This felt like a must win game for Syracuse. Coming off of a 74-69 loss to Virginia which furthered SU’s worst start in over 50 years. In the first half, you could sense the intensity and desperation. The Orange were firing on all cylinders and mopping the floor with Miami. ‘Cuse shot over 50% from the floor and over 60% from beyond the arc en route to a 44-30 halftime lead.
Here were our thoughts at the break:
So what changed in the second? Pretty much everything. Syracuse came down to Earth at just 38% from the floor and 42% from deep. On top of that, SU was looser with the basketball than some untied sneakers. The Orange turned it over TEN times in the second half which led to 14 points for Miami in the second frame. Finally, ‘Cuse tallied just four assists in the second half compared to the 14 in the first. Miami tallied 57 points in the second half to thrash Syracuse and come from behind to win.
Joe Girard had a nice bounce back game with 26 points on 7-12 shooting from deep. Jesse Edwards had a strong performance as well with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Buddy and Jimmy Boeheim struggled combining for just 16 points on 4-14 field goals.
Now if the first half version of this Syracuse team played that was consistently, this team would be ranked. However the second half version of this SU team is what we’re getting and this is why the Orange are off to a putrid 7-7 start and are projected to miss the NCAA Tournament altogether…
