Syracuse kicked off its season in grand fashion on Friday night, taking down Colgate (0-1), 83-55, in the Carrier Dome. No. 19 SU (1-0) was led by Tyler Roberson’s 18 points, Frank Howard’s nine assists and a defense that held the Raiders to just 7.1 percent from 3 in the second half.

Here are three things we learned from the season opener.

Syracuse’s press didn’t work to Jim Boeheim’s liking

As the Orange deployed several times throughout its two exhibition games, SU went with the press again on Friday night. It began against Colgate right after the under-eight minute mark media timeout with 7-foot-2 Paschal Chukwu at center and the speedy John Gillon at point guard. Those two players fit well into the scheme on paper because Gillon can scoot around the court and chase the ball quickly while Chukwu’s size gives him a chance to protect the rim on long breakout passes.

The Orange had 10 steals and forced 14 turnovers but head coach Jim Boeheim still wasn’t happy with how the scheme was executed.

“We were so bad I wanted to keep trying it to see if it would get any better. It didn’t,” Boeheim said. “It was horrendous. … If that’s the extent to what we can do with the press, you won’t see it much after this.”

A reporter then asked why it was ineffective.

“I guess they can’t do it. Why did Donald Trump become president? I don’t know.”

John Gillon and Frank Howard can play together, but it likely won’t be for long

On multiple occasions point guards John Gillon and Frank Howard were on the court together. Though it was never for long spurts, the duo gave Syracuse an interesting look. Both are capable of handling the ball and both have the ability to shoot from the perimeter. They each knocked down a 3 off an assist from the other.

Gillon said he enjoys playing at the same time as Howard because they both have diverse skill sets.

Boeheim mentioned after Tuesday’s exhibition against Le Moyne that having both in together would be a possibility. On Friday, he reiterated that point but said it’s unlikely to happen often.

“I don’t think they’ll play together that much,” Boeheim said. “They could. I just don’t think they’ll play together that much.”

Syracuse’s rebounding still needs some work

The Orange outrebounded Colgate, 46-40, and lost the rebounding battle by two, 23-21, in the second half alone. Considering the Raiders’ tallest player, Dana Batt, stands at just 6 feet 9 inches, Syracuse had a chance to feast on the boards. SU’s roster includes Chukwu, the tallest player in program history, 6-foot-10 Taurean Thompson, 6-foot-9 Tyler Lydon and 6-foot-9 Dajuan Coleman.

But Syracuse barely won the rebounding battle and Boeheim made a note of it after the game.

“Didn’t really do a good job on the boards,” Boeheim said. “We’ve got to rebound the ball better. Got obviously, especially with a size advantage, we’ve got to take advantage of that and we didn’t.”

Thompson led the way for SU with seven boards while Lydon and Coleman each had six boards. Against bigger and tougher competition, Syracuse will almost certainly need to have a better performance on the glass.

Published on November 12, 2016 at 12:22 am

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