Syracuse Basketball: Oshae Brissett shined in Syracuse’s win over Miami
Syracuse basketball left Miami on Saturday afternoon with a much-needed win thanks to a sensational performance from Oshae Brissett.
Mississauga, Ontario native and Syracuse basketball Freshman, Oshae Brissett, entered Watsco Center Saturday morning with one goal, to keep Syracuse’ tournament hopes alive.
After the first 20 minutes, in which the freshman scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds, Brissett was well on his way to both keeping Syracuse’ tournament hopes alive and capturing his 10th double-double of the season.
Syracuse was very active on the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Hurricanes 20-16. Additionally, the Orange out-blocked the Hurricanes 5-2 thanks to a pair from both Paschal Chukwu and Bourama Sidibe.
Up 9-8 with 12:14 left in the first half, Brissett threw down one of the nastiest dunks of the year over Hurricanes forward Ebuka Izundu.
Give Syracuse a lot of credit. Their zone was locked in throughout the first half. After Miami guard Dejan Vasiljevic knocked down a three to start the game, it appeared as if the Orange were in for a long night.
However, by the end of the first frame, the Orange only fell victim to nine points via the three-ball and found themselves knotted at 25 against one of the ACC’s better teams.
The Orange limited the Hurricanes to a weak 32% shooting from the field, and 20% from three-point land. The Orange defense got out to a rocky start in the second half, surrendering a three-pointer less than 20 seconds in.
However, on the ensuing possession, Frank Howard made a running layup and cut the Hurricanes lead to 28-27. After another stop by the Orange, a Marek Dolezaj midrange jumper put the Orange up 29-28, good for the seventh lead change of the game.
After a commanding dunk from Chukwu, Battle hit a baseline jumper, and the Orange were suddenly on an 8-0 run, and up five points. Following another Miami turnover, Howard banged home a three-pointer, extended the Syracuse run to 11-0, and put them up eight. Defense leads to offense, and the Orange proved that all afternoon.
With 14:00 remaining in the game, the Orange found themselves up 40-28 and were enjoying a 15-0 run thanks to some tremendous defense that was limiting the Hurricanes to 26% shooting against the zone.
However, Hurricanes guard Chris Lykes ended Syracuse’ dream-like run with a three-pointer and cut the Orange lead to nine. After a turnover by Tyus Battle, Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV hit a three of his own and cut the Orange lead to six. After another Syracuse turnover, their defense forced Miami to commit one of their own and had the ball and a six-point lead with 12 minutes to go.
With 11:40 left, Brissett continued to pour it on, hitting a contested three-pointer from the top of the arc, extending Syracuse’ lead to nine. However, the Hurricanes put together back-to-back scoring plays from long range and inside, and were down just four with 10:30 left. After a Brissett turnover, the Hurricanes cut the lead to two with 10:11 left.
Head coach Jim Boeheim, at this point, was animated, and for good reason. It appeared as if the Orange were well on their way to blowing another lead.
A layup from Izundu tied this one at 43, and the Orange failed to score on the ensuing possession. However, when the Hurricanes tried to take the lead, a strong box-out from Brissett resulted in a pushing foul on Miami.
On the ensuing possession, a gorgeous behind-the-back pass under the basket found Brissett, who spun and finished the job, giving the Orange a 45-43 lead. After Brissett grabbed his 11th rebound of the game, Howard strategically worked his way around a Hurricane defender and scored a basket while being fouled. After hitting the and-one free throw, the Orange were up 48-43 with7:40 remaining.
With 5:27 remaining, as the shot clock expired, Brissett threw up a desperation layup that fell through the basket. After a few hiccups from Syracuse’ zone defense, the Orange found themselves up just three with just under four minutes remaining.
However, a late-game three and clutch free throw from Battle gave Syracuse a lead that would not be relinquished.
After the Hurricanes shot almost 70% from the floor in the second half against Virginia on Tuesday, the Orange limited them to 34% from the field, while shooting 48% from the field themselves.
Syracuse’ big three of Battle, Howard, and Brissett combined for a strong yet unsurprising 47 points. Brissett continued to score and rebound effectively, finishing the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, good for his 10th double-double of the season. Howard continued to serve as a strong role player, dishing out a ridiculous six assists on top of his 18 points and turned over the ball just once. Freshman forward Dolezaj had arguably his best game in the Orange and White, scoring 11 points on 4-5 shooting.
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The Orange need their 2-3 zone to work this well the rest of the way in order to make the tournament. If Brissett continues to play at an elite level, they can contend come March Madness.