No. 16 Syracuse won its final game of the exhibition slate on Wednesday night in the Carrier Dome, 89-52, over Division II Le Moyne. The Orange was still without Jalen Carey, Frank Howard and Howard Washington, so Tyus Battle played the majority of time at the point again. The Orange open the regular season next Tuesday, Nov. 6, against Eastern Washington.

Here are three takeaways from the SU win.

New normal
Elijah Hughes scored 19 points last Thursday against St. Rose, and he didn’t slow down against Le Moyne, scoring 16 in the first half en route to 21 points total. Hughes didn’t miss a shot in the first half and wound up 7-for-9 from the floor, 2-for-3 from 3, and 5-for-5 from the line.

From SU’s first basket, it was all Hughes. Paschal Chukwu missed a lefty hook long, and Hughes flew in from the weakside, rose up and slammed it home. Syracuse’s next three points came from the East Carolina transfer, as well, on a drive to his right for an and-one at the rim.

Late in the first half, Hughes set up on the right wing before dribbling to his left. He planted at the right elbow and pulled up for an easy 2. On the next trip, Tyus Battle dribble toward the right wing, where Hughes curled going left. Without hesitation, he fired and drained the 3, giving him his 16 first-half points.

Three and a half minutes into the second half, Hughes chased down a Dolphins player in transition and swatted his shot off the backboard. Moments later, Battle threw down a tomahawk dunk at the other end, forcing a Dolphins timeout.

To finish a strong game, Hughes popped toward the left baseline on an inbounds pass. As the ball was still in the air, Hughes stepped back, caught and shot in one motion. The make gave him 21 points and capped his second strong exhibition.

Second-chance struggles
On one first-half possession, Le Moyne misfired from 3 but grabbed the rebound. Then, the Dolphins missed another 3 but snagged the long rebound. On the third chance, Tim Leavell knocked down a 3 from the right wing. It was emblematic of struggles to grab defensive boards for the Orange.

The Dolphins came away with 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, and 17 for the game. On the 10th of the first half, Chukwu was in the center of the zone but couldn’t bring it down. Jim Boeheim yelled “Come on” from the sideline to his 7-foot-2 center, and subbed him out for Bourama Sidibe at the immediate opportunity.

The biggest struggles, which showed again on two early second-half possessions, came on the weak side. Chukwu would rotate toward the ball-side of the floor. When shots went up, he didn’t get back to the other side, and the weak side wing in the zone kept getting beat inside by a Dolphins forward, leading to the rebound chances.

The Dolphins’ tallest player was 6-foot-8, and the majority of the time, the tallest on the floor was 6-foot-6. But the Orange were outrebounded overall, 36-33.

Under pressure
Syracuse brought light, full-court pressure, enough to force a handful of Le Moye turnovers Wednesday night. The Orange pressed less against their last opponent, The College of Saint Rose, but pressing throughout the game against the Dolphins — not only against made baskets — showcased a defensive scheme SU may deploy more this season than last.

That’s given that this year’s team projects to be deeper and faster than the past several, especially last year’s thin team. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said last season that the Orange couldn’t press as much as he’d prefer because the Orange were not deep enough to press throughout a game while maintaining the stamina to produce offensively. Besides, Boeheim typically has not pressed frequently. SU utilizes the press as a sort of off-speed pitch to mix up its look, not necessarily to trap and try to rack up turnovers. Le Moyne committed 26 turnovers, several of which came due to SU’s defensive pressure.

Whether the Orange will use its press more this season, especially in conference play, remains to be seen.

Published on October 31, 2018 at 9:04 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21