This one hurts.

And the sting isn't going away anytime soon.

There's a reason why Jim Boeheim called Saturday's crushing 82-77 loss to Pittsburgh “the most disappointing game I've ever been involved with.”

This is a man who stood on the sideline when Keith Smart buried Syracuse in the NCAA title game with a baseline jumper.

He was there for the Vermont stunner. He was there when Richmond knocked off SU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first 15 seed to defeat a 2.

Boeheim has seen plenty of losses - 32 years worth of crushing defeats. And this one hurts the most.

That's saying something.

Barring a run through the Big East Tournament, Syracuse is done. Beating Pittsburgh was a must to keep the tourney hopes alive.

And the worst part is, they had the game won.

Syracuse had a 70-59 lead with 5:52 remaining. The Panthers were on the ropes and the Orange was ready to deliver a knock-out blow.

But it never came.

And Pitt outscored Syracuse 18-2 in the game's final 3:30.

In that span, Syracuse missed four shots and had four turnovers.

“We just cracked under pressure,” freshman Jonny Flynn said. “We blew an 11-point lead with three minutes to go. We just cracked. I guess we just didn't want it enough.”

To make matters worse, Syracuse actually played well.

Donte Greene broke out of a month-long slump with a 23-point performance. Flynn equaled a career high with 28 points.

Offensively, the Orange were clicking all game. They shot 58.8 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from behind the arc.

The stats were there. Everything was set up for a Syracuse victory.

But turnovers eventually led to its doom.

The Orange gave the ball away 18 times, leading directly to 19 Pittsburgh points.

There's your game folks.

“In the last 32 years, I've never been involved in a game, a bigger game, where our team has played better in every phase of the game, except turning the ball over,” Boeheim said.

“We played absolutely the best game we can play.”

So to lose like this - it's rather crushing. There was absolutely no youthful exuberance in this SU post-game locker room. There were no “we'll get 'em next time” pep talks. Nobody saying “keep your heads up.”

There was only heartbreak and a lot of blank looks.

Even Flynn, who usually talks quite candidly after losses, couldn't muster many words.

“We gave this game away,” he said. “We know how much this game meant for us, for the NCAA Tournament. We didn't come through.”

For all intents and purposes, this was an elimination game for the Orange and for 35 minutes, they played like a team that not