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On Sunday, Syracuse just clinched its second Atlantic Coast Conference win of the year, beating Pittsburgh 80-72. The Orange posted a season-high 13 3-pointers made, a mark they had previously achieved in their first conference win over Clemson on December 11.
Aside from the two ACC wins, Syracuse’s first year after the departure of head coach Quentin Hillsman and 13 players has been filled with ups and downs — most recently downs. Before Sunday’s victory, SU had lost six games in a row 8-4 after the start of the season.
Here’s our beat writers’ testimony for Syracuse’s season so far, midway through SU’s ACC schedule:
total insult
Anthony Alandt: B
It’s important to note that acting head coach Vonn Read implemented a 5-out offensive system during the season. This team didn’t have much depth going into the year, and Priscilla Williams’ redshirt decision, coupled with the long-term injuries of Eboni Walker and Jayla Thornton, certainly didn’t help. But as the guru of the X’s and O’s that Read is, he adapted on the fly, leaning more on Syracuse’s fast lineup and catapulting them to 31st in the country in points per game.
Claim the Central Connecticut state game was a runaway, sure. But you also have to acknowledge that this is a mixed team. That six-game win streak has shown how powerful this offense can be at times, and it’s not all doom and gloom as some of my peers believe.
Alex Cirino: B-
Aside from inheriting a changed roster from Syracuse, Read has had to learn to adapt to his staff, which has meant moving players into different roles on offense. The team has adapted to this as best it can. The Orange have oversized and excelled internally in almost every game this season, they don’t have a designated center but they’ve adapted well and played to their other strengths like speed and three-point shooting.
It wasn’t a flawless system, the speed only worked to a certain extent, but it brought out the best in the players controlling the system. Teisha Hyman has posted double digits in all but four games this season, Chrislyn Carr has been a heavy shooter on Syracuse’s non-conference list, and if Najé Murray powers the Orange’s 5-out-motion offense, they can getting dangerous.
Anish Vasudevan: C
Read has brought back a variety of sets from his collection of “basketball bibles” that he has published. One system that has turned Syracuse’s offensive speed into an effective scoring attack is the 5-out. This worked against non-conference opponents and opened up shooters like 3’s Murray with drive-and-kicks.
But the momentum from the non-conference game ended abruptly against the ACC defense, which forced the Orange to shoot early in the shot clock and used their size against the smaller SU players. Syracuse just stopped taking shots – looks from deep were good but the ball wouldn’t go in the basket. Pittsburgh was an improvement, but the Orange can’t shoot 20% and 15% from 3 like they did against Georgia Tech and Notre Dame.
Maya Goosman | Digital Design Director
overall defense
Alant: B-
Syracuse lacks size – the Orange threw more defensive rebounds than Louisville, but that was the pinnacle of their skills at depth. However, SU’s perimeter and transitional defenses were excellent at times and fundamental to keeping games close. It’s 20th in the country in steals per game, led by Hyman and Murray. Off the bench, Alaina Rice offers an option that disrupts opponents at all levels.
Sure, once teams break the 2-3 zone, things can quickly get ugly (check out the back-to-back games against Boston College and North Carolina). But that doesn’t happen in every game, nor does it happen in games that end in blowouts against the orange. Her aggressive defense was hit or miss, but good enough for the B-.
Zirino: C
Syracuse has accepted the fact that they will be physically outmatched in almost every game this season, and most likely every game they will play from this point forward.
While Syracuse leads the ACC in steals per game, its scoring defense ranks last. The Orange starting XI hasn’t shown consistent defensive play in months, with SU either outrebounding or conceding a significant number of points in each game. The Orange doesn’t have enough depth to sidestep that, and it cost her late in games, especially during her six-game losing streak.
Vasudevan: C+
Given the size of Syracuse’s team, defense was probably the biggest issue to strategically address. But it found a system of full-court press that helped, as did the 5-out on offense. The trio of Hyman, Chrislyn and Murray up front was key to creating steals when needed and controlling the game clock for the Orange.
Yet when opposing offenses slip past the press, SU remains motionless. Georgia Tech was able to do this best by fielding players at the pole and finding holes in the orange’s 2-3 zone. Steals can lead to a Transition Offense, but the biggest shift has to be on the inside to figure out how to better nerf opponents.
bench depth
Alant: F+
This note is almost incomplete. Syracuse rarely plays its bench outside of Rice. Read said earlier this season that he wasn’t concerned about his five starters – who all average 30 minutes per game or more – tiring. Unfortunately, SU’s late game doesn’t support his statement. Of course, in a team full of players that Read is unfamiliar with, the injuries don’t help solve the depth problem. But there has to be someone on the bench to turn to when players get into trouble or start taking games away because they’re exhausted.
Read doesn’t typically give his bench a chance, effectively paralyzing the success of five players, some of whom may be prone to foul problems or patchy play.
Zirino: D
Syracuse was within four points against No. 20 Notre Dame with seven minutes remaining and then conceded a 14-4 run. At the same point against No. 3 Louisville, the score was even until the Cardinals made a late tear and beat the Orange by 13. In both games, four SU starters played at least 35 minutes and only one bencher was used.
It’s a team with just 11 active players, two of whom – Thornton and Walker – have been absent since the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. Late-game fatigue has plagued Syracuse, particularly against their toughest opponents, where a full, experienced bench could have led to upset victories. But Read’s system draws on the strengths of his starting five, something that hasn’t gotten them all that far in the ACC game.
Vasudewan: D
The only reason the orange didn’t completely fail in this category is because of Rice. Rice was the only player to be called off the bench after Walker and Thornton’s losses, and she’s always provided sparks when Alaysia Styles or Christianna Carr needed a break.
But just one player coming off the bench creates a lot of problems for Syracuse’s game on both sides of the pitch. In the third and fourth quarters, the players on the pitch are visibly tired, especially against physical ACC defences. The Orange need to find more than one option off the bench, which could come from using players like newcomer Nyah Wilson or second-year Ava Irvin.
dots in color
Alant: C+
Syracuse knew that even with a perfectly healthy lineup, it wasn’t going to go up. It’s unfortunate because Styles and Christianna are really talented and did their best in the first season they were forced to play offense.
Read did his best to work around the apparent weakness and at times the team performed well at depth, with guards often driving inside and operating well. But reality inevitably catches up with Syracuse.
Cirino: C-
There’s a reason Read chose the 5-out motion offense: to keep the ball as wide out as possible. Syracuse could rely on his 3-point shooting for a good chunk of his non-conference games, even during his loss to then-No. 3 Louisville when he shot 47.1% from deep.
But the reason the orange can’t go in is its inability to recover. SU ranks in the bottom 50 for overall rebound rate according to HerHoop Stats and has conceded multiple putback layups and second chance points on the inside. Styles pulled her weight in and leads SU with a 50.3% field goal percentage, but she’s playing out of position and the support wasn’t enough.
Vasudevan: C
In the suit, the Oranges scored effectively offensively, allowing Chrislyn and Hyman to drive inside for quick layups. But the problem lies on the other side of the ball, where Syracuse conceded 50 points in the paint in losses to North Carolina and Boston College.
Styles does her best to protect opposing bigs, but guarding a specific player opens backdoor cuts behind her, resulting in more points in the suit for opposing teams. The only way to fix this is for the Orange to actually switch their defense to a man-to-man or other system, which likely won’t happen until the end of the season.
Published January 31, 2022 at 10:29 p.m
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