Just two weeks ago, Syracuse Men’s Basketball was 9-11 after a humiliating loss to Pittsburgh. Something has changed since then. After the Orange’s (13-11, 7-6) 73-64 victory over Boston College (9-13, 4-8) Tuesday, SU has won four in a row. This is the first time in over two years that Syracuse has had a winning streak of at least four games.
“It’s been a great stretch,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said. “These guys have stepped back up, battled hard, got themselves back in decent position, and we’ll see what happens.”
Leaving Conte with a dub 🍊 pic.twitter.com/CHDKuAEfP0
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 9, 2022
Swider keeps swishing
As Syracuse is getting hot, so is Cole Swider. The Villanova transfer tied his season high with 21 points while knocking down 5-8 shots from beyond the arc. Swider has averaged over 17 PPG and shot north of 70% from beyond the arc during the win-streak. It had been a struggle for the senior forward for a while, but he may have found the cause for his struggles.
“I really focused on getting my shot up, in the Pittsburgh game my shot was really flat,” Swider explains. “After that I focused on getting my arc up, so that, a lot of reps, obviously just trusting myself and the work I’ve put in. Over the course of the season, the best shooters will shoot a good percentage by the end.”
Swider is up to 38.2% from beyond the arc on the season after shooting upwards of 40% in his final season in PA.
Up until this four-game stretch, Swider’s season had been nothing short of a mixed bag. Back on November 24 on VCU, the Rhode Island native shot just 2-14 overall and was 0-7 from range. The very next day, Swider lit up Arizona State for 19 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-5 from three.
Center struggles resurface
It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for Syracuse in their victory. Jesse Edwards was held scoreless for the first time all season. The Flying Dutchman also fouled out for 11th time this season despite playing only 13 minutes. Due to Edwards’ foul troubles, Frank Anselem saw more action than usual. The sophomore big man played a career-high 23 minutes, scoring 5 points and adding 6 boards. Neither center seemed to be able to stop Quentin Post. The BC big put up 14 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. The Eagles put up 40 points in the paint in total, the most SU has allowed since New Year’s Day against Virginia.
Two opposite ends of the 3PT spectrum
As a team, Syracuse had a fantastic day shooting from distance. The Orange were 11-24 from range, led by marks upwards of 50% from Swider and Joe Girard.
“Threes are important to us, there’s no question,” Coach Boeheim said. “We need to shoot at high-level from the three-point line, especially if Jesse’s not getting anything.”
Joe joins the 3 point party 🎉
— Syracuse Men’s Basketball (@Cuse_MBB) February 9, 2022
📺 ACCN pic.twitter.com/NSKuMZ6aR5
As for Boston College, it was a struggle. The Eagles shot under 25% from beyond the arc, including just one in the first half. Brevin Galloway was particularly bad, as he was just 1-12 from range.
What’s up next?
Syracuse has a chance to make it five in a row on Saturday in Blacksburg against Virginia Tech. Before that, however, Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse opens their season against Holy Cross. Coverage on WAER begins with a special hour long “Countdown to Faceoff” at 11:30, followed by a 12:30 start time. After that, WAER will have full coverage of Orange (13-11, 7-6) VS Hokies (14-10, 6-7). The night begins with GZA Countdown to Tipoff at 5:30, the game begins at 6.