Five Takeaways from Syracuse's Comeback Victory Over NC State

The Orange kept their NCAA Tournament hopes alive with the win.

1. KADARY, KADARY, KADARY

Kadary Richmond played 16 minutes, but may have been the difference in the game. That is no disrespect to the performances from Alan Griffin and Marek Dolezaj. Both were fantastic. But Richmond made the Orange defense better, he got into the lane and opened things up for his teammates, and he was efficient in the lane. Richmond scored 14 points in those 16 minutes on 6-7 shooting. He only had one assist and did not have a steal. Do not let those last two stats fool you, however. He got Syracuse into their offense, closed out on shooters and prevented penetration from the NC State guards. There is no question that the zone is better when Kadary is out there, and he has made a very strong case for 20+ minutes on a nightly basis. The offense looked better with him at the point, and the defense was certainly much stronger as well. Who starts is a bit overrated, but Kadary deserves consistent minutes. He was averaging over 21 minutes per game coming in, and should be getting around that each game at a minimum. 

2. TALE OF TWO HALVES

Syracuse has not had a worse half of defense all season than it did in the first against NC State. Yes that includes the 64 points Pittsburgh scored against the Orange earlier this year. Pittsburgh was not missing its two best offensive players, NC State was. The Wolfpack still scored 47 points and shot 56.7% from the floor. Syracuse was out of position routinely, left shooters open and failed to defend the short corner. That all changed in the second half as Richmond's defensive effort seemed to permeate throughout the rest of the team. Syracuse held NC State to just 26 second half points on 32.3% shooting including 0-8 from beyond the arc. The Orange closed out on shooters much better, prevented dribble penetration, and rotated to defend the short corner when the ball entered the paint. The second half was what Syracuse should have done for the entire game. There needs to be more consistency, and perhaps that starts with more minutes from Richmond along with better defensive execution all around.

3. BETTER OUTSIDE SHOOTING

Syracuse had been in a three point shooting slump as a team. Buddy Boeheim himself had been in a major slump. Over his last four games, Buddy was just 6-28 (21.4%) from beyond the arc. He had a better night against NC State, as did the Orange as a whole. Buddy finished 4-8 from deep, including 2-3 in the second half. Both of Buddy's second half three pointers were critical shots. The first gave Syracuse a two point lead with 6:41 to play and the second extended the lead to five with 4:25 left. Syracuse finished 8-21 (38%) from the outside. That is right about where this team should be most nights. In the 35-40% range. There are too many capable shooters on this team to be where they had been most of the season. Shot selection plays a large part of that, but Buddy getting out of his funk would help as well.

4. MISTAKES DOWN THE STRETCH

Even with the comeback win, there were still too many mistakes in the final minutes. They included an Alan Griffin turnover with 49 seconds left where he did not seem to realize that NC State was coming for the steal in a three point game with less than a minute to go. When he crossed half court, he was very casual with the ball, and NC State was able to get the steal that led to a foul in transition. Then, just a couple of possessions later, Quincy Guerrier fouled Thomas Allen on a corner three. The foul did not impact the shot as Guerrier ran into him after the ball was released. The shot missed, but Allen got three free throws as a result of the foul. After he made all three, the lead was down to one instead of staying at four with six seconds remaining. Syracuse was still able to hold on, but they need to learn from those errors. 

5. THE WIN KEEPS THE SEASON ALIVE

If Syracuse loses against NC State at home, it all but pops any talk of even being close to the NCAA Tournament bubble. A win keeps those talks alive. There is still work to do, no doubt, but this win was extremely important for their postseason hopes. You can't lose to a team missing their two best players at home. Especially after losing to Pitt without their best player at home earlier this season. Syracuse has games upcoming against Louisville (twice), Clemson, NC State, Boston College and Notre Dame. They probably need to win four or five of those to be in a good spot. Beat Louisville on Wednesday and they should feel really good about where they stand.