It hasn’t been easy, but Syracuse men’s basketball (3-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) is undefeated to start the season. After three down-to-the-wire matchups with mid-major foes, the Orange get their first true challenge in the UKG Legends Classic on Thursday night in Brooklyn against Texas (3-1, 0-0 Southeastern Conference.)
It was another close call, but @Cuse_MBB escaped with a 104-95 double overtime victory over @YSUMensHoops.@Hudson_Ridley and @JonahWeintraub had the call for SU's third straight win. pic.twitter.com/LQOsoM79OE
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) November 16, 2024
With a minute and 15 seconds to play in the first overtime against Youngstown State on Saturday, Syracuse led by eight points and was in the driver’s seat to close out the contest. All of a sudden, that lead vanished. The Orange allowed two easy threes and a pair of free throws to the Penguins, which delayed the result into a second overtime. That struggle on defense has been the kryptonite for a young Syracuse team all season so far.
“Obviously we’d like to be a better defensive team right now,” head coach Adrian Autry said after the win. “Today was about the half court, especially late. We’re having trouble retreating and staying in front of people.”
The defense has certainly been a consistent issue through three games, especially considering the opponents being Le Moyne, Colgate, and Youngstown State. Syracuse currently ranks 164th out of 364 Division I teams in terms of KenPom defensive rating. SU has also allowed the 25th-most points per game this season at 83, alongside the 84th-worst field goal percentage with opponents connecting at a 45 percent clip.
“We want to be more resilient,” Autry said. “We’re rebounding the ball but we’re just not defending the ball well right now… finding our form all starts on the defense.”
The struggling defense has a large challenge on their hands with Thursday’s opponent in Texas. The Longhorns are currently averaging 89 points per game, which is good for 28th-best in the country. UT also ranks 18th in the nation in field goal percentage at 52 percent. Spearheading the efficient offense has been true freshman guard Tre Johnson, who’s averaging 23.5 points per game through four matchups, more than anyone on Syracuse.
“Tre Johnson - Get out and see him right now,” Texas head coach Rodney Terry said. “We knew when we signed him that Tre Johnson is one of those kids that has a chance to be as good as he wants to be. The ceiling is really high for him. I’ve recruited the state a long time and there haven’t been a lot of scorers like him come out of this state, especially the last 15 years.”
Johnson scored 29 points in his collegiate debut against Ohio State, a program record for a freshman in their debut previously held by Kevin Durant. Coupled with some key pieces, Johnson and Texas’ offense has been extremely explosive, and are in prime position to exploit Syracuse’s defensive flaws.
“We’re going to go down there and play some really tough teams,” Autry said about his team’s trip to Brooklyn for the Legends Classic. “We’ve got a whole lot to improve on before we head down there to play that Texas team.”
Depending on the result, Syracuse would play either Texas Tech or Saint Joseph’s in the tournament's second game. The first matchup of the event between SU and UT is Thursday at 7 p.m. WAER’s coverage on 88.3 FM or waer.org begins at 6:30 with Countdown To Tipoff.