After a commanding 80-68 win over rival Georgetown, Syracuse (7-3, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) is set to take on Oregon (7-2, 0-0 Pac-12 Conference) in its penultimate non-conference matchup of the 2023-24 regular season. The Orange, who have won four of their last five, are in search of their first-ever victory over the Ducks.
SU took down Georgetown last game through a balanced performance by its backcourt. Guards Judah Mintz and J.J. Starling combined for 46 points, with the latter notching a season-high.
“Judah’s been playing great this season,” Starling said. “And I feel like he was just waiting for me to step up. I finally found that spark, that confidence.”
Starling’s 21 points were buoyed by his first perfect performance beyond the arc with the Orange. The Baldwinsville native went 3-for-3 on triples following an 0-for-3 showing against Cornell earlier in the week.
“He was big,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said. “Especially when Judah went out, he made some big shots. He stepped up big for us, he controlled the game. He had a moment where he took over the game. And that’s what you envision when you got two high-level guards. And today, they played that way.”
While Starling garnered the headlines in SU’s last contest, consistency remains something the sophomore is in search of. The Notre Dame transfer has failed to notch a three in seven of the Orange’s ten games this season, sporting a percentage of 22.2 from downtown on the year. Starling was unsure of what made the difference against Georgetown.
“I’m not sure. I’m just shooting until it feels good,” Starling said. “And it felt good today.”
Like Syracuse, Oregon has been hot recently with a three-game win streak. Since a 99-91 loss to Alabama on November 25th, the Ducks have beaten opponents by an average of over 15 points per game, taking down Michigan, UTEP, and CA Baptist.
Oregon’s offensive production has been relatively balanced. Four guards – Jermaine Couisnard, Jackson Shelstad, Kario Oquendo, and Jesse Zarzuela – have averaged over 10 points a contest in five or more games of play this season. The Ducks also have nine different players who have averaged North of 15 minutes of playing time per match.
When @Cuse_MBB faces @OregonMBB tomorrow, here are three players to keep an ear out for:
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) December 17, 2023
🦆Jermaine Couisnard - Averaged double-digit points in 5 straight seasons
🦆Keeshawn Barthelemy - 3rd on the team in total points
🦆Brennan Rigsby - Shooting 52% from three this season pic.twitter.com/1zogIOBINw
Defensively, the Ducks rank 7th in the Pac-12 with an average of 71.5 points allowed per contest. Oregon’s most points surrendered in a game came against Alabama, with its second-largest total yielded coming in its other loss to Santa Clara (88).
Syracuse is set to face Oregon at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at 1 p.m. on Sunday. WAER’s coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff.