Tomorrow night the Syracuse men’s basketball team travels to Clemson to tip-off against the Tigers. The Orange are red hot and have won five games in a row. 20 days ago, Syracuse was coming off back-to-back losses, 1-3 in the conference, and 8-7 overall, likely headed towards the NIT at best. Now, the Orange have completely turned around their season, and may just be able to slip into the tournament once again.
Similar to the Orange, the Tigers have had an up and down season. Clemson is currently 10-9 overall and 4-5 in the conference. However, the Tigers have played close games and knocked off #3 Duke less than two weeks ago. Clemson’s best player is 6”8 Forward Aamir Simms. The Junior averages a team-high 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds. Simms scored 25 points in Clemson’s victory over Duke.
One of the keys tomorrow for Syracuse will be limiting Aamir Simms on the offensive boards. The Tigers are in the bottom half of the conference in rebounds per game, but the Orange have struggled to control the rebounds against physically imposing bigs this season. If Syracuse can keep Simms camped out at the three-point line, it should be able to win the game.
Offensively, the Orange will continue to rely on G Buddy Boeheim and F Elijah Hughes. Boeheim is averaging 16.1 points per game this season. An effective sharpshooter, the sophomore is shooting just over 40% from three-point range. Hughes is ACC’s leading scorer at 19.2 points per game. The 6”6 Junior finished with a quiet 10 points in Syracuse’s last game. It was the first time Hughes scored less than 15 points since December 3 against Iowa.
On Saturday against Pittsburgh, the Orange showed a new ability to score inside. Syracuse shot 5-21 from beyond the arc, forcing them to change up the offense. The Orange transitioned to a game focused on the low post and dribble penetration. They shot 55.8% on two-point field goals. F Marek Dolezaj showed off various post-moves and scored 17 points in the game, two shy of his season-high. C Bourama Sidibe cannot miss right now. The Junior has made every field goal in his last four games. However, he has only averaged 5.25 points per game over that stretch.
Unlike the short bench of the Orange, the Tigers rely on a multitude of scorers. Nine Clemson players average above five points per game compared to six for Syracuse. The Tigers offense ranks 11th in scoring in the ACC at 68.3 points per game. Converse to Syracuse, Clemson is near the bottom of the conference in terms of free throw attempts per game (17.1) and free throw percentage (65.8%). The Tigers also have difficulties protecting the rim, averaging an ACC-worst 2.5 blocks per game.
Syracuse is fourth in the ACC, half a game behind Duke. The Tigers are the last middle-tier team the Orange face before they play #9 Duke, #5 Florida State, and #6 Louisville in a span of three weeks. Syracuse’s five-game win streak has come in a weaker part of the schedule. The Orange have managed to capitalize on a stretch of winnable games and will face their biggest tests of the season in early February. A win over Clemson would be a massive piece of Syracuse’s tournament resume.
The Orange and Tigers tip-off at tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Coverage begins on WAER at 6:30.