In Syracuse Men’s Basketball’s 77-55 loss to Duke on Saturday, the Blue Devils hit 13 threes. That broke their season high. When the Orange marched into Littlejohn Coliseum to face Clemson on Wednesday night, a similar strategy was deployed by the Tigers. And it worked. Clemson hit 14 shots from beyond the arc- that tied a season-high- en route to a dominant 91-73 victory over SU. It’s the Tigers’ most lopsided victory over the Orange in matchup history.
LISTEN: Clemson guard Chase Hunter kicked off a barrage of three-pointers for the Tigers. @zachletson_ had the call.
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“They moved it well and we did not make the rotations that we need to make,” Head Coach Jim Boeheim said postgame. “We were slow on rotations. Our defense has slipped the last two games.”
Clemson’s Well-Balanced Attack
LISTEN: Clemson center PJ Hall wasn't afraid of contact when he went up for a layup against SU's Jesse Edwards. @JohnEadsIV had the call for the junior's and-one play.
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Entering the game, PJ Hall was the Clemson player many Orange fans had on their mind. The center entered the contest top-15 in the ACC in scoring, field-goal percentage, and rebounding. Hall had 16 points on 8-11 shooting, but was far from the only player to hurt SU.
All five Tiger starters scored in double figures, led by 29 from forward Hunter Tyson. The North Carolinian hit six three-pointers and also snatched 10 boards. Other than Tyson, Clemson got 15 from Boston College transfer Brevin Galloway, 13 from Chase Hunter, and 10 from Ian Schieffelin.
“Experience is huge, a lot of guys have seen that zone before,” Tyson explained. “Our coaches prepared us well and our scout team prepared us well for this game.”
The Lone Bright Spot
Despite the defeat, Judah Mintz found a way to shine. The freshman was a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc. Additionally, Mintz finished with 23 points- it was one point shy of tying his career-high. That career-high came against Pittsburgh back on December 20, and Mintz has another opportunity to feast on the Panthers this weekend.
The Big Picture
The loss drops Syracuse to 16-12 overall and 9-8 in ACC play. After winning three straight, the Orange have lost consecutive games in blowout fashion. SU’s grasp on the first-round bye in the ACC Tournament is shrinking- Boston College is behind by just one-and-a-half games. And the next game isn’t easy.
SU resumes game action on Saturday when it visits Pittsburgh. The Panthers were a projected 9-seed in ESPN’s latest bracket prediction. SU and Pittsburgh met on December 20 inside the Dome, and the road team escaped with an 84-82 victory. The Orange and Panthers renew acquaintances at 5:00 on Saturday, WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Team Countdown to Tipoff at 4:30.
Before that, No. 19 Syracuse Men’s Lacrosse welcomes No. 12 North Carolina to the Dome. The Tar Heels edged the Orange 14-13 when they met in Chapel Hill last season. Opening faceoff is set for 3:00 on Saturday, we’ll have full coverage of that showdown on our HD3 channel on waer.org.