Five Takeaways: Syracuse 70 Louisville 69
Syracuse picked up a 70-69 win at Louisville Tuesday night. Here are five takeaways from the win.
1. Joe Girard
How good was Joe Girard? He scored 28 points, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists and snagged two steals. He did have five turnovers, which was a significant negative for him in this game, but his performance was mostly a strong one. Especially down the stretch of the game. Girard made two clutch threes and critical free throws in the final six minutes and played really good defense on El Ellis with Syracuse up one to force him to pass to Jae’Lyn Withers, who missed the potential go ahead shot. Guess who got that important rebound? Joe Girard. What he did down the stretch of this game is what veteran leaders are supposed to do in games like this. Find a way to lead your team to victory when it is not playing its best. That is what Girard did against the Cardinals.
2. Benny Williams
The enigma that is Benny Williams continues. After a really strong, encouraging performance against Boston College, Williams had just three points and three rebounds in 28 minutes and did not make a field goal. He was not as aggressive as he was against the Eagles defensively or on the boards. Williams has the potential to be a major factor in both of those areas each and every game. This should have been a spot where he did just that. Instead, Benny had a minimal impact and Syracuse suffered as a result. As the Orange gets into a tough stretch of games (Virginia twice, Virginia Tech twice, Miami, North Carolina all coming up this month), it needs more of the BC Benny than the Louisville Benny. That said, he made a smart play diving on the ball in the final seconds to prevent it from going out of bounds to give Louisville another possession.
3. Rebounding
Once again rebounding was an issue. Louisville outrebounded Syracuse 38 to 33 and recorded 15 offensive boards. There were multiple possessions where the Orange played good defense but then gave up two or three offensive rebounds that ultimately led to points for the Cardinals. This has been an issue most of the season and is becoming even more of one in ACC play. This despite Jesse Edwards recording 11 rebounds and Joe Girard contributing an unexpected seven. Syracuse needs more on the boards from the forwards. That means Benny Williams needs to be more consistent there, more is needed from Chris Bell and the forwards off the bench. It is a big, big issue moving forward.
4. Jesse Edwards
Foul trouble continues to plague Syracuse’s starting center. When Edwards is in the game, everything is better. Rebounding, defense, half-court offense, etc. But the last three games he is not able to stay on the court enough as he picks up cheap fouls. Edwards has not played more than 33 minutes at all in the last four games and has been at 26 or fewer twice. Edwards is the best shot blocker in the conference and one of the best rebounders. He has to stay on the floor especially when Syracuse starts facing the better teams in the ACC. He gives Syracuse an advantage there as he is difficult for others to guard and protects the rim as well as anyone in the ACC. That said, Edwards made a great defensive play poking the ball away from El Ellis in the final seconds to help secure the win. More evidence of his importance.
5. A Win is a Win
It is a true that Louisville is a bad team. Easily the worst in the ACC as it currently stands. Syracuse should have beaten that team by more than just one point and should not have come perilously close to losing. Louisville turned it over 14 times in the first half, yet Syracuse was losing by one. A normally poor outside shooting team made some threes thanks in part to some open looks. Syracuse was outrebounded. It was a sloppy game. It was not a good performance. Yet despite all of that, Syracuse did come out of the KFC Yum! Center with a win. Winning on the road in conference is difficult and weird things can happen in those situations. Teams that should not win will find a way. So escaping with a win, regardless of how it looked, is a positive. That said, there are trends that are getting concerning. The slow starts. The inconsistent effort on the boards, specifically from the forwards. The defense that, at times, looks like it is one of the best in the country but others looks incompetent. These are Syracuse’s achilles heels moving forward and must get better to keep racking up wins in conference play.
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