Five Takeaways From BC's 84-71 Loss To Syracuse

What did we learn from yesterday's bad loss to Syracuse?

On Tuesday, Boston College lost decisively at home 84-71 to the Syracuse Orange. Elijah Hughes (28 points) and Buddy Boeheim (21 points) led the Orange to their third win in the past four games, while BC has dropped five out of their last six games. Let's breakdown some of the takeaways from yesterday's game. 

1. No one on BC could defend Elijah Hughes. When I previewed this game, my matchup of the game was whomever was playing small forward versus Hughes. It was assumed to be Jairus Hamilton, but he missed the game due to injury. BC switched between Kamari Williams and Steffon Mitchell but neither could slow Hughes down. While he wasn't particularly effective from the outside (3-9 from three point range), Hughes was able to drive and pull up mid range. He has a beautiful shot, and BC just couldn't figure out a way to slow him down. 

2. This was a weird offensive game for the Eagles.  How many teams can hit 19 three pointers and still lose? BC couldn't break Syracuse's zone defense so they stuck to the outside shot, which they shot extremely well. However, inside the three point line they were completely shut down only hitting 16% of their shots, and 20% from the free throw line. How can you lose a game shooting 45% from three point range? Committing eighteen turnovers. 

3. The injuries are piling up for Jim Christian. Before the game it was announced that Jairus Hamilton (knee), Jared Hamilton (achilles/ankle) and Nik Popovic (back) would all be missing the game due to injury. On top of that Julian Rishwain is battling a shin injury. Those are four rotational players that are either out or playing hobbled.  

4. BC's lack of depth killed them in the second half. With the injuries piling up, BC's bench was shortened to basically just Rishwain. The starters did an admirable job keeping BC in the game, but by the second half they just couldn't keep up. After the game Christian commented that BC didn't allow a single second chance point in the first half, but 15 in the second. You can point to this happening due to a lack of depth. 

5. The second half was the best offensive half for Derryck Thornton this season. The transfer from Duke/USC had arguably his best shooting half as an Eagle. True most of it was in garbage time, but the guard shot 5/7 from three point range and scored 15 of his 18 points. He had some really nice looking shots, and was able to find space to give himself a better look. His offense has been inconsistent for much of the season, but we a glimpse of what made him a five star last night.