Syracuse basketball spread the offensive production around well in rout of Boston College.
This is only one game against a solid, but not spectacular, opponent, so let’s not jump to an abundance of conclusions about Syracuse basketball following its destruction of Boston College on the road this past Saturday afternoon.
Even Orange head coach Jim Boeheim acknowledged that, despite the 101-63 blow-out of the Eagles to commence Atlantic Coast Conference play, it’s just one contest and a small sample size. Yet he was happy with how his team fared on both ends of the court.
Hopefully, ‘Cuse fans are also encouraged by this result. Heck, the squad nearly had seven players record double-digits in scoring, which is an exquisite showing.
Any success in league competition away from its own turf is a huge positive for Syracuse basketball. And if you throw out the way too many turnovers that the Orange committed versus Boston College, the ‘Cuse produced a terrific all-around performance.
Speaking of that, if you had to give out a game ball (or game balls) for this victory, you might need a half-dozen or more to fairly give credit where credit is due.
Here are the seven Syracuse basketball guys who shined in the team’s crushing of Boston College.
Junior small forward Alan Griffin, the Illinois transfer who is in the starting rotation for now with senior big man Bourama Sidibe injured, logged an efficient 22 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of action.
He shot 8-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-9 from downtown. Griffin also had four assists, although his six turnovers were not so rosy.
Sophomore point guard Joe Girard III, after struggling in the Orange’s loss at No. 21 Rutgers last Tuesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, boasted some kind of bounce-back stat sheet.
In 26 minutes, Girard collected 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while hitting on 6-of-8 from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Junior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim, back after missing a few meetings due to Covid-19 protocols, had 17 points, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes.
Sophomore forward Quincy Guerrier, in 30 minutes, tallied 14 points and five boards. Senior power forward Marek Dolezaj continues to serve as a tremendous playmaker, registering 10 points, six rebounds and seven dimes in 28 minutes.
Two freshmen coming off the bench, combo guard Kadary Richmond and power forward Woody Newton, each generated nine points. Richmond chipped in two rebounds, three assists and four steals, while Newton had four boards.
Everything just seemed to click for Syracuse basketball against the Eagles, a crew that definitely struggled on defense in this affair. I wouldn’t expect this kind of offensive explosion for the ‘Cuse with a lot of frequency, but it proved a ton of fun to watch nonetheless.