Syracuse basketball rebounds with stellar performance at Boston College

Syracuse basketball absolutely crushed Boston College on Saturday afternoon.

As Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has said on more than one occasion, the sport of collegiate hoops gets pretty simple when your team makes shots.

Well, on Saturday afternoon at Boston College for its Atlantic Coast Conference opener in the 2020-21 campaign, the Orange did exactly that. The ‘Cuse proved on fire from the field as a whole, as well as from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe.

Save for committing way too many turnovers yet again, Syracuse basketball (4-1) turned in an all-around excellent effort in throttling the Eagles, 101-63, from the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

This past Tuesday night, in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, the Orange was without injured senior center Bourama Sidibe and junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, who had to miss several games due to Covid-19 protocols.

The outcome amounted to a 10-point loss for the ‘Cuse at No. 21 Rutgers, as Syracuse basketball really struggled on both ends of the floor.

With Boeheim back in the line-up versus Boston College (1-5), the squad clicked on all cylinders on both offense and defense, as his presence opened up a ton more space for numerous other guys within the Orange line-up.

What I found encouraging is the consistency that the ‘Cuse displayed in this ACC clash. The Orange outscored its opponent by 18 points in the first half, but didn’t pump the brakes after intermission in owning a 20-point advantage within the second period.

Syracuse basketball settled into a nice grove in dismantling Boston College on the road.

In all fairness, the Eagles aren’t a top-25 crew like Rutgers is, but Boston College is no cakewalk. The Eagles have hung tough with Villanova and Minnesota, and BC defeated a good Rhode Island group.

Boeheim’s return cannot get overstated. And before this ACC encounter, I wrote that, among other things, the ‘Cuse needed to clean up its perimeter defense, its rebounding and its own shot selection.

Well, all three of those components occurred against Boston College, and the result was the Orange’s first instance scoring 100 or more points in a regulation affair dating back to 2016 versus Eastern Michigan, per the ‘Cuse Twitter account.

Versus the Eagles, Syracuse basketball owned a sizable edge on the glass, the Orange did a credible job of covering the Eagles’ players when they attempted 3-pointers or drove the lane, and the ‘Cuse shot better than 50 percent from the field and 3-point land by not settling for quick, contested looks from long range.

Absolutely, Syracuse basketball hoisted up a bunch of 3-pointers, but the team also moved the ball with precision on offense, so many of those looks weren’t so difficult to connect on.

All in all, Jim Boeheim said in his post-game press conference that he was pleased with his squad’s performance on offense and defense, and I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment.

The Orange will attempt to keep the positive momentum going when it hosts fellow New York state foe Buffalo on Saturday, Dec. 19. The tip-off time is still unknown, although the ACC Network will provide television coverage.