Five Takeaways: Georgia Tech 65 Syracuse 60
Syracuse basketball fell 65-60 at Georgia Tech on Saturday. Here are five takeaways from the loss.
1. Rebounding
Syracuse was outrebounded 49-28 and gave up 12 offensive rebounds while only grabbing four. It was a dismal performance on the boards. It was especially noticeable down the stretch when the Orange had four guards and Maliq Brown in the game. Georgia Tech already had a size advantage and that lineup only exacerbated it. Syracuse is not going to win the rebounding battle as currently constructed. They are too small and lack depth. But it cannot be that bad.
2. Offensive Movement
The offense was far too stagnant for much of the game. Too much standing and watching the player with the ball dribble around to try to create a shot. Not enough movement, off ball screens, sharing the basketball. Not a single Syracuse player had more than two assists. When you have a team that is not a great shooting team, you have to make up for it in other ways. Syracuse did not do that against Georgia Tech after doing it to perfection against North Carolina. Disappointing.
3. Three Point Shooting
Syracuse is not a good three point shooting team. This is not breaking news. What was confusing, however, was the reliance on the three point shot in the first half against Georgia Tech. Against North Carolina, Syracuse took 17 three pointers the entire game. The Orange took that many in the first half against the Yellow Jackets. That is not a recipe for success for Syracuse. Especially when shots were not falling. Judah Mintz, Justin Taylor, Kyle Cuffe and Quadir Copeland were a combined 0-11. Syracuse's strength is attacking the basket and the mid-range game. They got back to that more in the second half, but essentially wasted 20 minutes playing to its weakness.
4. Defense
The defense was good enough to win even with the rebounding issues. Syracuse gave up only 65 points, held Georgia Tech to 39% shooting overall and 28% from beyond the arc while forcing 17 turnovers. That is good enough to win on the road. It was not a perfect performance, but the defense was solid most of the night. It was let down by the other end of the floor.
5. All But Ends Tournament Hopes
Syracuse was on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament before this game. The win over North Carolina provided a sliver of hope that the Orange could get back on the bubble if it could string wins together. This loss, however, all but ends that hope. Georgia Tech is one of the worst power conference teams in the country. I understand they had beaten North Carolina, Duke and Clemson this season, but they were 10-15 (3-11) entering the game. You cannot lose to that team. The other thing this loss does is it puts the NIT resume in jeopardy. Syracuse could legitimately have a winning record with a win over North Carolina and get left out of the NIT. Regardless of that, Syracuse has to bounce back and play better at NC State on Tuesday. It will be a very tough game as NC State just beat Clemson, but the Orange needs to show mental toughness here.
SUPPORT ALL SYRACUSE
SUBSCRIBE TO ALLSYRACUSE.COM NOW TO GET ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE INSIDER CONTENT
FREE ALL SYRACUSE NEWSLETTER TO GET THE LATEST ORANGE UPDATES SENT TO YOUR INBOX
JOIN THE ALL SYRACUSE FORUMS FOR FREE AND DISCUSS THE ORANGE WITH OTHER FANS AND OUR STAFF
