Syracuse Basketball: Road warrior skills will take SU deep in tournament

The Syracuse basketball squad managed to escape Boston College with a victory, thanks to an absolutely monster effort from Tyus Battle.

The ‘Cuse hoops outfit took a punch in the gut last weekend, losing to then-No. 10 Virginia Tech in its most-lopsided defeat of the 2018-19 campaign. The Orange followed up that debacle with a gritty performance at Boston College on Wednesday evening, an outcome that really impressed me and should please our entire fan base.

In besting the Eagles by six points at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., Syracuse rode stellar performances from junior wing Tyus Battle and freshman guard Buddy Boeheim to improve to 4-1 in true road duels during the present term. That kind of mark away from the Carrier Dome is what SU (15-6, 6-2) will need for its Big Dance resume as this stanza continues onward, given its lackluster showing prior to Atlantic Coast Conference competition commencing.

After allowing BC to secure a nine-point edge early in the first half, the ‘Cuse collected 14 in a row to go up by five. The Orange headed to the break with a seven-point advantage, on the strength of tremendous shooting. Following intermission, Syracuse quickly boosted its lead to 11, but the Eagles (11-8, 2-5) responded by trimming the deficit to just two.

From there, the ‘Cuse got separation to the tune of nine points, and Boston College ultimately would get no closer than six. Battle, who finished with 31 points, took over. His variety in scoring proved virtually unstoppable, whether mid-range jumpers, driving to the hoop, or connecting on 3-pointers. Boeheim, meanwhile, chipped in 13 points, including three baskets from beyond the arc.

"“They just couldn’t stop Tyus in the second half,” head coach Jim Boeheim said in this Syracuse.com article, “and that was the ballgame.”"

"As for his son, the elder Boeheim said in this AP story, “I thought Buddy got some looks and he was making them. He’s been making them in practice and once we got into the league.”"

Versus the Eagles, SU disposed of BC in virtually every statistical category, save for poor free-throw shooting by the ‘Cuse down the stretch. That has to reverse course in these tight encounters.

Since the tail-end of its non-conference slate, the Orange has succeeded in eight of 10 instances. At this juncture, Syracuse is tied for fifth with the Hokies in the ACC standings, but both crews are only one affair out of first place.

The ‘Cuse has a bit of positive momentum as it prepares for a match-up on Saturday at Pittsburgh. SU beat the Panthers earlier this month in Central New York, but Pitt is usually a challenging group to conquer on its own turf. After the Panthers, the Orange squares off with five units in the current AP top-25 poll over a span of six contests. Good times.