4 keys to Syracuse escaping season-altering skid
Amid its three-game losing streak, Syracuse’s defense has deteriorated. Our beat writer breaks down four ways SU can escape their skid. Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
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Syracuse has lost three straight, and things aren’t getting easier. The Orange’s recent skid has catapulted them from the top six of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings down to 12th. Their remaining 11 games include nine against Quad 1 or 2 opponents.
SU still has the opportunity to break its four-year NCAA Tournament drought and extend head coach Adrian Autry’s tenure. But with each loss, the margin for error narrows. How can the Orange right the ship to possibly return to March Madness this season?
Here are four keys to Syracuse breaking out of its midseason funk:
Rejuvenate its potent defense
From the onset of Autry’s third season, he knew a solution to most of SU’s issues would be rebuilding its defense. He spent the offseason assembling a roster with a feared shot blocker in William Kyle III and a perimeter lockdown in Nate Kingz. Returning players J.J. Starling and Donnie Freeman were tasked with mentally honing in on defense, just as they did on offense.
The offseason work produced one of the best defenses in the country through the year’s first few games. The Orange held Houston, Kansas and Tennessee down while dominating lower-level competition. Then what happened? Syracuse has allowed 76.5 points per game in ACC play, 7.5 more than its season average. Slip-ups have left SU without any identity.
“We’ve lost that edge a little bit, and we’ve talked about it,” Autry said after the 85-76 loss to Miami. “We got to keep trying to be aggressive and be in people’s faces.”
Autry is right. While easier said than done, a revival of Syracuse’s defense would at least give the squad a key to victory. Outscoring opponents through explosive offense clearly isn’t the Orange’s cup of tea. Keeping scores in the 60s can win SU some games.
Get Kingz, Betsey clicking
Syracuse’s offense hasn’t been particularly dominant, whether Freeman is in the lineup or not. Freeman has the ability to take over games, but defenses key in on him. J.J. Starling and Naithan George both can score and assist, but don’t always lead the way in the closing minutes. When the Orange are effective, it’s been Kingz and Tyler Betsey’s 3-point shooting that adds “firepower,” as Miami head coach Jai Lucas put it.
Kingz and Betsey have both proven they can score from deep in high volume. Kingz went 5-for-6 from 3 against Boston College. Betsey went 6-for-8 against Florida State. SU has only produced 10 3s in a game three times this season. All three have come in ACC play.
“It’s very important for us,” Autry said of Betsey and Kingz hitting. “We had that stretch where we wasn’t making threes. And since we got into conference, we were making 3s.”
The duo attempted only six 3s against the Hurricanes, making two. Neither Kingz nor Betsey made one during the first 30 minutes. Both have shown flashes, albeit at different, sporadic times. If each can heat up at the same time, the Orange could do serious damage in conference play.
Lily Wilkin | Design Editor
Increase Freeman’s center minutes
The talk of the town around Autry’s decision-making centers on shrinking the rotation. Syracuse consistently uses a nine-player rotation, even adding a 10th in Bryce Zephir against Virginia Tech when George and Starling each tallied two first-half fouls.
Subtracting Kiyan Anthony and Sadiq White likely isn’t plausible despite both experiencing some freshman-year struggles. However, removing Akir Souare could be a solution, sliding Freeman to center when Kyle is in foul trouble or tired. Souare is averaging only nine minutes, but per EvanMiya CBB analytics, he tallies a -1.29 Offensive Bayesian Performance Rating — the worst on the team.
Even with Souare’s inability offensively, the bigger issue is that Freeman’s ability needs more time in the sun. When Freeman played heavy center minutes against Georgia Tech, the Orange spaced the floor fluidly and found open shooters and inside points. Freeman has posted a 2.89 OBPR and is already playing 30 minutes per game. Though, if Syracuse is going down, it might as well go down while exhausting all options with its best player.
“He gives us a guy that we can go inside, a guy that can step outside. He’s a versatile offensive player,” Autry said of Freeman after the win over GT. “He really sets the tone for us.”
Rebound, rebound, rebound
Even while Syracuse posted one of its worst seasons ever a year ago, it found success on the glass. The Orange ranked sixth in the conference in total rebounds (37.1) and fifth in offensive rebounds (11.0) per game. The catalyst, of course, was Eddie Lampkin Jr., who ranked second in the ACC at 9.6 per game.
Lampkin Jr. is gone, and SU invested heavily to replenish its roster. As Kyle excels with his shot-blocking ability, he hasn’t fully captured the impact Lampkin made in rebounding. The Orange now rank 14th in the conference in total rebounds (35.4) and 15th in offensive rebounds (10.6).
As inefficient as SU’s offense has been, it needs to significantly win the rebounding margin to hold a fighter’s chance with second-chance points. The Orange’s matchup with Miami was their second-worst performance on the glass this year (-16), trailing just the Kansas loss (-20).
The responsibility doesn’t just fall on Kyle. Freeman has slightly decreased his tally of 7.9 per game last season to 7.2. Kingz, Starling and George average a combined 9.9 rebounds per game while all playing around 30 minutes. Improve the numbers on the glass, and Syracuse will have winning opportunities down the stretch.
