Second-seeded Syracuse (13-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) will take on Johns Hopkins (10-6, 4-1 Big Ten) in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals on Sunday at noon in Annapolis, Maryland. The two teams met once before this season, with Syracuse escaping at home in a 13-10 win over the Blue Jays on March 14.

Here are several key statistics, explaining how the two teams stack up against each other heading into the do-or-die matchup this weekend.

Faceoffs:

JHU: 54 percent
Syracuse: 66 percent

Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala said there would be no way for his team to get into an offensive rhythm if SU’s Ben Williams does what everyone expects of him. The sophomore faceoff specialist won 16-of-27 faceoffs against the Blue Jays in the regular season matchup. It’s worth noting that Syracuse has been more effective at the X earlier in games, and as a result has taken 111 more shots than its opponents in the first half of games this year compared to just 43 in the second halves of games.

Man-up goals:

JHU: 35 (47 percent)
Syracuse: 29 (49 percent)

Syracuse converted on two of its four man-up opportunities in its 20-8 win over Marist on Sunday. In the last three games, the Orange has converted on six man-up chances. As a team SU has drawn 16 more penalties than its opponents and 13 more minutes on the man-up. Johns Hopkins, on the other hand, has drawn 25 more penalties than its opponents with an extra 16 minutes within the advantage.

Opponents shooting percentage:

JHU: 30 percent
Syracuse: 28 percent

Much like the Orange offense, the Syracuse defense is stocked with upperclassmen. Three of the four primary defenders are academic seniors while Jay McDermott is a junior. SU has dominated winning ground balls by a 519-363 clip this season, and that’s not all because of Williams. JHU only has a plus-23 margin on ground balls, but the defense has stepped it up at the right time, allowing fewer than 10 goals in the past three games.

Goals per game:

JHU: 13
Syracuse: 15

The Syracuse attack stacks up with anybody in the country, but Pietramala said it’s the Orange’s secondary options like Henry Schoonmaker, Nicky Galasso and Hakeem Lecky on the first-line midfield that make SU so dangerous. Those three have combined for 29 percent of the team’s scoring while the attacks are at 48 percent. John’s Hopkins’ scoring comes largely from Ryan Brown, who has 58 of the team’s 207 goals. No one else has more than 25 goals.

Turnover margin:

JHU: -8
Syracuse: +11

John Desko was asked what, if any, were his team’s weaknesses. He mentioned turnovers as something his group needs to work on, as the Orange has totaled 11 more turnovers than its opponents this season. More than 30 players on the roster have totaled at least one turnover. Johns Hopkins has actually turned the ball over eight more times than Syracuse, but has also collected 27 more turnovers from its opponents than SU.

Goals against average:

JHU: 10
Syracuse: 9

Bobby Wardwell has been a better goalie late in games than early on. He’s made 44 saves in the fourth quarters of games this year compared to just 27 in the first quarter. Eric Schneider for JHU has seen a marked difference later in the season. In the past five games he’s allowed 6.8 goals per game compared to 12.4 during a rough seven-game stretch early in the year. ESPN analyst Mark Dixon said neither goalkeeper is the best out there, but both do a good job giving their teams a shot to win.

Published on May 16, 2015 at 1:26 pm

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