The 100th meeting of Syracuse and Georgetown didn’t go as planned for the Orange. Syracuse came out flat, started the second half slow and fell apart in the final five minutes.
The Hoyas took advantage, overcoming a slow start from deep to beat the Orange 75-71. The loss drops SU to 5-5 and 0-5 against teams in the top 100 of the NET rankings, so the grades…aren’t the prettiest.
Atmosphere: B+
Even with it being finals week for students, the Dome had a pretty good turnout. There were over 17,000 fans there, and it looked pretty full. Of course, for a game like this, closer to 20k would have been nice, but it was a solid showing.
The loudest moments of the day came after a midcourt scuffle (more on that later) and when it was announced that SU Football head coach Fran Brown was there. When it was loud, it was loud!
The reason this was kept from being an A is because there weren’t that many moments to cheer about. SU was not great for most of the game, which kept the fans kind of quiet.
Jaquan Carlos: A-
The point guard for SU is one of the most important positions. SU brought in Jaquan Carlos to fill this role after Judah Mintz left, and it’s been a slow start to the season.
Today, Carlos took a huge step. The guard scored a season-high 15 points, including a perfect eight for eight from the charity stripe. A late three by him was one of the last made shots Syracuse had.
His defense is still getting there. But Carlos just looked a lot more comfortable than he has most of the season. That’s a big first step.
Adrian Autry: C
A look at social media, and you may think that Adrian Autry is the worst coach in Syracuse’s history. I’m not ready to buy into that quite yet. But there were some head-scratching decisions.
Donnie Freeman played under 20 minutes. After the game, Autry said it was because he thought Lucas Taylor and Jyáre Davis matched up better defensively in the second half. But you have to have your star on the court.
Also, it seemed like SU needed a timeout with about two minutes left. The Orange were already in a scoring drought and needed a break. The timeout usage late didn’t make sense.
It’s too late into the season to not have this stuff figured out, and that falls on Autry.
Syracuse late Game Performance: F
This one’s simple. After the game, Autry said it came down to his team not making shots late. And that’s what happened. SU didn’t hit a field goal for the final four minutes. Inexcusable basketball.
The Orange had some critical late misses at the line (what’s new). But also some ugly shots. Elijah Moore heaved up a forced three and missed, and then Donnie Freeman completely missed a wide-open three.
Play like that isn’t going to win you any games, especially in conference play coming up. SU has to execute better.
State of the rivalry: A
Both head coaches agreed after the game that this game needs to continue to be played every year. It was physical, it was loud, it was chippy and most of all it was fun.
The pinnacle of this game is around the halfway mark of the second half. An off-ball foul was assessed to Elijah Moore, and a skirmish near the Georgetown basket ensued. Two techs were given, some non-PG chants began and the Dome got LOUD.
That’s rivalry basketball. It was a scene out of a movie. And that’s what Georgetown-Syracuse needs.
Jayden Epps and Thomas Sorber: A+
It wasn’t just malpractice on Syracuse’s part. Georgetown has some STARS. Jayden Epps looked like Braeden Shrewsberry did a week ago. Epps finished with a baffling 27 points after coming into today only averaging 14. He knocked down four triples, and for a second straight year looked great against SU.
As for freshman Thomas Sorber, he lived up to the hype. Cooley said after he might be the most underrated freshman in college hoops, and he proved that. Sorber finished with 16 points and held his own against all of SU’s frontcourt, including Eddie Lampkin. In a game where SU’s freshmen were expected to blossom, it actually ended up being Sorber.
