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Syracuse is still working on building its chemistry on the court. It made easy work of Monmouth in Wednesday’s 41-point season-opening win, led by Chrislyn Carr’s 15 points and Teisha Hyman’s near double-double. But the shoot-first, perimeter style of play that acting head coach Vonn Read built his offense around fell flat against Notre Dame.

The Orange started and finished the blowout conference loss with scoreless stretches that engulfed nearly the entire first and fourth quarters. The Fighting Irish ultimately ended on a 21-0 run to hand SU its first loss of the season. Syracuse ended the afternoon shooting just 28.6% from the field and going 8-of-32 from deep.

Syracuse now welcomes Morgan State to the Carrier Dome for its third straight home game. The Bears went 8-2 in the Mid-Eastern American Conference last season, but they lost in the second round of the conference tournament to North Carolina A&T. They’ve now started the 2021-22 season with three consecutive losses.

Before Syracuse (1-1, 0-1 ACC) looks to rebound against its second nonconference opponent on Wednesday, here’s what you need to know about Morgan State (0-3).

All-time series

Syracuse leads 2-0.

Last time they played

Syracuse opened its 2017-18 season against Morgan State and dominated the entire game. The Orange were up by 10 points at the end of the first quarter and didn’t look back, finishing the night with a 27-point victory. Then-freshman Digna Strautmane exploded in her first game with SU to finish with 17 points and 11 rebounds in her first double-double.

Syracuse’s all-time assists leader Tiana Mangakahia dished out 10 that night, and Miranda Drummond helped out with 15 points. That game kickstarted a 22-win season for former head coach Quentin Hillsman, a campaign that ultimately ended with a first-round blowout to No. 9 Oklahoma State.

The Bears report

In their start to the season, the Bears have shot just 27.2% from the field, contributing to their blowout losses. The loss against Stanford, a game in which the Bears scored just 36 points, saw Morgan State making just eight shots from the field. There also has not been much help from the Bears’ bench, with just one non-starter averaging above five points per game. And in its first two losses, Morgan State’s bench was outscored by its opponent.

Last season, the team was first in the MEAC in 3-point shooting and free throws, but it hasn’t replicated that success in the early going of this season. The Bears returned nearly all of their top scorers from last year’s 12-win season, including their rebound, assists and point leaders, so there is a sense of continuity for head coach Ed Davis Jr.’s team.

How Syracuse beats Morgan State

Syracuse needs to shoot like it did against Monmouth and mitigate the seven- and eight-minute non-scoring stretches to handle the Bears like the Orange should. As long as the Orange aren’t out-rebounded as much as they were against Notre Dame, they should have little trouble handling the Bears.

Syracuse also needs to maintain a shooting percentage from the field of at least 40%. Dipping down to 15% and less shooting will allow Morgan State back into the game, giving SU’s volatile spread offense a difficult time putting the Bears away.

The final blemish to cover up against Morgan State is the amount of turnovers Syracuse has given up in its first two games. Read touched on cutting down the number of possessions the team gave away after each game, citing the lack of team chemistry as a main reason for the 41 turnovers through two games.

Player to watch: Dahnye Redd, forward, No. 22

The graduate transfer is in her second year with Morgan State, and she is morphing into a well-rounded forward averaging 7.3 points per game and leading the team in offensive rebounds and rebounds per game. She led the Bears with 11 points in their first game of the season while also pulling down six rebounds in 29 minutes. She then replicated her performance in MSU’s blowout loss to Missouri by scoring eight points with six rebounds, four steals and a block.

Syracuse noted prior to the season that it needs to work on its defense, and Alaysia Styles and Eboni Walker have looked overmatched at times inside the paint. Redd can wreak havoc on Syracuse and ultimately shift the possession battle and competition on the glass toward the Bears.

Stat to know: 38-assist advantage

Morgan State has just nine assists through three games while its opponents have racked up 47, giving opponents a 38-assist advantage in the number of baskets they’ve received help on. Syracuse already has 32 of its own assists despite undergoing a speedy process of gelling. Morgan State’s lack of scoring has led to this drastic decrease in assists, but it averaged 10.3 assists per game last season and has yet to come close to that number this year.

Syracuse has the opportunity to balloon this number out even further, capitalizing on a team that relies less on swinging the ball around the outside to look for the open shooter.

Published on November 16, 2021 at 6:48 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt