Three in a row. That’s called a winning streak. Syracuse man handled Louisville 92-69 on Saturday before over 23,000 fans in the Dome. It is the third straight victory for the Orange, the first time they have done that all season, and the second 20+ point ACC victory in as many Saturdays.
Syracuse’s offense came to play from the opening whistle It was Jesse Edwards who was on fire out of the gates. The center scored nine of Syracuse’s first 19 points and ended the game with 19 points of his own on just eleven shots. The Dutchman also grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds (eight overall) and even had three assists, a career high. Perhaps most impressively, Edwards only committed one foul in 26 minutes of playing time. As he came out of the game with about ten minutes to play, the big man received a standing ovation from the SU faithful.
“It felt amazing. The fans here have always been amazing to me, and frankly to the whole team. When we’ve played bad, when we’ve played good, they’re always there and to come off like that was, I hope not a once in a lifetime experience, but it was amazing,” Edwards said.
Have a day, Jesse 👏
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 5, 2022
19 PTS
9-11 FG
8 REB
3 AST
3 STL
2 BLK pic.twitter.com/2M8KefRb9Q
Buddy Boeheim also had 19, tied for the team high with Edwards. It was a historic day for the Fayetteville native. Boeheim made five threes, putting him second all-time on Syracuse’s most made three pointers list. He passed Trevor Cooney and Andy Rautins today, who were second and third with 281 and 282 triples, respectively. Not too bad for someone who wasn’t even a top-300 recruit coming out of high school.
Buddy’s backcourt mate Joe Girard continued his fine stretch of form. The guard had 15 points and four assists. It is the third straight productive game for the junior, corresponding with the team’s winning streak. Girard put in this performance coming off of impressive outings against Wake Forest and NC State. The box score does not do justice to the Glenns Falls native’s contributions in this stretch. While many around central New York have called him a shooting guard and said he does not have the skill set to play the point, Girard has silenced his critics by being in command of the offensive. He has not only been able to find his own shot but has made others better as well.
“Your point guard is critical to your offense,” Jim Boeheim said. “When he plays at a high level…we’re really difficult to guard because they’re worried about his jump shot coming off, that gets Jesse open down low…Joe Girard has been really good all year and he’s been outstanding in the last three games.”
Jimmy Boeheim and Cole Swider had similar outings to each other. Boeheim scored 14 points on four of seven shooting. Six of the forward’s points came on seven attempted free throws. That is a promising sign for a player that came into today making just 56.5% of his foul shots. Swider had 11 points and made four out of seven shots as well, including three from long range. That is the second straight game that the Rhode Island native has made three or more triples. He has not had such a streak since December when he did it three straight times against Georgetown, Brown, and Cornell.
Syracuse looks to continue its consistent attack going on Tuesday when it travels to Chestnut Hill and takes on Boston College. The 12-11 (6-6) Orange take on the Eagles 9-12 (4-7) on WAER. Coverage starts with GZA Countdown to Tipoff at 7:30 P.M. with game time from Conte Forum set for eight o’clock.