Observations from SU’s 78-69 win over SMU: Izoje’s defense, 3-pointers
Syracuse made a season-high 11 3-pointers against SMU, while Uche Izoje was a dominant force defensively with seven blocks. Courtesy of SU Athletics
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Three hundred and sixty four days ago, Syracuse opened its Atlantic Coast Conference slate against Notre Dame. It carried a disappointing 4-5 record into the matchup, and exited it with a 31-point loss. Any hope for SU’s season — if it still existed at that point — died at the hands of Hannah Hidalgo and Sonia Citron, who combined for 49 points.
A lot can change in a year. Heading into its ACC opener against SMU Sunday, Syracuse could not have been in a more different position than it was against the Fighting Irish. The Orange strode into Dallas sporting a 7-1 record, with two wins over Power Five opponents.
After forty minutes of play, they left Moody Coliseum with a third Power Five win, defeating the Mustangs’ 78-69 for their first conference win.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (8-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) win over SMU (4-6, 0-1 ACC) in its conference opener.
Bullying on the boards
Syracuse entered Sunday averaging 17.5 offensive rebounds per game, ranking ninth among Division I teams in that department. Having shot 41.7% from the field — and an even worse 24.2% from 3 — in its first eight games, SU hasn’t been efficient this season.
But who cares about efficiency when you can stack up an unlimited number of second chances?
Less than four minutes into Sunday’s contest, the Orange already had eight offensive boards. They only made three of their first 12 shots. But by cleaning up the glass, they completely negated that inefficiency to get out to an early 7-0 lead.
The Mustangs simply couldn’t compete with Syracuse in the paint. A little under three minutes, the Orange made that fact painfully obvious. Shy Hawkins began the sequence by missing a jumper, which bounced out to Sophie Burrows for an SU offensive rebound.
Burrows then missed a 3-pointer, but Uche Izoje cleaned it up off the glass to keep the possession alive for SU. Three more missed shots would follow for Syracuse, each accompanied by an offensive rebound, before Hawkins mercifully ended the possession by converting a second-chance layup to put the Orange up 5-0.
Deep range deadeye
In its 66-60 overtime win over Auburn Wednesday, Syracuse launched a total of 16 3-point attempts. How many of those did the Orange end up converting?
Zero.
SU had never been proficient from beyond the arc, but an 0-for-16 dry spell against the Tigers represented a new low — even though it still resulted in an Orange victory. In conference play, Syracuse had to re-introduce the 3-point shot into its offensive arsenal.
They did that immediately against the Mustangs on Sunday. Dominique Darius attempted to get the Orange going with two 3-point shots on their second offensive possession, but neither of her tries found nylon. Fortunately for SU, Hawkins snagged the rebound and kicked it back out to Burrows, who got the Orange on the board with her first 3-point try of the day. Burrows finished with a season-high five 3s, while Syracuse finished with a season-high 11 3-point makes.
Just three tries in, and the Orange had already accomplished what they couldn’t do in 16 attempts against the Tigers. That wasn’t that hard, was it?
Don’t test Izoje
Early on, Syracuse’s dominance in the paint primarily manifested itself through its offensive rebounding proficiency. But you’d be mistaken to think that meant the Orange were neglecting their defensive responsibilities. Izoje was putting in just as much work — if not more — on the other end of the ball for SU.
Just fifty seconds into the game, Izoje stuffed a layup attempt from SMU forward Miriam Ibezim, keeping the Mustangs off the board. About a minute later, Ayanna Thompson decided it would be a good idea to test Syracuse’s freshman center in the paint again.
She was sorely mistaken. Thompson, driving into the paint, was immediately met by Izoje, who swatted her attempt away with ferocity.
The Mustangs, seemingly realizing that challenging Izoje was an exercise in futility, avoided her in the paint until less than four minutes remained in the first quarter. But once SMU’s Tyi Skinner tried her luck again, Izoje made her feel foolish with another block.
Izoje had five blocks in the first quarter alone. By the end of a game in which she had bullied the Mustangs from start to finish, she finished with a total of seven blocks.
Fade the free throw
Unlike the 3-point shot, which Syracuse appeared to outright avoid at certain points throughout its season, the free throw has been a healthy part of its scoring diet early on. Entering Sunday, the Orange averaged 14.5 free throw makes on nearly 20 attempts per game.
But against the Mustangs, SU didn’t get to the line at all. Well into the fourth quarter, only one player had made a free throw for Syracuse: Burrows.
Hawkins attempted a foul shot, but she missed it. No one else had gotten to the line yet, meaning Burrows’ three free throws represented all of the Orange’s scoring output from the charity stripe until the game’s 35th minute.
SU began attacking the paint more regularly in the fourth quarter. However, it was still the first game of the year in which Syracuse had been outshot by its opponent from the charity stripe.
It’s not a particularly concerning trend, though. The Orange’s low free throw volume can easily be explained by their heavy diet of 3-pointers, meaning they weren’t actively seeking out contact on drives in the paint often.
