There was no drama on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. No. 18 Syracuse (2-0) coasted past Holy Cross (0-2) by 44 points, winning 90-46. SU showcased its full offensive capabilities, lifted primarily by Andrew White, Tyler Lydon, Tyler Roberson and even some help on the boards.

Here’s three things we learned from the Orange’s blowout.

This is what Syracuse’s offense can look like with Lydon and White providing the fuel

Entering this season, it seemed apparent that the lifeblood of SU’s offense would primarily course through White and Lydon. The scoreboard on Tuesday reflected that statement, it just took a game for it to come to fruition. White dropped in a team-high 19 points, while Lydon trailed closely with 17. All together, they accounted for 40 percent of the team’s production.

A huge chunk of White’s point total was rooted in a 5-for-10 performance from 3. He neutralized a pair of early 3s from the Crusaders in the first half with two of his own. Lydon even broke out of his 3-point drought, making his first two on the season.

“When you make (3s), it’s an easy game,” head coach Jim Boeheim said. “When you don’t, it’s a hard game.

“We’re going to have those games, we’re going to have those nights and we’re going to have to will our way through them.”

Tuesday was not one of those nights. Tuesday was the first time Lydon and White both reached double-digits point totals, and they gave the Crusaders’ defense an impossible dilemma. Lydon scored almost all of his points in the paint while White reigned from deep. The visitors never quite figured it out.

Roberson is hitting jumpers, even if Boeheim’s not buying it

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises through a pair of exhibitions and regular-season games is the offensive output from Roberson. The 6-foot-8 forward is averaging over 13 points per game, including the two preseason matchups. He pitched in 12 points against Holy Cross, one game removed from a team-high 18 points against Colgate.

Most of his tallies against the Raiders came at the rim, but he successfully flashed his mid-range jumper a few times in the season opener, and again on Tuesday. The senior gave the Orange the lead for good with his first shot, one he hit less than three minutes into the game.

He followed that a few minutes later with another jumper, this one as Jehyve Floyd was closing on him hastily.

“They were letting (Roberson) shoot it,” Boeheim said, “and that’s your worst nightmare. When you’re let a guy shoot and he makes them.”

It’s not as if Roberson is a completely transformed offensive player, he’s just fit well into the lineups SU has run out. His shots are falling more often than they’re not, even if that’s not the case in practice.

“We keep statistics in practice,” Boeheim said, “(Roberson’s shooting) below 30 (percent). Facts are facts. Don’t try to go to what you hope is there or what you think is there. Try to go by the facts. I know that’s difficult.”

Syracuse showed life on the offensive glass

With Lydon mired in a shooting slump prior to Tuesday’s game, Boeheim suggested last week that the sophomore needed to operate more around the basket. Not only to allow Lydon more high-percentage shots, but to spark himself with second- or third-chance points.

That’s exactly how Lydon got going on Tuesday, putting back a third-chance layup that foreshadowed a breakout night. He was one of four Orange players with multiple offensive boards, and he paced SU with five.

The Crusaders set up in a zone defense, and that left plenty of room on the interior for Syracuse to infiltrate.  In the first eight minutes alone, the Orange had two offensive possessions with two offensive rebounds. Both ended in Lydon layups.

“We did a good job of exploiting (open space),” Roberson said. “We have to do it in the future when teams try to play this kind of defense on us.”

Published on November 16, 2016 at 2:48 am

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