Syracuse eyes bounce-back win against high-powered Stanford offense

After back-to-back losses, Syracuse men's basketball (9-11, 3-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) seeks to rebound Wednesday against Stanford (14-6, 6-3 ACC).

Rebounding has been a struggle for the Orange recently. In their most recent loss to Pittsburgh, ‘Cuse head coach Adrian Autry said his team’s effort on the boards cost them the game.

“[The game] came down to us not getting rebounds when we needed them,” Autry said. “It's very frustrating. It’s something we work on a lot.

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It wasn’t just the performance on the glass that annoyed Autry. He was also critical of his team’s defensive intensity.

“I don’t know if it [came down to] the defense or the rebounding,” Autry said. “It wasn’t good enough, I’ll put it like that. The defense wasn’t good enough.”

Regardless of which is to blame, both must improve Wednesday against Stanford. The Cardinal rank in the top half of the ACC in both scoring and rebounding margin.

Stanford’s success is largely due to forward Maxime Raynaud. The senior averages over 20 points and 11 rebounds, both of which lead the ACC.

Raynaud has recorded a double-double in all but four games this season, including five of his last six. However, the Cardinal tend to struggle in the games where the Frenchman is limited.

Two of Stanford’s three conference losses have come when Raynaud scores fewer than 15 points. While limiting him will be a top priority for the Orange, he is not the Cardinal’s only key contributor.

Stanford guards Jaylen Blakes and Oziyah Sellers each average nearly 15 points, posing a major concern for Syracuse. In the Orange’s last five games, the leading scorer for each opponent has been a guard, with those players combining for more than 23 points per game.

Blakes, Sellers, Raynaud, and the rest of the Cardinal rank eighth in the ACC in scoring offense, averaging 77 points per game. The Orange have faced four teams ranked higher in the conference and lost all four matchups.

Even worse for Syracuse, Stanford head coach Kyle Smith thinks his trifecta of stars are beginning to hit their stride.

“We’ve been really blessed to get Jaylen [Blakes], Oziyah [Sellers], and Maxime [Raynaud] consistent every night,” Smith said Saturday after a Cardinal win.

Syracuse has battled with consistency all year but can mark a statement win in California on Wednesday at 11 p.m. WAER’s coverage begins with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff at 10:30.