Eight games into Syracuse’s season, the Orange’s flaws are obvious, and head coach Jim Boeheim describes them as such. SU can’t stop big men. The offense doesn’t move enough. When it all starts compounding, Syracuse can’t full-court press effectively enough to spark a comeback. That just blows the game out, Boeheim said. 

So, after a 68-54 loss at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday night, the current big picture is clear, too. 

“We’ll get better,” Boeheim said, “but right now we’re not ready for these games.”

The most recent of Syracuse’s skid of three losses against high-major opponents cemented Syracuse’s worst start under 44-year head coach Jim Boeheim. The last time Syracuse started a season 4-4, dunking wasn’t allowed in college basketball and freshmen couldn’t play varsity. The Orange has entered uncharted territory and its issues are recurring. 

For Iowa, the unstoppable big man was 6-foot-10, 260-pound Luka Garza and his 23 points and nine rebounds. Syracuse’s shooting woes continued as the Orange shot 36.5% from the field and top scorer Elijah Hughes tallied 10 points. The stat line isn’t much different than that against Penn State or Oklahoma State which both tuned up the Orange in the paint while SU failed to create enough offense to hang around. 

After losing its two of its top three scorers from a season ago, Syracuse isn’t ready for a top-50 opponent. Its coach has said it and the team has proven it. 

“We got to have guys that are more tough,” Hughes said, “and that want to be in those moments and get that rebound or get that stop, or go get the ball as it is.”

This game could’ve been a turning point in SU’s season. After two losses to good-but-not-great high-major teams at the Barclays Center, Syracuse needed a win over Iowa to boost its resume for March. With no other opponents ranked in the Top 50, per Kenpom.com, before conference play begins, Tuesday night was Syracuse’s last chance at a marquee non-conference victory.

And even still, a win over Iowa at home isn’t exactly taking down Michigan or Ohio State. The Hawkeyes entered this matchup with two losses, one of which came at home against DePaul. 

But Iowa had Luka Garza, who weighs 50 more pounds than Bourama Sidibe, his Orange counterpart. Through seven games, Garza had already tallied four double-doubles and led his team in scoring with 19.6 points per game.

Operating mainly out of the low-block, a known Achilles heal of Syracuse’s defense, Garza dominated. He grabbed offensive and defensive boards, often moving SU defenders with one push of his arm. His takes to the basket were assertive. One in the second half resulted in an and-1 opportunity, which he drilled. He even sank a 3-pointer.

“It’s just something we can’t handle defensively,” Boeheim said. “I thought we did a good job tonight, but sooner or later they’re going to wear you down.”

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Again, the 3-point shooting team that was discussed to start the year didn’t show up against a formidable opponent. Syracuse shot 6-of-21 from beyond the arc including a combined 1-for-9 from Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III. 

Syracuse’s best semblance of offense came early in the game and in the paint. On two of Quincy Guerrier’s first plays of the game, he finished near the rim. One resulted in a close-range jumper, another a dunk in transition. Marek Dolezaj created near the basket as well with a dunk on the run early and swished a 3 on his way to a team-high 12 points. 

Dolezaj and Sidibe have opportunities to score as defenses begin to sag off them to cover the shooters, Boeheim said, but they need to capitalize more. 

Otherwise, with little penetration, the Orange offense runs stale as it did to start the second half when Iowa kept hitting shots. After Garza’s and-1, the Hawkeyes started scoring from everywhere. They hit 3-pointers and banged bodies down low for contested layups.

It wasn’t one thing that derailed Syracuse offensively but rather a collection. Some were Hughes trying to take over and not hitting a shot he may hit on a different night. Other miscues came on Buddy turnaround jumpers or Dolezaj turnovers off the dribble. They all say they need to generate more off-ball action, and eventually the shots will fall.

“In practice we’re moving well, finding guys,” Guerrier said, “So I don’t know what happened today … We need to communicate more, recognize what we need to do, because I feel like sometimes some players on the team are like lost. They don’t know what we’re doing.”

The reality became that the deficit, which reached 18 midway through the second half, was just too much. The fans in the Carrier Dome felt it too. Syracuse students poured down the criticism from behind the home team basket, offering rebounding advice and tips on how to score. They even joked about the money they’d make betting against the Orange. 

Syracuse has more of its season in front of it than behind, but until the offense clicks, the odds will continue to be against the Orange.

“There was a lot of bad out there,” Boeheim said. “I didn’t see much good.”

Published on December 3, 2019 at 9:05 pm

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