Five Takeaways: Syracuse 83 Oregon 63
Syracuse made it three straight wins on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Oregon Ducks. Here are my five takeaways from the game:Offensive Versatility
1. Offensive Versatility
Sunday was the seventh time that the Orange had scored at least 80 points, but the last two games have been different. Head coach Red Autry has been looking for consistent secondary scoring after Judah Mintz all season long, and it seems like they’ve cracked the code. Instead of having it from one player to have a breakout performance, it’s been the bench to have a committee approach in offensive production. Cuse outscored Oregon 44-18 in bench points and had a 26-14 advantage against Georgetown.
Players like Quadir Copeland and Maliq Brown have filled the void for starters Chris Bell and Justin Taylor only scoring 12 points combined over the last two games. More consistent point production from other players is only going to make things easier for Mintz moving forward.
2. JUDAH MINTZ
Even when the defense knows what the sophomore guard is going to do, they still can’t stop him. Mintz draws the third-most fouls in the country by attacking the basket. He got to the line with ease again versus Oregon, going 8-11 from the charity stripe. Mintz struggled from the floor early shooting 1-5, but scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. He told me earlier in the year that he knows he’s second half player that can be trusted in clutch situations but is working to have that same consistency all game long.
3. DEFENSE
Sunday was arguably the Orange’s best showing defensively, and it’s hard to think otherwise. Oregon came in as the 31st-ranked offense in the country with six players shooting over 36 percent from three. The Ducks were one of 16 programs in the country top 50 in field goal percentage and top 25 in three point percentage. The Ducks shot well under their season averages, going 14.8 percent from three (4-27) and 36.1 percent from the field ( 22-6). Coach Autry has said all season long that this is a great defensive team, and Sunday they proved that. Syracuse should see a huge leap in their defensive rating after a showing like they did Sunday.
4. JJ STARLING
It has been well documented the early-season struggles that J.J. Starling had to begin his Syracuse career, but it appears that he’s settling into his own. The Baldwinsville product was efficient with his 14-point showing against the Ducks, shooting 6-9 and 2-3 from three. After starting the year dreadful from beyond the arc, Starling has hit at least two triples in three of the last four games.
5. QUADIR COPELAND
The “swiss army knife” off the bench is polarizing on the court for Cuse. Copeland is always looking to set up a teammate with a flashy pass and is immediate energy anytime he checks into a game. Copeland has scored 29 points over the last two games and had a team-high nine rebounds against the Ducks. Playing 32 minutes off the bench shows how much faith coach Autry has in the Philly native.
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