Syracuse is once again making it interesting in the closing weeks of the season. The Orange (16-10, 9-6 ACC) have won three straight after dropping three consecutive games. Now Coach Boeheim and Company burst into a closing five-game stretch which features four of the top seven teams in the conference beginning with Duke on Saturday.
Syracuse has scored 75+ points over the span of its winning spurt. The Orange failed to even reach that number in each game during the losing skid. What’s been the difference? Well look no further than the spark that Jesse Edwards has provided for the ‘Cuse.
The center posted 14 points and 7 rebounds in a gritty matchup against a top-10 Virginia team. One game later, the Dutchman tallied a season-high 27 points on 12-15 shooting with 7 more rebounds. In the last two games, the senior contributed 18 in both with 28 combined rebounds.
Now why does this matter? Well Edwards had a two-game lull against North Carolina and Virginia Tech where he failed to score in double figures and struggled mightily with foul trouble. The center also only collected a dozen rebounds between those two games. As a result, Syracuse let one slip away late against UNC and was boat raced by the Hokies on the road.
During Edwards’ resurgence, the Orange are 3-0 and took one of the ACC’s best in Virginia to the absolute wire in a tight loss. Is it clear how transitive it is between Syracuse’s success and Edwards’ individual success? It should be now. The center must continue replicating this level of play in the final stretch of the regular season.
Right now, Syracuse is 97th in the NET Rankings which doesn’t necessarily hold all the power. However, the Orange are 2-8 in Q1 and Q2 games which is not an appealing resume. With that said, the ‘Cuse has some chances to boost its stock value. Here’s how the rest of the games look:
Q2 – Duke
Q1-at Pitt
Q1-at Clemson
Q3-vs Georgia Tech
Q2-Wake Forest
The final stretch begins with Duke on Saturday. The Blue Devils (18-8, 9-6 ACC) have won each of the last seven meetings with Syracuse. The Orange last won in the Dome back in February of 2017 on a John Gillon buzzer-beater.
