Observations from Syracuse’s win over Northeastern: 1st-half run, no closer
In Syracuse's win over Northeastern, Kiyan Anthony scored 18 points and made eight of his 12 free throw attempts. Courtesy of Seth Gitner
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Syracuse’s nonconference slate is nearing its end. Other than an upset win over then-No. 13 Tennessee and an upset loss to Hofstra, SU has followed its script as expected.
The Orange have now played double the number of games without leading scorer Donnie Freeman than they have with him in the lineup. Syracuse’s offense is showing significant issues without Freeman, despite head coach Adrian Autry denying the struggles.
With Freeman nearing a return and Atlantic Coast Conference play approaching, SU captured its eighth win of the season Saturday against Northeastern. Despite falling behind in the early minutes, the Orange closed the first half with a double-digit run and never relinquished the lead despite a late scare.
Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (8-4, Atlantic Coast) 91-83 win over the Huskies (4-6, Coastal Athletic):
Slow start turns into monster run
It sounds like a broken record at this point. Against lower level teams like Northeastern, the Orange are supposed to have their foot on the gas from the jump. Instead, Syracuse allows these teams to not only stay competitive, but take significant leads.
SU fell behind by as much as five over seven minutes into the contest. The Orange failed to corral multiple defensive rebounds, which gave the Huskies a few second-chance points. On one particular inside drive, Youri Fritz’s pump fake caused three SU defenders to jump at the same time, leading to the easy bucket.
Then, a missed 3-point attempt from Syracuse led to a transition dunk from Xavier Abreu. Autry promptly called a timeout, and out of the break, the Orange flipped the script.
Naithan George hustled inside and sunk a fadeaway jumper despite getting fouled. SU forced a turnover on an inside pass, and George flipped a pass to William Kyle III. As the Orange began 5-for-5 from the charity stripe, they embarked on a 9-0 run to flip the game on its head. A slow start turned into a much-needed takeover, as SU mounted a 32-17 run the rest of the first half after trailing 14-9.
Starling cooling off?
Syracuse leading scorer Donnie Freeman will return to action in its ACC opener versus Clemson, an SU spokesperson said Saturday. The Dec. 31 return means Freeman will have missed nine games this season, and he’ll be playing in just his second full game alongside J.J. Starling this year.
In Freeman’s absence, Starling has begun to heat up. He has tied his season-high 15 points in each of SU’s last two games. But versus Northeastern, he slowed down with an inefficient day. Out of the gate, Starling attempted to get going downhill but had his attempt blocked. Minutes later, he walked into a left-corner 3 and swished it to tie the game at 5-5. He then capitalized on a broken play for a fadeaway jumper.
Starling did make some poor mistakes, turning the ball over twice in the first half. But his aggressiveness spread the floor and allowed things to open up for George and others. As Northeastern broke into a second-half zone, Starling maneuvered to the open space and knocked down a floater.
The shot represented Starling’s only points in the second half. He took just two shots across the first nine minutes of the second half as Nate Kingz’s production soared, and the senior guard finished with nine points. It will be interesting to see if Starling’s already-decreased shooting diminishes further with Freeman’s return.
The rebounding game
SU’s rebounding margin sat in the negatives for five straight games, ranging from the Houston game through a minus-10 performance against Saint Joseph’s. Without Freeman, the rebounding issues have been evident, but the Orange picked it up with plus-seven performances versus Hofstra and then Mercyhurst.
Syracuse was plus-five versus Northeastern. The Huskies are a small team, lacking a player over 6-foot-9. Yet, the height differential didn’t hurt Northeastern too much, as it attacked on the offensive glass to produce 16 second-chance points compared to SU’s 12.
The Orange did have some success grabbing defensive rebounds, as Kyle III snagged four in the second half. SU took over the glass in the second half, with a 24-18 rebounding advantage to create some separation.
Is the problem solved?
It’s no secret by now the Orange have glaring issues from the charity stripe. They first became apparent versus Delaware State, when SU went 11-for-21. The issues continued against Monmouth — when SU went 19-for-33 — and almost singlehandedly lost the game versus Houston, going 12-for-29.
SU gradually improved its numbers from the free throw line with a 12-for-16 night against Mercyhurst. It posted its best night yet in the win over Northeastern, starting 10-for-10 and finishing 34-for-48.
George reached the line just 16 times across SU’s first 10 games, but reached it a combined 19 times in wins over Mercyhurst and Northeastern. His prolific free throw shooting was on full display, as he made 12 of his 14 attempts Saturday. Kyle also fixed his struggles initially, but collapsed in the second half with four-straight misses. The Orange went 21-for-34 in the second half from the charity stripe, as they came crashing down to earth.
After the win over Mercyhurst, Autry claimed the Orange would be averaging near 80 points per game if they fixed their struggles at the charity stripe. Now that the issues ostensibly appear to be solved, it’s time for SU to put Autry’s bold statement to the test going forward.
Can’t close the door
Just as the Orange are expected to start fast against low-powered teams, they’re simultaneously expected to blow the doors off these opponents in the second half. However, SU entered the second frame up 10 and allowed the Huskies to remain in the game.
Nearly eleven minutes in, Northeastern held a 25-24 second-half scoring advantage. Back-to-back 3s from Ryan Williams and Ty Francis sparked a 6-0 run, and the deficit dwindled down to as little as five.
With Freeman’s continued absence, the Orange are lacking a real closer. When push comes to shove, SU doesn’t have the player to give the ball to and get out of the way. It’s what limited Syracuse in the closing minutes against Hofstra, when the Orange relied on Kiyan Anthony to salvage a broken possession by hoping for a foul call from the referees.
Starling was the man for the job last season, and he filled that role against Tennessee this year. But outside of the win over the Volunteers, Starling hasn’t shown his Mariano Rivera powers.
