Syracuse Basketball: Orange must run North Florida off the 3-point line

Syracuse basketball welcomes North Florida to the Carrier Dome on Saturday night, and the Ospreys are a dangerous threat from downtown.

Syracuse basketball will attempt to build upon its 12-point triumph against Oakland earlier this week when the Orange hosts North Florida on Saturday evening.

The ‘Cuse (6-5) has a pair of non-conference contests left on the docket before Atlantic Coast Conference competition kicks into full gear in early January, and Syracuse needs to vastly improve its paint scoring and its interior defense, among other things, if the Orange wants to beat a respectable number of league foes in 2020.

Up next for the ‘Cuse are the Ospreys (7-6), a crew that suits up in the ASUN Conference. North Florida got slotted at No. 2 in that conference’s preseason poll, and the Ospreys are an extremely talented group from deep.

Not only does North Florida reside in the top-40 nationally in 3-point shooting, at 37.9 percent, but the Ospreys also rank No. 1 across collegiate hoops in making an average of 12.5 shots from beyond the arc per affair. That’s pretty darn astounding.

In other recent terms, Syracuse’s suffocating 2-3 zone would prove a monumental hurdle for units like North Florida that rely so heavily on connecting from long range. However, the 2019-20 version of the Orange’s zone has on many instances struggled, to put it mildly, with opponents often getting wide-open looks from 3-point land. Should that occur this Saturday, the ‘Cuse could find itself in real trouble, because the Ospreys can score in droves, generating 80.1 points every 40 minutes, while also hitting on a stellar 79.1 percent from the charity stripe.

On its roster, North Florida has multiple guys who make about 40 percent of their 3-point attempts, and that’s no joke. To that end, the Syracuse defense absolutely must hone in on sophomore forward Carter Hendricksen, senior guard Ivan Gandia-Rosa and senior guard J.T. Escobar.

One department where the Ospreys are a tad vulnerable is in turnovers, as North Florida coughs up 14.6 miscues a game. In all fairness, the Orange has performed fairly well of late as it pertains to securing steals, and collecting some easy buckets in transition will prove vital since the Ospreys possess a high-octane offense.

Additionally, North Florida is relatively poor on defense, giving up 76.4 points per encounter. The ‘Cuse can’t just fall in love with 3-pointers. Driving to the rim and obtaining free points from the foul line are also key for Syracuse to succeed. Lastly, the Orange has to shore up its rebounding, which is a tough ask for a ‘Cuse team that is frequently weak on the glass.

The Ospreys, similar to Syracuse, don’t own a ton of impressive conquests, but they have also lost to several quality squads, including Florida, Iowa, Creighton, and Florida State. Three stanzas ago, the Orange snuck by North Florida on the Hill, 77-71. Given Syracuse’s woes in 2019-20, another closely fought duel is likely in store, and hopefully, the ‘Cuse can move to 2-0 all-time versus the Ospreys.