Syracuse basketball wraps up its nostalgic Big East Conference tour on Saturday afternoon when the Orange invades Washington, D.C., for a date with long-time rival Georgetown.
The ‘Cuse hung tough with another Big East nemesis, No. 6 Villanova, for much of their non-conference collision this past Tuesday night in New York City.
But the Wildcats absolutely, and somewhat surprisingly, dismantled the Orange on the glass, and Villanova made key shots in the second half to emerge with a 14-point victory.
Now Syracuse basketball (5-4, 1-0) must regroup and focus its attention on perhaps the team’s most storied rival in program history, those pesky Hoyas (4-4).
Let’s look at a handful of key themes for Syracuse basketball at Georgetown.
The Orange and the Hoyas are scheduled to tip-off this Saturday, Dec. 11, beginning at 12 pm. Television coverage is on FOX. All-time, Syracuse basketball is 52-44 versus Georgetown, including a 74-69 win by the ‘Cuse on the Hill a stanza ago.
To start the 2021-22 campaign, the Hoyas are a solid 4-1 at home, although Georgetown has played a much softer schedule than the Orange so far.
Case in point, the ‘Cuse has defeated Lafayette, Drexel, Arizona State, Indiana and Florida State. The Orange’s setbacks are to Colgate, VCU, Auburn and Villanova.
The Hoyas, by comparison, have knocked off American University, Siena, Longwood and UMBC. Georgetown has fallen to Dartmouth, Saint Joseph’s, San Diego State and South Carolina.
The fact that Syracuse basketball has competed against much more challenging opponents and has a similar record to the Hoyas, I think, bodes well for the Orange’s chances in this match-up.
One important area for the ‘Cuse is its defense. For the majority of 2021-22, the zone has been sub-par, although in the team’s last two games, it has allowed 60 points and 67 points to Florida State and Villanova, respectively. That’s encouraging, even if the Orange went 1-1.
Georgetown, which was No. 108 via kenpom.com and No. 205 in the NCAA’s NET ratings at the time of this writing, scores 76.3 points a game, and the ‘Cuse allows 77.8 points per contest, per ESPN statistics. But those numbers are a little deceiving, because the Hoyas haven’t played ranked teams, whereas the Orange has.
In any event, Syracuse basketball has to stay laser-focused on defense, and Orange players have to do a better job of being physical and securing defensive rebounds.
Regardless of the competition, Georgetown connects on 38.9 percent from beyond the arc, and that’s a strong clip. The ‘Cuse has to guard the perimeter with precision, and when the Hoyas do miss 3-point attempts, those long rebounds must get corralled by the Orange.
Georgetown averages 14.3 turnovers per affair, so this is an opportunity for the ‘Cuse zone to create deflections and steals, and convert them into easy buckets out in transition.
While the Syracuse basketball defense has been better of late, in the team’s last two meetings, the Orange’s supposed high-octane offense has managed just 63 points and 53 points. Transition baskets will, therefore, prove critical.
Speaking of offense, paint scoring from graduate student forward Jimmy Boeheim, who led all scorers in the Villanova loss, will be vital. And both senior shooting guard Buddy Boeheim and senior forward Cole Swider have to get going after poor performances versus the Wildcats.
If the Orange could generate some decent bench production from the team’s three main reserves, that would be a bonus. Finally, the ‘Cuse needs to put the Villanova outcome in the rear-view mirror.
This is Syracuse basketball versus Georgetown. It’s the best. The Hoyas may not be all that great at this juncture in the current term, but Georgetown will be physical and come ready to play.
I’d love to see Syracuse basketball players more active on both ends of the floor, hustling after each loose ball, and playing with a ton of energy for the entire 40 minutes.