Syracuse Basketball: Orange survives close trap game vs Buffalo

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 05: Matthew Moyer
NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 05: Matthew Moyer

The Syracuse basketball team was pushed to the brink in the loud house, but overcame some obstacles to pull off their 10th win of the season.

We thought this game could be trouble for the Orange and it was all that and more.

The reason why the Orange escaped with their 10th victory of the season? Franklin Freaking Howard. When the Buffalo Bulls pushed the Orange to the edge and even took the lead a few times, Howard responded.

Frank Howard: 18 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, 5 turnovers and was 6-of-11 from the field, but more critically 3-of-4 from deep, per ESPN.

Lets go back to the beginning of the game. It all started with early foul trouble for the Cuse.

Which forced Jim Boeheim and company to utilize a different approach against the Buffalo Bulls.

Frank Howard got three fouls with just a few minutes left in that first half. While Oshae Brissett also in some foul trouble with two in the first stanza.

The Howard foul trouble was the biggest issue. There are only three guards on this roster (aforementioned Howard, Tyus Battle, and the little used freshman Howard Washington). This forced the Orange to get an extended look at freshman guard Howard Washington.

Which was a pleasant surprise for this team.

This Orange team has a ton of talent but they have a few question marks: terrible perimeter

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shooting team, not good at defending the three, and limited depth.

He got a ton of action in that first half and really helped the Orange survive that early foul trouble. He certainly had his moments of freshman-itis as Boeheim had to rip him for a few bad turnovers, but he showed some wherewithal with some nice passing.

The last game out SU put it all on the line against Georgetown. Following that performance there was due to be an inevitable letdown at least emotionally. SU was an 11 point favorite in this game and most of our staff expected this one to be a tight contest.

Not sure many of us expected this to go down to quite literally the last seconds.

Side note: the Watch ESPN App sucks and most fans who were forced to watch it were very disappointed. Last game out, Orange fans got to kick up their feet and enjoy a renewed rivalry with SU vs Georgetown on the big screen. Then this happened. Lets all get together and pass a law where Syracuse basketball is on every TV all the time, please and thank you.

The Carrier Dome attendance was 17,335 per the official Twitter account of the Orange. Good showing for the Orange, expect at least that crowd in SU’s next contest against St. Bonaventure on Friday night.

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Top 30 Players in School History

But SU should take away a moral from this story (FINAL SCORE: 81-74): the Cardiac Cuse can’t continue to ride this emotional roller coaster and expect to always come back and win. This was another hard fought victory and an underrated nonconference win that’s going to look really good down the line for the Orange as it pertains to their resume.