With program nearing boiling point, Syracuse men’s hoops hosts Miami in must-win clash

Frustration has been a defining theme for Syracuse men’s basketball (12-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) as of late. Despite a strong start to conference play including wins on the road against Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh, the Orange have faltered in back-to-back games, making the daunting task at a bid in March even more implausible.

The only thing to do after an embarrassing set of losses to Boston College and Virginia Tech is to regroup, reset, and continue to go forward. SU has a chance to do that against Miami (15-4, 4-2 ACC).

“All losses are frustrating, I hate losing, our guys hate losing, and we are not doing enough as coaches and players to win games,” said head coach Adrian Autry after the loss to VT.

Starting with the trends, despite the inconsistencies under the third-year head man, Syracuse has never lost both games in a back-to-back set of conference home games. Focusing on the court play, the Orange will need to improve in a multitude of ways.

Offensively, SU has looked dysfunctional as of late. The ‘Cuse have turned the ball over 30 times in its last two outings, handing its opponents 22 and 16 points off turnovers respectively.

“Turnovers… turning the ball over, for what reason I don’t understand,” said Coach Autry after Wednesday’s loss to Virginia Tech.

Syracuse guard Naithan George has been the primary culprit during conference play, averaging 4.5 giveaways per game. To combat the offensive inefficiencies, Coach Autry upsized the bench in Wednesday’s loss to Virginia Tech, handing his point guard just 23 minutes, down from his season average of 30.4.

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But George has also proven to be quite effective when in the lineup. The junior is 6th in the conference in assists, and team-wise – when the Orange register 17 or more helpers, they are 5-0 – a task that seems far-fetched if George’s minutes were to continue to slide.

The Hurricanes defense is in the bottom third in ACC against assists – surrendering over 13 per night, making it a potentially juicy spot for Syracuse to key in on.

It’s been a two-game losing streak for the Orange, but also a two-game productivity drought for SU’s best offensive weapon Donnie Freeman. After a scorching start to ACC play that saw the sophomore post several noteworthy outings of 27 points, 9 rebounds and 25 points, 8 rebounds – the former five-star recruit has 11 turnovers and an inefficient 10-of-28 on field goals during the losing streak.

“He took a couple of shots, but when he did go to the basket, they were physical with him. He didn’t finish around the rim like he normally does,” Autry said on Freeman’s offensive struggles in Wednesday’s game.

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Freeman, who averages 19.3 points per game, will look to join the list of forwards who have throttled a flimsy Hurricanes interior defense. In its six conference games, Miami has allowed an opposing forward to eclipse 17 points in four of those outings.

And most importantly, the Orange will need to complete the full 40 minutes. Against both Boston College and Virginia Tech, Syracuse led by nine or more points and led for 27-plus minutes.

Miami is not a fantastic team in the second half. Despite its 4-2 conference record, only twice in those four victories did the Hurricanes manage to outscore their opponent by more than three points after the break. So, if Syracuse can get out to a lead in the first 20 minutes, this can finally be the game SU controls from start to finish.

WAER has coverage of the afternoon matchup between Syracuse and Miami starting at 1:30 with McClurg Remodeling Countdown to Tipoff. You can catch the Orange and the Hurricanes live on WAER.org or 88.3 FM.