The stakes weren't quite as high as in Boston College's last trip to the Carrier Dome, a night that ended Syracuse's undefeated record and No. 1 ranking in an instant.
But this time, the final score was quite a bit different, too.
And this time, it only took 40 minutes.
The Orange avenged its overtime loss from last February by beating the Eagles, 69-61, in convincing fashion on Tuesday night. Michael Gbinije scored a team-high 17 points and had four assists, giving the beleaguered Orange a much-needed win.
"In the second half when we needed a play, he made a great drive," head coach Jim Boeheim said. "Mike's just got to be aggressive like that. He's capable of double-doubles."
Syracuse (14-5, 5-1) won with a balanced attack that included five scorers in double figures. It was a night-and-day reversal from a punch-less offensive effort in Clemson.
In that game, the Orange outside shooting fizzled and the team managed just 53 points all game. In this one, Syracuse eclipsed that total with 8:58 remaining in the game. Kaleb Joseph gave his team a 54-41 lead with a soft floater over traffic after driving to just beyond the ACC logo.
Boston College, who is now 0-5 in conference play, threatened that lead with a late run. But the Eagles weren't able to cut the deficit to one possession to set up some more last minute drama that has accompanied a few of Syracuse's recent wins. The Eagles' best chance came when B.J. Johnson turned the ball over at mid-court with 1:09 remaining and the Orange up by just seven. But Aaron Brown botched an easy layup attempt and Joseph sealed the game with two free throws.
Back in 2014, the Eagles came into the Dome on a five game losing streak, but pulled off an improbable 62-59 win, spoiling Syracuse's 25-0 record. The unblemished success of last season -- and the cast of players responsible for it -- seem more than just 11 months away, given how poorly the Orange has followed it up with this year.
With Syracuse now unranked, the only question left was whether it could rebound from a sleepy performance in Clemson and pad its tournament resume.
The Orange did just that by shutting down Boston College's leading scorer, Olivier Hanlan, during a one-sided first half. Hanlan had 20 points in last year's game, but shot 0-7 and didn't score a single point in the first half.
Boston College jumped out to a 12-4 lead anyway, due to a trio of 3-pointers from Aaron Brown. Boeheim tried to slow him down after the second one by calling a timeout to berate Tyler Roberson for leaving the right wing open by straying too far to the center.
"The first three shots they got, we had gone over that every single day and Tyler just never got it," Boeheim said. "You give them three 3's to start the game. That's not a way to start the game."
Brown hit a third 3-pointer a few minutes later, but the Eagles' unsustainably hot outside shooting wouldn't last.
After starting 3-4 from behind-the-arc, Boston College then went 1-for-10.
The Eagles' early lead wouldn't last, either.
The Orange went on an 18-1 run, capped off by a Rakeem Christmas layup with 6:19 left in the first half. Will Magarity was draped all over him, but Christmas used an inside spin move to get up a layup in spite of contact.
Even after some pleading with the officiating crew, Christmas and Jim Boeheim didn't get the foul call.
But, more importantly, they got the win.
"I'm really proud of these guys and the way we fought through the end," Trevor Cooney said. "We just got to execute better towards the end and make our foul shots."