Observations from BA’s TBT win over Hall In: Early run, familiar finish
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Seton Hall is tied for Syracuse men’s basketball’s 12th-most frequent opponent all-time. Since 1948, the Orange and Pirates have played each other 64 times. Their alumni squads could play up to three times in the next four days.
The two men’s programs met last in a 75-63 SU victory on March 13, 2013. Syracuse left the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference the next season, and the Orange and Pirates haven’t clashed since.
Boeheim’s Army, Syracuse men’s basketball’s alumni team, and Hall In, Seton Hall’s squad, met for the first game of a best-of-three series in the first round of the 2026 The Basketball Tournament Tuesday. Boeheim’s Army maintained the standard set by Syracuse’s 48-16 all-time record over Seton Hall, prevailing 82-52.
Here are observations from Boeheim’s Army’s TBT-opening win:
First quarter run builds lead
Boeheim’s Army won the tip, and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu’s dunk provided the first couple points of Game 1. A wide-open Elijah Hughes made a layup, collected a rebound on Hall In’s ensuing possession and scored a 3-point jumper to help BA obtain an early 7-2 lead.
Then, Hughes missed a jump shot. Akobundu-Ehiogu whiffed from 3. So did Eric Devendorf and Buddy Boeheim. Meanwhile, Hall In connected two 3-point shots to move ahead 8-7.
What followed was an offensive onslaught. Hall In missed eight consecutive shots, and Boeheim’s Army went on a 12-0 run to build an early 11-point advantage. Ty Nichols, Boeheim, Tyson Walker and Akobundu-Ehiogu scored layups. Cole Swider split two free-throw attempts and hit a 3-pointer with 1:58 left in the first quarter to go up 19-8.
Key first half 2nd-chance points
Boeheim’s Army led Hall In 44-29 at halftime. While BA (45% field-goal rate, 35% 3-point rate) comfortably outshot Hall In (35.5% field-goal rate, 25% 3-point rate), the biggest discrepancy in the first half came when shots didn’t fall.
Boeheim’s Army collected 23 first-half rebounds to Hall In’s 14. Ten of BA’s came on offense. Boeheim’s Army was most productive after collecting offensive boards. Hall In corralled four first-half offensive rebounds but managed a meager two points on second-chance possessions to Boeheim’s Army’s 13.
BA’s opening bucket was a second-chance play. Akobundu-Ehiogu turned an offensive rebound into a dunk. At the end of the first quarter, Swider beat the buzzer with a leaping tip-in.
The 11-point second-chance difference nearly equaled the 15-point scoring differential.
Dominant Swider
Swider, a 6-foot-8 power forward, started one season for Syracuse in 2022. Playing in his first TBT, the former Villanova transfer started and paced Boeheim’s Army in scoring.
He beat the buzzer twice in the first half, tipping in a bucket at the end of the first quarter and sinking a contested fadeaway at the end of the second.
Swider was excellent from 3 (4-for-8) and shot 10-for-15 overall. He bagged 28 points, nine more than the game’s next-highest scorer, Hall In’s Terry Roberts, and contributed eight of BA’s 38 rebounds.
Valuable portal players
Former Richmond Spider Jacob Gilyard was the only portal player with a significant role for Boeheim’s Army in 2025, starting in both BA’s first-round victory over the Herkimer Originals and second-round loss to We Are D3.
On Tuesday, two portal players got starting nods: point guard Tyson Walker and center Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu. Walker assists were often paired with thunderous Akobundu-Ehiogu dunks.
Akobundu-Ehiogu scored 17 points, second-most for Boeheim’s Army, while Nichols, another portal pickup, had the fourth-most with nine. Nichols led the way with six assists, while Akobundu-Ehiogu posted a team-high 11 rebounds.
Nichols called game in poetic fashion. A year after his left hand eliminated Boeheim’s Army from the 2025 TBT, his right hand secured BA’s first win of the 2026 tournament.
