Syracuse needs to get back on schedule when it takes on Mercyhurst

Syracuse enters a flurry of games that will wrap the non-conference portion of their basketball schedule. The Orange (6-4) will have three games, all at home, over the next six days.

The good news is that Mercyhurst, Northeastern, and Stonehill are all overmatched opponents outside of the top 200 in the KenPom rankings. The bad news is that SU has looked listless for much of their last two games, seemingly expecting the rest of their non-conference opposition to lie down for them after they edged Tennessee in the ACC-SEC Challenge.

The Orange need to fix some problems over the next week

Syracuse won the first of those two games, eventually putting away Saint Joseph’s, but trailed most of the second half before a furious rally fell short against Hofstra, undoing most of what defeating the Volunteers had accomplished.

While the Orange defense played fairly well in the first of those two outings, they permitted Hofstra to shoot 49.1 percent from the field, their worst effort of the season aside of their second half collapse against Iowa State, and forced only ten turnovers, also their second-worst effort of the season, which was nine against Iowa State. Sensing a trend here?

So, even though Mercyhurst is rated #331 in the nation at KenPom, setting up a likely walkover win for SU, this game is actually really important beyond the final score. This contest, like the two that follow it, is much more about the how than the what.

The Lakers (4-7), who are in their second season as a Division I basketball program, have half their wins this season against teams that compete at lower levels of play. Power conference opponents have routinely slaughtered them, as Northwestern (23), West Virginia (32), and Davidson (33) have beaten them by blowout margins.

The Lakers are almost a custom-made opponent for what the Orange need right now

They shoot 2-point field goals poorly (48.2 percent) and 3-point field goals even worse (28.8 percent). A team lacking size up and down the roster with only one player averaging double figure minutes taller that 6’6”, Mercyhurst is an unsurprisingly poor rebounding team.

Top scorer Bernie Blunt is a 5’11” guard who scores 16.6 points per game, but is shooting 42.9 percent overall and 32.0 percent from 3-point range against D-I teams. A pair of 6’2” guards, Deshaun Jackson Jr. and Jake Lemelman, are tied for the team lead with 3.0 assists per game with Lemelman also their top long-range shooter at 39.5 percent.

Qadir Martin is a 6’5” forward with an inside game belying his height, leading the team with 24 blocks with all but one coming against D-I foes and topping the Lakers in rebounding. The 6’8” Mykolaus Ivanauskas is the lone “big man” in the Mercyhurst rotation, bringing solid rebounding skills along with some inside scoring to the team.

SU needs to show that they will play at a high level in all games, not just against big names

In short, these Lakers are a team Syracuse should dominate in essentially all facets. If the Orange are as motivated as they should be to bounce back from their embarrassing loss to Hofstra, this game should be a blowout that is basically over by halftime.

So, which SU team will show up? The one that bullied their early season opponents or the ones who looked pretty disinterested the last week?

Syracuse 83, Mercyhurst 51.

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