Syracuse Basketball: Montana State Game Preview

Tonight at 7 pm, the Syracuse basketball team takes on Montana State in the Carrier Dome.

Syracuse basketball enters the game with a record of 8-3, coming off a much needed victory over Cornell on Saturday afternoon. Prior to that, they suffered an incredibly bad loss at St. John’s that was truly hard to watch as a fan. And just for the record, St. John’s went on to get destroyed by Incarnate Word a couple days later, 73-51, and then another loss to NJIT to follow it up. Basically what I’m saying is, St. John’s is not a good basketball team. And Syracuse lost to them. Badly.

But I digress, this article isn’t about the St. John’s debacle. St. John’s is in the past and thankfully, after a sluggish first half, Syracuse took it to Cornell on Saturday to hopefully gain some much needed confidence. If that wasn’t enough of a boost, they now play a team that is 5-6. They are also a very poor rebounding team (192nd) and only have two players 6’8 or taller.

All of that should boil down to an easy win for Syracuse. But then again, this season nothing has been easy. Discounting that Cornell blowout and another one against Colgate, Syracuse hasn’t won a game by more than 13 points all season. That includes games against Charlotte, Elon, St. Bonaventure, and Lehigh. This is a team that very much plays to it’s competition. They won’t get blown out of many games, but they won’t blow out many teams either. It’s just not how their built.

Nov 28, 2015; Laramie, WY, USA; Montana State Bobcats guard Marcus Colbert (22) drives around Wyoming Cowboys guard Josh Adams (14) during the second half at the Arena-Auditorium. The Cowboys defeated the Bobcats 82-68 Photo Credit: Troy Babbitt-USA TODAY Sports

Montana State however, should pose the perfect opportunity for one of those seldom-seen blowouts. Although their offense has been decent this year (78 points per game), their defense has been abysmal (326th, 81.5 ppg). Syracuse should have absolutely no problems slicing them up on the interior and getting open looks from the outside. This could be a very important game for Syracuse, as it could open up some opportunities for playing time to guys like Dajuan Coleman, Kaleb Joseph, and Franklin Howard.

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Montana State does have a very potent back court. Marcus Colbert and Tyler Hall have combined for over 33 points per game. Colbert is a senior and the obvious leader of the team. Hall is just a freshman, but has shown an immediate ability to impact games off the dribble. Hall has also hit over 42% of his 3-pointers, meaning he could have a huge game against a porous SU zone. Colbert is no slouch at 39% from outside.

The big advantage for Syracuse however is that Colbert is only 5’11. Hall is 6’4 so should match up well with Syracuse up top, but smaller guards have really struggled against the length of Gbinije and Cooney this year. Gbinije in particular has been feasting on smaller guards. He’s averaging 2.9 steals per game, good enough for 5th in the country. His incredible length at 6’7 has allowed him to shut down passing lanes and create havoc at the top of the zone.

Aside from the two guards, there are several other contributors for Montana State. Danny Robinson, Zach Green, and Stephan Holm are all averaging over 8 points per game. Green leads the team in rebounding at 5.2 per game. Holm has been deadly from the outside, hitting an insane 56% of his 3’s. He’s another shooter SU is going to have to watch for.

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Overall, Montana State boasts some impressive talent on offense. However, it’s their lack of defense that is going to kill them tonight. Syracuse is far too good a shooting team, especially against an undersized, less athletic team like this. Although I expect a lot of hustle from them, I just don’t think it will be enough to keep them in the game, at least not for an entire 40 minutes. They might keep it close for a half like Cornell did, but much like Cornell, I could see them running out of gas.

In the end, I predict Syracuse cruises in this game to an 88-59 victory. I think the defense will step up for a second consecutive game and lock down on Montana State. I think they will be forced to take a lot of contested 3’s and they just don’t have the size to get the rebounds off those missed shots. They’ll make some, but not nearly enough. Look for Gbinije to have a big bounce-back game in terms of scoring. Don’t be surprised to see Joseph get some points finally as well. I feel like this could be a game where he finally comes out of his shell a bit.

The game is going to be live streamed on ESPN3, but if you don’t get a chance to watch it, check back after the game for full coverage and some detailed analysis over the next couple days.