Syracuse Hoops Smokes Binghamton, Balanced Scoring Lead the Way

There was a bit of a head-scratcher in the middle of the first half when Jim Boeheim brought in Ron Patterson, B.J. Johnson and Tyler Roberson to go against the Bearcats. But it made sense from an experience standpoint (and a game SU would win easily), as¬†Boeheim stressed the importance of getting those guys playing time and they took advantage of the opportunity.¬†But largely, everything the Per’fesser tried worked on Saturday.

In 15 minutes, Patterson had 10 points including six from deep. He grabbed four rebounds. His success in Saturday’s game is an early sign of the type of player he will be. He could have Jerami Grant freshman-like success which would be enormous for SU. Patteron’s emergence as a potential big player off the bench would help establish some bench credibility early in the season.

Roberson and Johnson didn’t hurt the team, but didn’t help much either. Roberson had five fouls in 14 minutes, which was the bad news. He also had six points and five rebounds, leading to a productive stint. The fouls hurt, as Binghamton took 32 free throw shots. Johnson took five shots from deep and couldn’t make anything.

Boeheim added that these next two weeks are somewhat of an awkward time.¬†Next game for the Orange is¬†next Sunday¬†at MSG against St. John’s and then¬†December 20¬†against High Point. The best dynamic of SU’s win was the balanced scoring. Five players were in double digits. The Orange was also deadly from beyond the arc, drilling 13 treys. A top-5 team like Syracuse shouldn’t have had much trouble with Binghamton, and overall it didn’t.