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The NCAA ordered Syracuse to vacate wins from the school's record and head coach Jim Boeheim's record. But what about the losses?

(Dennis Nett | dnett@syracuse.com)

Syracuse, N.Y. — The readers never fail. They always come up with good questions.

I expected a lot of queries regarding Syracuse's win at Duke on Monday, but instead I got some interesting questions about vacated wins but not losses, retired numbers that don't seem to be retired and eligibility.

Without further ado, let's get to your questions.

When the NCAA announced the sanctions, they took away wins from Jim Boeheim and Syracuse. Why doesn't the NCAA remove SU losses that SU incurred with the academically ineligible player? Does the school that lost the game that SU won and had taken away by the NCAA keep it as a loss on their record? Is the game eliminated from the losing team's record?

— Tom

Mike: This is a very good question. There is a lot of confusion over what exactly happens when the NCAA vacates wins from a school or coach's record.

The NCAA only vacates wins because to vacate a loss really wouldn't be much of a punishment. Yes, Syracuse might have used an ineligible player, but if SU lost the game despite using that player then there's no action warranted.

As far as the school that lost a game to Syracuse, the other school's records remain unchanged. The game is not eliminated. The school can put an asterisk next to any game to indicate that the NCAA vacated the win.

Syracuse must put asterisks next to all records that are changed by the NCAA's action.

Here is what I got from the NCAA rule book, "To record vacancies for regular season contests, the wins but not the losses of the penalized team are dropped from its overall record. This affects season records, all-time records and coaches' records.

The won-lost records for each of the opposing teams are not changed when games are vacated.''

Sherman Douglas' No. 20 is retired. Why is Tyler Lydon wearing it?

— Rob

Syracuse freshman Tyler Lydon is wearing the No. 20 formerly worn by SU great Sherman Douglas.

Mike: I get this question every few years when a current player starts wearing a number that fans think has been retired at Syracuse University.

Syracuse University doesn't retire numbers. The school retires jerseys. I know, it's splitting hairs, but essentially, the university honors its former great by retiring their jerseys to the Carrier Dome's rafters, but the number stays in circulation.

That's why a few years ago, Brandon Triche wore No. 20 even though it was honored for Sherman Douglas back in 2003.

Generally, the current players refrain from wearing a number that's on one of the honored jerseys, but just last year Ron Patterson wore No. 4, which is on Rony Seikaly's retired jersey. Nolan Hart and Wes Johnson wore it before Patterson.

Does Dajuan Coleman have another year of eligibility after this year?

— Billy P.

Mike: Yes, although he is listed as a senior in the Syracuse media guide, Dajuan Coleman does have another year of eligibility after this season.

Injuries cost Coleman a significant number of games in each of his first two seasons, but he still played in too many to take a medical redshirt. However, Coleman missed all of last season as he recovered from major knee surgery. That missed year can be counted as a redshirt season.

It's up to Coleman whether he chooses to come back next season. He will have his bachelor's degree by that time, so he could begin pursuit of a graduate degree.

Got a question for Mike Waters? Email him at mwaters@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @MikeWatersSYR.