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After suffering a 12-point loss to Virginia Commonwealth University in the first game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, Syracuse returned to the court on Thanksgiving to battle Arizona State.

In its second game, Syracuse used a strong first-half performance to gain and maintain a lead that would propel the Orange to a victory. The win put an end to a two-game skid that saw the Orange lose to Colgate and VCU.

Here are some observations from Syracuse’s (3-2) 92-84 win over Arizona State (2-4).

Back to a fast start

Against Arizona State, Syracuse had its best first-half performance since its win against Lafayette. The Orange trailed heading into halftime against Drexel and Colgate. The slow start against Drexel was not a concern, as SU managed to go on a quick 16-6 run to seal the game.

But the Orange could not stop Colgate’s 3-point shooting and eventually lost in an upset. Against VCU, the Orange did grab the halftime lead, but only managed 27 points on 24% shooting from the field.

Those slow starts doomed the Orange in two straight losses, but against the Sun Devils, the Orange came out firing. Buddy Boeheim led the way with 17 points, while Joe Girard III knocked down a 3 and a trio of free throws to give Syracuse a 48-point first half.

The Orange ended the first half on an 18-4 run in the final seven minutes of the first half to pull away from the Sun Devils.

Staying out of foul trouble

Against VCU, Jesse Edwards picked up his first and second fouls of the game with over 11 minutes remaining in the first half. So head coach Jim Boeheim swapped Edwards out for Frank Anselem. Anselem proceeded to pick up two fouls of his own before the first half was over.

The foul problems continued in the second half with Edwards fouling out and Anselem picking up a third foul. That forced Jimmy Boeheim to fill in at center, and Syracuse’s smaller lineup could not score or defend at the same level.

Syracuse’s first half against the Sun Devils was much cleaner. ASU did not make it to the line until there were just 4 minutes left in the first half. Edwards picked up the foul on that play, but ASU missed both shots from the line. By avoiding fouls for much of the first half, Edwards played 15 minutes, which is notable because he only played 16 total minutes against VCU because of foul trouble.

Cole Swider makes first 3s since Drexel

Boeheim has called Swider one of the best forward shooters Syracuse has had in recent memory. But to begin the season, he has been unable to connect from deep. Swider’s most recent made 3 came all the way back against Drexel. Since then, the forward is 1-for-18 and did not make any 3s in either of Syracuse’s losses.

But against Arizona State that changed. First he grabbed a defensive rebound and passed it out to Girard. Girard carried the ball up as the Arizona State defense set up. But Swider trailed the play and came into the halfcourt late, with Girard swinging the ball to an incoming Swider. All Swider had to do was catch the ball in stride and rise up to swish the 3.

Jimmy grabbed the rebound and carried the ball up the floor 30 seconds later. Again, Swider slowly crept past halfcourt, and Jimmy passed the ball over to the forward who drained his second 3 of the game.

Swider finished the game 4-for-5 from deep to give him a double-double with 19 points and 11 boards.

Edwards is key to Syracuse’s success

For much of last season, Boeheim said how Edwards was not ready to play at center for the Orange. But so far this season, Edwards has been crucial to Syracuse’s fortunes. In two losses to Colgate and VCU, Edwards had five fouls. Today, he recorded just one.

Not only did Edwards stay out of foul trouble, he also got it done on both ends of the court. With Syracuse playing ahead, Arizona State decided to press on the inbound. Swider was stuck deep in his own end after putting the ball in play, and with two players on him, Swider jumped and threw the ball halfway up the court to Buddy. Two more players converged on Buddy, and he jumped and passed to an onrushing Edwards who caught the ball and rose up over the rim for the emphatic dunk.

Then on the ensuing Sun Devils possession, Jalen Graham curled toward the rim and rose up for the layup. But Edwards rose up behind him and swatted the ball out of bounds.

So far this season, when Edwards has scored in double-digits, the Orange have yet to lose. Tonight, he finished with a career-high 21 points, six rebounds and MVP chants from the crowd in the Bahamas.

Small rotation

Syracuse’s starting lineup of Girard, Buddy, Swider, Jimmy and Edwards played a majority of the minutes. Heading into the season, Boeheim said that the Orange could feature eight to 10 different players in games, a nod to what Boeheim felt was increased depth.

In the loss to VCU, the best team the Orange had played at that point used an eight-man rotation with Symir Torrence, Benny Williams and Anselem coming off the bench. Anselem and Williams played over 15 minutes each, with Anselem getting increased minutes because of Edwards’ foul trouble.

However, against the Sun Devils, Boeheim rarely elected to use his bench. Torrence, Williams and Anselem each played less than 10 minutes. The Orange field a very experienced starting lineup with three seniors, but Thursday, only Anselem managed to score for the bench squad.

Published on November 25, 2021 at 10:08 pm

Contact Gaurav: gshetty@syr.edu