Syracuse Basketball: Top observations as Orange absolutely crushes LSU

Syracuse basketball put together its best performance of the young 2023-24 season on Tuesday evening at the JMA Wireless Dome, as the Orange used a monster second half to thoroughly dominate LSU in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

The ‘Cuse only led the Tigers by five points at halftime, 33-28, but in the second 20 minutes, the Orange pulled away, outscoring LSU by a count of 47-29 to ultimately prevail on the Hill, 80-57.

In this non-conference affair, the Tigers (4-3) were dreadful from 3-point land and committed a ton of turnovers.

On the flip side, Syracuse basketball was highly efficient from deep, and the ‘Cuse (5-2) won the battle on the boards. Sophomore point guard Judah Mintz had a career-high scoring night, and sophomore forward Chris Bell was terrific with his perimeter shooting.

Here are my top observations after Syracuse basketball destroyed LSU.

•Mintz was sensational, tallying a career-best 33 points on 9-of-16 from the field, 2-of-2 from downtown and 13-of-15 from the free-throw line. He also had five boards, four assists and two steals.

•When Bell is on, he’s lethal. He had 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, to go along with two boards, three assists, one steal and one block.

•Junior forward Benny Williams hit a 3-pointer, which was great to see. He had four rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes.

•Sophomore big man Maliq Brown was solid, contributing seven points, nine rebounds (including five on the offensive glass), two steals and one block.

•Sophomore wing Justin Taylor knocked down a pair of 3-pointers. He also collected seven rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot.

•Junior center Naheem McLeod produced six points, six boards, three blocks and a steal.

•While the Orange only hit on about 40 percent from the field, the ‘Cuse made 11-of-21 attempts from long range and 19-of-23 from the charity stripe.

•LSU was awful from 3-point land, going just 2-of-22. The Tigers shot 39.3 percent from the field as a whole.

•Syracuse basketball, which has had its share of struggles on the boards, held a 43-36 edge over LSU on the glass. The Orange corralled 17 offensive rebounds, and the ‘Cuse had a 14-6 advantage in second-chance points.

•In other statistical categories, the Orange led 16-8 in assists, 8-2 in blocks and 26-14 in points off of turnovers. Each squad possessed nine steals. The Tigers committed 19 turnovers, as compared to 15 miscues for the ‘Cuse.

•LSU led 44-28 in paint points and 12-10 in fast-break points.

•With this triumph, the Orange is now 2-0 against the Tigers in their short all-time series together.

•Next up, Syracuse basketball will commence Atlantic Coast Conference competition when the Orange travels to Virginia this Saturday, Dec. 2. The tip-off is scheduled for noon from the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., with television coverage on ESPN2.