Five Takeaways: Syracuse 74 Georgia Tech 73 (OT)
Syracuse escaped the Carrier Dome with a 74-73 overtime win over Georgia Tech on Monday. Here are five takeaways from the victory.
1. Gritty Win
Syracuse shot under 33% from the floor, only 31% from beyond the arc, was outrebounded by nine, and was outscored in the paint 34-20. Buddy Boeheim was scoreless in the first half and just 5-20 shooting overall. Joe Girard was just 3-15 shooting. Jimmy Boeheim missed his last eight shots. Frank Anselem fouled out. Despite all of that, Syracuse won. How? Taking care of the basketball (only four turnovers compared to 14 for Georgia Tech) and getting stops in critical moments. It was not pretty and there were a lot of missed opportunities, but Syracuse found a way to win a game it had to have.
2. Bourama in the Clutch
Sidibe made several critical plays in overtime for Syracuse. Down two early in the extra session, Sidibe drove from the three point line and finished at the rim. He blocked shots, kept rebounds alive and dove after loose balls. Syracuse does not win without Sidibe's efforts. He finished with five points, five rebounds, two steals and one block 16 minutes. He also played the entire overtime period with four fouls.
3. Tale of Two Halves
Jimmy Boeheim was 6-10 shooting in the first half and kept Syracuse in the game when no one else could buy a bucket. He was 0-7 after intermission. Buddy Boeheim was scoreless in the first half on 0-8 shooting. He finished with 15 points and was 5-12 after halftime. Frank Anselem struggled mightily in the first half and had zero rebounds. He finished with 10 rebounds and two blocks. It was just a weird game from that perspective where it felt like whatever was going on in the first, the opposite happened after halftime.
4. Josh Pastner
Josh Pastner was given a warning in the second half for being on the court while the game was live. The problem is this happened for almost the entire game up until that point and continued afterwards. He was routinely beyond the coaches box and several steps onto the floor on a regular basis. Yet a warning was not called at all in the first half, nor a technical after the warning. Pastner was pushing Buzz Williams' territory in the Dome. My question is simply this. What is the point in having a coach's box if the rule requiring a coach to stay inside of it is never enforced?
5. Quick Turnaround
Syracuse had just one day in between the Boston College and Georgia Tech games. Both of those were at home. Syracuse plays its third game in five days on Wednesday at Notre Dame. Just one day in between the Georgia Tech and Notre Dame games, but this time there is travel involved. That is a difficult task for anyone. And the Irish will be rested as they have not played since Saturday while Syracuse is coming off of an overtime game. It will be interesting to see how the Orange responds.
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