You can’t sit here and say that’s not what you expected to happen. After a 4-2 start to the season, Syracuse men’s basketball traveled out of New York for its first true road game of the season. Unfortunately for them, it was to Knoxville for a clash in the ACC/SEC Challenge with #3 Tennessee. To no surprise, the Volunteers smoked the Orange 96-70, let’s dive into it.
Adrian Autry – C-
I mean, it’s starting to get really ugly on social media talking about Coach Autry’s decision-making with the lineup. In a game like this, there is no world where Jaquan Carlos and Chris Bell should be getting more minutes than Elijah Moore and Donnie Freeman. Both Carlos and Bell have consistently been the weakest links on the floor, and yet Autry keeps rolling them out there. The whole team was honestly embarrassed in all facets of the game, and sometimes that stems back to coaching and leadership. I know it’s the third-best team in the country and I shouldn’t be so hard on Autry, but if this is a sign of things to come with ACC play right around the corner, we’re in for a LONG season.
Elijah Moore – A+
Despite the result, it’s awesome to see a freshman have his breakout game. Choppa was unstoppable tonight, notching a career-high 24 points off the bench. Moore was feeling it too, knocking the ball down 8-of-12 times and 50% from behind the arc. I think this is a message to Autry, especially with JJ Starling being shelved for the foreseeable future with a broken hand. Give the kid a chance, and let him continue to prove himself in the starting lineup against Notre Dame on Saturday. A performance like this certainly warrants it.
Offense – D+
Here we go again with the inconsistency. Once again, take it somewhat with a grain of salt, considering who they played. But 6-of-19 from deep is not going to cut it, and this continues to be a theme. Syracuse is shooting just 27% from three so far this season, which is second worst in the ACC only to Wake Forest. I mean come on Chris Bell, your role on this team is to be a spot-up shooter, you have to hit the shots. Again we also saw struggles at the free throw line. How is it that in one game the team can’t connect from the line (Texas,)then hits every free throw (Texas Tech,) and then goes right back to missing half the attempts? It didn’t matter in this one, but it HAS to get cleaned up.
A very frustrating non-conference slate has almost come and gone for Syracuse, but it’s put-up or shut-up time. ACC play starts this Saturday against Notre Dame, and there are quite a few concerns for this team as the season progresses. Like I said earlier, buckle up ‘Cuse fans, it could very well be a long year.
