GREENBURGH, N.Y. –– So much for the idea that a single loss can help a team by relieving pressure.
Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said Syracuse would have preferred to go unbeaten rather than lose a game during the regular season.
“I don’t think nobody want to lose games,” Anthony said Monday at Knicks practice. “I mean, we wanted to go undefeated. I know they wanted to go undefeated. It happened, they lost. We’ll see how they rank us now. We might drop to seven now.”
After losing their first game of the season Saturday at Notre Dame, previously unbeaten Syracuse (20-1) fell to No. 3 in the AP poll behind No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Missouri, and No. 4 in the coaches’ poll behind Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio State.
Still, Anthony, who led Syracuse to an NCAA title as a freshman in 2003, believes the veteran Orange are deep enough to win it all.
“Without a doubt, we’re still one of the deepest teams in college,” he said. “Without a doubt.”