Syracuse Basketball: Orange will need to stay sharp when visiting Clemson

Syracuse basketball is riding the high of a current five-game winning streak, and the Orange must keep on the accelerator at Clemson.

Syracuse basketball has an interesting week ahead. The Orange travels to Clemson on Tuesday night to face a Tigers crew that has struggled at times during the 2019-20 campaign. Then, in a wildly anticipated encounter, the ‘Cuse will host highly rated Duke on February 1.

Taking into account Syracuse’s recent overall success, and its prowess on the road in Atlantic Coast Conference competition, it could prove easy for the Orange (13-7, 6-3) to look past Clemson with those talented Blue Devils lurking on the horizon.

I sincerely hope that doesn’t occur for the ‘Cuse, but if it does, Syracuse will get beat by the Tigers. Yes, Clemson (10-9, 4-5) has had a fairly pedestrian term to date. Sure, the Orange is an awesome 4-0 away from the Hill in league tilts.

But don’t let the Tigers’ somewhat sub-par record at this juncture fool you. Clemson’s resume features achievements versus Duke, N.C. State, Colgate, TCU and at North Carolina. If the Tigers can best the Blue Devils, then they absolutely can defeat the ‘Cuse at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Clemson, conversely, has lost to Virginia Tech, Colorado, Minnesota, Florida State, South Carolina, Yale, Miami, N.C. State and Louisville. Not a lot of bad setbacks on the Tigers’ docket.

Furthermore, in their series together, Syracuse is just 4-5 against Clemson, including a 67-55 conquering of the Orange by the Tigers at their home on March 9 of last year.

Let’s dive into some pertinent statistics in this match-up. Clemson averages a poor 68.3 points every 40 minutes, but it only allows 65.1 points on defense. The ‘Cuse, on the other hand, generates 73.4 points per meeting and gives up 66.0 points.

The Tigers, to put it succinctly, are not a strong shooting group. They hit on 42.8 percent from the field, 65.8 percent from the charity stripe and 32.1 percent from deep. For Syracuse, it’s 44.5 percent, 72.3 percent, and 35.6 percent, respectively.

The Orange owns the edge in rebounding, assists, blocks and fewer turnovers committed. However, Clemson creates 14.4 mistakes by its opponents per contest, the Tigers are sixth in the ACC in steals, and Clemson also makes a solid 8.4 attempts from 3-point land per bout.

Within the Tigers’ line-up, the ‘Cuse 2-3 zone must hone in on junior forward Aamir Simms, who tallies 13.8 points and 7.6 boards per duel, and he connects on 38.3 percent from long range. This guy is legit.

On paper, Syracuse appears to have a decent shot at prevailing in Clemson, S.C. The Orange is rolling. My fingers are crossed that the ‘Cuse isn’t positioned for a fall. It’s never a cake-walk to get the job done in a hostile environment, and Tuesday evening will prove no different in that regard.