After a Legends Classic to forget for Syracuse men’s basketball (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), The Orange return home to face a team they haven't lost to in over half a century, Cornell (4-2, 0-0 Ivy League).
In the consolation game of the Legends Classic, @Cuse_MBB suffered a 79-74 setback against @TexasTechMBB in Brooklyn.@IanNicholasTV and @TylerJAitken had the call from the Barclays Center. pic.twitter.com/dW5m9GPCBm
— WAER Sports (@WAERSports) November 23, 2024
Through one half of play against Texas Tech, Syracuse was shooting 42% from beyond the arc and using that to propel a stagnant offense in the opening frame. However a 1-for-9 performance out of the locker room allowed the Red Raiders to create a lead that was insurmountable. Shooting the three has been make or break for an Orange squad that ranks dead last in the ACC in three point shooting percentage through five games.
“Shooting is always a touchy subject but sometimes you make shots and sometimes you don’t,” SU head coach Adrian Autry said. “I will say this. The guys that we think can make the shots, the guys that have proven they can make the shots are shooting the basketball.”
While the shots may not fall all the time for SU, it usually relies on its defense to step up, except this year. Syracuse gives up more points per game than any team in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Orange also rank 315 out of 355 teams in the country in opponent points per game.
“I thought we came down here and showed something we hadn’t in the first three games," Coach Autry proclaimed. “We showed some fight and I thought we showed some defensive potential.”
While that fight was shown in Brooklyn, Syracuse hopes that fight will return to the Dome against Cornell. The Big Red are second in the Ivy League in total scoring averaging over 83 points per game. Cornell is also recognized for doing something Syracuse can’t, shoot the long ball. Last year the Big Red nailed over 10 triples a game, and this season they are making over nine a contest.
Last night against Iona, the Big Red took down the Gaels 84-68 after attempting 32 of their 56 shots from beyond the arc. Cornell made over 40% of them in the win. While the Big Red are only shooting 32 percent this season on shots from downtown, they attempt seven more triples a game than any opponent Syracuse has faced this season.
A large part of the Big Red’s threes have come from guard Jake Fiegen. The sophomore has made nearly a third of the team's triples this season. He is also second in the Ivy league in three point percentage and second in the conference in steals.
Fiegen and the Big Red go against a first Power 4 opponent in 2024 tomorrow against Syracuse. Gametime is at 7, but you can follow along with our coverage at waer.org or at 88.3 FM starting at 6:30 with Countdown to Tipoff.