Syracuse falls to 1-& all-time at Littlejohn Coliseum.
The Syracuse Orange men’s basketball team faltered on the road Wednesday night, dropping to the Clemson Tigers 86-72 in a decisive defeat.
Syracuse (9-10, 3-5) was caught picking up pennies in front of a steamroller, electing for mid-range shots and turning the ball over while Clemson (16-4, 8-1) scored in the paint — 40 points in the paint to Syracuse’s 20 — and took advantage of easy looks in transition. Clemson scored 11 fast break points to Syracuse’s zero and had a 19-4 points off turnovers edge. Syracuse had no answer for Chase Hunter as he scored 23 points on 7-13 shooting.
Clemson led 48-29 at the half after shooting 58% from the floor including a 26-6 points in the paint edge. JJ Starling scored 11 of Syracuse’s first 16 points, starting 5-5 from the floor but Syracuse’s auspicious start proved to be fool’s gold as Clemson pulled away midway through the first. That’s when the game turned sour for the Orange as miscues began to mount.
Syracuse was once again without freshman forward Donnie Freeman, who missed his fifth straight game with a lower right leg injury. He traveled with the team but sat from the Syracuse bench in a walking boot.
To the takeaways.
No defending that
Clemson is a good offensive team and we have the data to prove it.
With that proviso out of the way, Syracuse once again rolled out a disjointed defense in its halfcourt man-to-man. Clemson had a bevy of dinner plate options as the Orange was picked apart in ball screens, switched (at times) unnecessarily into mismatches and went under on screens while guarding shooters. It’s easier said than done, but that’s not a recipe for success when teams are good enough to make you pay for mistakes. Clemson did that, finishing the night with 31-55 shooting (56%) from the floor and 9-20 from three (45%).
It’s not like Adrian Autry didn’t try to adjust. Syracuse went 2-3 zone at the end of the first half with some mixed success. Although it surrendered consecutive offensive rebounds, the zone worked initially for three consecutive stops. That is until Chase Hunter nailed a deep three before the half.
Syracuse showed press with 11 minutes left in the game and stayed in it until late but to no avail. The Orange connected on outside shots late to make the margin of defeat respectable, but it was never a game. Syracuse was unable to work the deficit to single-digits, or seriously threaten Clemson.
Unlike the Notre Dame game, the adjustments stopped short of having any real meaningful impact. Syracuse has some considerable defensive limitations. The adjectives in the blank spaces of the Mad Libs change, but the overall defensive story stays the same.
Orange turnovers
Clemson turned Syracuse over like a pillow on a hot summer night. Give credit to the top-40 Clemson defense (KenPom), but Syracuse’s turnover troubles reared its head in this game, particularly early on. The Orange coughed it up 14 times and Clemson manufactured those miscues into 19 points.
Syracuse had nine first half turnovers while only forcing two from Clemson. The Tigers had a 14-0 points off turnovers edge in the first 20 minutes.
Syracuse had done a better job in recent weeks keeping the turnovers to a reasonable level. The Orange have double digit turnovers in every loss this season.
Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
One man army not enough
Starling shouldered the weight in this game by scoring 25 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor (62.5%) and 5-10 from three (50%) but it wasn’t enough to overcome the listless defensive performance. Not to dismiss Eddie Lampkin’s 14 points, but if Syracuse can’t get defensive stops, Starling is going to need some more consistent help on offense. No other Orange player scored in double-figures.
After playing mostly at point guard once again, Starling started to wear as the game went on and his scoring tapered off. It’s a heavy ask to expect him to run the offense, handle ball pressure and make reads through double teams while also trying to score the ball. Unless Syracuse expects Starling to be Atlas the Greek Titan, someone needs to help shoulder the load and offer Starling some relief.
Starling’s presence on the floor is imperative to this team. The Orange trailed by just four when he came out at the 11:04 mark in the first half. That’s when Clemson started to create separation and build a double-digit lead as Syracuse struggled to get production on offense. It was a deficit that Syracuse was unable to overcome — Clemson led by 13 or more for the entire second half.
Can anyone else on Syracuse answer the call to arms on offense?