Syracuse Basketball at Miami Game Review

Today, we learned what Syracuse basketball is all about and it wasn’t pretty against the Miami Hurricanes.

If you watched today’s game, you probably found yourself throwing things, ranting, and raving like a lunatic, whether you are a Syracuse or Miami fan. If I were to tell you before the game that Syracuse would hold Miami to 64 points, you’d probably think Syracuse would have won. But, would you expect Syracuse to only score 51 in that scenario? Today, both Syracuse and Miami scored season lows in points and Miami was still able to win by 13, 64-51, finishing with a 20-7 run.

At one point in the first period, Syracuse was down 9-5, then went on a run lasting eight minutes that put the Orange up 20-9. It was one of the best runs of the season for Syracuse basketball. A 15-0 run over more than eight minutes, while hitting threes and fouls shots, not turning the ball over, grabbing rebounds on both sides of the ball, and playing shut down defense. It was both awesome, and short-lived.

After going into half time with a 25-17 point lead, Syracuse basketball returned to form in the second by turning the ball over, being consistently out-of-place on rebounds, and looking foolish on more outside shots than I cared to count. Syracuse scored 51 in the game and Miami scored 47 in the second half. Not good.

Here are a few observations from this game:

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Syracuse needs to give up on the idea they can win games by shooting the three. Trevor Cooney is the best three-point shooter in the team, and he’s only a little better than average. Michael Gbinije went 0-7, which does nothing but put emphasis on the deterioration of his three-point shooting this season. Malachi Richardson hit a streak today and went 5-6. He showed something that I hope the Syracuse basketball coaches also noticed and will grab onto in the future (more on that in moment). Overall though, this is a group of athletes who can make shots, not a group of shooters who can make plays. There’s a difference.

Syracuse needs to focus on their mid-range pick and roll game. For the most part, Syracuse never had any room to actually get a shot off because teams are wise to their ambitions and just don’t pay much attention down low. When they were successful in the first half of this game, it was off the pick and roll. Even when they hit a solid three, it was as a result of a pick and slide. This team has no dominating shooters on the outside and no dominating inside threat. What they do have is a bunch of athletes that can make something happen when they shoot off the pass or have a one dribble penetration.

Syracuse players can’t handle the rock. It’s getting embarrassing to watch how often Syracuse brings the ball up the court only to have a defending player charge the ball carrier who then puts their head down and starts looking like they never progressed further than junior high ball handling. Gbinije had eight turnovers, most of which occurred as a result of the scenario I just outlined. When your head is down, and you just try to back into people from 40 feet, you leave yourself open to the weak side double team and trap. It happened countless times today.

Dec 27, 2015; Syracuse, NY, USA; Syracuse Orange guard Malachi Richardson (23) takes a jump shot during the second half of a game against the Texas Southern Tigers at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse won the game 80-67. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Malachi Richardson shouldn’t handle the ball often. When Richardson has shown sparks like today, they were a result of him getting open without the ball or finding the soft spot in a zone and converting on a catch and release or the single dribble penetration. When that was happening, usually off a pick and roll, he was phenomenal. When he was handling on an iso or looking for his own shot, he was abysmal. I hope the coaches have caught onto this. He can be a huge weapon, just like Hakim Warrick was during the 2003 National Championship run as a catch and score guy. He’s athletic enough and when he doesn’t have to create and he is left to just let his body do what it feels is right, he is at his best.

Tyler Lydon already has the most basketball intelligence on the team. Lydon, on almost every offensive play, even when he did not handle the ball, was in the right place, at the right time. We have to face facts about Syracuse basketball this season, most of the team is playing at a faster pace than they need to, causing errors, misses, fouls, and turnovers when they don’t need to. At least three times today, I saw Dajuan Coleman get to his spot early and whomever the ball handler was had to pull it back and reset the play. I saw it happen to Roberson, Richardson, and Joseph also, but not Lydon. He was making his break at the right time, even on the weak side waiting for a kick out. Defensively, he rotated well and was under control more times than not. When his body is stronger and he can bang a little harder with the big boys, he could be something else.

Overall, Syracuse showed some good, disciplined stuff in the first half. The second half was the culmination of every bad habit Syracuse basketball has this year. If they intend on competing with Duke and North Carolina over the next 16 days, then they better get a handle on who can do what, when. Right now, this is a worse than average shooting team with a bunch of athletes getting out-of-place at the wrong times and making mistakes because of it. You can’t live in the ACC like that.