and we obviously lost three games outside the Top 100."

Syracuse topped then 6th ranked Florida State, #9 Virginia and #10 Duke in the Dome, but struggled away from home losing eight of 10 games on the road.

The Orange will participate in the National Invitation Tournament.

Syracuse is a No. 1 seed along with Iowa, Cal and Illinois State.

"It is what it is," Boeheim said.  "We'll just have to get ready and try to play the best that we can in the NIT.

SU also missed the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2015.