Syracuse Basketball: Orange can beat anyone with their red hot shooting

The Syracuse basketball squad clicked on all cylinders after intermission in route to an impressive 20-point domination of Miami on Thursday evening.

When SU makes shots, it’s a dangerous, dangerous team. I know this sounds simplistic, but it’s true.

On Thursday night, before 21,000-plus fans inside the Carrier Dome, junior wing Tyus Battle and sophomore forward Oshae Brissett didn’t put forth anywhere close to their normal scoring numbers.

And, it didn’t matter in the least.

Redshirt sophomore forward Elijah Hughes, remarkably consistent for much of this 2018-19 campaign, caught absolute fire from downtown. Senior point guard Frank Howard and freshman guard Buddy Boeheim each chipped in a trio of 3-pointers.

The ‘Cuse took care of the ball extremely well, only committing a half-dozen turnovers. The Orange also shared the rock in stellar fashion, finishing with an incredible 22 assists.

All in all, Syracuse totally gelled as a cohesive unit in the second half, blasting Miami by 17 points in route to a 73-53 victory, SU’s seventh in the last eight affairs. The only statistical category where Syracuse didn’t excel proved on the glass, yet a big part of that is due to its foe missing a ton of shots. I can live with that.

Once a wildly pedestrian 7-4 in the non-conference slate, the Orange (14-5, 5-1) is on a terrific roll, including the recent road success at then-No. 1 Duke. However, the gauntlet that is the Atlantic Coast Conference will not do the ‘Cuse any favors in the coming days, as its next three contests are away from Central New York.

That brutality commences for Syracuse with a trip to Blacksburg, Va., for a tough tilt versus No. 10 Virginia Tech. The Hokies are unbelievably difficult to conquer at home, and I can’t imagine that SU will connect on nearly 50 percent from beyond the arc – like it did against the Hurricanes – in Saturday’s duel with VT.

Regardless, the Orange dispatched of Miami (9-9, 1-5) with relative ease, and it’s a bit surprising to me, as the ‘Cuse has dropped three encounters on the Hill in 2018-19. By comparison, SU is perfect on the road. It’s definitely proven a strange stanza at this juncture.

Maybe there’s less pressure to prevail outside of a team’s own friendly confines. Who actually knows. What I can say is that should Syracuse knock off the Hokies, thereby giving it four victories in a row, we should all start taking SU seriously as a threat to finish in the upper tier of the ACC standings.

National pundits are once again taking notice, and talk of a March Madness invite is resuming. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas and NCAA.com correspondent Andy Katz, two of the best in the business as it pertains to collegiate hoops, both recently rated the Orange as among the top-30 crews in the land.

Moreover, when Monday afternoon arrives, the Orange could likely see itself in the AP top-25 poll if it beats Virginia Tech. The momentum is apparent. The ride is super fun. But the near-term challenges are daunting, and the pendulum can quickly swing in an unhappy direction. Let’s enjoy the moment. One game at a time.