For Syracuse basketball, next foe excels in one area that could sink zone

The Syracuse basketball zone, which has been suspect on numerous occasions throughout the 2021-22 term, entices the team’s opponents to shoot from the perimeter, and hopefully, those deep attempts are highly contested and often missed.

This past Saturday afternoon on the Hill, a Florida State group that isn’t tremendous shooting from beyond the arc in 2021-22, at least as far as its season average goes, connected on 12-of-20 from 3-point land.

That was a huge reason why the Seminoles were able to conquer the Orange in Central New York by a final count of 76-71. The ‘Cuse (8-9, 2-4) played relatively well versus FSU, but the Seminoles knocked down five more 3-pointers than the Orange. In a five-point game, that’s big.

Entering that Atlantic Coast Conference clash, Florida State was connecting on about 33 percent from 3-point land. The next foe for the ‘Cuse, Clemson, hits on 38.4 percent from beyond the arc, which at the time of this writing was No. 3 in the ACC.

Additionally, Clemson shoots 46.5 percent from the field as a whole and 71.2 percent from the charity stripe.

The Syracuse basketball defense will have to be locked in versus the Tigers.

Clemson (10-7, 2-4) travels to the Hill this Tuesday evening. The Tigers have dropped two in a row, falling on the road to Notre Dame by 16 points, and then to Boston College at home by two points.

We should note here that in Clemson’s 70-68 setback to the Eagles this past Saturday, the Tigers held a 23-point advantage in the first half. Sound familiar, Orange fans?

Without question, Syracuse basketball is having a disappointing 2021-22 to date. Clemson’s resume, in all fairness, isn’t all that impressive, either.

The Tigers do have victories over the likes of Virginia, N.C. State, South Carolina, Temple, Bryant and Wofford, among others. Clemson’s seven losses are to St. Bonaventure, West Virginia, Miami, Rutgers, UVA, Notre Dame and Boston College.

When I penned this story, the Tigers had a KenPom rating of No. 57 nationally and a NET ranking of No. 78. Neither of those numbers is great, but they’re both better than where the Orange resides.

For comparison’s sake, Clemson averages 72.8 points per game and allows 66.5 points. Syracuse basketball, conversely, scores 78.0 points per encounter and gives up 75.6 points.

All-time, the Orange is 5-7 versus the Tigers. These two teams split their regular-season series during the 2020-21 stanza, with the home squad winning by double-digits in each meeting.

Hopefully, the ‘Cuse zone will be laser-focused, and Syracuse basketball can grab a triumph before hitting the road against Duke and then Pittsburgh.