Syracuse Basketball: Zone defense, other key reasons why the Orange won at California

Well, I made it up until the end of the Syracuse basketball road game against California that began on Saturday evening at 10:00 pm EST. Hooray for me. It wasn't easy. But I'm glad I did it.

To me, the Orange played its most complete game of the 2024-25 season, a campaign that has proven a struggle by and large for second-year head coach Adrian Autry and his roster that includes five returnees, four college transfers and three freshmen new to the college game.

This past week, the 'Cuse was on the west coast for a two-game road tour of Stanford last Wednesday night and then, on Saturday evening, at California. Both of those foes are new to the Atlantic Coast Conference for 2024-25, along with SMU.

The Stanford affair was tough. The Cardinal raced out to a 25-2 edge in the first half, Syracuse basketball stormed back, but Stanford would prevail, 70-61.

This led us to the Orange's battle with the Golden Bears at the Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif. Granted, Cal doesn't have a great overall record this term, but neither does the 'Cuse, and the Golden Bears were on their turf and a betting favorite.

Syracuse basketball freshman forward Donnie Freeman, who has an injured right foot, missed his eighth straight encounter. But for California, its leading scorer at nearly 19 points per game, sophomore guard Andrej Stojakovic, was also out due to a hip injury.

It wasn't always easy, as the Orange led by as many as 18 points, but the Golden Bears didn't throw in the towel. However, Syracuse basketball made some key free throws down the stretch, despite some untimely turnovers, and the 'Cuse notched its second road victory this season by a final count of 75-66. Given Cal's current NCAA NET ranking of No. 130, the Orange secured a quadrant-two success here.

How Syracuse basketball beat California on the road.

One thing that stood out to me: 'Cuse players exhibited a ton of positive energy on both ends of the floor, and on the bench, too. It's been a challenging campaign for the Orange, and the fan base is frustrated, but Syracuse basketball players' intensity against Cal (11-11, 4-7 in the ACC) was encouraging.

Maybe this west-coast swing is exactly what the 'Cuse needed to jump-start its 2024-25 stanza. I'm not saying the Orange (10-12, 4-7 in the ACC) is going to contend for an NCAA Tournament or an NIT berth come this spring. Yet if the team could consistently play better, that would go a long way toward the fan base having renewed confidence in Autry at the program's helm.

Up next, Syracuse basketball will host red-hot and No. 2 Duke this Wednesday night. I'm not saying Syracuse basketball is going to upset the Blue Devils, although a competitive affair would prove nice.

Junior guard J.J. Starling, per SU Athletics, has surprised 1,000 career points, so a huge congrats to him. Versus Cal, he finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists.

On Saturday evening, Autry played 10 guys against the Golden Bears, and all 10 players scored, led by senior wing Lucas Taylor, who tallied 19 points and seven boards while connecting on 3-of-5 from deep.

Speaking of long range, the Orange, not a good 3-point shooting team in 2024-25, went 8-of-16 from beyond the arc versus California. And Autry utilized a lot of zone defense, enticing Cal to shoot many 3-pointers. That strategy worked, as the Golden Bears were an awful 6-of-35 from the perimeter.

In moving to 4-1 against California in their all-time series together, Syracuse basketball players showed a lot of poise, and they avoided a slow start, something all too common in 2024-25.

A 3-pointer from freshman shooting guard Elijah Moore gave the Orange an early 9-0 lead over the Golden Bears. The 'Cuse would head into the locker room at halftime up 40-23, yet we all figured Cal would make a run, and it did.

In fact, in the second half, on several occasions, California trimmed its deficit down to seven points, and even six points late in this affair. Yet the Orange roster didn't wither away, and I'm proud of the 'Cuse for handling its business on the road out west.

An Orange defense that hasn't been stellar by any means this term was solid against Cal, holding the Golden Bears to 28.6 percent from the field and a paltry 17.1 percent from 3-point land. California is highly proficient at scoring from the free-throw line, and Cal did score seven more points at the charity stripe than the 'Cuse.

However, the Orange, a team that isn't great at shooting the ball, was so versus the Golden Bears. Syracuse basketball made 46.3 percent from the field, 50 percent from deep and 85 percent from the charity stripe.

In other key statistical categories, the 'Cuse led 42-37 on the glass, 11-4 in assists, 30-20 in paint points, 20-11 in bench points and 10-9 in fast-break points. On the flip side, Cal led 13-6 in turnovers forced (ugh), 18-10 in points off turnovers and 20-8 in second-chance points.

Save for yet again committing way too many turnovers, Syracuse basketball put forth an excellent performance on offense and defense, and it was thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Bring on Duke.