Men's Basketball

What we learned from Syracuse’s 80-56 victory over Cornell

Jeff Anderson | Contributing Photographer

Tyus Battle and the Orange ran past an undersized Cornell team that put up a little resistance before giving way in an 80-56 blowout.

By Matthew GutierrezSenior Staff Writer

Six days after Syracuse suffered its worst-ever loss in Carrier Dome history, a 93-60 defeat to St. John’s, the Orange cruised by Cornell (3-9) Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. SU dominated inside, scoring more points near the basket than it has in any game since opening night, save for its blowout victory over Eastern Michigan last week. Tyler Lydon scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Taurean Thompson poured in 18 and Tyus Battle added 16 to pace the Orange.

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Here are three things we learned from the game.

Tyus Battle has established himself as clear-cut starter

Battle has been receiving treatment for a minor injury to his left foot, which had limited his minutes. Since his first career start against North Florida and starting the next two games, Battle played only 12, 23 and 22 minutes, respectively. He had been held to eight or fewer points in two of Syracuse’s last three outings.



In his first start since Dec. 10, Battle shined against the Big Red. He posed a threat shooting from the perimeter and on penetrating in the lane. He left the locker room wearing a brace, but said his foot’s “feeling 100 percent.”

“I’m feeling a lot more comfortable getting to the basket, which I wasn’t earlier on,” Battle said.

The freshman point guard scored 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He made both of his free throws, grabbed three rebounds and had three steals in 32 minutes.

“He did a little bit of everything,” fifth-year guard Andrew White said. “He did a better job of getting to the rim tonight, which set up his jump shot. He got in there, got some layups, got some transitions stuff, free throws, and that kind of opened up his 3-pointers.”

Despite blowout win, Jim Boeheim still has “no idea” where Syracuse stands right now

After Syracuse’s blowout loss to St. John’s last Wednesday, SU head coach Jim Boeheim bluntly assessed his own coaching.

“I don’t think I (know what I’m doing) with this team because they’re not doing what we need to win,” Boeheim said Dec. 21.

After SU’s blowout win over Cornell, Boeheim echoed similar sentiments.

“I have no idea. No idea,” he said when asked where Syracuse now stands ahead of Atlantic Coast Conference play, set to begin Sunday at Boston College.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” he added. “Tonight was a baby, baby step that doesn’t really mean much. But we’ve got to get ready, when we have some time, try to use it constructively and play a little better.”

Tyler Roberson can jumpstart the offense, even if it’s only one or two big plays

Minutes after he subbed into Tuesday’s game, Tyler Roberson leapt for a floating rebound and threw down a vicious put-back dunk. The senior forward’s slam sparked a dominating SU run that ended the first half. Then point guard John Gillon, who led all players with seven assists, fed Roberson on an alley-oop that put an exclamation point on Syracuse’s first half as the clock expired.

“He was the Tyler we know,” said Thompson.

The freshman forward referenced the Roberson of last season’s NCAA Tournament, during which he averaged 8.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. But this season, Roberson has hardly contributed. He had scored more than one point in just four of Syracuse’s previous nine games and didn’t even attempt a shot in six minutes during SU’s loss to Georgetown. In Syracuse’s last outing against St. John’s, he went just 0-for-3 from the field.

Tuesday against Cornell, however, Roberson threw down two first-half dunks, dished out two assists and blocked two shots. He challenged several others as well, resulting in SU rebounds.

“I thought Tyler Roberson gave us a really good first half,” Boeheim said. Then he paused. “A really good (first half), then nothing. But he gave us a really good first half.”





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