Syracuse basketball needs to clean up 2 big issues before season starts

The Syracuse basketball squad will host Canadian juggernaut Carleton University this Tuesday night, and the Orange must cut down on its mistakes.

The Syracuse basketball team displayed its depth and offensive firepower this past Saturday evening on the Hill when it executed a strong long-distance arsenal in dispatching of Daemen College, 90-71, in an exhibition contest.

Head coach Jim Boeheim, his players and many journalists have said on numerous occasions heading into the 2019-20 campaign that the Orange would absolutely prove a better unit on offense in the upcoming term, given the abundance of stellar shooters from downtown who would help the ‘Cuse more effectively space the floor and provide a smoother offensive flow.

Syracuse’s outcome against Daemen, a Division II crew in Amherst, N.Y., illustrated that prognostication, and that’s an encouraging sign.

However, two significant areas of possible concern for the Orange in 2019-20 are that filled with a relatively young roster, the ‘Cuse could somewhat struggle in its vaunted 2-3 zone, and Syracuse may have difficulty taking care of the ball.

That pair of legitimate question marks also entered into the equation versus the Wildcats on Saturday, and the Orange has to shore things up on the defensive side, and as it pertains to turnovers committed if it seeks to succeed when facing off with Carleton at 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 29 inside the Carrier Dome.

The ACC Network Extra will provide coverage of this affair, which is the second and final exhibition for the ‘Cuse, before Syracuse kicks off the regular season on Nov. 6 in Central New York against Virginia, the defending NCAA champions.

The Orange cannot take the Ravens, a group located in Ottawa, Ontario, lightly. Carleton has captured 14 national titles, including the crown in 2019. Previously, the ‘Cuse defeated the Ravens, 88-76, on Nov. 2, 2014, and by a count of 69-65 on Aug. 23, 2013.

In Syracuse’s victory over Daemen, the Orange possessed 20 blunders, and that amounted to more turnovers than the ‘Cuse collected in a duel during 2018-19. Boeheim, regarding those missteps, noted in his post-game remarks that Syracuse needs “to learn from this. Two freshmen and two sophomore guards aren’t going to figure it out in the first week. It’s going to take a while.”

Additionally, the Orange and the Wildcats each tallied 43 points after intermission, with Daemen connecting on 8-of-16 from 3-point range in the second half. For the entire battle, the Wildcats hit on 48.3 percent from beyond the arc.

"Said Boeheim, “When … you try to play 12 guys, you lose some rhythm sometimes. A guy comes in and may not realize this is the shooter here or this is the shooter there. But overall, they’re a really good, smart team and it was a really good game for us.”"

Given that, unlike in other recent stanzas, the ‘Cuse should have the ability to produce scoring in droves throughout 2019-20, if Syracuse can improve in its zone, and diminish the unforced errors, then the Orange could position itself well for a special season.