I think it's neither. We played a good game against a struggling team who probably never was as good as their ranking/record indicated. Actually I think that was also the case last year vs. Miami.
I agree. Im happy about the win and we did play extremely well tonight... But Syracuse is really struggling right now and just arent as good without Grant. Period. Call me when we steal a game or 2 from UNC and/or Duke every 4 or 5 years. That would be a huge accomplishment.
I didn't want to be the guy to downplay the outcome due to my split allegiances, but the above is true. The perceived significance is still there though. Syracuse is a brand name team and all anyone will remember is that they were top 10 when GT beat them.
The reality is that the product Syracuse is putting on the floor the last several weeks is not a top 25 team, let alone top 10. What happened yesterday was their worst performance of the season (to GT's credit to a degree). The Miami team that GT beat last year was better than Syracuse yesterday.
With that all of that out of the way there are MANY positive things to objectively take away. Gregory outcoached Boeheim yesterday. Period. The GT players outplayed Syracuse, depsite having only 2 players would even crack Syracuse's rotation (Miller and Carter). GT earned it and deserved to win.
Having watched dozens of games of both teams this year it didn't seem possible that GT's best performance could overcome Syracuse's worst. GT won, did it with uncharacteristic poise, and the team and fans deserve to walk away celebrating.