Syracuse Basketball: With J.J. Starling out at No. 3 Vols, guards who must step up

Syracuse basketball already faced an immense challenge trying to knock off undefeated and No. 3 Tennessee on Tuesday night, and now that challenge has become significantly greater.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Orange announced via its X page that "J.J. Starling suffered a left-hand injury at practice on Monday. He traveled with the team to Tennessee but will not play tonight."

Most importantly, I'm wishing J.J. a speedy and full recovery. The 6-foot-4, 206-pound Starling, a junior who hails from nearby Baldwinsville, N.Y., is an unquestioned leader of this 'Cuse program, and his absence on Tuesday evening in Knoxville, Tenn., will surely be felt.

As the Orange has sported a 4-2 record during the early stages of the 2024-25 campaign, Starling has led the team in scoring, at 19.8 points per game, which when I wrote this column was also No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Starling is also averaging 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest while connecting on 46.8 percent from the field, which is currently No. 11 in the ACC. The 'Cuse is battling the Volunteers (7-0) on Tuesday from the Thompson Boling Arena as part of this season's SEC/ACC Challenge.

Other Syracuse basketball guards will have to step up at Tennessee.

The 'Cuse, minus Starling, faces a tall task. Not having your leading scorer versus a foe that is among the best defensive groups nationwide is rough. As I noted in another recent column, the Volunteers only allow 54.7 points per encounter, which is No. 2 nationally.

The Orange's backcourt runs six deep, although redshirt sophomore guard/wing Chance Westry has yet to play in a game so far this term. Perhaps head coach Adrian Autry will have Westry on the court for some minutes on Tuesday. We'll see.

Other guards on the Syracuse basketball 2024-25 roster include senior Jaquan Carlos, who has also been a starter in the team's backcourt this season but has struggled. If there's any game where the 'Cuse needs Carlos to break out of his slump, this is it.

I'm curious who will start in the backcourt for the Orange on Tuesday night. Assuming Carlos starts at point guard, I could see the other starting guard either being freshman Elijah Moore or senior Lucas Taylor.

In the squad's last game, a 10-point win home win over Cornell nearly a week ago, Moore was fabulous. Taylor likely won't provide as much offense as Moore, but Taylor gets after it defensively, and that's something Syracuse basketball needs.

This brings us to redshirt junior Kyle Cuffe Jr., who has barely played in 2024-25 but did get a little run versus the Big Red. I'd expect Cuffe to play more against the Volunteers.

While he's more of a small forward, I'll mention junior Chris Bell. He didn't play well against Cornell, and for the entirety of 2024-25 to date, he's hitting on just 28.1 percent from deep after making 42.0 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.

Given that Tennessee has an imposing defense, and the Orange is without Starling, Bell has to be assertive in attacking the rim and not merely settling for outside jumpers. That being said, if Bell can make a few shots from long range, that will help Syracuse basketball space the floor more effectively.