Five Takeaways: Miami 88 Syracuse 87
Five takeaways from Syracuse's 88-87 loss at Miami.
1. Turnovers
We know that ball pressure has been an issue for this team all season. Miami, however, is not a very good defensive team. Despite that, the Hurricanes used much more pressure and aggressive defense in the second half, and that seemed to frustrate the Orange. In total, Syracuse turned it over 19 times, 10 in the second half. While Miami's defense certainly played a part in that, there were several unforced turnovers as well. Such as Jimmy Boeheim dribbling the ball off his leg on a drive that looked like it would have resulted in an easy layup. Turnovers were a big story in this game. A big reason why Syracuse lost. While the Orange had 19 turnovers, Miami had just 10. The Hurricanes outscored Syracuse 25-11 in points off turnovers and 18-3 in fast break points. In what was ultimately a one point game where Syracuse shot better than Miami and outrebounded then, turnovers were a major problem. I'm not sure what the answer is to fix it other than players just valuing the basketball more. Only one of the turnovers was Girard, though Symir Torrence was solid when he was in the game with six assists in 14 minutes. Something has to change, however.
2. Second Half Defense Strikes Again
Syracuse led by as many as 18 points in the first half and held a 14 point edge at halftime. Despite that, the Orange found itself trailing for the majority of the second half as Miami made its first six three pointers after halftime. In Syracuse's seven losses, teams are outscoring the Orange by 13 points in the second half alone. Also in those losses, teams are shooting 53% from the field and 55% from three point range in the second half. That is compared to 36% overall and 32% from deep in the first half. The defense, in this one, just did not look as aggressive and active as it was in the first half. That seems to be a problem that plagues the Orange in just about every game. In 10 of Syracuse's 14 games, Syracuse has performed worse in the second half compared to the first (worse by scoring margin, shooting percentage, defense, etc.). Perhaps part of that is Symir Torrence and Benny Williams seeing more time in the first half. Williams appears to be getting more comfortable defensively, and the team does play better on that end with him in the game. Regardless, this is the worst defensive team of Jim Boeheim's coaching career.
3. Jesse Edwards
Edwards was tremendous in the first half. He had some turnovers in the second half, but was still Syracuse's best player in this one. Edwards scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked seven shots. He did foul out, but two or three of the calls against him were questionable at best. Especially the one that fouled him out. Still, Edwards played 38 minutes. That is encouraging and better than the 25 or so minutes he had been playing while getting into foul trouble. Edwards just has to work on being stronger with the basketball, as he had six turnovers against Miami.
4. Benny Williams & Jimmy Boeheim
The +/- stat can be misleading at times. However, it is sometimes interesting to look at in each game. Against Miami, Jimmy Boeheim was -10 in 32 minutes of action (worst on the team). Meaning the Hurricanes outscored Syracuse by 10 with Jimmy on the floor. Benny Williams was +9 in nine minutes (best on the team). This is not to say that Benny is a better option than Jimmy right now. Jimmy has been much better, overall, this season. Earlier in the year, Jimmy deserved to be playing 30-35 minutes each game. However, with his struggles the last two games and Benny starting to get more comfortable, especially on defense, moving from a 30-10 minutes split to closer to 20-20 seems to be warranted. Perhaps closer to a 25-15 to start and go from there. Jimmy was 2-7 from the floor, 2-5 from the free throw line and turned it over three times against Miami. Benny was only 1-3 shooting and only grabbed one rebound, but he also only played nine minutes. Perhaps more run from Benny is warranted at this point.
5. So...What Now?
Syracuse is 7-7. This is the first time under Jim Boeheim Syracuse is at .500 or worse this late into the season. Syracuse has multiple bad losses in terms of any type of postseason resume. The NCAA Tournament should not even be discussed. Even with 15 games left. There are a couple of things that are important for the rest of the season. The first is preserving Jim Boeheim's and Syracuse's streak of consecutive winning seasons (Syracuse has not had a losing record since 1968-69). That is important and is part of Boeheim's overall legacy. The second is letting players that are returning continue to develop and get more comfortable. Benny Williams, Symir Torrence, Jesse Edwards. Edwards has taken major strides since last season, but is by no means a finished product. Williams has shown growth during the season. Torrence seems to be getting more comfortable as well. Continue to work on them in practice and in games to help prepare for next season. Those are the things I'm focused on moving forward covering this team.
